Getting my head around Hyperthyroidism diagnosis

[StormCattitude]

My 14 YO cat has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism this week 😥 today I picked up Thyronorm which I felt would be easier to give than a tablet. I have a history of skin slicings from past attempts at giving her tablets, but this process is something she & I need to overcome now! I'm pretty certain the op or iodine treatment aren't the way to go for her, I may consider the Hills Y/D diet in future if T4 results (currently 80) reduce & her kidneys show to be ok.

Several YouTube vids later on tips & tricks to give liquid medicine, plus several practice runs with water in a syringe, we've successfully nailed the 1st dose! So proud of us both!

But my posting is to suss out how people live with this commitment. I'm a LP with 2 kids. That's pretty restrictive in my movements (zero family support) but now I've realised that needing to give Thyronorm morn & eve means we can't spend a night anywhere else ever unless she's in a cattery, which is something I'd only do in a proper holiday arrangement due to the cost of it for me it needs factoring in & justifying. There's no one to step in to care for her if we're away & definitely not to give this med to her, she'd get stressed from a stranger doing it anyway I think & likely claw or bite them if anxious (she's a nervous cat).

We've stayed at friends in neighbouring cities occasionally in the past, which is the only 'break' I get sometimes get, 1 night in a full yr or longer, so it's quite important to me when it happens.

So to get back onto topic. Do people sometimes miss doses once T4 is under control? Or is the tablet more lifestyle-friendly? Is that once a day? I have to admit the vet didn't tell me this Thyronorm was 2x a day, so it was a shock when I saw that and all these realisations have followed since.

I love our cat & my kids worship her, so I'll do what she needs. Just trying to figure out the different ways I can give her what she needs & see if any balance better with us having some freedom & flexibility if needed. If not, so be it, she's our family so we'd have to find a new normal if it came to that.

Not sure if it's relevant but she's not insured (no judgements please! there is a backstory how this came to be in terms of how she ended up with us unplanned and never left) so I have to pay for all treatments which is another consideration keep an eye on, although I would like to think I will cover anything she needs (just not necessarily all the frilly extras insurance may have covered on top).

Thanks for any advice / experience!

I can't answer most of your questions but why are you ruling out the op? That's normally the easiest way to deal with this. A couple of weeks on tablets to stablise, then a quick op, then completely back to normal. I've had three or four cats go through this, and they've all been quite old and all were back to their normal selves in no time at all and lived many more years.

I've realised that needing to give Thyronorm morn & eve means we can't spend a night anywhere else ever unless she's in a cattery

My cat has heart medication twice a day - we found a veterinary nurse who offered catsitting on Cat in a Flat. Might be worth asking your practice in case any of their nurses do petsitting on the side. I pay around £15 per day, which covers two visits.

We actually found tablets far easier than liquid meds - tried that at first as thought it would be easier & she spat it everywhere! She has the meds inside a treat (the pills are tiny; we'd never managed it with something like a worming tablet but she has her treat now morning & evening without a fuss).

We did the tablets. Cat was very food motivated so we could put them in a Webbox cat stick (actually Lidl) chuck it on the kitchen floor and 9 out of 10 times she'd eat it as a treat.

Once daily so much easier. Yes we did sometimes find escaped tablets she'd managed to avoid but her behaviour was so obviously different when treated, we knew she was OK and one tablet here or there didn't make a difference.

Let's face it, how many humans remember all their medicines all of the time?

Hello
My cat was diagnosed with this a couple of months ago
Also on thyronorm
But I get a cat sitter for mine anyway. Admittedly she hasn't been since he's been on this medicine but she did say she can give medicine when I asked her.
Mine is also not insured (if I'd known about this I'd have had him insured but there you go!)
I'm also single but with one child so no help either.
But I don't go on holidays. The most I go is to my friend's which would be a free nights away.
I may still do the radioactive treatment but I'm not sure yet. Nightmare the whole thing
What dosage is yours on?

Interesting about the op. I also didn’t really consider it because my cat is old and a bit frail but might ask vet’s opinion.

My cat who is possibly 12 so a bit younger than yours OP (or 14, the same age; rescue; not sure) was diagnosed last year. I do not know what they put in the medicine but he seems to really like it?! Like it’s tuna flavoured heavenly delight or something. So sorry that’s not helpful for your worries over difficulties dosing - but if you’ve successfully done it that’s great and bodes well and she will get used to it! And so she really might take it from someone else in due course; a professional cat sitter who comes to your home is a possibility if you want to go away or do you know any nearby friends or neighbours with cats? You can do cat care swaps and they will be cat competent at least even if they have no experience of giving this particular med. but she might easily take it from others. x2 a day does seem daunting I agree & I got a bit lax abs got told off by vet so now I’m strictly back on it! … but it’s fine really, it takes seconds - I do when I get up in morning and before I go to bed. And I do trust a neighbour or my partner to do it when I go away. Sometimes he misses a dose but is fine and levels are good as has the vast majority of them. It’s only when lots of doses being missed it can be an issue, apparently. So try not to worry.

but if she’s uninsured (no judgement whatsoever - Petplan have screwed me on this so I’m pissed off with the whole lot of them) i noticed the bottle costs £100! I noticed because I have had to bloody pay for it twice in a row despite insurance. So I wonder whether the op might also work out cheaper (although I v much doubt it due to the radioactive element and the amount of time your pet has to stay at vets).

There is an operation and the radioactive treatment which are two separate ways of treating it

purpleme12 sorry to hear about your cat too, it's a lot to process isn't it. She's been put in 2.5mg twice a day to start but I've reduced it to 2mg. That standard dose covers cats of all shapes & sizes, my cat is quite slender so I feel instinctively that one-size-fits-all amount is slightly open to adjustment. Medical background might be making me assume I know more that I do tho but 4mg a day vs 5mg a day will still show an improvement so if I've done wrong it'll get picked up soon enough in the next bloods in 3 weeks.

Actually muddled up radioactive treatment and the op. But might be good to weigh up costs of all three treatments as well as hassle. Cats can live a long time and mine is much bouncier and happier on the meds now! Also worth knowing is you can buy it much cheaper online than through the vets! I just looked because I can’t pay £100 a bottle. It’s half that price online.

thecatneuterer she has a heart murmur too which worries me regarding the anaesthetic. Also, if she had the op it's not always successful & we could still be needing to give meds. Or a further op but removal of both thyroid glands has other complications with calcium I think it was. And at this stage I don't truly know if her kidneys are ok. Thyroid probs can mask kidney results so it's in the back of my mind she may not be well in other ways if she had the op anyway. I probably need the fog to clear after a few months of tests & things stabilising to rethink that decision.

Crosspost @purpleme12! yes three treatment options. Mine is on 2.5ml too and even though he’s not massive that dose works well for him; haven’t had to increase it anyway and I would be wary of giving less.

@StormCattitude

purpleme12 sorry to hear about your cat too, it's a lot to process isn't it. She's been put in 2.5mg twice a day to start but I've reduced it to 2mg. That standard dose covers cats of all shapes & sizes, my cat is quite slender so I feel instinctively that one-size-fits-all amount is slightly open to adjustment. Medical background might be making me assume I know more that I do tho but 4mg a day vs 5mg a day will still show an improvement so if I've done wrong it'll get picked up soon enough in the next bloods in 3 weeks.

My cat got very thin We started him on 2.5 mg twice a day And we've done bloods to see if it's working and we've ended up increasing the dose to 3.75 mg twice a day So that theory didn't work with my cat! I wish I wasn't giving him so much...

mowly77 I've seen 100ml btls online for around £42-48, prescription varies. My vets said its £19, I rang a different local one who charge £10 but uts a smaller practice & I'd need to register my cat with a consultation etc before they'd prescribe. My vets consultation £45 the other vets £35. So many parameters to consider. More expensive vets has several practices so I can usually get an appt at one same day if needed. Cheaper vets is one 1 practice. My vets bloods cos £100. The other vets wouldn't tell me how much their bloods would be as apparently its some the vet would decide which tests after a consult. So I would have to commit a fair amount of ££ and could then find their bloods are more expensive to outweigh other savings! Vets are so untransparent on their costs, it shouldn't be allowed. I guess cos many people are insured they don't care as its covered but many aren't insured who do care!

My old lady is on Thyromorm. Occasionally I have missed a dose but it hasn't done her any harm so don't overly worry yourself about this. If you are away for a night and were concerned about her meds could you get a cat owning friend or neighbour, or a cat sitter to come round to give it to her?
Regarding treatment I opted to stick with the liquid medicine twice a day. It took a little while to find the right dose for her, but she's doing great on it now. Try not to worry too much

purpleme12 eek I'll up it if she doesn't seem to improve.
mowly77 glad yours is under control, it must be such a relief.

Honestly I'm worried I'll have to up it again
I can't really see a change in how much he's asking for food
Whole thing is so worrying
I have ruled out the radioactive treatment....
There's just so many unknowns and you're just making the decision on the balance of probabilities

@StormCattitude yes vet fees are a nightmare! Mine charges £35 for a consult but blood test prices are high, again not transparent. The more expensive vet with easy appointments sounds better I think overall? My vets is for the sole reason I can walk there because I can’t drive so no choice but they’re pretty good. If not short-staffed like every other practice.

Anyway try not to worry as PP have said, my boy’s doing well on Thyromorm.

@purpleme12

Have they checked underlying kidney stuff? Apparently you can get special thyroid food and treat kidney disease with meds instead. Which is sometimes better for the cat.

@mowly77 yes kidneys ok thank God

PS I meant to say I haven't ruled out the radioactive treatment earlier!

But we'll see i don't know yet

How can the tablets go in food? My vet said they have to be swallowed whole as they're designed to be slow release. Breaking chewing or crushing them would mean the dose is delivered too large too suddenly. Or is there different types?

Has anyone done both tabs and liquid on the same cat and found 1 worked better? Or are they the same active ingredient? What happens if your cat needs the dosing increased on tabs, it's not so easy as liquid.
I am going to sleep now if I can stop thinking about this stuff!

Hey op. My 13 yo has recently been diagnosed too, albeit we've been convinced he's had it for at least 6 months. Initial T4 was at 75, he's been on 2.5ml twice a day for 3 weeks and his T4 levels dropped to below 3.9 (lowest detectable rate apparently) so we're reducing dose, and he's happily but steadily putting weight back on.

He also had other neurological and skeletal conditions and has been a NIGHTMARE to medicate, so I've always crushed up tablets in his food. But I was told with Thyronorm that getting a consistent absorption level was really important, so liquid meds plus syringe was the way forward. First day was messy (and painful for me!) but by day 2 we had it nailed - and this is the toughest cat I've ever had to give medicine to.

I didn't want to operate. But we never use catteries, always get sitters, and I think it's unfair to ask them to do more than crush a tablet into food. So also considering whether it's worth going down the surgical route. Admittedly we're well insured so it's an easier decision, but still tough to think of putting on old, but very loved boy through it 😽

After the triumph of giving the 1st dose last night, my StormCat has been sick x2 overnight. At least I think it's sick, it doesn't look like her usual and my LO said it looked like diarrhoea which it does a bit (on my carpet 😔) but I think one of us would smell that (I'm post covid virtually no sense of smell, LO has a thick cold)?

Anyway, is this normal for such an immediate reaction to one dose? Also she's really lethargic this morn. Usually as soon as I'm up she's meowing & racing about to be let upstairs & see everyone. Today she stayed curled up on the couch, took a few mins before lifting her head to look at me. I gave strokes & she purred, about 15-20 mins later she did take herself upstairs, jumped on my bed, curled up, fell asleep again. Not moved since. This isn't like her but maybe normal during the adjustment period on this medicine..? Or ais this an extreme reaction compared to others?

wildrunner this is it, even with insurance it's not a clear choice. No option is cut & dry. The RIT is probably the best course if a cat could be separated without that stress causing issues, but not everywhere has a centre near that does it either. I've googled out of interest & yhe nearest I can find to us is about 40-50 miles away. But seems one of the more expensive as they insist on consults before & after at extra charge so would be closer to £3k.

How can the tablets go in food? My vet said they have to be swallowed whole as they're designed to be slow release. Breaking chewing or crushing them would mean the dose is delivered too large too suddenly

You don't crush or break them to hide in treats.

I use these at the moment (www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/natures-menu-cat-treat-with-chicken-and-liver-65g). Webbox treat sticks are good too.

They are soft enough & the tablets are v small, you just push the tablet into the end of the treat and squeeze it closed. Give to cat, cat swallows.

The Lidl sticks were better than the Webbox as they were squishier so easier to mould round a tablet.

No way were we giving the cat a tablet every day but this route, she actually enjoyed it.