"Mary" wrote in message
.com...
Buddha's checkup today revealed that she is indeed hyperthyroid. The
doctor
showed me how enlarged her thyroid is now. I'm kicking myself because
another vet saw this a year ago, but because her T3 levels were only
high-normal I did nothing. (Either I misunderstood what this doctor's
partner said about medication, or he didn't tell me about Tapazole.)

Our (the senior one there and founder of the practice 20+ yeats ago) vet
told me that cats do best with radiation treatment, but that his own cat
did
well with surgery, which he performed. Because I trust him, if her blood
tests for renal function etc. come back okay, I think we will opt for the
surgery. (We would have to take her elsewhere for the radiation treatment.
Cost is not so much a factor--surgery is about $600 and radiation $1,000,
not such a big difference--as trust. Ever since my friend's kitten came
back
from a spaying declawed I have some fears about vets I don't know.) If her
bloodwork is okay, we will have an ultrasound done of her heart to make
sure
that it can withstand the surgery.

I would like to hear from anyone who has had this surgery done for their
cat. He explained the risks involved with the parathyroid--apparently they
leave a bit of that in there, but on rare occasions cats who have the
surgery do not recover parathyroid function.

Correct. My (RIP) cat, Debbie, had thyroid surgery when she was 11 or 12.
She was on Tapazole & doing apparently fine, but she also had chronic liver
disease, & Tapazole paired w/ liver dysfunction wasn't advised by either my
regular vet nor the internist vet, long-term. The radiation treatment
wasn't available anywhere in this area at that point, so surgery was the
only option left. My vet was hoping - & thought - she had done fine,
not involving the parathyroids at all during the surgery, but Debbie did
eventually become hypothyroid - a couple of months post-surgery, IIRC.
Otoh, her thyroid levels were easy to manage w/ thyroxin, a thyroid
supplement (which didn't have a potentially negative reaction w/ the liver
prob). The surgery itself & the recovery period went fine. Debbie was
grumpy & hoarse (from intubation, I gather) the day after her surgery, but
she was feeling *much* better by the following day, & went on to have an
uneventful recovery.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how come Tapazole (Vs. surgery) can't be
started now for your cat?

On the good side, our fat girl has lost three pounds since her last
checkup.
I want to think it is the canned food, but the vet told me cats lose
weight
due to being hyperthyroid.

Yes. The metabolism is sped up in one who is hyperthyroid, so more calories
are burned. Result: lost weight.

Cathy

He also told me that Boo is the fattest cat he
has ever seen with an overactive thyroid. She is a small-boned female who
now weighs 13.6 pounds. She is a really sweet and quirky cat, and if my
failure to act last year has hurt her I'm just going to want to die.