My Little Girl Just Got Diagnosed With Hyperthyroidsm..

[sweetblackpaws]

I just wondered how your cats have tolerated the medicine for this? I trust my vet and I am very glad we now know the reason for her weight loss. I just hope she can tolerate the pills. She is young - only about 8.5 years old.

 

[verna davies]

One of my cats had hyperthyroidism at the age of 15. I didnt consider any other form of treatment other than pills because of her age but it might be worth you looking into alternatives as your cat is not old. However, my cat did really well on the pills, had to take her for blood tests every 6 months and over time the strength of the pills was increased but didnt have a problem. Please let us know how you get on.

 

[sivyaleah]

My elderly cat (17-1/2) was just diagnosed and put on 1/4 pill of methimazole once a day. A conservative dosage as his thyroid level wasn't very high yet, but was elevated combined with other underlying illnesses (chronic kidney disease the main one). It's been 3 weeks, so far, so good. No side effects at all. Pill easy enough to hide in a small treat before his breakfast.
He isn't a candidate for other treatments due to his age and health, however, if he were younger I'd would have considered the radiation treatment since it would be over and done with.
Being as your girl is so young still, you may want to consider other alternative treatments. I seem to recall most vets will start a cat out on the medication first, regardless, as HT can mask other underlying illnesses and once the hormone is leveled out, those diseases may be revealed (kidney disease especially) so it is a good start.
Let us know how it goes!

 

[sweetblackpaws]

The surgery or RA iodine treatments the vet mentioned probably are not an option due to cost, unless she could not tolerate the pills, then I would consider it, (care credit?) but yesterday she did great on her meds. She gets 1/2 a pill twice a day. The vet said she might get "facial twitching", which she did not get, at least not yet! I feel hopeful.

Yes, she did mention how the HY can hide other illnesses such as kidney disease, so we'll see what happens as far as that.

 

[verna davies]

I hope the pills work out for her and she takes them easily. Please keep us updated.

 

[carebearbaby1]

They make a transdermal Methimazole that you rub inside their ears. It's much easier than giving a pill twice daily.

 

[molly92]

8 is really young, so I would definitely start looking into and thinking about the radioactive iodine treatment. Methimazole is not a cure and hyperthroidism only gets worse over time. Radioiodine will completely cure it, adverse effects are very rare and easy to manage, and it would likely be less expensive over time. If you don't have the funds right now you obviously can't now, but it's definitely something to mull over in the back of your mind.

Do not let anyone talk you into surgery. It's pretty equivalent in price to radioiodine, but it's not nearly as successful and has serious and probable risks. Radioiodine is a simple injection-the vet did put my cat under anesthesia for 2 minutes because it stings going in (my cat is 16 but the vet reassured me that that amount of that time under was very low risk, and she was fine). The hyperactive part of the thyroid sucks up the iodine and dies off cleanly, whereas surgery is messy and less precise.

Methimazole has side effects for some cats, others not. My cat didn't have any side effects that I noticed, but she was on a low dose and only for a short time, so I don't have a great feel for that. Vets that I've talked to seem to be mixed about the transdermal methimazole that you rub in the ears-it's usually easier for the cat but it also doesn't work as well.

Radioiodine was the clear choice for me once I had the resources. The idea of a complete cure really appealed to me. And even though my cat is 16, she's a fighter when it comes to adversity! I think she would have chosen it if she could make the decision. She only had the treatment a week and a half ago so I can't report anything on that front yet!

 

[sweetblackpaws]

So far, she is doing great on the medicine. She gained a pound! Yeah, the vet did mention the ear gel, but she has something going on with her ear, so we wanted to try the pills first.

So far so good.

I will keep RI treatment in the back of my mind, but right now I would rather stick with this more affordable option. But food for thought down the road....