Debra & CB (GA) & Gang
Member
Hi everyone, long time no see!
I need some help in locating on the internet some printable material on the proper treatment of hyperT in cats...in respect to starting doses of methimazole. First a little history on what's going on here.
Freon was diagnosed with hyperT about 2 years ago, back when I was seeing Dr. D. They decided to use transdermal cream, said that that is all they ever use on hyperT cats. I received Freon's meds a few days later, and started him on the prescribed amount. I cannot tell you the amount of methimazole per ml in what I was given, it's not on the label, and this particular vet wasn't willing to share numbers with their clients.
Anyhow, after 3 weeks of treatment, I returned to have Freon's T4 tested, and it had dropped too low. Normal ref range for this test at that clinic is 1-4, and Freon's was then 0.8. The vet wanted me to reduce his dose by 1/2, I thought differently and further reduced it to just 1/4. We retested Freon 3 weeks later and found that his T4 had dropped even further, to a mere 0.2! At this point the vet basically declared Freon "cured" and we no longer treated him.
I know, ridiculous, but they just didn't want to bother finding an alternative treatment for Freon because they were all hung up on using transdermal cream!
Ok, now fast forward to about a month ago. Speedy became sick and needed to be hospitalized for constipation and dehydration. I took her in to see our "new" vet at a different clinic, Dr. E. Speedy was manually "cleaned out" and given an enema, plus she remained there overnight on IV fluids. Later that evening my vet called me at home and asked for permission to run some blood work on Speedy. She explained to me that she suspected that Speedy may have hyperT. Sure enough, her T4 was borderline high. Dr. E released Speedy from the hospital the next day, and wanted me to return in a couple weeks, when Speedy was acting like her old self, to run a senior blood panel and retest her T4. We did that, and it's confirmed that Speedy has hyperT, 5.8 (1-4).
I took Freon in too at that time, because he's still not being treated for his hyperT, and we're seeing weight loss, etc, etc. Freon's T4 was off the test range! Because Freon is an absolute horror to pill, my vet and I decided to use methimazole in liquid form. He'll take liquid without a fight, so we're happy with this option.
Now, here's the problem. My vet wants me to give Speedy 2.5 mg bid, and Freon should be getting 5 mg bid! The methimazole liquid is 10 mg/ml. That means Speedy would be getting a total of 5 mgs per day, and Freon 10 mgs per day! I'm a member of the hyperT yahoo group, and have posted there about this starting dose. Thankfully, they've helped me work out the math and I have taken it upon myself to start both cats out on a 1.25 mg dose bid.
The hyperT group told me that the dose my vet prescribed is "old school" dosing.......based on the cat's T4 numbers. When I received the medicine Friday (hubby went and picked it up) and I saw the doses, I tried to call my vet, but could only relay messages through a vet tech to her because she was tied up with a horse emergency. However, the vet tech did tell the vet what I said about thinking that her starting doses were on the high side, and when the tech called me back, she confirmed that those doses (2.5 mg bid and 5.0 mg bid) was what Dr. E wanted my cats on.
I'll be taking both Freon and Speedy back in in 3 weeks to have their T4 levels checked, and with them both on 1.25 mg bid, I'm hoping that their T4 tests show marked improvements. Speedy is already acting much better, much more like her old self! What I'm looking for, and hope that some of you can point me in the right direction, is printed literature on the internet at what the latest thoughts are on starting doses of methimazole in the treatment of hyperT cats. I know some of you have access to vet journals and such online.....I have difficulty finding that sort of thing. I want to provide printed material to my vet on this subject, so that hopefully she'll take the time to update her own knowledge on this. They're very good vets, and I feel that even though they may think "old school" on this, they'd certainly take the time to read through anything I may be able to provide them.
Thanks in advance!
Debra
I need some help in locating on the internet some printable material on the proper treatment of hyperT in cats...in respect to starting doses of methimazole. First a little history on what's going on here.
Freon was diagnosed with hyperT about 2 years ago, back when I was seeing Dr. D. They decided to use transdermal cream, said that that is all they ever use on hyperT cats. I received Freon's meds a few days later, and started him on the prescribed amount. I cannot tell you the amount of methimazole per ml in what I was given, it's not on the label, and this particular vet wasn't willing to share numbers with their clients.
Anyhow, after 3 weeks of treatment, I returned to have Freon's T4 tested, and it had dropped too low. Normal ref range for this test at that clinic is 1-4, and Freon's was then 0.8. The vet wanted me to reduce his dose by 1/2, I thought differently and further reduced it to just 1/4. We retested Freon 3 weeks later and found that his T4 had dropped even further, to a mere 0.2! At this point the vet basically declared Freon "cured" and we no longer treated him.
I know, ridiculous, but they just didn't want to bother finding an alternative treatment for Freon because they were all hung up on using transdermal cream!
Ok, now fast forward to about a month ago. Speedy became sick and needed to be hospitalized for constipation and dehydration. I took her in to see our "new" vet at a different clinic, Dr. E. Speedy was manually "cleaned out" and given an enema, plus she remained there overnight on IV fluids. Later that evening my vet called me at home and asked for permission to run some blood work on Speedy. She explained to me that she suspected that Speedy may have hyperT. Sure enough, her T4 was borderline high. Dr. E released Speedy from the hospital the next day, and wanted me to return in a couple weeks, when Speedy was acting like her old self, to run a senior blood panel and retest her T4. We did that, and it's confirmed that Speedy has hyperT, 5.8 (1-4).
I took Freon in too at that time, because he's still not being treated for his hyperT, and we're seeing weight loss, etc, etc. Freon's T4 was off the test range! Because Freon is an absolute horror to pill, my vet and I decided to use methimazole in liquid form. He'll take liquid without a fight, so we're happy with this option.
Now, here's the problem. My vet wants me to give Speedy 2.5 mg bid, and Freon should be getting 5 mg bid! The methimazole liquid is 10 mg/ml. That means Speedy would be getting a total of 5 mgs per day, and Freon 10 mgs per day! I'm a member of the hyperT yahoo group, and have posted there about this starting dose. Thankfully, they've helped me work out the math and I have taken it upon myself to start both cats out on a 1.25 mg dose bid.
The hyperT group told me that the dose my vet prescribed is "old school" dosing.......based on the cat's T4 numbers. When I received the medicine Friday (hubby went and picked it up) and I saw the doses, I tried to call my vet, but could only relay messages through a vet tech to her because she was tied up with a horse emergency. However, the vet tech did tell the vet what I said about thinking that her starting doses were on the high side, and when the tech called me back, she confirmed that those doses (2.5 mg bid and 5.0 mg bid) was what Dr. E wanted my cats on.
I'll be taking both Freon and Speedy back in in 3 weeks to have their T4 levels checked, and with them both on 1.25 mg bid, I'm hoping that their T4 tests show marked improvements. Speedy is already acting much better, much more like her old self! What I'm looking for, and hope that some of you can point me in the right direction, is printed literature on the internet at what the latest thoughts are on starting doses of methimazole in the treatment of hyperT cats. I know some of you have access to vet journals and such online.....I have difficulty finding that sort of thing. I want to provide printed material to my vet on this subject, so that hopefully she'll take the time to update her own knowledge on this. They're very good vets, and I feel that even though they may think "old school" on this, they'd certainly take the time to read through anything I may be able to provide them.
Thanks in advance!
Debra
