HyperMike (very very long, sorry)

I have always called him that as one of his many nicknames, but now
it's official - we got the blood test results back today and he *is*
hyperthyroid.

We started Tapazole this afternoon - I just *woke him up* to give him
his second dose, poor baby. He is very hard to pill, but not so hard
to give liquid meds. We got ten days worth of pills from the human
pharmacy (Laura, our pharmacist, already knows we're crazy cat people
and has filled Mikey's prescriptions before) while we wait for a
delivery from the closest compounding pharmacy, at the other end of
the state. We are hoping they have watermelon flavor!

Since TED had mentioned his suspicion of the hyper-t, I've been
reading up on it. The preferred treatment is the radiation, and in
fact TED said while discussing it with us this afternoon that it would
automatically be the recommended treatment elsewhere. Elsewhere would
be where the closest vet schools are, all of them hundreds of miles
away, and where we'd have to go to have this done. I was hoping
against hope, when I read about this treatment, that there would be
some closer facility, but no, it is as I suspected. Mike's **not** a
good traveler, and we would have to leave him there for some time, so
it's not really practical as a first choice. So we decided to try the
Tapazole first to see how it goes - TED said that if it were *his*
cat, that's what he'd do.

I like our vet very much, and to get any kind of specialized
treatment, as mentioned above, we would have to go to a vet school far
away. Our vet is smart and *cares about* and *likes* the animals. (I
have seen some who don't, or certainly don't seem to, and wonder
whatever the hell possessed them to become vets.) But it's a sad fact
that in this area cats *still* do not get much vet care. Not nearly
as much as the farm animals, or even the dogs. Cats seem to be
expected to fend for themselves, by and large, killing rodents in the
barn. Grrrr.

So, though TED suspected, and nailed, the correct diagnosis, this is
only the second case of feline hyper-t he's ever seen. So I'm a
little worried; I do have confidence in our vet, but would he spot a
complication early, not having encountered it before? He said his
other patient is on Tapezole and doing well and is "even older than
Mike." (One of these days I'm gonna slug him when he talks about
Mike's age like this. HE'S ONLY ELEVEN!!) He said give the meds 30
to 60 days to be effective, but though he didn't say it I am hoping in
my heart that this length of time is for effective stablization,
maybe, rather than it taking such a loooong time to have any effect at
all? Poor Mikey is miserable, and needs relief soonest.

So, once again, if any spare purrs could be sent Mike's way, we would
appreciate it. And if any of you who have experience with thyroid
problems would like to pat my hand and say "there, there" that would
be appreciated too, as I am a worried catmom. And a tired one, since
the only way I have found that works to calm Mike down for the past
several days is to hold him still in "his" chair and talk to him,
right in his face so he has to focus on me, for up to an hour at a
time until he settles down. Otherwise, he paces from window to door
to window literally for hours, growling and yowling, and jumps up on
things and falls back down off them, as his coordination is off from
the valium which does help some, but not enough. We don't have a good
place to confine him, and I am honestly afraid he'll hurt himself.
It's like talking down a tiny little speed freak, night after night,
until 3 or 4 am. (Have I ever mentioned Mike is sort of a *difficult*
cat?!?)

------
Krista
Who loves her kitty, and who seems to have begun an awful lot of
sentences with "so"

On 19 Feb 2004 23:30:20 -0800, (LOL)
wrote:

So, once again, if any spare purrs could be sent Mike's way, we would
appreciate it.

Of course, of course!! A whole bunch are coming, along with
sincerest empathy and hugs for you. Heartfelt good wishes that
everything turns out well and Mike finds relief soonest.

I understand a bit of what you're going through. No experience
with hyperthyroidism but constant worry and sleeplessness with Hobo's
newfound diabetes. Not so distressing as Mike's case but if Hobo even
looks cross-eyed, it's Panicsville. He *did* crash last Sunday
morning, with a fast dash to the Emergency Clinic (regular vet not
open), and another minor one Tuesday and another dash to his regular
vet. As in your area, our vet school is a couple hundred miles away
but three of the vets at the clinic we use are graduates of this
highly regarded school -- one magna cum laude which instills a lot of
confidence! Anyway, we keep a close, sharp eye on Hobo, even taking
turns sleeping in case he has trouble during the night. I'm *always*
tired now but you have it much worse with Mike. You have my heartfelt
sympathy and hopes that you both find relief much, much sooner than
the months you anticipate. Please take care of yourself.

Jeanne

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis. Purrs for a successful treatment and
a very long and happy life.


--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

"LOL" wrote in message
om...
I have always called him that as one of his many nicknames, but now
it's official - we got the blood test results back today and he *is*
hyperthyroid.

....
Poor Mikey is miserable, and needs relief soonest.

So, once again, if any spare purrs could be sent Mike's way, we would
appreciate it. ...
------
Krista

Krista,
So far we've not had any experience with hyperthyroid, but will offer loads
of sympathy to Mike and to you, also purrs and prayers that you can get him
stabilized and that he does well for a long time. I can tell you that the
cat next door has been hyperthyroid for a couple of years and is doing
really well on medication at 17 years old.
Annie, accompanied by Cinder and Rosie

"JBHajos" wrote in message
...
On 19 Feb 2004 23:30:20 -0800, (LOL)
wrote:

.... No experience
with hyperthyroidism but constant worry and sleeplessness with Hobo's
newfound diabetes. Not so distressing as Mike's case but if Hobo even
looks cross-eyed, it's Panicsville. He *did* crash last Sunday
morning, with a fast dash to the Emergency Clinic (regular vet not
open), and another minor one Tuesday and another dash to his regular
vet. ... Anyway, we keep a close, sharp eye on Hobo, even taking
turns sleeping in case he has trouble during the night. I'm *always*
tired now but you have it much worse with Mike. ...
Jeanne

Jeanne,
I assume from your message that Hobo does not sleep with you. Perhaps if
you could get him to sleep with you, you also could get more sleep. I did
this when our daughters were sick, and also when our dog had congestive
heart failure. I was able to sleep, but with an internal alarm to detect
problems. When our cat, Josh (RB), was diabetic, he already was sleeping
with us. He did crash once, (not while sleeping with us) and it was scary.
You can keep some corn syrup on hand to rub on his gums if Hobo crashes
again.
I hope you can get Hobo stabilized soon.
Annie

pats Krista's hand There, there, everything's going to be ok. {{{Krista}}}
cats purr loudly

Feel any better now? OK then, let's see. I started to see an improvement in
Frank's condition less than a week after I started medicating him, but it
takes a month before the thyroid level in the blood has had time to settle,
so to get an accurate idea of the dosage, the level is checked once a month
at the beginning. It wouldn't make any sense to check it more often, since
the reading would not be accurate. Now that we have found the correct dose,
we only have to check it once a year, unless there are symptoms of change.

I have trouble pilling Nikki on and off, and when she misses even one dose,
I can see the change in her immediately. She gets very clingy and wants
attention all the time (sound familiar?), but when I manage to get the next
dose into her, she's fine again right away, though a blood test would
probably show high thyroid levels.

You did mention that Mike was very thin. I don't know why I didn't react to
that before? That was one of the more noticeable symptoms Frank had of
hyperthyroidism. The other one was that he was hungry and in my face all the
time. Now that doesn't sound at all familiar, does it? ;o)

We are sending many purrs for HyperMikey to settle down, and please feel
free to ask anytime you need advice or just to share experiences. Oh, and I
wanted to say that to me, radiation seems like a much more intrusive
treatment than pilling. My vet didn't even suggest it, but then I don't know
if that kind of treatment is even available here. Might be at the vet
school.

Again, purrs and hugs all around. It'll be OK!

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki

LOL wrote:
I have always called him that as one of his many nicknames, but now
it's official - we got the blood test results back today and he *is*
hyperthyroid.
trimmed for server limitations
Krista
Who loves her kitty, and who seems to have begun an awful lot of
sentences with "so"
Hi Krista -

The first cat that was really "mine", Shadow, developed hyperthyroidism
when he was about 15. At that point, the vet didn't even have radiation
treatment available, so he went on Tapazole. There was an almost
immediate improvement. Luckily, Shadow was a very good cat when it
came to pills, and we only *sometimes* discovered one or two that he'd
managed to spit out without our knowing. He lived to about 19.5, and
that was only because of other medical problems, not the thyroid. So,
while it's always good to be concerned, I'm sure that once Mike's levels
are stabilized, you'll have lots of years left to enjoy his company...

Good luck thoughts, purrs and best fishes from Chris and the Fairfax
felines, who *don't* take pills all that well... Sigh....

On 19 Feb 2004 23:30:20 -0800, (LOL)
wrote:

snip

So, once again, if any spare purrs could be sent Mike's way, we would
appreciate it. And if any of you who have experience with thyroid
problems would like to pat my hand and say "there, there" that would
be appreciated too, as I am a worried catmom. And a tired one, since
the only way I have found that works to calm Mike down for the past
several days is to hold him still in "his" chair and talk to him,
right in his face so he has to focus on me, for up to an hour at a
time until he settles down. Otherwise, he paces from window to door
to window literally for hours, growling and yowling, and jumps up on
things and falls back down off them, as his coordination is off from
the valium which does help some, but not enough. We don't have a good
place to confine him, and I am honestly afraid he'll hurt himself.
It's like talking down a tiny little speed freak, night after night,
until 3 or 4 am. (Have I ever mentioned Mike is sort of a *difficult*
cat?!?)

------
Krista
Who loves her kitty, and who seems to have begun an awful lot of
sentences with "so"

I'm so sorry to hear about Mike. Purrs on the way.

Have you checked into all the options for dealing with
hyperthyroidism? I've not yet had to deal with it, but there is a lot
of information I've seen, and the best option (though the most
expensive) is radioiodine (hope I got that right) treatment, which
should completely cure the problem. I don't think I have any links
offhand, but if I find some, I'll post them.

Best of luck to you and little Mike,

Ginger-lyn

I'm sure everything will be alright with Mike, you are such a great meowmie!
But nevertheless we send lots and lots of purrs and best wishes for Mike and
calming hugs for his worried meowmie,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"LOL" wrote in message
om...
I have always called him that as one of his many nicknames, but now
it's official - we got the blood test results back today and he *is*
hyperthyroid.
snipwith "so"

On 19 Feb 2004 23:30:20 -0800, (LOL)
wrote:

I have always called him that as one of his many nicknames, but now
it's official - we got the blood test results back today and he *is*
hyperthyroid.
snip
Glad to hear that TED was able to nail the diagnosis, and that it's
treatable. Although none of us want any of our furbabies to be sick,
from what I've read here in the NG this is something which is
controllable. Once you can get a script filled from the compounding
pharmacy things will, hopefully, go smoothly. I remember trying to
pill Sammy with pain pills after she was spayed, and it pretty much
proved impossible.
So, once again, if any spare purrs could be sent Mike's way, we would
appreciate it. And if any of you who have experience with thyroid
problems would like to pat my hand and say "there, there" that would
be appreciated too, as I am a worried catmom.
snip
Mike is on my prayers list, and the gang here will send calm-down
purrs for the hyper guy to let his poor meowmie get more sleep
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

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