My baby girl, BJ (Baby Jr) is having thyroid issues

[ceil99]

nailbite_smile I have suspected it for a couple weeks. She is eating EVERYTHING in site, losing weight, is hyper, is vocal and has a very high heart rate.

Blood tests confirmed it yesterday. Vet said normal thyroid ranges are 1.0 - 4.0 and she was at 17!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is going to put her on Tapazole today. I know there are many kitties on here using this drug and I know nothing about it.

What is a good starting dose? How often? What are side effects?

She is going to be 16 at the end of this month and she weighed about 6.5 lbs at the vet's office.

Any help would be appreciated from all of you experts here that have dealt with this or are currently dealing with this.

Thanks

 

[Jill and Remi]

Glad you got her checked and are starting meds. We don't do the pills anymore- she had the radio-iodine treatment. But what I do remember is to start at a low dose and give it bid, similar to insulin. You will have to have follow up blood work to see when you have her on the right dose. I know you will do great. And you might have to stock up on pill pockets for the meds.

 

[Jayne & Sweety]

Hi Ceil,
My cat is a hyperT kitty too, and is on Methiamazole, the generic form of Tapazole. That's probably what you will get too.
I went to the HyperT group on Yahoo for lots of info and lots of experienced cat owners. It was suggested to start low, even though Sweety's level was high also. The T4 level being high doesn't necassarily mean you will be using a high dose. It just depends on how you cat reacts to the meds. I started out very low and gradually got it up to 5mg/day. (2.5mg 2x/day). This was my choice to do it slowly ( after getting info from the Yahoo site)and have her tested every month to find the dose she needed. I use the liquid form since Sweety doesn't pill well. Many cats here do use the pill and the pill pockets very well.
The worst side affect I have read about is the scratching of the face to the point of needing to discontinue use. Luckily Sweety didn't have that. One thing it can do is upset the tummy and not eat. Sweety had this one, and I used the Pepcid trick and she was fine. There is the transdermal ear type too. It absorbs into the system.
Here's a link I found for other side affects.
http://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-methimazole.html
Sweety has been on the HyperT meds for two years now ans she is fine. And then there's the I-131 treatment that takes care of it totally. Others here can help you with that if you decide to do it.
HyperT, like diabetes is managable. I know I was upset too when I found out, but it will be OK. ((((Hugs)))

 

[Larry and Kitties]

My Bailey started on the transdermal and was OK after increasing it from 2.5 MG sid to 6.125 MG bid. He is now on oral 5 mg bid and doing good.

 

[ceil99]

I have dropped her dose to 2.5 mg twice a day. All is well so far. She seems a little quieter and not as agitated so I guess it is doing something. :smile:

I will get the vet to fax me all her test results.