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Post by deheresmint on Apr 12, 2011 10:55:41 GMT -5
I'm considering giving Tucker ulcer medication. He has not been diagnosed, but people are telling me it's good to go ahead and treat him since 90% of OTTB's have ulcers. Wow! He's girthy and very sensitive on his sides and underbelly. It was something I was wondering about. Lot's of different treatment options out there. What are people having good results with? What kind of experiences are TB owner's having with ulcers? Thx
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Post by samantha on Apr 12, 2011 11:42:14 GMT -5
ULCERGARD! To my knowledge, the best/only way to treat ulcers is with Gastrogard/Ulcergard (same product). You can use ranitidine but it needs to be given 3x daily I believe.
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Post by jenarby on Apr 12, 2011 12:46:12 GMT -5
Gastrogard is the only product that heals ulcers (unless you can put him out on lush pasture for several months). Don't bother with the generic either. It really does NOT work as good. Ranitidine/Cimetidine only block stomach acids. They make the horse feel better as they eat (helping put weight on) but do not actually heal the ulcers.
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Post by TeachU2Ride on Apr 12, 2011 12:48:14 GMT -5
Gastrogard is the only product that heals ulcers (unless you can put him out on lush pasture for several months). Don't bother with the generic either. It really does NOT work as good. Ranitidine/Cimetidine only block stomach acids. They make the horse feel better as they eat (helping put weight on) but do not actually heal the ulcers. This. |
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Post by hfhopper on Apr 12, 2011 13:08:38 GMT -5
Yep, Gastrogard is really the only thing that actually works. Trust me, I tried everything else for my previous OTTB and, while I got some relief for symptoms, the only thing that took care of the real ulcer issue was 30 days of Gastrogard.
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Post by animaldoc on Apr 12, 2011 18:36:43 GMT -5
Well.....I have had 2 "girthy" OTTBs that I know DID not have ulcers - since they were scoped...sometimes they are just girthy (fleece girth covers have helped that for me).
Are there any other signs of ulcers? Gastroguard is a little pricey (and the generic is DEFINITELY not as good), so my preference is to actually know what I'm treating before I give it...
I have seen the 90% paper, but I've also seen currently racing TBs that don't have ulcers, so I'm not so quick to put everything on Gastroguard.....
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Post by deheresmint on Apr 12, 2011 21:10:47 GMT -5
Gastroguard is definitely beyond our means at the moment. 1K per month. Yikes!
ad-he is girthy and sensitive around the belly and sides. When I attempt to do a belly lift he flinches and kicks out with his hind (defensively, but not with pinned ears) I thought maybe treat the symptoms for a month and see if he stops doing it, then we know it's probably and ulcer. We are doing alot of bodywork with the horse and taking care with him.
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Post by Einstein on Apr 13, 2011 7:49:57 GMT -5
I'd scope him before putting him on GastroGard, but if he has ulcers, no point in treating with anything else, you;ll just be throwing more money at the issue without treating it. If he does have ulcers then yup, it's GG. Nothing else works. I had a horse I bought (unknowingly) years ago with severe gastric ulcers. He had to go to the ICU the day after I got him, and was there for a while, once home was on gastrogard for 3 months. Went on to be a very sucessful Prelim horse for me, and is now retired in my field. The 3 months of GG were well worth it, even though I couldn't afford it at the time, he needed it, so he got it. The before and after pictures of him are amazing to.
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Post by niaru on Apr 13, 2011 17:37:55 GMT -5
You could try treating him with Ulcergard (Omeprazole, just like GastroGuard but no vet prescription needed) for 4-5 days or so and see if his behavior/ attitude improves. THEN you'll know if he has ulcers. The problem with scoping (according to my vet) is that it does not necessarily detect ulcers that are further down the gastrointestinal tract. Also, check this thread on COTH. Lots of info on Omeprazole granules from that are much cheaper than either GG or UG (about $150 or $200 a month as opposed to $900 for GG). www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=293029Good luck. |
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Post by animaldoc on Apr 16, 2011 8:21:14 GMT -5
You could try treating him with Ulcergard (Omeprazole, just like GastroGuard but no vet prescription needed) for 4-5 days or so and see if his behavior/ attitude improves. THEN you'll know if he has ulcers. The problem with scoping (according to my vet) is that it does not necessarily detect ulcers that are further down the gastrointestinal tract. Just to clarify - Ulcerguard is omeprazole, but is given at a lower dose as a preventive. It doesn't treat gastric ulcers that are present. And, while it's true that scoping the stomach doesn't reveal ulcers further down in the GI tract (like in the colon for example), Gastroguard doesn't treat those ulcers anyway - only gastric ulcers. Different medications/management recommedations are used for colonic ulcers. |
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Post by niaru on Apr 16, 2011 11:07:19 GMT -5
Just to clarify - Ulcerguard is omeprazole, but is given at a lower dose as a preventive. It doesn't treat gastric ulcers that are present. I beg to differ, as a whole tube of Ulcerguard = a whole tube of Gastrogard, both have 2.28 g Omeprazole. So if you give the whole tube of Ulcerguard, it should treat ulcers, no? Gastroguard doesn't treat those ulcers anyway - only gastric ulcers. Different medications/management recommedations are used for colonic ulcers. That is interesting. So, which medications treat colonic ulcers? |
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Post by animaldoc on Apr 16, 2011 20:17:35 GMT -5
So - label instructions for Ulcerguard: www.ulcergard.com/label.shtmland label instructions for Gastroguard: gastrogard.us.merial.com/labeled_use.shtmlif you give these medications outside how they are labelled, they have not been studied in that way, so it is an extralabel use. Do vets use medications in an extralabel manner all the time? Yes. (For instance, many of the medications that we commonly use are NOT labelled for use in cats, but we use them in that species in an extralabel manner every day.) So, if you would like to use Ulcerguard in an extralabel manner, that is up to you, but for TREATMENT of gastric ulcers, I would recommend using Gastroguard in the manner in which it has been approved by the FDA since I have seen horses on other treatments who have not gotten better at the same rate that horses on the approved treatment have. Hopefully someone will publish that data soon, since this is one of those things that is "known" by those actually treating horses, but hasn't been "proven" by researchers. Colonic ulcers would be treated with misoprostol (which is $$$) and increases PGE2 in the colon which is protective. Corn oil (up to 1/4 c. BID works as well, and making sure the horse is getting enough roughage is important too. |
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Post by HokieThea on Apr 18, 2011 16:53:51 GMT -5
I'm curious- do mild ulcers eventually heal on their own, with diet and schedule changes? I have suspected that Zak has mild ulcers (has not been tested or scoped). I started him on a daily GUT supplement (vet-approved) to coat and sooth his stomach, and I have started giving him a 3rd meal.
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Post by animaldoc on Apr 19, 2011 13:31:58 GMT -5
Yep - I think that mild ulcers would likely heal on their own if a horse was taken from a higher stress environment to a lower one and diet changes were instituted....
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