Just found out Biscuit has an enlarged thyroid....

[Turbogirlie]

Thanks all 

I've been feeling a bit twitchy about putting him through it, but this morning has sealed the deal!!!

It took umpteen goes to get his tablet down him - tried tinned reformed ham  which he ate and spat the tablet out, then cheese, then back to ham, still no joy....so for the first time in the 3 and a half weeks he's been on them, I had to administer it myself as it were.

Now, I'm convinced it went in, and that he swallowed it. Convinced! However, while I was stroking his throat, I found a pill in the fur under his chest!! I couldn't tell if it was today's or one from another day, so I binned it thinking it was better not to have a dose than to have double. I'm definitely pleased we won't be going through this rigmarole on a daily basis!

It did make me laugh though, I have to admit.Good job it was a Saturday morning and I wasn't rushing ti get to work on time 

Been there with Fizz, know the feeling!

[Desley (booktigger)]

Glad to hear he has stabilised and can have the op, I do think it is the best way to go.

[Schmew]

Thanks all 

I've been feeling a bit twitchy about putting him through it, but this morning has sealed the deal!!!

It took umpteen goes to get his tablet down him - tried tinned reformed ham  which he ate and spat the tablet out, then cheese, then back to ham, still no joy....so for the first time in the 3 and a half weeks he's been on them, I had to administer it myself as it were.

Now, I'm convinced it went in, and that he swallowed it. Convinced! However, while I was stroking his throat, I found a pill in the fur under his chest!! I couldn't tell if it was today's or one from another day, so I binned it thinking it was better not to have a dose than to have double. I'm definitely pleased we won't be going through this rigmarole on a daily basis!

It did make me laugh though, I have to admit.Good job it was a Saturday morning and I wasn't rushing ti get to work on time 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Be thinking of you and Biscuit next Thursaday and hope the op goes well 

[Millys Mum]

Good luck for his op 

[Turbogirlie]

Great news that Biscuit has responded - thinking of you both & sending big hugs  for next Thursday, keeping fingers crossed! xxxx

[Schmew]

Thanks Clare   , was a massive relief to know they'd stabilised so quickly and also about his others tests, feel really hopeful he'll be around for a bit longer now 

[clarenmax]

Good news that his levels and stabilised, and defo think the op is the best option, so fingers and toes crossed for next Thursday 

[Schmew]

Hi  Just thought I'd give you a quick update on Biscuit

We were back at vets yesterday, she commented that he looked better and thought he'd put on weight , which I had thought but it's good for someone else to confirm it. He has put on a few grams which is good news, and best of all his thyroid levels are back to normal after just 3 weeks on the vidalta. Phew. Also they ran tests for kidney and liver function and I'm really pleased that they are fine too (I want a big grin smiley but can't find one!). His heart was still a little fast but likely made worse being stressed at the vets.

So... we talked about the operation.....basically vet is happy to go ahead, only one side is enlarged at the minute. The cost is pretty big, but by the time you've had 12 months worth of tablets and blood tests it comes to about the same anyway. I know there are risks and also the risk of other side starting at a later date but I've booked him in for next Thursday, eek. I trust the vet thought and I know she wouldn't go ahead if she wasn't happy, I just want the best for him and kind of feel like while he's good enough to go through op we might as well get it sorted. It's nice to read on here that Debsymiller had good experience with Monty and his op.


So, I'll be glad when next Thursday is over, at least my lad doesn't know what's coming so he can't be worrying about it!!
 

[Turbogirlie]

Big hugs to Biscuit and you - hope that the meds keep everything under control for Biscuit.

 

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

How old is Sam? The vet did say that as Monty has CRF that the thyroid problems, high BP and CRF all tend to go hand in hand so that may be why Monty is more succeptable.

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

Well the vet thinks it's the opposite side to the one they removed as when they do the op, they tend to only remove one side. He's a happy boy though which is the main thing whatever happens- just boney!

[Desley (booktigger)]

I'm surprised it has come back so quickly, it is normally 18 months minimum. It's one of my worries with putting Sam through the op.

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

Oh right, I will speak to the vet about that then if his levels come back as expected- Thanks Desley . It feels like such a shame as he only had the surgery a year ago but we did know the other side could become a problem, just one of those things that comes with old age if you're a pud! The vet thinks he has high blood pressure too which goes hand in hand with the thyroid and kidney probs so I want to get thyroid under control ASAP. I would definitely still recommend the surgery though for others as it is often a permanent fix.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Debs, Sam only has one Felimazole a day - while it is better to split the dose, it does still work on one tablet a day.

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

Glad it's all going well! Monty has been doing well but the vet thinks the other side of the thyroid is now enlarged so he's likely to have to go on meds again. We're having him tested in a couple of weeks as his foot needs to be perfectly healed as infection can alter the blood results on a thyroid test. We will be asking for him to have the Vidalta if he does need meds again as he's challenging to tablet so once a day would be preferable.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Glad he is taking the Vidalta no probs - Sam is on Felimazole and comes running when he hears the bottle, as he hasn't twigged yet that the crunchy thing in his primula is his medicine!! I am ultimately hoping to have the operation done on him, though we have to wait for his levels to come down.

[Janeyk]

  that's great news, hope it continues.  Regarding the appetite that will probably continue until he has built up a bit although Pepper is always like a little piggy apart the odd day 

[Schmew]

Well so far so good, Biscuit is taking his tablets in a bit of cheese each morning and so far no side effects......I hope they won't surface after this time, he's been on them for 4 days now. He's happy as Larry, still eating extra but that's no problem 

Tried the defurrum treats, once again 3 out of 3 cats don't like them!!!!! They don't normally get treats as such though, a bit of hot dog perhaps after dog training, or chicken from mum when they've had some. So, have got 2 bags of defurrum treats, guess the dogs will get those (they liked the one the cats wouldn't eat)

The left over 'easy treat' issue has been solved though, when the new dog nicked them off the side and ate most of them (luckily leaving most of the foil and plastic  )

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Lots of cuddles to Biscuit and hope he will be fine for ages and ages 

[Schmew]

Headrubs given, hand still intact!  Thanks for your advice, I didn't realise Maxy had had thyroid issues too  And yes if they're taking blood regularly, might as well make the most of it and test for everything necessary. At least the new vet is much better at it than the awful experience we had last time.

Ordered a couple of bags of defurrum treats too, Vet Uk will love you for recommending them, I also bought frontline and wormers for the cats and dogs so they've made a small fortune!

[clarenmax]

If you already doing repeat bloods for the T4 then it might be an idea to get them to run bloodworks on the kidneys as well, as sometimes the thyroid can mask kidney issues, so when you start to treat one, it then shows symptoms of the other.

Give Biscuit a little headrub from me and Poot, assuming he's being less grumpy now    Max defo went through stages of this until we balanced his treatment out 

[Schmew]

Thanks JaneyK and Clare 

I'm wonderign about his kidneys Clare, the vet had a feel at them and didn't make any comment, but when he's back for repeat bloods in 3 weeks I'll be asking them to check kidney function if they're not already planning on it.

Will have a look now for some defurrum tablets!

[clarenmax]

Maxy did well on Vidalta for ages, we had the added complication of kidneys as well so it was harder to balance 

If Biscuit likes treats, try the Defurrum ones, they are small biscuity things with gooey paste in the middle, perfect for breaking in half and sticking the tablet inside, it worked every time with Maxypoos!!

Good luck, and hope he responds well to the treatment xxx

[Janeyk]

Hope the tablets work well,    my Pep is on Vidalta and has done well on them 

[Schmew]

Bloods confirmed my boy has an over active thyroid as suspected. Started him on vidalta today, luckily it went down no bother in a piece of cheese 

I got some easytabs (by Bayer) from the vet to hide them in. Tried him with a bit of one last night, he wouldn't have anything to do with it, and neither would the other 2! So 3 out of 3 cats said no in my house.....the dogs aren't so fussy though so it wasn't wasted.

Biscuit is sat on the window sill watching me 'work'  I just hope the tablets help him and we don't have any side effects.

x

[Schmew]

 

That's some good information MillysMum, thanks. And good news about Monty after his op, hopefully it'll all go smoothly for Biscuit whatever we decide to do.

Luckily the vet is pretty fab  and I'm sure will give me the best advice to make the best decision for his treatment.

Will keep you posted. He's currently none the wiser, having just enjoyed an extra meal 

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

Sorry to hear you have a poorly pud, Our Monty was hyperthyroid and after having it removed, he is absolutely fine. It is easily controlled with drugs too but do speak to your vet about all the options. 

[Millys Mum]

I remember biscuit  sorry to hear hes under the weather  the good thing is once you have the meds right being hyper t isnt a problem to them.

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/hyperthyroidism/info.html a great site full of info 

My vet thought gooey was hyper t as he felt his glands were bigger than should be but his test came back ultra normal  typical cats

[Schmew]

Some of you may remember Biscuit, I rehomed him from here just over 2 years ago from DiddyDawn 

We're at the vets fairly regularly for check ups as he's on metacam for his arthritis, and his ongoing manky ears, and just cos I like to keep an eye on him cos he's old. We went tonight while I was there with 2 of the dogs, he's been hungry a lot lately but is definitely losing weight - to be honest I expected them to say it was his kidneys as it's all pretty much the same as my previous oldies, so I was surprised when she said he has an enlarged thyroid.

They've sent bloods off to check levels before starting him on medication, so I should hear tomorrow or Wed, then we'll see how it goes. She did talk me through stuff but to be honest it's always a bit of a blur and you never take it all in do you.

Had a read through Tan's health guide to feline hyperthyroidism in the health and behaviour section and it's been really useful, still worried about my baby but feel I understand a bit more now.

I know he's old and he's done so well to make it this far but I hate it when they're poorly. Having read the symptoms he's had a few of them, including the unkempt coat, his bushy tail has gone really scrawny but I've just been putting things doen to old age 

If anyone has any experience of this I'd love to hear about it. In the meantime I'm going to go and give my boy some cuddles (one of the side effects can be grumpiness, he's been nipping me lately when I'm stroking him, it makes sense now!)

xxx