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Original poster

Getting my head around Hyperthyroidism diagnosis

51 replies

StormCattitude · 10/02/2022 23:02

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!

OP posts:
Original poster
StormCattitude · 11/02/2022 12:23

Maybe that's something to try then if tablets are given.

Another visit to the vets this morning, she was sick again just before we left. And repeatedly been in & out of the litter tray & also trying (and succeeding in some cases) to do pees in random places. I'm worried about the pees I've not found or ones on the carpet where I have no clue but it'll stink but I can't smell it, thanks covid. She's lost a bit more weight since Monday.

Vet gave an anti sick jab & basically said she needs to keep going but if the sickness continues past another few days take her back to discuss alternatives. Tablets or gel but only if they are a different mode of action in the body. The gel he was unsure of, only has 1 other cat using it & said it's not licensed(?). The tablets there's a good chance there's 1 that acts differently once in the body.

My biggest struggle right now is the pee, which probably cones from a place of nerves. I've had to put her into the garden while I clean up. So stressful.

OP posts:
Original poster
StormCattitude · 11/02/2022 12:24

I've not long given a 2nd dose in the garden too. So watching & waiting.

OP posts:
purpleme12 · 11/02/2022 12:27

I'd go for the radioactive treatment if she's having trouble with the tablets. If you can get the money

purpleme12 · 11/02/2022 12:27

If she's having trouble with the liquid I mean

longtompot · 11/02/2022 12:36

We did Vidalta tablets for our old boy. He was on one a day but when that wasn't managing his symptoms he went onto two a day. He also had half a blood pressure pill and day too towards the end. He had the pills for approx 6 years until he died a few weeks ago.
We went the pill route as we didn't have the money to pay for the op, but if we had the money we would have done it. If you can afford it, I would think about it.
We gave him his pills hidden in pate or Philly, depending on his mood. Sometimes he'd have it in some corned beef. We discovered something called Pill Putty which is amazing, but pricey, but he took it every time. It reminded me how he was when he first had Dreamies, aka crack for cats.
I hope you find a solution that works for you all.

longtompot · 11/02/2022 12:40

Just did a quick calculation on what we spent approximately every year for the past 6 years for his meds (bought online with prescription bought from the vets) and it was about £3000, so no real difference in price. It would have been more if we bought the meds via the vets, and had all the blood tests they wanted to give him, and if had lived for longer (he was 19 when he died).

purpleme12 · 11/02/2022 13:18

That's really interesting
So he lived to a good age

purpleme12 · 11/02/2022 13:18

The whole trouble is you don't know when your cat will live to! But they could be a cat who lives till they're really old

Fluffycloudland77 · 11/02/2022 15:18

You can buy treats called pill pockets that you put the pill in. Our cattery will give medications.

mowly77 · 11/02/2022 21:40

Well I’ve jinxed it OP by saying how well my old boy was doing … mine’s also been sick twice today, once on my bed, nice.

It’s quite a usual reaction to the medicine at first in my experience, he was sick a lot at the beginning, but I was also giving him arthritis meds which I’ve discontinued because of the vomiting and because I don’t think they were doing much for him - thought it more important to treat his HT.

I think today could be because I’ve just switched their food over - back to the good stuff which I couldn’t afford for a few weeks so they were on supermarket specials. But who knows! He hasn’t been sick for a few months prior to this.

But in light of these posts I’m certainly thinking again. Price; vomiting; everything… I’m going to discuss the other treatments with vet when he goes in next for bloods next month. It’s a bit of a head spinner that’s for sure.

Original poster
StormCattitude · 12/02/2022 00:33

mowly77 oh no 😔 probably is triggered by the food change, i used to switch between 2 particular dried foods depending which was offer at one of the 4 supermarkets near me. One was always on offer somewhere! But suddenly my cat stopped tolerating the changing food & StormCat has been just on the iams one ever since. Seems more flexible with chop n changing wet food. Hope it's nothing serious for your furry one 😼

OP posts:
Shortbreadselection · 12/02/2022 13:01

Our 10 year old is on Thyronorm but I buy a big bottle for about £42 with a £25 prescription.
She is very placid so I hold her under my left arm and open her mouth with my left hand and quickly pop it in her mouth with the syringe in my right hand. I'm sure lots of cats wouldn't tolerate this but you can put it in their food if you can disguise it in tuna or something strong smelling.
We occasionally miss doses as she is around or I forget and she's fine.

purpleme12 · 12/02/2022 13:15

@Shortbreadselection how much does your vet charge for the £100ml bottle if you got it from them?

MyShrivelledGnarlyFinger · 12/02/2022 13:30

My boy is on 2x10mg Vidalta tablets given once a day in the morning. Routine is tablets then chicken and a little pouch food. I find giving small amounts of food 4 times a day doesn't make him sick, he also has dried food on tap. I dreaded getting the tablets down but after trial and error we have it sorted. Sit cat down get behind him open mouth pop in tablets shut mouth and tell him what a good boy he is, if they do pop out repeat and make a fuss. As for the cost of consultation blood tests and medicine...Shock

Shortbreadselection · 12/02/2022 13:56

@purpleme12 Sorry I don't know. I was buying the small bottle from the vets before I found out I could do it this was but I remember that being expensive so there is definitely a good saving doing it this way.

purpleme12 · 12/02/2022 14:24

My vets charge £85 for 100ml bottle
I'm not sure how much they charge for a prescription
but if they charged £25 for a prescription that would be £18 saving.

It would be interesting to hear how much other vets charge for this bottle.

Shortbreadselection · 12/02/2022 17:40

@purpleme12 I think my vets are a bit pricey but I stay with them because I trust them so £25 is probably top end price you would pay.

purpleme12 · 12/02/2022 17:41

I'm going to ring them on Monday now to see

Original poster
StormCattitude · 13/02/2022 16:32

My vets charge £19 / prescription but I've noticed their website says they price match so I'm going to xalk them and ask what this covers & how it's authorised. Because elsewhere you'd need a written quote or similar, but other vets aren't going to give me a written quote for their prices! And these things are never online on their websites. purpleme12 definitely find out about the online ordering route, I think you'll save a fair amount. My 30ml btl was £42 direct from the vets but I've seen it online for £19. If I'd bought that alone with a paid prescription I'd have saved £4 so if you consider prescriptions cover 6 months, it's got to be noticeable on the purse.

OP posts:
Original poster
StormCattitude · 13/02/2022 16:34

Currently here, the antisickness has has worm off & no more sickness since that 1st dose. StormCat is eating more (she'd lost her appetite previously, altho I know most increase) and we're getting there on administering the liquid, just takes a while but that should speed up.

OP posts:
longtompot · 13/02/2022 18:34

It will be even cheaper when the condition is under control as our vets did a few repeats in one prescription, so that cut some of the cost down.

purpleme12 · 13/02/2022 18:54

I guess
I just have an awfull feeling that my cat will be one of the cats on the higher or highest possible dosage which will obviously be shit for me cost wise

Original poster
StormCattitude · 14/02/2022 18:32

Did you get the info from your vets purpleme12? Hope it looks a better option to go down the prescription route

OP posts:
Ludo19 · 25/02/2022 14:00

Hi OP my wee cat was diagnosed in December. Shed lost a lot of weight and was put on Thyronorm. She took a massive reaction to it and scratched her face raw. She's now on vidalta. Petdrugsonline are the cheapest that I've found. Cara needs bloods done every fortnight as she's very up and down but I'm going down the route of the operation I think but it'll be about £1,000. I too have had my thyroid gland out so I kinda sympathise with her.

Dobedodo · 25/02/2022 14:09

Op I had similar dilemma to you. We insisted on trying the thyroid yd food. It’s worked perfectly for four years but you mention your cat being outside? You can’t do the special food unless cats are indoor Incase they eat something whilst out