hyperthyroidism

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a few years back i had a cat named bushee who had to be put down from hyperthyroidism... i was too young to know what it was.

Now i have a cat only 6 or 7 years old who has been diagnosed with it. On the chart cats are supposed to be about a "4" she is a "13". It needs to be taken care of. our options are medication which will help her for about 2 years or, radioactive iodine treatment we dont know much about that... with a few incidents that have happend we have nearly NO extra money. Does anyone know how much this would cost?
 

blueyedgirl5946

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You need to consult with your vet to find out if he can do the treatment. If not, who would he refer you to. I am sure he can give you a price for what it will cost. In most cases, doctors will work out a payment plan for you.
I hope it all turns out well for you and your cat.
 

shambelle

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Originally Posted by ilovejoelyo

a few years back i had a cat named bushee who had to be put down from hyperthyroidism... i was too young to know what it was.

Now i have a cat only 6 or 7 years old who has been diagnosed with it. On the chart cats are supposed to be about a "4" she is a "13". It needs to be taken care of. our options are medication which will help her for about 2 years or, radioactive iodine treatment we dont know much about that... with a few incidents that have happend we have nearly NO extra money. Does anyone know how much this would cost?
PJ has hyperT - she's about 13 years old, and has had it for about 2 years.
Medication, from my experience (as a human with hypO-T, and knowing people with hyperT kitties that took medication for many years), will help for much longer than 2 years, so I'm not sure where you get that number from, but each cat is different.

PJ takes her methimazole as a liquid that we mix in with her food. Here, it costs $42 for 2 months worth, and for her to be healthy and get all the medicine (which didn't work with pills or transdermal gel, both of which cost the same as the specially made liquid), it's worth every penny. In my area, I've gotten estimates of $1000-$1200 for radioactive iodine treatment, which my vet does NOT do - he has referred me out to a specialist. I'm sure you would be able to work out a payment plan of some sort - I know that's what I'll have to do when it's time for PJ to have the iodine.

As an aside, my vet would not let PJ get iodine treatment until we found out if medication could make her better - he said that if she couldn't get better on medication, there was no point in doing the iodine. Even though it has been costly (between the medication, and the blood work he likes to do every 2-3 months with her because she's older), I'm really glad he made us do that - since I wouldn't want to spend all that money on iodine and put PJ through it, only to find out her thyroid really wasn't what was going on at all. So, I think you will probably need to do a medication trial before you get into iodine treatment. Iodine is probably a good option for you since your cat is young. Since I'm convinced PJ is going to live forever (she acts like a kitten), I'm doing the iodine as soon as I can.
 

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There are lots of cats that do well on medication for many, many years. Medication treats the thyroid condition; radioiodine can cure it (it works for most hyperthyroid cats). Even if you decide to pursue radioiodine, most vets want to have the cat stable on methimazole/Tapazole first to be sure that the kidney values are normal. Radioiodine is expensive. In most places within the United States, it costs between $900 and $1200. It has to be done at a special facility.

If you persue the medication route, I encourage you to get your vet to write you a prescription, and shop around for a good deal on the medication. Methimazole (the generic form of Tapazole) is available at human pharmacies. You can often get a better deal by buying a bottle of 100 tablets. I believe it is less than $40 on drugstore.com. Be sure you start with a low dose (such as 2.5 mg twice per day), as it can reduce the incidence of side effects. Please do not leave your cat untreated. Hyperthyroidism is deadly when not treated by medication or radioiodine (or surgery, though the surgery is very risky).
 

aelurophile

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This was over 8 years ago, but I also had a cat with a HT. We treated him with Methimazole (pill form, which I crushed into his food). Unfortunately, because he also had FIV, he was not a viable candidate for the iodine treatment. A combination of complications from the FIV and liver damage from the medicine ended up killing him. It's good to hear that the medicine has worked well for others, but I would ask your vet about side effects (eg, liver damage) from the medicine.

My husband has a co-worker who used the iodine treatment for her cat's HT. Yes, it is rather expensive (I think~$1200) and you do have to take your cat to a specialist (where it is kept for at least a week), but all of the cats that I have ever heard of having this treatment have lived for many years without any problems with HT again.

Good luck!
 

malikitty

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Like the previous said the medication can work well. I had two cats in the past with HT. One was 14 when diagnosed, she leaved till 17 with medicine, the other was 13 when diagnosed and lived till 18 years of age. Niether had more than the pills to help them through. I would weigh out your options with your vet, both finacially and whats best for the kitty. I hope all works out well.
 

cloud_shade

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Originally Posted by Aelurophile

My husband has a co-worker who used the iodine treatment for her cat's HT. Yes, it is rather expensive (I think~$1200) and you do have to take your cat to a specialist (where it is kept for at least a week), but all of the cats that I have ever heard of having this treatment have lived for many years without any problems with HT again.

Good luck!
Actually, the time in the facility varies from state to state. In Oregon, the cats are kept for 4 days.
 
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save_adopt

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thats you guys. (the 2 years info was given to me by my vet when we brought brandi in) it looks like a specialist will be calling us and he said it takes about a half hour to explaine all the options so well see
 
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