Felimazole

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vikinggirl34

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Yeah....I was kind of surprised being what has been posted here on the forum. Again, I would prefer to stay with just the food. It seems less risky?? No side effects.
 
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vikinggirl34

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I just signed up and submitted to join the feline hyperthyroid group... not confirmed yet..
 

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Yeah....I was kind of surprised being what has been posted here on the forum. Again, I would prefer to stay with just the food. It seems less risky?? No side effects.
As long as you can get him to eat the food, stay with it, and see how it is working for him when he is re-tested.
I just signed up and submitted to join the feline hyperthyroid group... not confirmed yet..
Good for you! It won't take too long to get confirmed. The people in the forum are not vets but, combined, they have decades of first hand experience and most of them have spent enormous amounts of time gathering data for the benefit of their own cats.

Keep us posted. Would love to hear what they tell you!
 
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vikinggirl34

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I just had a chance to look for evidence AGAINST both....just for my own sake and found this: (link to the article included below) ** I have yet to post to the hyperthyroid group....been a very busy day. The one line implies "one or the other" about transitioning to the food.

In a study of 150 cats, the effectiveness of hyperthyroidism control was 100%.

If dietary therapy is to maintain control, cats must eat nothing else. Infrequent ingestion of small quantities of other food sources may not cause problems, but overall compliance must be extremely good. If you have other cats in your household with normal thyroid glands, Hill’s current 1-year-old study shows y/d to be safe for all cats. The study is ongoing, and will culminate at a 3-year point.

“My cat is already taking Felimazole for hyperthyroidism. How can I transition her to Prescription Diet y/d?” Your pet’s doctor will lead you through the process. Hill’s has given him recommendations for reducing Felimazole dosage as your cat transitions to y/d therapy.

Feline Hyperthyroidism Treated With y/d Diet - MyPetsDoctor.com
 

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I just had a chance to look for evidence AGAINST both....just for my own sake and found this:
There are a ton of data implying 'one or the other'. I have yet to find any information that specifically states it. It would seem it must be assumed that most people know you can't do two treatments at the same time? Every time I see treatment recommendations, they list 4 independently - diet, medical therapy, surgery, OR radioiodine treatment.

As you learn more information over time, you will find that if you don't either remove the thyroid or use the I 131 treatment to eradicate the thyroid overgrowth/hormone over-production, diet or medical treatment only attempts to manage the hormones involved, and therefore cannot be considered 100% effective. The tumor on the thyroid continues to grow and with growth there is increased hormone production. For medical therapy, that means increasing the med dosage as needed. I am not sure how that applies to dietary therapy. You can research that aspect while Janie continues to eat the thyroid food!!!

Also, as you learn more, you will find that diet therapy foods are generally lower in protein which are essential to an aging cat in order to help reduce muscle mass loss. But, right now the good thing is that she will eat this diet food, and while she does you have some 'breathing room' to do more research.
 
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vikinggirl34

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Quick update on Janie:

Bloodwork recheck:

Thyroid levels down to 6.0 from 8.8

Acceptable range: 0.8 - 4.7 so the vet advised to increase the Felimazole to 2.5 mg twice a day ** discontinue y/d diet – retest in 30 days.

She is drinking and peeing less. Her temperament is sweet as usual 😊
 

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Thyroid levels down to 6.0 from 8.8. Acceptable range: 0.8 - 4.7 so the vet advised to increase the Felimazole to 2.5 mg twice a day ** discontinue y/d diet – retest in 30 days.
So, has Janie been on both the y/d food and Felimazole? If she was only eating the food and not taking any Felimazole, you might want to see what the Hyperthyroid forum that you joined thinks about moving right to 2.5 mg twice a day. I think I mentioned it before, but it seems the 'standard' starting dose is 1.25mg twice a day, as the thinking is it is better to start low and increase than to start too high. I am also a bit surprised that your vet wants to re-check in just 30 days after starting Felimazole. That amount of time is likely not going to be long enough to determine if the dosage is appropriate. But, again, you might want to ask the H-T forum about that as well.

Glad she is doing well!
 
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vikinggirl34

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She has been on 2.5 mg Felimazole one per day in the morning and as far as the y/d diet is concerned...it's been hit and miss if she'll eat it. She really took to it at first but as cats do....they get finicky so I fed her the usual Friskies and Fancy feast (y/d here and there when she would eat it) I did let them know that at the appointment on Saturday. I know you've mentioned and I've read about giving Felimazole 2 x a day but the vet assured me (at that time) to give the 2.5 mg ONCE per day. And as I mentioned, now it will be 2.5 mg TWICE per day. plus removing any y/d food that she is getting. I thought the recheck should be in a few months but she said 30 days for the bloodwork recheck to see how she is doing on the 5 mg (2.5 2x per day) *** btw there was one thing in the bloodwork that was off that the vet mentioned -- her lymphocytes were high -- 7994 -- acceptable range is: 850 -5850. Not sure if that is from the Felimazole? Lymphocytes were fine last time in October.
 
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Thanks for the clarification.

Please ask your vet, the H-T forum, or read up on the side effects/adverse reactions to look for if the new dosage is too high. It can cause hypothyroidism, but that can usually be reversed once the dosage is lowered. I am not sure if 30 days is enough time to cause that effect, but it is best that you are aware of what to look for!! I believe the most common signs would be diarrhea/vomiting/nausea/loss of appetite. If too high of a dose is used, it can also create an allergic type of an effect causing the med to be discontinued permanently.

I hope this new dosage amount and regimen work out for Janie and you!
 
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vikinggirl34

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Hello - So far, Janie is handling the new dosage (2.5 mg 2 x a day) well. Her appetite was off for only a couple of days but now is normal. All is well. As far as the follow-up bloodwork she had done a couple of weeks ago, it did NOT include any liver or kidney function. I call the vet and they said that it wasn't needed. I thought it WAS being that Felimazole can affect the liver and possibly unmask any hidden kidney disease that hyperthyroidism can hide? Any thoughts? I will post to the HT forum also. :)
 

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How long has Janie been on the new dosage for HT? From what I experienced they did a T4 check on Feeby after having been on Felimazole for about 3 weeks - but they also did the Chemistry panel as well. That is something that should be done at least once a year regardless. If you don't have numbers to compare, how do you know what values have changed? I hope before all this started there was a Chemistry Panel done because that is what should be done with an older cat.

Perhaps you can clarify with your vet about the next T4 check, which really should be done about 4 weeks after the first one - maybe they will do the full Chemistry Profile then. If not, I would ask for it anyway.
 
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Yes, they did a chemistry panel BEFORE she started the Felimazole. They did just the CBC and T4 for the first-month follow-up. She has been on the new, higher dose (2.5 mg 2 x day) for 2 weeks now. Since I last posted on Tuesday, her appetite has been off, and has been vomiting a bit. I tried phoning the vet but they must have gone home early for the holiday.
 

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Check with the H-T forum and see what they say. I am still wondering if the dosage is too high, which can cause vomiting, as well as inappetence. It might have just taken this long for the side effects to have manifested themselves. The thing is the dosage was doubled instead of doing a more gradual elevation, so might be just too much too quickly.

I know her last T4 test didn't bring her level down into range, but it isn't always the best approach to get it down immediately. I think vets are always in a rush to get it down as fast as possible, and I am not so sure that is really necessary. A cat's body has to have time to get used the drugs too.

You are giving it to her with food, right? That also helps to reduce the chances of stomach upset.
 
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I agree with everything you just said Feeby. I will post to the HT group. I am going to skip tonight's meds just to give her system a break and start tomorrow with 2.5 mg and then 1.25 mg dose for a daily total of 3.75 until I can get a hold of the vet. I need to have her eating enough. She has barely been picking at food the past few days. I have offered her every flavor of food she has and also unseasoned, fresh chicken.... won't eat that either. She has eaten a few treats today, and very little wet food, no dry food.

And yes, She gets her pill in a Greenie's pill pod at mealtime.
 
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Good idea. I forgot about trying that. It's been many years since I've had a geriatric, sick cat on my hands. My last fur baby died in 2013 at the age of 17 (almost 17). :sniffle::sigh:
 
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Success :D I skipped the evening 6 pm dose of Felimazole. She had been sleeping on the couch the past couple of hours. I brought her a fresh bowl of newly-opened Sea Captin's Choice (stinkiest food she eats) and voila! - she ate a fairly large portion. Thank God :D At least I'll feel a little better when I got to bed here shortly....no ringing in the new year for me. Somehow the new year comes whether I stay up or not. lol :celebrate:
 
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Update on Janie: Just had follow-up bloodwork again on Dec 15th. Her T4 was good at 1.8 (acceptable range: 0.8 to 4.7) - Vet said to just dose 2.5 mg daily. She gained a few ounces. She has been pretty good. I did get some baby food that has come in handy at times 😘
 
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