Hyperthyroidism/Hypertension and Cleo

[TopCat3]

TopCat1 (Cleo) went for a progress check on Friday.
Her blood pressure was around 180, still.

Her blood tests showed she had responded well to the Neomercasol for hyperthyroidism, she was just having 1/2 a tab night and morning.
Her T4 had dropped to 21 down from 48 on Aug 30, so she can reduce to 1/4 tab night and morning, so that's good news, really good news.

However her BP doesn't seem to have lowered, although when she went to see the homoeopathic vet on 9 Sept BP was 155. The homoeopathic vet prescribed Nux Vomica for three days for system support for the medication, then withhold and observe. She also prescribed Manganum as a constitutional remedy for three days then once a week for three weeks then withhold and observe.

My observations were that Cleo was more interested and interactive and less retiring and nervous. She didn't seem to react adversely to the medication and the Nux Vomica could have helped with that.

She now has 1/8 Norvask tab nightly for her High BP. It's a challenge dividing a tiny rectangular tablet into 8 with a scalpel, it's much harder in consistency than the other tablet. I ended up with shredded fingertips and a little pile of powder and some uneven pieces! One piece flew across the room and landed in a dish of water and dissolved instantly :rolleyes: so at least I know I can syringe it down her in water if she's having a "You can't pill me today" day! :D

Now that the thyroid medication has kicked in, it has unmasked what I was dreading, the signs of kidney failure. Her urea, previously showing 12.6, is now showing as 14.1, quite a bit above the norm of 12.8. Creatinine was 255, up from 176 and well above the norm of 212. Vet was able to get some urine this time and said it's not as concentrated as it should be.

Cleo will be 17 on Dec 3rd. I think she's doing quite well, all things considered, appetite and interest is good, although she sleeps a lot, and she's compliant with pilling. Well, we get the occasional "butter wouldn't melt in my mouth" look, all wide-eyed innocence after a dummy swallow, then find a little pink piece of pill on the carpet 10 minutes later once in a while, but only four times in just over a month - which isn't bad really, is it?

I guess I'm in for a few more vet trips and medication expense for hopefully some considerable time ahead.

But I'm very sad :(

Thanks for reading
The TopCats

[jenluckenbach]

Mixed emotions.....controlling one medical problem simply to find another medical problem. But after 17 years I guess a body can't work perfectly. Here's hoping that she can remain comfortable for a long time.

[TopCat3]

Mixed emotions.....controlling one medical problem simply to find another medical problem. But after 17 years I guess a body can't work perfectly. Here's hoping that she can remain comfortable for a long time.

Thank you, Jen. Your support is important and much appreciated at this time, as I struggle to find acceptance.

[smokey the elder]

I'm glad she's being good about the pills.

It may be easier to dissolve the Norvasc into a volume of water and take 1/8th of that. Ask your vet if the water solution will keep (maybe in the fridge?)

Hugs for you and Cleo! I hope she continues to do well.

[TopCat3]

I'm glad she's being good about the pills.

It may be easier to dissolve the Norvasc into a volume of water and take 1/8th of that. Ask your vet if the water solution will keep (maybe in the fridge?)

Hugs for you and Cleo! I hope she continues to do well.


Thanks for that idea, I suppose it depends on the chemical stability of the drug. What a great idea though, she's even better with a syringe.

Thanks for the hugs too, we need them. :)

[furrykidsmother]

I am sorry that Cleo isn't doing better, but I hope you will be able to control with medicines and that you will share many, many more happy years together.

[TopCat3]

Thanks, Furrykidsmother, for your kind words.
We're hoping so too.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I may have missed some previous threads about Cleo because I didn't even know that she was sick. I'm so sorry to hear this. :( Hopefully the medicine will help make her more comfortable so she can continue to share many more years with you. Please take care. (((HUGS)))

[TopCat3]

I may have missed some previous threads about Cleo because I didn't even know that she was sick. I'm so sorry to hear this. :( Hopefully the medicine will help make her more comfortable so she can continue to share many more years with you. Please take care. (((HUGS)))

Thank you KAK. No you haven't really missed anything. Cleo had her dentistry and you saw that thread, where I said she had mild hyperthyroidism and high BP. This visit was just a checkup and revealed further info. She isn't exactly sick, just ageing, along with me. She's coping well with her condition and responding to medication. Hopefully we have many more happy times ahead. Thank you for the hugs, they mean a lot.

P.S.how is Starr now after his surgery?

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I'm glad to hear the hyperthyroidism is under control, but sorry to hear about the kidney failue and high blood pressure. Tubby had CRF (Chronic Renal Failure - kidney failure) and someone mentioned once that cats with CRF are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure. Evidently it wasn't a problem for Tubby since my vet never mentioned it, but that's what I've heard.

Also, Tubby lived a good 3 1/2 years after first being diagnosed with CRF, and it actually wasn't his kidneys that took him in the end, so I'm sure you will have many years left with Cleo.

Like Jen says, this is a time of mixed emotions. You're glad to know you're doing everything you can for your baby, but it's hard to face the fact that they are getting old and the end is getting nearer than we wish to face. It's a chance to spoil spoil spoil as much as possible and take every opportunity to let Cleo know who loved she is.

{{{hugs}}} to you and gentle skritchies to Cleo. She will have to be brave in the next months and years as the vet visits will become more frequent. :(

[TopCat3]

Thank you so much, Tubby & Peanut's (and Crackerjack's!)Mom for your kind and encouraging words. I just called the vet for the final blood results, we were waiting on the red/blood cell count. They're normal, so blood marrow is fine. Vet says Cleo's hyperthyroidism is only very mild and the kidneys are in the early stages too, albeit that kidneys don't show up until they are considerably impaired, still the blood/urine results show that it isn't so very far advanced at this stage. We're going to try some different kidney diets, Hills prescription k/d and maybe the Waltham one, along with her wet food, go easy on the protein etc. The main concern is the high BP and we'll get that checked again in a couple of weeks once she's been on the Norvask for a while, see if it's bringing down the BP

And Smokey the Elder - I asked about dissolving the Norvask and refrigerating and it isn't recommended due to possibility of chemical breakdown. So I'll just have to keep chipping away - literally!

Thanks everyone for your support and kindness. It is hard to accept the ageing process, even in ourselves :rolleyes: never mind our babies. Lots of spoiling on the cards... :p

[kb2yjx]

Hi!! Can you get a pill spiltter?? It sure would save your fingers and would give you a nice cut of the pill especially if the pill is scored. Sandra

[TopCat3]

Hi!! Can you get a pill spiltter?? It sure would save your fingers and would give you a nice cut of the pill especially if the pill is scored. Sandra

Thanks for the suggestion. I do have one in a pill container, but the Norvask is so small and odd shaped, a rectangle with the corners cut off, that it won't hold in place in the tray -it shifts as you close the lid to cut it, ended up with irregular segments and lots of powder. Will check out a pharmacy see if I can get a better one. The things we do... :rolleyes: Also thanks for the diet info. I'll be looking into these next week.

[kb2yjx]

I found with weird shaped pills, to hold them in the spiltter AS LONG as possible even with a wire and SLOWLY push down on the splitter. Sometimes I get lucky and get a good split pill!! GOOD LUCK!!! Sandra

[cyber-cat]

Sorry to hear about Cleo, it sounds like you're doing everything you can. I just posted about my 16 1/2 year old cat & his health problems. I'm struggling for acceptance, too. Like you, I just love him to pieces and can't imagine my life without him, he's been with me for so long.
I hope your Cleo will continue to cooperate with taking her meds so she can be around for a long time. For years I had to give ChowChow a small pill daily. I bought a small morter & pestle and ground it up, & put the powder in a tasty bit of food (I usually used hamburger). It worked very well.

[TopCat3]

Thanks, Cyber-cat for your concern and suggestion. Cleo has never taken well to medication hidden in food. She simply won't eat it. At a dollar a dose I won't be wasting any! I find her quite easy to pill. And I've now bought some blades that are about 1.5 inches long, by 1/2inch deep, rectangular, with a thicker rounded bit at the top. You can hold it in both hands with fingertips and get a good clean cut. Into 1/8s is still challenging but it's a lot easier and more controlled. Get 6 reasonably even pieces and 2 lots of crumbs :rolleyes:
I try to even out the dosage across the week,if it's a smaller bit today or the crumbs, a bigger chip tomorrow etc.
She's worth it.
I got a great new mobile phone this week, have some lovely pics of both the TopCats, when I learn how to transfer them to my pc I can post them! :)

Cleo goes back for BP check next Fri 28th, as much a measurement of my nursing skills as her BP!!!

[TopCat3]

Cleo had her BP checked on Friday and it's down to 160 - great news. Heart sounded fine and weight stable.

We're trying out some different foods for her CRF, a tin of Hills k/d wet and a Walthams sachet of wet also vet gave me a free sample of Walthams dry which I liked the look of ingredients-wise better than the Hills. I didn't like the look of the Iams and I won't use their stuff anyway. It's hard to feed two cats different diets isn't it! I need eyes in the back of my head :eek: Colette keeps sneaking in for a nibble.

It's got very hot here all of a sudden (spring/summertime) and as usual, they've temporarily gone off their food as they acclimatise.
This is how it is here, we hardly have any between seasons like spring/autumn. It's been unseasonally hot though and humid. So they're on "hunger strike" and I'm trying not to fret as usual! :rolleyes:

It's quite funny when I prepare the tablet, I've started shutting the kitchen blind so no-one can see in, there I am scooping the powdery fragments off the board with the edge of the razor blade onto tiny pieces of Al foil that I've creased ready to tip into the open mouth at dose time. For all the world I look like an old hand getting ready to snort a line and if anyone sees in I'm afraid I might get raided! :eek:

[furrykidsmother]

Wonderful news about Cleo!!

Hmm, I would probably do the same thing with the white powder!! LOL!

Continued good thoughts for both you and Cleo!

[solares412]

Did you know that the distemper vaccine when used in a combination vaccine predisposed a pet to hyperthyroidism?
On page 89 of The Nature of Animal Healing by Dr. Martin Goldstein, DVM he writes " With cats, a similarly suspicious link copped up between a new vaccine and increased incidences of hyperthyroidism. the correlation was especially compelling because hyperthyroidism isn't a virus or bacteira that might be spread any number of ways. It's a glandular malfunction... for this condition to appear suddenly at epidemic levels... was odd to say the least. If no contagious organism has been associated with this disease, what as the agent causing the epidemic? Logically you look for some new environmental factor that may be responsible. With hyperthyroidism , a logical factor was the new vaccine for feline distemper....when it first appeared , veterinarians simply added the distemper vaccine to others to make a combo.The result, I feel, is that the immune system in some cats broke down(.,... how would YOU feel getting vaccinated for chicken pox, polio, measles, mumps, whooping cough, smallpox and the flu all at the same time year after year?) today it remains part of a combo and cat continue to get hyperthyroidism more often than they once did. The pity is that the distemper vaccine could easily be modified to be administered on its own, and if given once, be effective for life without incurring much of a risk."

[TopCat3]

Thanks Furrykidsmother for your good wishes. Yes we are very happy and Cleo is enjoying her samples of special diets (so is Colette :rolleyes: - can't keep her away! )

And Solares that is very interesting what you said about vaccines. I have in fact stopped vaccinating my cats. There is a lot of info out about on vaccine-related conditions but I hadn't heard that about hyperthyroidism. Her condition is very mild at this stage, she is on the lowest of doses.

Best wishes to everyone :)