I hate waiting games (the results are in)

Jessey

Jessey

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Dec 20, 2004
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I had Jess' bloods pulled this morning to re-test her ACTH and insulin, they reached the lab at about 11 and I should have an answer this afternoon, I'm glad they do it in house as it means I should have the answer this afternoon and I'm not good at waiting games.

On one hand I would love for it to be negative/very low so she doesn't need the drugs, but on the other hand if either are higher and drugs will get her past this plateau in her recovery I would be happy at this point :)
 
I understand how you feel about them being low or high...as high would maybe explain her on going battle with thrush etc...I also hate waiting on results..
 
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Oh how I hate waiting, time just seems to stretch. I hope you've found a way to distract yourself and the results come through soon so at least you know where you stand...
 
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I got Jack's latest results yesterday. 39 when it should be under 27. So not hugely over but gotta put him up to 1.5 Prascend and re-test in 2-3 months *sigh* He looks so bl@@dy well too.....
 
Well the results came through a couple of hours ago, ACTH 18.6 and insulin under 2, so all good there, I'm happy but questioning the original ppid diagnosis now a bit and really befuddled as to where to go next with it all o_O she is on chaste berry, perhaps I should withdraw that and retest to get a clearer positive/negative.
This vet also saw her in March and is going to speak to the vet at the horsepital and see if they can come up with any ideas between them on where to go next.
 
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domane said:
I got Jack's latest results yesterday. 39 when it should be under 27. So not hugely over but gotta put him up to 1.5 Prascend and re-test in 2-3 months *sigh* He looks so bl@@dy well too.....
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Hopefully that means the little increase will have him feeling even better soon :D
 
@Jane&Ziggy ACTH under 29 would be normal for jess, I think under 20 is considered normal for the insulin.

@domane No that was just resting insulin, she'd been on the track overnight and had hay out.
 
I'm not sure whether the testing is wholly reliable - it has to be chilled and then spun - if they don't have a fridge in the car then it's not chilled straight away etc - so I figure the procedure is unreliable on its own.

Similarly stress (including pain and illness) raises ACTH levels, we can't tell if it is stress or cushings causing the rise...

ACTH fluctuates throughout the day naturally as well...

So it is difficult to test for - madam doesn't shed her coat properly, she is hairy in winter, she can struggle with muscle tone, she wees a lot and her first reading was 69... The three further tests have all been normal despite no medication - for me I think medication should be dictated by clinical signs not blood tests due to the unreliability :)
 
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I have always wondered if stress was a factor in the original test/diagnosis for Jess, the 1st result was only just above average (max 29, hers was 29.6 one week prior to the seasonal change) and I believe she was stressed at the time, we started her on the drugs and re-tested 8 weeks later (the final thing in the diagnosis was that horses without cushings do not react to the drugs) and her levels had dropped to 12 and her footyness disappeared, however I had also moved yards during that time taking her away from living in close proximity to mares that she didn't like. The only symptom Jess has now is footyness and drinks a lot (but then she is also a horse who runs hot all the time/sweats a lot), originally she shot weight and became a complete neurotic mess too.

The vet had a cold pack in the car and drove it directly back to the lab about 20 mins away so that shouldn't have effected it, at least only as much as the other tests so should be comparative. I refuse to have the Dex suppression done, I just feel it would push her right into a bout of lami and I'm not willing to risk it at the moment.
 
I think Jack's first test was inaccurate due to stress as well. He'd been trotted up and down to check for lami and Albi was in his stable going mental as he watched Jack "running". Knowing Jack, all that would have highly stressed him but as the vet only suggested taking his blood as an afterthought it was done on the spur of the moment. It wasn't until i got home and started reading up on PPID that i realised that ACTH levels are affected by stress. By then it was too late. Last week's blood was taken quietly and calmly in the field...he'd been laying down snoozing so I trust that result to be a more accurate depiction. I've also recent started feeding P.E's agnus castus and again, on reading up, I now see that it is debatable whether it counteracts the effects of Prascend. Doh!
 
I did see some research that chaste berry is as effective as prascend in a high percentage of cases, I use the PE one too, its great value.
 
Sorry by clinical diagnosis I mean lethargy/lame/coat/weeing etc - I also would not do a Dex test.

Our vets if you are the first appointment then the sample will be in the car all day, last appointment and it will be back quicker. just think there are too many variables that affect it for vets to depend on so solidly - at 29.6 I would have retested rather than medicated... Madams came down from 69 to normal within weeks - but she was mid autoimmune flare up and in pain and unhappy and had just moved yards... And kicked the vet after a twenty minute disagreement with him about whether he was allowed in her stable! two months later she was normal
 
popularfurball said:
Sorry by clinical diagnosis I mean lethargy/lame/coat/weeing etc - I also would not do a Dex test.

Our vets if you are the first appointment then the sample will be in the car all day, last appointment and it will be back quicker. just think there are too many variables that affect it for vets to depend on so solidly - at 29.6 I would have retested rather than medicated... Madams came down from 69 to normal within weeks - but she was mid autoimmune flare up and in pain and unhappy and had just moved yards... And kicked the vet after a twenty minute disagreement with him about whether he was allowed in her stable! two months later she was normal
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In the early stages clinical signs can be very limited, that doesn't mean it can't affect them at that point though which is why the vet used symptoms in combo with tests and reaction to drugs together to diagnose, which perhaps wasn't smart but it made sense the way it was explained to me at the time. I made a specific morning appointment as the results are more reliable in the morning and knowing it needs spinning ASAP it wasn't the vet on normal rounds so that she could take it straight back to the lab. I wish I had insisted on a retest way back then without the meds, but this testing was after months of chasing her weird neurotic behavior and she had become tender in her feet and I was desperate for it not to become full blown lami so wanted to 'treat' as soon as poss and as soon as that result was in and sent to the insurance they took it as a positive. We did another test a year later and it showed her in the middle of normal but she was on the drugs at the time.
 
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