If anyone has experience with FORL and hyperthyroidism, please let me hear from you. I really need some advice. I will try to make some sense of this story. But I'm a little skakey here because one of my cats, Karma, threw up blood anout 3 hours ago. The vet's off had already closed. He's had a bit of diarrhea since.
He's on methimazole. He's been on it since a very sudden weight loss in January last year. He never had any symptoms of hyperthyroidism. He tended to be plump, and he was playful when I engaged him; but certainly not hyperactive at all. But the day we brought him in, his T4 was sky high. BUT, he was was also dehydrated and needed a full bag of fluids. I don't know a lot about cats. But I bred 11 generations of IFC and AKC champion dogs. It's been my experience that you don't use tests done on a dehydrated animal because the blood is overly concentrated.
The vet thought he must have been suffering for a long time and would not believe my husband and I when we told him the illness and weight loss really was sudden. We showed him that his annual physical had only been 4 months prior to that and he was in great shape. I also kept trying to show the vet there was something painful going on in his mouth or throat. He couldn't even drink water normally. I demonstrated all the weird motions he was doing. I showed the vet where I could see how the profile of his face had changed. I know that sounds weird, but after you spend 30 years observing conformation you just notice that sort of thing. Anyway, he wrote me off as a kook. He put Karma on 10 mg methimazole twice a day.
He did not get any better. We waited the 3 weeks to get his thyroid test done. When we showed up for our appointment, they wouldn't do the test. It wasn't the right time interval after his last dose. Well, since we were there, I insisted the vet examine his mouth. He did, and said he had a bad case of gingivitis but nothing else. I could see that his gums were badly inflamed and bloody, which they had never been before. We made an appointment to get his teeth cleaned and have his thyroid tested.
When they put him under to do the cleaning, they found a broken tooth! One of his canines was crumbled inside the gum and split down to the tip. They removed it, but did not do any diagnostic tests or refer us to someone who could. He had been on methimazole 20 mg for 2 months. His thyroid level was ZERO - undetectable. Instead of telling us to take him off the drug, the vet said to cut the dose in half. From what I understand, that was still a pretty high dose.
So, after watching this poor cat lay around cold, skinny, and too weak to get up, my hubby and I took it upon ourselves to take him off the drug until he felt stronger, then reintroduced a tiny dose for a few months. Once he started eating and drinking again, I kept close watch. It's obvious his mouth and possibly throat are still painful. He has a lot of trouble eating. He'll even take a swipe at me if I touch his face at certain times, which is very stark difference from the cat who wanted me to rub his cheeks all the time. I suspect he has FORLs. I think that was what was wrong with him all along, but I'd like get the input of a cat person. Our vet has never mentioned it. Karma just had a check-up. The only comment he made about Karma's mouth was that he had more tartar build up already. Karma's thyroid level was 5. My hubby explained to the vet that he had been too afraid to give Karma the dose of meds as prescribed because he almost died. Then the vet fussed about it, told him what we were giving him was not even a therapeutic dose that would have any effect, and that we had to at least double it immediately. We were supposed to keep him on that and bring him back in 6 weeks for another test. His appointment is on the 4th.
Well, in addition to the fact that he can't chew, has trouble drinking, and is in constant pain, now that the med has built up in his system again he's lost appetite. He's vomiting daily. He doesn't want to move or play at all. Last night he stopped eating completely. Today he started throwing up water all day long. This evening he threw up fresh blood. Does anyone want to help me out here? I'd really like to know what you think might be wrong with him if you have some experience with these conditions.
He's on methimazole. He's been on it since a very sudden weight loss in January last year. He never had any symptoms of hyperthyroidism. He tended to be plump, and he was playful when I engaged him; but certainly not hyperactive at all. But the day we brought him in, his T4 was sky high. BUT, he was was also dehydrated and needed a full bag of fluids. I don't know a lot about cats. But I bred 11 generations of IFC and AKC champion dogs. It's been my experience that you don't use tests done on a dehydrated animal because the blood is overly concentrated.
The vet thought he must have been suffering for a long time and would not believe my husband and I when we told him the illness and weight loss really was sudden. We showed him that his annual physical had only been 4 months prior to that and he was in great shape. I also kept trying to show the vet there was something painful going on in his mouth or throat. He couldn't even drink water normally. I demonstrated all the weird motions he was doing. I showed the vet where I could see how the profile of his face had changed. I know that sounds weird, but after you spend 30 years observing conformation you just notice that sort of thing. Anyway, he wrote me off as a kook. He put Karma on 10 mg methimazole twice a day.
He did not get any better. We waited the 3 weeks to get his thyroid test done. When we showed up for our appointment, they wouldn't do the test. It wasn't the right time interval after his last dose. Well, since we were there, I insisted the vet examine his mouth. He did, and said he had a bad case of gingivitis but nothing else. I could see that his gums were badly inflamed and bloody, which they had never been before. We made an appointment to get his teeth cleaned and have his thyroid tested.
When they put him under to do the cleaning, they found a broken tooth! One of his canines was crumbled inside the gum and split down to the tip. They removed it, but did not do any diagnostic tests or refer us to someone who could. He had been on methimazole 20 mg for 2 months. His thyroid level was ZERO - undetectable. Instead of telling us to take him off the drug, the vet said to cut the dose in half. From what I understand, that was still a pretty high dose.
So, after watching this poor cat lay around cold, skinny, and too weak to get up, my hubby and I took it upon ourselves to take him off the drug until he felt stronger, then reintroduced a tiny dose for a few months. Once he started eating and drinking again, I kept close watch. It's obvious his mouth and possibly throat are still painful. He has a lot of trouble eating. He'll even take a swipe at me if I touch his face at certain times, which is very stark difference from the cat who wanted me to rub his cheeks all the time. I suspect he has FORLs. I think that was what was wrong with him all along, but I'd like get the input of a cat person. Our vet has never mentioned it. Karma just had a check-up. The only comment he made about Karma's mouth was that he had more tartar build up already. Karma's thyroid level was 5. My hubby explained to the vet that he had been too afraid to give Karma the dose of meds as prescribed because he almost died. Then the vet fussed about it, told him what we were giving him was not even a therapeutic dose that would have any effect, and that we had to at least double it immediately. We were supposed to keep him on that and bring him back in 6 weeks for another test. His appointment is on the 4th.
Well, in addition to the fact that he can't chew, has trouble drinking, and is in constant pain, now that the med has built up in his system again he's lost appetite. He's vomiting daily. He doesn't want to move or play at all. Last night he stopped eating completely. Today he started throwing up water all day long. This evening he threw up fresh blood. Does anyone want to help me out here? I'd really like to know what you think might be wrong with him if you have some experience with these conditions.
