Storm & Pearl's Vet Visit- Update On Storm's Latest Thyroid Test 5-15-11

[krazyaboutkatz]

Frustrating that the initial report was "all is well."

I've had a few w/ hyper thyroid, and as Mary said, it can be managed. It would explain the weight loss; but . . . he should be ravenous with it!

Let's get the added report, start some meds, see how it goes. Paws crossed!

Yes, it was actually not my vet that left the first message. Maybe it was just about his blood profile which didn't include the thyroid test. I read some info about hyperthyroidism and it did say that in some cats it can be hard to diagnose and some will even lose their appetite because they may have some other underlying illness. In Storm's case he already has small intestinal disease and this was causing him to vomit so he's been on 2.5mg of pred every morning for it for a little over 1 year now. He's also on 5mg of pepcid at night to help soothe his tummy. His tummy is very sensitive these days.

Pouncing back in after a long absence. I see you have a few new cats since I last visited, pretty ones too.

Like others here, I've had several cats with hyperthyroidism and it is almost always easy to manage. Occasionally a cat will have a poor reaction to Methimazole, but that's rare. You can either pill or get it made up into a cream which you massage into their ears. Or, you can go the radioactive iodine treatment route, which I did with one cat and it worked out very well.

Most cats do eat constantly and still lose weight so I was flumoxed when one lost his appetite, but the vet said that could happen. Your vet will know this very well, that hyperthyroidism can mask the early stages of renal failure because the more rapid blood flow will cause an increased flushing of the kidneys. Once the hyperthyroidism is treated, the renal failure will show. Considering Storm's age, it is a possibility - BUT, also very highly treatable. When he has a second test to check the medication is working, it will show all levels.

Wishing you both well, with an easy treatment and lots of years of fun to come.

Thanks and welcome back. I hope that if he does have this disease that it will be easy to treat. I've already let my vet know that I don't want any kind of surgery done on him. I just want to be able to keep him comfortable for whatever time I have left with him. When my vet felt his kidneys she said they felt normal so hopefully we caught this early enough so it didn't affect them.

Prayers for Storm. {hugs}

Thanks so much.