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  Discussion on EPM and Lymes Disease
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New Member:
whealth

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 18, 2010 - 10:13 pm:

Two years ago my morgan gelding (then 23) was diagnosed with Lyme disease. He responded to treatment ( two rounds of Doxy followed by 5 days of IV antibiotics followed by another round of doxy) and a year after he came down with Lyme he had a negative titer to the disease and was going great. He has been on Phytoquench, an immune system supplement, since the diagnosis.

A year ago he had an episode of choke a day before being transported 22 hours from Vermont to South Carolina. Within a month after arriving he had lost his topline and developed a big pot belly. He was also tripping quite a bit and had fairly stiff front legs. With time (about 5 months) and a higher protein diet, he came back to health but his topline never completely returned) The tripping generally went away and he had enormous energy. but he did take a fall trying to rush back to the barn one day. He landed hard on his right side and was quite lame and not coordinated for a several weeks afterwards.

We tested him for cushings disease (we decided to wait until March to do the test. Local lore said the test shouldn't be done from October to March) and had a moderate positive result - so he is now on 1mg Pergolide/day. After the fall, with a three week course of bute, chiro, accupuncture, massage therapy, magnetic blankets every day and a high protein supplement he came into really good form by the beginning of May. His gates were balanced and fluid. He was the picture of a happy horse.

He was transported back to Vermont this june and within a month he showed front foot lameness which developed into incoordination in his right hind (very little tripping, however), continuing stiff front legs and a loss of muscle mass on the right flank. The vet tested him for EPM and got a positive result. In addition, he was tested for Lyme disease and he has a positive test for that again. So We are treating him with moderate length walks up and down hills, Marquis, Previcox, vitamin e and a magnetic blanket and his spirits are good. After about three weeks of this regimen he seems a little bit more coordinated.

I'm sorry to make this so complicated. There is so much going on in this horse.

My question is this - will we ever be able to treat the Lyme disease recurrence without triggering a relapse of EPM? If so, what would be best - a long course of doxy or a short course of IV antibiotics other than Doxy. When could the Lyme disease treatment start?

Thanks so much for your help. Any other thoughts about further diagnostic tests or treatment would be appreciated.

Best,

Holly
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Aug 19, 2010 - 8:02 am:

Welcome Holly,
You can change your name as it appears at the top of your post in your profile.

You should be aware that the vast majority of horses with a positive titer to Lyme Disease never have clinical signs associated with Borrelia infection. I would reconsider whether you need to "treat the titer". For more on this see HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Lameness » Joint, Bone, Ligament Diseases » Lyme Disease, Borreliosis, in Horses.
DrO
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