Side effects of reserpine?

[eponacelt]

I have a 5yo gelding who was just diagnosed with a high suspensory injury, and prescribed stall rest. The vet suggested reserpine since he does not handle being in a stall particularly well. All things considered, he's been pretty good, although he does pitch small fits when horses go in and out of the barn.

Unfortunately, he's lost a ton of weight in just two weeks. He's usually an air fern, and while we've cut out what little grain he had been getting, he does have good quality timothy and alfalfa/orchard grass mix in front of him 24/7.

But here's the real question: He sweats (despite unseasonably cold temps) and trembles. The sweating isn't all the time, but he is definitely trembling (looks like shivering, but he's not cold) when I'm at the barn. This could be stress related since I tend to be there at the most stressful time of day (when horses are going out), but I wondered whether the sweating and trembling could be a side effect of the reserpine. The vet hadn't heard of it, but I thought I'd throw it out to this group.

Any ideas? Or any ideas to get him to stop trembling the weight off?

[Fharoah]

Here is an example:
http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monographs/reserpine.asp

[LLDM]

It he on an oral dose? If so you could try cutting it back a bit to try and fine a comfortable dose for him.

Great link Fharoah.

Also, maybe some gastrogard/ulcergard will help the weight issue too. Beetpulp is good for weight gain without hyperactivity too.

Hope your boy feels better soon!

SCFarm

[murphyluv]

Reserpine also slows the gut down- make sure you are keeping an eye on not only his feed/water consumption, but also amount and quality of his manure. I'm sure you are watching this- but be aware...

[Ghazzu]

Trembling and sweating are side effects seen with reserpine.
I hadn't heard of reduced gut motility--diarrhea is more common in my experience.

[Watermark Farm]

He sweats (despite unseasonably cold temps) and trembles. The sweating isn't all the time, but he is definitely trembling (looks like shivering, but he's not cold) when I'm at the barn.

My horse was on reserpine and he would sweat and tremble as well; I had to blanket on cool nights. The vet said it is because reserpine lowers blood pressure.

[eponacelt]

Thanks for the replies. None of the online articles I saw mention trembling. He's on an injectable dose, with a step down protocol. We're already stepping down, and I might ask my vet tomorrow whether we should step down more quickly or else eliminate it altogether.

On the bright side, it does seem to take the edge off, and as it has built up in his system, he's been relatively calm. We can handgraze and handwalk without dramatic histrionics, which is good.