Anyone with a hyperthyroid cat on methimazole?

Wow. The pills are $10 from the vet but I have to get the gel from a compounding pharmacy here in Walnut Creek ca and it is over$50 as is the benadryl liquid. So over $100. Do you get it by mail or from Canada? I haven't thought of looking for other sources.

For four quick dose pens it is 40.00. This gives 65 doses per pen, at 2.5 ml doses.

http://midvalleyveterinary.vetsfirstchoice.com/methimazole-quickdose-65.html

Mid Valley is in Vacaville. I adore her! I think you can order online and have it delivered too.

Not sure if the prescription can be transferred or not, maybe though.

Wow..why the difference. I will check them out. I wonder if their cleaning/dental work is cheaper. I love my vet and have had her for many years,4 Seasons in Lafayette, but when you can no longer work you have to do things differently. Thanks.

No, my other 2 cats were not old at all, maybe around10 yrs old & they did not have any prior conditions so not sure why this happen but it was soooo very sad to lose my babies after all that they went thru. Have you tried the Wellness CORE Food that is suppose to be a better quality & they have a lot of different flavors. As far as giving the water after the pill, I usually just put it in a syringe & give it to her that way, just to make sure the pill went down ok.

I know what you mean about chasing them down to give them there meds as I have one cat that was taking meds daily & what I had to do to catch him, was close off all the rooms until he was confined to one room & than I had to just snatch him up once I got him cornered so this was a daily occurrence. thank goodness, he's finished with his meds.

Yes, I have the compounded ear cream & I pay $40.00 for 5 syringes so  it would be a lot easier to administer than the pill, especially if you have to chase him down to give it & that way you don't have to shove it down his throat either. Plus, its important to make sure he gets his meds every day.

Good luck.

My eldest is now 15 or 16 and has been on the transdermal methimazole for nearly 2 years.  In hindsight, I kindof wish I would have done the radiation treatment in the first place.  My old gal seems pretty much the same since starting the cream; no noticeable changes in sleep habits, eating, water intake, etc.  She doesn't object to the twice-daily "ear massage" which is actually just a quick swipe up the inner back of the ear.  I don't bother with gloves anymore; I just wash my hands afterward.  She already had (and still has) chronic diarrhea which I've been managing with diet but need to do more as she has recently started avoiding the litter box.

Yin Doll said:

 
My eldest is now 15 or 16 and has been on the transdermal methimazole for nearly 2 years.  In hindsight, I kindof wish I would have done the radiation treatment in the first place.  My old gal seems pretty much the same since starting the cream; no noticeable changes in sleep habits, eating, water intake, etc.  She doesn't object to the twice-daily "ear massage" which is actually just a quick swipe up the inner back of the ear.  I don't bother with gloves anymore; I just wash my hands afterward.  She already had (and still has) chronic diarrhea which I've been managing with diet but need to do more as she has recently started avoiding the litter box.

Click to expand...

You know the radiation treatment is great, but not always quite right, some end up being too low and continue on hypothyroid med for life, some it's not quite enough and have to stay on the hyper meds too, but some that it is done just right of course are lucky and healed. 

I'm pretty happy with the results of the transdermal myself.

Simone is full and fluffy again, good appetite, etc. It's been around 6 months for her now.

My Rachel who turned 23 yrs old in May 2015, has been on the transdermal tapazole cream for many years now & she's still hanging in there, God Bless Her Soul. I'm very fortunate that she is still with me. Chelsea, was on the transdermal cram for awhile & than I had the thyroid surgery done & everything was good to go for awhile but unfortunately, she must have gotten another tumor on the remaining thyroid so we had to put her on the methimazole pill as apparently the cream was just not working for her. She's on a very low dose & seems to be doing quite well. I did do the radiation treatment on 2 of my previous cats but unfortunately, they did not survive much longer after the treatment. There thyroid issue was resolved but not sure if the radiation created another problem but I did end up losing my babies not longer afterward. Its very expensive treatment plus you have to leave them for a period of time, which I had to go out of town to get this done so I hated that I was not able to see them for a period of time. They were in a strange place with people we really did not know, which I did not like but I had heard that the radiation treatment was the best option so I decided to try it but I probably will not ever do this again. I, also, give them a supplement from Pet Alive, called Thyroid Soothe which I spray on there food & there is no taste so they don't seem to mind & always eat there food. Another good supplement is from Only Natural Pet called Thyroid Wellness that I give to my old lady. I just crush the pill up & add it to her food daily. Other than she can no longer see or hear or smell that good anymore, she manages to get around quite well & still loves to eat, which she eats a lot of small mini- meals thru-out the day & I give her a variety of organic foods that are healthy that she loves. So, she pretty much just eats & drinks & sleeps these days. I'm pretty much at her beck & call, whatever she wants I'm there to please her.

Sara's been on methimazole since February I think. She had a bit of a spike but I suspect that was more due to me being a bad mama back when Lucky was sick and shortly after he died. Nothing was really normal during that time, including medicine schedules (my own included). She's on 7.5mg in the morning and 5mg at night, but think that may be lowered back to what it was (5mg bid) after our visit next week to the vet.

She also has early CKD and (possibly) FIC, so I won't be opting for the radiation treatment I think. She's already going through so much and she'd be miserable being away. Add to that it's not really a guarantee, and not sure it's worth the price (it's over $2k to get it done here). Plus, I don't have $2k+ to drop at once. She's 13, almost 14 right now. I know that's relatively young, but there's the part of me that really cares more about quality of life. I want her to be happy, not miserable. It's why I don't completely disallow her to eat regular foo. She gets k/d and I can only hope that it fills her up so she wants to eat less of the other stuff. But I won't force her to NOT eat it (since I have four other cats I can't just not have it around).

Simone also has CKD.

The good news for her is that, since starting the transdermal methimazole, her numbers regarding kidneys did not go down as it often does, showing the true amt of kidney function.

catwoman707 said:

 
Simone also has CKD.

The good news for her is that, since starting the transdermal methimazole, her numbers regarding kidneys did not go down as it often does, showing the true amt of kidney function.

Click to expand...

Usually kidney values go up (which is bad), not down, with treating hyperthyroidism. Do you just mean she didn't get worse? 

cats5 said:

 
My Rachel who turned 23 yrs old in May 2015, has been on the transdermal tapazole cream for many years now & she's still hanging in there, God Bless Her Soul. I'm very fortunate that she is still with me. Chelsea, was on the transdermal cram for awhile & than I had the thyroid surgery done & everything was good to go for awhile but unfortunately, she must have gotten another tumor on the remaining thyroid so we had to put her on the methimazole pill as apparently the cream was just not working for her. She's on a very low dose & seems to be doing quite well. I did do the radiation treatment on 2 of my previous cats but unfortunately, they did not survive much longer after the treatment. There thyroid issue was resolved but not sure if the radiation created another problem but I did end up losing my babies not longer afterward. Its very expensive treatment plus you have to leave them for a period of time, which I had to go out of town to get this done so I hated that I was not able to see them for a period of time. They were in a strange place with people we really did not know, which I did not like but I had heard that the radiation treatment was the best option so I decided to try it but I probably will not ever do this again. I, also, give them a supplement from Pet Alive, called Thyroid Soothe which I spray on there food & there is no taste so they don't seem to mind & always eat there food. Another good supplement is from Only Natural Pet called Thyroid Wellness that I give to my old lady. I just crush the pill up & add it to her food daily. Other than she can no longer see or hear or smell that good anymore, she manages to get around quite well & still loves to eat, which she eats a lot of small mini- meals thru-out the day & I give her a variety of organic foods that are healthy that she loves. So, she pretty much just eats & drinks & sleeps these days. I'm pretty much at her beck & call, whatever she wants I'm there to please her.

Click to expand...

Did you mean to say that Chelsea had the surgery to treat hyperthyroidism, or that she had the I-131 treatment? My Tiger (17 1/2), she was 16 when she was treated,had the I-131treatment, it was all good although she did develop hypohyroid, but that was easily treated with no problems. Unfortunately, I lost her to pancreatic cancer a year and a half later, but I would still do the treatment with no hesitation.

I am sorry to hear you lost your other two kitties..... But Rachel is very extraoirdinary indeed- you go girl!

Donutte said:

 
Usually kidney values go up (which is bad), not down, with treating hyperthyroidism. Do you just mean she didn't get worse? 

Click to expand...

Oops, yes that is what I meant!

I was told that her follow up blood panel after using the methimazole for a few months may show kidney function is worse then when her hyperthyroidism was first discovered due to the organs functioning at a faster level making it appear that kidneys were not so bad.

Luckily her numbers remained the same.

Chelsea, was on the transdermal cream to begin with & was ok for awhile but my vet (who I use to work with) suggested the surgery so since Chelsea was not that old yet, I decided to try the surgery & it did work as he said the tumor was only on one of her thyroid glands so he removed it & he said that the other one looked fine. However, she ended up getting another tumor on the one remaining thyroid so now she's back on the thyroid medication once again but on the pill instead of the cream. She's doing quite well & her hair is nice & soft & fluffy (she's the one in the picture) & so I need to take her in periodically to get her levels rechecked but so far so good.

My oldest cat is on tapazole 5mg twice a day (I believe its the same)  The tests that she has to have cost me $400. and they keep asking for them to be done every time her weight changes!  I cannot afford to keep doing this and am concerned if i tell them I cannot have the test will they refuse the medication??

Since being on it, yes her weight went up.  But she sleeps and sleeps, seems sick, looses appetite and scratches at her face. I end up having to resort to food I wouldn't normally give to get her to eat.  So after reading on the internet I read that if they scratch at the face the med should be discontinued....though the vet said nothing, i told her her chest hurts when I pick her up and she scratches at her face bad sometimes....not a word about the med doing this.  Also I've heard that once the thyroid is managed the Kidneys may show signs, not sure if the hyperthyroidism hides or masks the kidney problems? But she has been drinking allot of water and urinating allot of water before ever being diagnosed and I also told them that, but it did not show on the BUN test.  I do not know who to believe anymore.  I also notice her poop is HARD! I ask and ask what can I give her this med is causing constipation, but they will not admit that it is the cause, and will only suggest pumpkin etc.  For god's sake people "seniors" end up taking stool softeners why cant I give her mineral oil or something?? But again they don't seem concerned but I watch her in pain with poop sticking out sometimes!  Im beginning not to trust any vets at all.

A month ago I ordered a herbal product from petwellbeing.com called thyroid gold, since giving it I had to stop the tapazole so that put her out a bit, but then she seemed to do o.k seems her old self, poops, sleeps, but still comes around more to visit etc. Coat is good, but her appetite is a little lacking and she is slowly loosing weight :-(   I had ordered the kidney gold since they say Hyperthyroidism Masks Kidney Disease....she just went to the emergency vet last night 'cause she had blood in her urine and could only go a tiny bit at a time...she is on a penicillin(aventiclav) to clear it.  

The Dr, if course recommended she go back on the med's and he thinks there 'may' be a heart murmur.  In a week I have to go to get blood tests again, that I can't afford.  Just when I save enough to get my other older cat to the dentist...something like this happens grrrr!   

Im just wondering if what is happening is the kidney issue is just now showing up, so I started her on the kidney gold and am hoping her appetite picks up. 

I may drag out the test for two weeks instead of one to give it a chance to work, and see what the tests show then.  At this point I'm thinking  either I put her on med again and she has no life and is uncomfortable all the time or I leave her on this and when she can't function any longer face reality and put her down.  And get my other cats teeth done so she doesn't end up not being able to eat at all !  Either way its a difficult decision :-(

Has anyone had any experience using thyroid gold?  It is herbs in the base of deionized water and glycerine.  Im sure the glycerine helps the bowel movements and coat.

I also have my 4 cats on Wellness, the only one i can get them all to eat is the Chicken and Herring "which is not so good for the hyperthyroid cat" but it is costing me a fortune!  They get a tiny tiny bit of dry like one layer deep in their little dish like 1/8cup or less.  The holistic vet wants few ingredients food she doesn't even like the sweet potato in wellness but geeze I can only find so many they will all eat.  They want low glycemic index carbs.  I am now trying thyroid gold as my cat is always sick on tapazole.  I am now giving the kidney gold too, I will soon get the BUN test agian that costs me $400 a pop. I hope her levels are good, I hate to go back on t Tapazole :-(

Has your kitty had more blood work since she's had the other symptoms? That is, frequent drinking/urinating? Treating hyper-t can un-mask kidney problems but you definitely have to treat it. Did your vet have you got off the tapazole, or did you do that on your own? How is she getting sick on the tapazole, out of curiosity? Also, have you talked to your vet about the supplements you are using?

If there are kidney problems, it's better to find out sooner than later. I'm curious about the $400 blood test though. My vet charges a LOT but I've never, ever paid $400 for a blood test, not even when they have a chem panel, CBC and T4! I hope you're getting some solid gold while you're at it for that much!

4cats1parrot said:

 
I also have my 4 cats on Wellness, the only one i can get them all to eat is the Chicken and Herring "which is not so good for the hyperthyroid cat" but it is costing me a fortune!  They get a tiny tiny bit of dry like one layer deep in their little dish like 1/8cup or less.  The holistic vet wants few ingredients food she doesn't even like the sweet potato in wellness but geeze I can only find so many they will all eat.  They want low glycemic index carbs.  I am now trying thyroid gold as my cat is always sick on tapazole.  I am now giving the kidney gold too, I will soon get the BUN test agian that costs me $400 a pop. I hope her levels are good, I hate to go back on t Tapazole :-(

Click to expand...

Sounds to me that all that is needed was a lower dose of the tapazole.

Mine went through that same thing, I could tell it was too high a dose so lowered it in half and told the vet that I was doing this, she agreed and a month later took her in for her levels check and she was perfect.

Once the dose was lowered her appetite came back, she stopped sleeping constantly, and has gained a nice amt of weight and is stable.

I think stopping the med she needs and replacing it with an herbal is not a good idea.

The longer her hyperthyroid is not under control the harder all of her organs are forced to work, including her heart and kidneys, and for a senior, this is not a good thing at all, and may very well shorten her life.

I recommend finding another vet, yours is not pauying attention, and also charges through the roof for blood test!! That is unheard of.

My reason for switching to a Natural Product, was how she was doing on the tapazole.  And my concern that If I could not afford to do the Test the next time they may refuse giving her pills, and at that point I know I will loose my cool and bring her in and tell them if that's what your going to do then you put her down! and see if they still refuse to give meds, but If I am out of money for these expensive tests what the h am I supposed to do???  So I thought giving this thyroid gold from petwellbeing.com would be the answer, with it her personality is normal, she actually has normal bowel functions but over three week she began to loose weight(not so much weight as fluid) 

When we were on two 1/2caps a day of the tapazole  we had cut her down (without telling the vet for a couple weeks) to see what would happen on the next blood test, She was a bit out of wack so again had to go to the two 1/2 caps a day, and she was scratching her ear off and her eye!!! but the vet never ever admitted that this is a side effect of the med and I know it is, so this is why I am not always forward with the vet, because so many of them are more concerned about making money than the health of the animal!  That may sound harsh but there are allot of people that feel the same way I do. 

I did not tell the vet I switched to the natural product the idea was I was going to go in and have her tested again and see how she was doing, but in the meantime she started loosing weight, which I thought may be the kidney issue showing up now.  In the meantime she got herself a UTI so she was at the emerg. vet,(which was cheaper than the holistic vet!) and they gave her fluids and told us to of course go back on the tapazole.  She is done her Antibiotics now and goes to the vet Monday so so much for finding out how she was doing on the natural product without their knowledge.  At least now I know.  But if you go to the site, there are an awful lot of cats that are doing awesome on this product! 

All of the products the holistic vet gives us to support heart etc. is all in an Alcohol base! which makes no sense to me, since when is alcohol good for animals! I boil it down (per their directions as I insist on not giving alcohol) and then it will only last about a month which is how fast i would use it anyway.  But the stuff tastes terrible (yes i tasted it lol) and they hate it! Not an easy task to give this at 5am before I go to work.

I fell bad now, I caused her harm....but when Im out of money and cant get medication what do I do??? 

The emergency vet hinted that the whole BUN and/or geriatric panel is not needed...I spoke to the holistic vet but they say the two tests needed separately will cost more than the BUN test! not sure if I believe this.  The Vet at emerg. works out of spruce grove a 25min ride which she could not handle or I would go to him, he is very honest it seems.  I am going to phone around for prices...I did phone an old vet (that has a building paid for so less overhead) in the city called the Blue Cross Animal Clinic but they charge the same, by the time you pay for the visit and the tests its approx $400 if not more. Its frustrating beyond belief. 

IMO more and more people in this area (per animal sites on line and friends) are all saying they will not get another animal as  it is too expensive at the vet...so in a way they are all shooting themselves in the foot and are going to have less and less clients and there will be more and more overloaded pet rescues.

I think you might be right about the dosage...she sleeps and not a good appetite.  We are going to get the "more expensive" but less evasive transdermal cream this time-fingers crossed.  I am also going to ask if I can not afford the blood tests are you going to refuse me medication?  If so, bye bye Holistic Vet.  I may try to hunt down a vet that comes to the home...if there is one.  Thanks for that, at least I know there are others with the same side efffects as my girl is having.

Can you tell me where you get the transdermal gel/cream for $10 a month? I pay $127 for 4 pens which typically last about a month and a half.

vetrxdirect costs 8.50 per tube (1.0ml)

SVPmeds.com are about 6.00 each.