Old boy w/ late stage hyperthyroidism

My precious boy has just turned 16, and sadly what we had until recently simply thought was him getting old has turned out to be hyperthyroidism, the vet has said it's treatable and have found a great deal of info out... but the vet said it's likely he already has some form of heart damage and he's having heart failure and could give out any minute. The vet is pushing us to treat him but my boy has used well over 9 lives in his lifetime and has had a great life, I do not want him to suffer and fear it may be too late in the stages (from what the vet has said), he can barely move, he barely eats and though the vet said the majority of his problems should improve he is still getting very old and I feel we should not drag it out on him any longer...

Is there anyone else who has come across hyperthyroidism this late in the disease? Or with a cat this old? How well did the treatment work?

I feel it best to ease his pain, others are saying the same based on what we can see however it's difficult to know how he will be with treatment.

Hyperthyroidism in cats is very treatable. Which treatment is your vet recommending? There are 3: 1) medicating with methimazole, 2) surgical of affected thyroid glands and 3) radioactive iodine treatment. They each have different risks vs. rewards, so I would discuss them with your vet.

The vet has recommended either methimazole or the special low iodine diet, I think it was Hills y/d.
I wasn't impressed with the vet hence I'm here. I am being pushed back and forward by people between treating him and getting him put down (he's lived with one eye most of his life but is losing sight in the other due to other causes) and may have other underlying issues which we will find out today. I feel stuck as to what to do that is best for him but I guess at this stage the best thing will be to find out what else may be wrong with him.

I do agree that you should try to find out what else is wrong with him and what the overall prognosis is.

This is a blog written by the vet that first diagnosed hyperthyroidism in a cat. He's a small animal endocrine specialist.

http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/09/treating-hyperthyroid-cats-with-iodine.html

http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/search/label/y/d diet (All the blog posts tagged with y/d). Good idea to read through them all.... Please read what he has to say about y/d. Basically, he prefers treating with methimazole and feeding the species-appropriate diet of your choice as opposed to trying to treat with y/d.
 

I am treating my 16 year old (who also has bladder cancer and CRF) with the Methimazole.  It corrected the T-4 thyroid level almost immediately and stopped his symptoms of fast heartbeat and trembling.  You need to understand that the medicine does not cure your cat of hyperthyroidism, where the radioactive iodine treatment can, so rechecking (blood work) will be required to make sure the appropriate level of medication is being given.  I get my cat's Methimazole from BCP Pharmacy (vet calls in prescription) in Texas.  They then send it to me in CA.  It's compounded into a chew treat that my cat loves to eat.  Methimazole should be give every 12 hours, so daily dose split in half. 

With respect to the Hills Y/D, people choose to go that route, I would not.  There is a vet that specializes in hyperthyroidism, Dr. Mark Peterson, who has written many articles about available treatment.  Here are links to his website and discussion about the food:  http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/09/treating-hyperthyroid-cats-with-iodine.html      http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/09/best-diet-to-feed-hyperthyroid-cats.html

Basically, besides the food not being great for the cat (species appropriate high meat protein), that can be the only food your cat can eat.  My cat would never tolerate eating one food always.  I hope the above links help. 

It sounds like your cat has other health issues.  Hyperthyroidism often masks kidney problems.  Getting the hyper T under control though, will allow you to then address those issues. 

edit to say that vball91 is sending you to the same place - typing at the same time.  Definitely read his website to get all info available. 

I have a 14 year old can who is being treated with methimazole. He was diagnosed in May of '12. He also was diagnosed with liver cancer. He had a liver tumor removed in May and was then started on the thyroid medication after trying the Y/D. He would not eat it. So it took a while to get his dosage right. For over a year now he has been on the medicine along with some other medicines as needed because of his cancer. He has done well with the thyroid treatment, although his cancer has come back. Is anything else wrong with your cat. Have you considered just a trial period and see how he does on the medicine.

I also had a 17yo with hyperT.  I felt he was too old at the time to do the radioactive iodine treatment, plus I suspected his hyperT was masking kidney disease (which it was) so I opted for the simple methimazole medicine treatments.  It is commplace for compounding pharmacies to make up the methimazole into a topical cream that you just rub a tiny bit on his ear twice a day - or I also had success with just buying the pills (incredibly cheap) and grinding them up in a mortar and pestle along with a tsp of baby food, then he would eat it.

If you choose the medicine route, then you will have to go back about every three months for bloodwork to see if the dose you are giving is sufficient to suppress the hyperT.  Then the bloodwork will indicate if the dose is too high, too low or just right.  If it does turn out that the hyperT was masking kidney disease, you and the vet can choose which one is the greater threat and if CRF, then lower the dosage of the methimazole, which will speed up the metabolism and make the kd less apparent - although you run the risk of heart problems instead.

But hyperT is common and very treatable.  Sometimes hyperT kitties also get blood pressure medicines if their hearts have been compromised.