Vidalta overworking (Hyperthyroidism)

[Stezzle]

To weigh Liquorice i hold him and weigh us both and the weigh myself. The take my weight away of the combined. Its always the same ad the vet. If you use a carrier then weigj the carrier empty and then with cat. Take one away from other. X

[ellarose]

Thank you will have a go at the carrier and see how we get on. It's not rocket science is it??? Should get an idea if she is going up or down. She's so happy at the moment I'm sure the weight is most important. It will guide me.

[Kay and Penny]

I stand on the scales with the cat in a carrier, and then with empty carrier, and take one from the other to get the weight of the cat - not absolutely 100% accurate but good enough to spot any significant loss or gain

[Rosella moggy]

Just dropping by to send very best wishes to you and dot Dot Ellarose   

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Good luck 

[ellarose]

Hello Kay

Thanks for the reply.

I don't think there is anything really wrong with Dot's heart.  The vet hasn't mentioned it anyway. She is so tiny  I find it difficult to weigh her. My weight fluctuates a pound here and there which is nothing for me but would mean a great deal to Dot so have no idea when I hold her if it's me or her. I'll try to balance her on the scales by herself.

I think I am just going to take her care into my own hands. Weigh her weekly and hope she puts on weight and if she starts to lose then start the pills again. I'm supposed to go back to the vet in a month. The vet has great trouble getting blood out of her as her veins shut down and I really don't want to put her through more blood tests than I have to. It takes her days to get over having blood taken, but will remember to mention the freeT4 next time she is forced to have one.

Thank you so much for the advice. I think it's up to me and common sense now.

ellarose

[ellarose]

Yes I'm sorry I meant T4...getting muddled up with my own hypo problem!

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

Ellarose, please will you confirm that the marker you are looking at is T4, as you said in your first post, not TSH as you said in your last post (sorry if this is obvious, I'm not up on feline thyroids?

[Kay and Penny]

the only dangerous side effect of hyperthyroidism in an elderly cat is a too fast heart rate -has your vet checked Dot Dot's, and is it a a cause for concern?

if there are no particular worries about her heart, I'd stop the Vidalta and keep weighing her every week - if she starts losing weight whilst eating more then it might be time to start the meds again

a really on the ball vet would be suggesting a free T4 test to go with the usual one, as the two together can often throw some light on puzzling readings, but given her age and current state of health it might be time to treat her rather than the numbers, and see how it goes

[ellarose]

Thanks for the reply.
The answer from the vet is that she is still really hyperthyroid and only the medication making her TSH so low and that we just have to get the dosage right.

I'm going to just let her have at least a week off the Vidalta and then gently introduce her to it again. If I incur the wrath of the vet then so be it. I'm a big girl now 

I just wondered if anyone else had done the same thing. I'm a bit of a coward I suppose.

 

ellarose

[Nicola (RockysMum)]

Hi EllaRose,

What a shame for you and Dot. That is really puzzling. If her thyroid levels are that low I really don’t understand why the vet would still be giving Vidalta at all. Dots well below the normal range so surely they should be trying to bring her numbers up rather than down. Did the vet give an explanation for why he wanted to continue the meds?

Also, you mentioned Dots kidneys, if she already has some issues with her kidneys, lowering her thyroid too much could also have a negative effect on them.

My Bailey is HyperT and it’s taken us quite a few months to get his dosage right (he’s on felimazole), It was too high at first and he became very lethargic and gained far too much weight. That was despite his T4 levels still being in the high end of normal. My vet was very wary of lowering his dose, but as an owner, you know your cat and he agreed to try Bailey on a lower dose. My vets view was to treat the cat, not just the numbers.

We had to go through a period where Bailey was getting his bloods checked every other week until things balanced out. Not fun for either of us but it meant I knew what was happening with him and he’s been very stable now for a while.

In your position, given Dots results, I would also be considering stopping the meds for a short period of time and then retesting the thyroid levels. But I'm no vet.

My boy Jake, who passed recently was HyperT as well and when he started to refuse pills, I managed to get the transdermal gel to put in his ears. My vet knew nothing about it until I told him. I don’t think it’s often used in the UK but he sourced it for me. So, whilst I always listen to my vet, I also do my own research and trust my gut instinct. They don’t always have all the answers and your vet should work with you. I’m lucky to have a vet who is happy to discuss everything with me. He jokes that he now has my number on speed dial 

My advice would be to speak to your vet again and ask them your questions.

I understand what you’re saying about not wanting to bother them, but you having questions shouldn’t be a problem for any good vet. I would certainly be asking him why he's still prescribing vidalta for Dot when her levels are below the normal range.

[ellarose]

Hello again

I have been on here for help before and am back with a few more questions.

Dot is a 19 year old cat and has been diagnosed with hyperthoyroidism. She is a very small cat 2.7 kg. She was given 10mgms of Vidalta when she had a T4 level of 62. This really knocked her out and she was obviously suffering. Her blood test came back as a level of 9! So now she's hypothyroid until I get meds sorted.  Not being able to contact a vet and talk to her I gave up and went to a different practice. The vet prescribed half the dose and after three weeks we had another  full blood test. Her kidneys had improved ( she is on 2.5 Fortekor).
Unfortunately her T4 level was lower than 9...not sure how low as haven't got the test results yet. The vet was puzzled (at least he admitted that!) He has suggested I give her half a tablet every other day.

Common sense is telling me to leave her for at least a week with no medication at all and then start the half dose every other day. Trouble is am I doing the right thing and is there a reason why I shouldn't?

She is well for a cat her age and seems to be enjoying her life even though most of it is sleeping but she comes to sit with me in the evenings when we are settled down and purrs and enjoys being groomed so I don't think she is feeling ill. She also eats well and is still able to give me a determined warning (bite but gentle) if I go too far with washing her eyes!!

Would I be doing anything wrong to leave her without her Vidalta for a week or more. I could phone the vet but at the last practice they were getting fed up with me having any sort of opinion and I don't want to upset this new lot yet as the new vet is very kind and I'm running out of vets!

 

ellarose