EPM...please help me remember who it was....
Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:00 pm
Hey all-
I did a quick search, but no luck in jogging my memory.
Yes Fergus, who will be 22 in two weeks, is being treated for EPM for the FIFTH time in our 19.5 years together. This time was the scariest time as it was the biggest presentation of a choke (he is the horse you would NEVER think would be at risk for choke...mellow mellow eater, already eats soaked feed, etc) with 5 vet visits in the course of 6 days, that led us down the neuro rabbit hole and here we are. SO thankful to say he is doing MUCH MUCH better, and that tomorrow will be his last day of a longer stretch of Marquis. But, the vet and I have decided we are going down the path of a preventative use of am EPM treatment drug (Protazil, which is made from Diclazuril) that has a few years of some papers and science behind it as a way to prevent EPM in EPM-negative high risk horses...we both feel like my boy is high risk for sure.
So, question....does anyone remember, or are you, the DDBB'er who mentioned having a horse like mine, who had many bouts with EPM, and who back in the day was put on a daily dose of a drug (I think a drug typically used in conjunction with other drugs) that held off other bouts for years and years? She said as soon as she stopped that drug, her horse would develop EPM within a very short period of time. It was an educated gamble by her vet that worked great for her horse. I feel like she mentioned a drug that started with a a "T" and am wondering if it is the one that is closely related to Diclazuril. And that it wasn't expensive. Unfortunately, Protazil will be very expensive as the protocol is 1/2 dose per day forever.
For now, I am all set to start up with the Protazil on Thursday, but am going to continue to research in case there is something more generic we an switch to, that will make this "for life" monthly bill less challenging. My vet did caution me that it's not just the actual drug given, but the form it's in, and how it is absorbed by the species in question, but she said to research away...so not even sure if I was able to find a source of Diclazuril (no luck so far), what questions to even ask about comparable dosing and compounding and making sure it is absorbed by a horse. Interestingly, it was originally put forth as an anticoccidial drug for poultry!
Sorry for ramble! Bottomline question, does anyone remember who I am talking about. Thanks all!
I did a quick search, but no luck in jogging my memory.
Yes Fergus, who will be 22 in two weeks, is being treated for EPM for the FIFTH time in our 19.5 years together. This time was the scariest time as it was the biggest presentation of a choke (he is the horse you would NEVER think would be at risk for choke...mellow mellow eater, already eats soaked feed, etc) with 5 vet visits in the course of 6 days, that led us down the neuro rabbit hole and here we are. SO thankful to say he is doing MUCH MUCH better, and that tomorrow will be his last day of a longer stretch of Marquis. But, the vet and I have decided we are going down the path of a preventative use of am EPM treatment drug (Protazil, which is made from Diclazuril) that has a few years of some papers and science behind it as a way to prevent EPM in EPM-negative high risk horses...we both feel like my boy is high risk for sure.
So, question....does anyone remember, or are you, the DDBB'er who mentioned having a horse like mine, who had many bouts with EPM, and who back in the day was put on a daily dose of a drug (I think a drug typically used in conjunction with other drugs) that held off other bouts for years and years? She said as soon as she stopped that drug, her horse would develop EPM within a very short period of time. It was an educated gamble by her vet that worked great for her horse. I feel like she mentioned a drug that started with a a "T" and am wondering if it is the one that is closely related to Diclazuril. And that it wasn't expensive. Unfortunately, Protazil will be very expensive as the protocol is 1/2 dose per day forever.
For now, I am all set to start up with the Protazil on Thursday, but am going to continue to research in case there is something more generic we an switch to, that will make this "for life" monthly bill less challenging. My vet did caution me that it's not just the actual drug given, but the form it's in, and how it is absorbed by the species in question, but she said to research away...so not even sure if I was able to find a source of Diclazuril (no luck so far), what questions to even ask about comparable dosing and compounding and making sure it is absorbed by a horse. Interestingly, it was originally put forth as an anticoccidial drug for poultry!
Sorry for ramble! Bottomline question, does anyone remember who I am talking about. Thanks all!