4/6 Ivy AMPS 171, +3 56 L, +6 129, +9 143, Pmps 110, +3.25 147 Libre, T4 higher labs :(

[Staci & Ivy]

4/5/25
Amps 171 Libre, +3 56 Libre

Off to a fast start today. Ivy began her descent pretty quickly by +2 this morning.

I heard back from the doctor late yesterday about her labs from Tuesday, the T4 went up to 7.7 so that’s the worst part, (everything else looked OK).
Pancreas seems to have healed after pancreatitis, back to same values as before.

A month ago T4 was 4.7 and then the pancreatitis hit.

He wants me to raise the methimazole to 5 mg both morning and night (I was giving 2.5 mg at night and 5 mg in the morning).

Usually within a few days her BG numbers seem to go lower when I increase her dose of Methimazole, and true to form, this morning she is showing me that is the case.
It seems as her body adjusts to higher doses of thyroid medication, her insulin needs drop drastically.

I’m so sad.
I keep hoping we can regulate her thyroid but that’s not happening to date. So very sad.

So far today I am feeding her higher medium to higher (her lamb diet) carbs to keep her coasting and not completely tanking.
Depending on how this cycle goes, I may give her a dose reduction tonight because I don’t want to chase her constantly by manipulating her cycle with constant food day and night, since I know that is all seems to effect her insulin needs.

Hope everyone has a boring and safe day

 

[Briana + Binx]

Sorry to hear her T4 went up and her hyperthyroidism isn't easy to regulate Hope she surfs safely today and the new dosing of methimazole doesn't take her too far down

Curious if you ever considered the radioactive iodine treatment for her thyroid? As I'm looking into options for if/when Binx is diagnosed with hyperthyroid, it's something I've seen others speak about. ECID and it's also a bit of a scary one, so not sure about it.

 

[Helen + Noogi]

So sorry about the bad news about Ivy's T4 numbers. Hope the increase in meds helps get her thyroid better regulated, but I understand how complicated it makes treating the FD. No-one knows her better than you and I know you'll do your best to get the balance right and to keep her as well as possible. I imagine it is exhausting tho. Big hugs to you Staci as you figure this all out

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Sorry to hear her T4 went up and her hyperthyroidism isn't easy to regulate Hope she surfs safely today and the new dosing of methimazole doesn't take her too far down

Curious if you ever considered the radioactive iodine treatment for her thyroid? As I'm looking into options for if/when Binx is diagnosed with hyperthyroid, it's something I've seen others speak about. ECID and it's also a bit of a scary one, so not sure about it.

Hi Briana, I certainly hope that Binx does not end up with hyperthyroid.
Yes, I have considered the I 131 treatment and I’ve had one facility turn me down, which is where I use their internal medicine department.

I believe it’s because they know Ivy‘s temperament which is impossible to handle.
Plus they felt that because she is already diabetic, that would be a complication because they would need to handle her to give her insulin shots.

The other difficulty would be that I can’t be sure that she would eat on her own as I have to coax her to eat at home
So of course there is the if she wouldn’t eat, how would they give insulin, if they would even do that.

They’re certainly not going to be hands-on with her after the 131 treatment.
So I think they look at it as they want a cat that will sort of be able to be there on their own and survive without hands-on management. Plus, of course you add again Ivy’s fractious nature and that’s another complication. That’s a big one.
She’s very complex and she makes things harder than they should be, but that’s just who she is. It breaks my heart because I would love to have this treatment done, but I really don’t know that she would be OK at a facility for several days on her own

 

[Staci & Ivy]

So sorry about the bad news about Ivy's T4 numbers. Hope the increase in meds helps get her thyroid better regulated, but I understand how complicated it makes treating the FD. No-one knows her better than you and I know you'll do your best to get the balance right and to keep her as well as possible. I imagine it is exhausting tho. Big hugs to you Staci as you figure this all out

Thanks, Helen. It’s very complicated and she’s such a difficult patient

 

[Briana + Binx]

Hi Briana, I certainly hope that Binx does not end up with hyperthyroid.
Yes, I have considered the I 131 treatment and I’ve had one facility turn me down, which is where I use their internal medicine department.

I believe it’s because they know Ivy‘s temperament which is impossible to handle.
Plus they felt that because she is already diabetic, that would be a complication because they would need to handle her to give her insulin shots.

The other difficulty would be that I can’t be sure that she would eat on her own as I have to coax her to eat at home
So of course there is the if she wouldn’t eat, how would they give insulin, if they would even do that.

They’re certainly not going to be hands-on with her after the 131 treatment.
So I think they look at it as they want a cat that will sort of be able to be there on their own and survive without hands-on management. Plus, of course you add again Ivy’s fracture nature and that’s another complication. That’s a big one.
She’s very complex and she makes things harder than they should be, but that’s just who she is. It breaks my heart because I would love to have this treatment done, but I really don’t know that she would be OK at a facility for several days on her own

Ugh, I'm sorry Staci That certainly does make things more complicated and that's the difficult part, having them be on their own for so long when they need such attention with diabetes management and like you said, add on top of that she needs special care from you. It's a very tricky position and in these circumstances, the risk is a lot when you know you can try to manage her thyroid yourself at home. Thanks for sharing all of that, I'm sure it's not easy detailing the difficulty of the decision you've been faced with. Ivy is very lucky to have such a great mom, who's dedicated to her safety and care like you

 

[Marielle]

Staci, It's interesting how her bg goes down as the thyroid meds are increased. Is this a long-term effect, or just short term when you begin increasing the Methimazole? Good luck on the decision to decrease tonight.

@Briana + Binx one of my previous cats had thyroid disease and we had the ablation done on him, and it worked well. But he wasn't a diabetic, and I suspect that greatly complicates the situation.

 

[Fistuk & Shelly]

Oh Ivy. I'm sorry to hear this news and it saddens me that you're sad
I know how much you care for Ivy and I can imagine the lab results were unwelcome news to say the least.
You're doing such a great job taking care of her.
Knowing you, I'm sure you'll find a way to handle this in the best way possible.
I'm sending you lots of love and healing vines

 

[Brianna & Xander]

Oh Staci, I'm so sorry that the T4 results weren't good news. FD is already so much to handle and stuggling to get her thyroid under control has to be exponentially stressful for you. I hope the med increase helps gently enough to not throw everything else out of whack.

I'm sure you know that I can relate to having a complex kitty where a lot of the things that are no big deal to most of the cats here are 10x more difficult or altogether impossible for you. It's so disheartening when it feels like literally nothing can just be easy for a change.

Sending you and Ivy lots of hugs and healing vines. You're such an incredible Mom to her and I'm sure she knows it too!

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Ugh, I'm sorry Staci That certainly does make things more complicated and that's the difficult part, having them be on their own for so long when they need such attention with diabetes management and like you said, add on top of that she needs special care from you. It's a very tricky position and in these circumstances, the risk is a lot when you know you can try to manage her thyroid yourself at home. Thanks for sharing all of that, I'm sure it's not easy detailing the difficulty of the decision you've been faced with. Ivy is very lucky to have such a great mom, who's dedicated to her safety and care like you

Thank you, Briana

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Staci, It's interesting how her bg goes down as the thyroid meds are increased. Is this a long-term effect, or just short term when you begin increasing the Methimazole? Good luck on the decision to decrease tonight.

@Briana + Binx one of my previous cats had thyroid disease and we had the ablation done on him, and it worked well. But he wasn't a diabetic, and I suspect that greatly complicates the situation.

It seems to last a bit, but as I see her BG begin to climb again after the drop, I will slowly take her dose back up again.
Sometimes it seems to take a few weeks to stabilize.
So many factors involved.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Oh Ivy. I'm sorry to hear this news and it saddens me that you're sad
I know how much you care for Ivy and I can imagine the lab results were unwelcome news to say the least.
You're doing such a great job taking care of her.
Knowing you, I'm sure you'll find a way to handle this in the best way possible.
I'm sending you lots of love and healing vines

Thank you, Shelly, we appreciate the love

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Oh Staci, I'm so sorry that the T4 results weren't good news. FD is already so much to handle and stuggling to get her thyroid under control has to be exponentially stressful for you. I hope the med increase helps gently enough to not throw everything else out of whack.

I'm sure you know that I can relate to having a complex kitty where a lot of the things that are no big deal to most of the cats here are 10x more difficult or altogether impossible for you. It's so disheartening when it feels like literally nothing can just be easy for a change.

Sending you and Ivy lots of hugs and healing vines. You're such an incredible Mom to her and I'm sure she knows it too!

I know you understand, Brianna. Having a complicated cat makes this all much harder

 

[Briana + Binx]

@Briana + Binx one of my previous cats had thyroid disease and we had the ablation done on him, and it worked well. But he wasn't a diabetic, and I suspect that greatly complicates the situation.

Thanks for sharing, Mary! Nice to hear a success story I'm guessing the diabetes would complicate things, would definitely want to talk that through and research. I've seen some posts here of from with FD and that got the treatment, so I'm glad to have those resources.

 

[Mikanmama (Mikan GA)]

Oh Staci, I am so sorry to hear that Ivy's T4 went up.
I wonder, though if the acute pancreatitis episode aggravated her hyperthyroidism.
This must be so hard for you - you are such a dedicated mom for Ivy and have done everything you could and MORE.
Sending you hugs and love - hang in there.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Oh Staci, I am so sorry to hear that Ivy's T4 went up.
I wonder, though if the acute pancreatitis episode aggravated her hyperthyroidism.
This must be so hard for you - you are such a dedicated mom for Ivy and have done everything you could and MORE.
Sending you hugs and love - hang in there.

Thank you, Kit
It’s been such a tough time lately. I just hope she stays feeling well

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Gave a dose decrease to 2.75 units. And added 2 tsp 25% lamb to her 6% meal.
Hoping to head off a night of diving. Who knows how this will all play out against the increased Methimazole dose.

 

[Briana + Binx]

Gave a dose decrease to 2.75 units. And added 2 tsp 25% lamb to her 6% meal.
Hoping to head off a night of diving. Who knows how this will all play out against the increased Methimazole dose.

Good luck tonight, Staci! Hope the extra carbs will keep her surfing well and you can get some rest

 

[Kat & Trixie]

Sending happy thoughts to you Staci Hope Ivy surfs safely.

 

[carfurby (GA)]

 

[Madeline528]

Oh, Staci I am so sorry that Ivy's T4 levels went up. I am sad to hear this too. Sending hugs to you both.
I hope the increase in medication brings her levels down. I am glad her pancreatitis levels have gone back to before the flare up. Wishing you both have a calm relaxing night and safe surf.

 

[bluesunshine]

Much love, Staci. Sorry the news wasn't great. You are doing amazing for her

 

[kitten68]

.... you and your kitty doing your best.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi Staci , I'm sorry to hear about the T4 results, you being sad makes me sad also. Hopefully giving the 5 mg of the Methimazole in the AM and PM will bring it down .
Good luck with the increase

 

[Jack & Mopem'sMom]

ohhh the T4 went up...I'm so, so sorry. She is such a tough cookie to manage; I'm sending you love and hugs, and praying the increased methimazole helps her. Send me a PM if you need me, I don't always get back to the board