Radioactive Iodine Therapy for Hyperthyroidism?

Hi,

I took my female 9 year old cat to the vet last Friday after noticing some weight loss in the past few months. After a full blood workup they told us that she has a hyper thyroid, but it seems that we caught it on the early side. We were told to start her on medicine twice a day and that once she has been on the medicine for a month we might be able to do radioactive iodine therapy which should cure it. I was wondering if anyone has done this or has any experience with this treatment. I would love to have her cured but I have some reservations, mainly the fact that she would have to stay at the vet for so long (even a quick vet trip is torture for her), and also that she would be radioactive for a while when she returns. Any thoughts?

I have heard that it is very beneficial!  Just think about the money side of things....the treatment is $2000 I think (so yes, it seems like a lot up front but it has its perks).  If you did not go through with the radioactive iodine, you would have to pay $30+ bucks a month for meds, $75+ every 6 months for bloodwork to check her level, and $40+ for office visits (which stresses kitty out) over the rest of her lifetime (and she's got a long life to live still).  So if you add all that up, saying she lives to 18 or so...that is roughly $4500 for the bloodwork and meds alone!  Yes she would have to stay for a little while at the vet and she would be radioactive (for I believe a week or so), but I feel like the pros weigh out the cons.  You wouldnt have to take her in more times a year to have bloodwork done and stress her out more if she does have the treatment done.  I mean, personally, I would do it.  Where do you live?  There is a emergency center near me that does it.

Thanks for the reply! I live in Los Angeles, there is a place close to us that does it. The money isn't what makes me wary of it, it is very expensive but like you said it is probably cheaper in the long run than the other options. From my understanding of it though she would have to be hospitalized for a week + and then we would have to have minimal contact with her in the home for about three weeks, then after that point we would just have to be careful with disposing her litter for three months. I am worried about the impact all of this would have on her (she is an extremely shy, set in her ways kind of cat that is very easily freaked out) but also the impact that it would have on us and our other cat as far as the radioactivity goes and how that would affect our health. The whole this just freaks me out! Do you know anyone personally who has done it?
 

My vet told us when we were considering how to treat our cat that sometimes this doesn't work the first time and has to be redone.  That is why we didn't go that route.  You might clarify that with your vet.
 

Yea, I am going to have a talk with my vet getting all the details about it when she goes back for blood work. I wouldn't want to put her (or us for that matter) through it twice for sure, so if there is a high probability of that I wouldn't do it. So then do you just do the medication? How long has your kitty been on it, and has it worked out well? We are going to do it in the form of an ear paste since she is impossible to pill. Even that might be hard to do with her!
 

We did this treatment with our kitty Muggins back in 1998.  It cured her!.  The only downside is that she was away from home for over a week (if memory serves me right) and she was somewhat radioactive when she came home.  Didn't bother her any but she did earn the nickname "Gamma kitty".  She was 15 when the procedure was done and it bought her an extra 3 years before she passed away of old age. 

Willow had it done a year ago. It worked perfectly. I would absolutely recommend the procedure.wgh

The vet I used charged $1000 for everything, including ultrasounds, bloodwork, X-rays, boarding & food for 3 days and after care meds and if she had to go back for a second treatment. Their success rate was 96% though, so it's not that common.

She was at the vet for 3 days and when she came home there were no restrictions on contact with her. The RI is secreted through urine, so I had to use flush able litter for a week, maybe 2 and wash my hands after playing with her. She slept on me, was free to roam around the house and play with the other cat and kids.

As worried as I was, it was a total breeze. She got a little dehydrated when she got home and didn't eat as much as she should, but she got appetite stimulants and some fluids and was fine. She started with CRF shortly after that, so she didn't gain back weight, but throughout her whole CRF ordeal her thyroid function was normal until she went to the Bridge.

Willow was THE grumpiest old lady cat, and the thought of pilling her multiple times a day for years was cruel, plus constant trios to the vet for bloodwork.. I worried about her being gone for so long, but she really surprised me with how easy it was. She didnt mind the time at the vets as much as I thought she would and it was obvious she felt better as her thyroid function returned to normal.

KelleyJ said:

Yea, I am going to have a talk with my vet getting all the details about it when she goes back for blood work. I wouldn't want to put her (or us for that matter) through it twice for sure, so if there is a high probability of that I wouldn't do it. So then do you just do the medication? How long has your kitty been on it, and has it worked out well? We are going to do it in the form of an ear paste since she is impossible to pill. Even that might be hard to do with her!
 

Click to expand...

Hi Kelley, yes my cat is on the pill for thyroid since May.  It took a while to get the dosage right.  He takes 1/4 tablet once a day and it is working well for him.  It was harder for him because he had 1/3 of a liver lobe removed at the same time and so his appetite was highly affected by both.  But now, he is doing well.  My vet also talked about the ear paste.  He said the thing he had found about that is people wouldn't keep their cat's ears clean and so the medicine was not absorbed like it needed to be.  I am sure your vet explained all that to you.  Good luck.