OTJ 4.5 years, now possibly Hyperthyroid. Where can I find more info?

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beggargirl

beggargirl

Member Since 2011
OTJ 4.5 years, now diagnosed Hyperthyroid. Where can I find more info?

Hello.

My Noxin and I first came here in spring 2011, and with support and education went away OTJ and happy again.

Now my boy has been showing diabetic type symptoms (hunger, thirst, losing weight) but gives me amazing numbers whenever tested. A recent vet visit shows that he is most likely hyperthyroid and gave me some pills to start him on.

I would like to go into this armed with knowledge as, if I had followed my vet's advice without research in regards to insulin and dosages, he would have gone hypo repeatedly when we first started treating him.

Since I was told hyperthyroidism is a common co-occurrence in diabetic cats, I was hoping some nice folks here could point me in the direction of advice and support before I start drugging my cat without knowing the possible consequences.

Thanks so much in advance.

Cherie
 
Sorry for your kitty's diagnosis, my beloved Tiger was hyperthyroid as well as diabetic. I am guesing you were sent home with Methiamazole? I highly recommend joining the Yahoo Feline Hyperthyroidism group- there is so much collective information on that forum. If you don't have it already, call your vet and get your kitty's most recent bloodwork, the group will want to see a complete Chem Panel and most likely a complete CBC so they can see the whole picture. (kidney function becomes very important once you start hyperT treatment for example)

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/feline-hyperT/info

Some additional info on hyper T: http://catinfo.org/?link=felinehyperthyroidism
 
I had a hyperthyroid civvie and maintained her for about 5 years on methimazole. I dissolved the pill into some canned food and she would scarf it right down.

When the methimazole dose became high enough to cause side effects, I did the I-131 treatment. If you do that, be aware that getting the thyroid levels down may unmask renal disease.

In some cases, it is possible to surgically remove most of the thyroid. It is delicate surgery, however, and it is possible for there to be thyroid tissue in unexpected locations - I had a civvie with a growth on the back of her tongue which turned out to be thyroid tissue.
 
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Squeaker was hyperT. He was started on methimazole also. I did research on it and long term use causes the same damage as hyperT. It damages the heart, kidneys, eyes------I decided based on that information that we would do I131. There is monthly testing that you have to do when using medication and it is a lifelong process. The decision to do I131 became the only option as 3 weeks into the medication it became apparent that Squeak was in that rare 5% whose system could not tolerate the drug. There are those who use methimazole and are perfectly happy with it, I wanted a cure and not to just control the condition. The radioiodine is a cure-it attacks and destroys the abnormal cell growth on the thyroid and does not damage the healthy tissue. It is a rather expensive treatment, in rare cases 2 treatments are needed, and in more rare cases the cat can become hypo-thyroid. It also is not available in all areas. The OSU Vet School website has a great overview of the process. Also, if you do go with this treatment, it is also advised to feed food without marine products (fish, kelp, seaweed, etc) for one month prior to treatment.
 
Tiger an Ruth gave some great advice. You need to join the Yahoo hyperthyroid group. Your vet said he was more than likely hyperthyroid? You need to have a thyroid panel done. The Yahoo group recommends a full thyroid panel done by an outside lab instead of in-house at the vet's office but for right now maybe just a T4 at the vet's might do. That should get you started. My sister's cat was hyperthyroid and had the 1-131 treatment and is now hypO-thyroid so takes meds for that now. It's important to get the thyroid taken care of and if your kitty doesn't handle methimazole well it might be the best option. After the I-131 treatment you will need to test periodically. For some additional information on I-131 treatments and thyroid test results after the treatment there are some online medical blogs by Dr. Mark Peterson who has the Animal Endocrine Clinic in NY (I think) and he is quite an expert. I believe he was the first vet to document hyperthyroidism in cats. I've researched some of my sister's info so I'm just going by memory here. He also has a couple of I-131 clinics.

Good luck and please join the Yahoo hyperthyroid group for some great guidance. They were/are a great help to my sister and her cat. I believe they also follow Dr. Peterson.
 
Hello Cherie - I'm sorry to hear about the new diagnosis! I am also in Canada (ottawa, Ontario) my Harley was diagnosed with diabetes 2.5 years ago. We did two weeks of insulin and a major diet change and he was OTJ for 2.5 years. Then he was diagnosed with hyperthyroid. We did the methimezole (ear gel) for a month or so but wanted a more permanent solution. We did the radioactive iodine therapy with great sucess. There are approx. 8 locations in Canada that perform the treatment. The treatment itself is a single shot, the worst part is leaving your baby at the vet for 5 days. Good luck!!

Christina
 
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