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Discussion on Progesterone levels
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New Member:
nmcgill
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Posted on Wednesday, Dec 16, 2009 - 5:23 pm:
So I have read the articles and I still have the question: why is there not the ability to establish a base line for progesterone levels. My previous vet tested a mare, that would slip between day 15 and 30, between two cycles to find her "baseline" progesterone level. Based on this being nearly nothing, he decided the next time we bred her she would need to be on Regumate. We relocated and the vet I used here said there is no way to establish a "baseline" and every mare/pregnancy is different. She would test at day five after breeding and that would tell if there is enough because the mare would be producing to maintain a pregnancy but I always thought implant was recognition of pregnancy. Without a baseline, how then can it be decided there is enough progesterone to maintain a pregnancy when that number could be what is a constant?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 - 6:39 am:
Helllo NMcGill,
The problem with finding a baseline level of progesterone is that as long as there has been a detectable level in the pregnant mare, no matter how low it has been, there has not been a measurable increase in the percentages of early embryonic loss (EEL). EEL, which is as high as 25% in some large studies, is a common event in normal healthy mares which is why Regumate seems to work well: when used following a EEL the mare will likely settle.
We do know there that progesterone is important in supporting the first 100 days of pregnancy because complete removal of the ovaries of the pregnant mare in the first 100 days causes EEL which can be prevented with progesterone supplementation.
However the level of progesterone that appears to acceptable is quite a bit lower than "normal" levels if you define the range as that found in 95% (roughly defined as one standard deviation) of normal pregnancies.
DrO
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Member:
marieanh
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 - 11:19 am:
Ok, I know I am a bit thick, but I don't understand Dr. O's last paragraph-how can you have EEL after ovaries are removed? Are the ovaries removed after a pregnancy is established?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 - 6:24 pm:
Hello marie ann,
Yes this was an experiment run over a decade ago to find out what the contribution to pregnancy maintenance the ovaries made.
DrO
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