Duffy has hyperthyroidism

I have been concerned about Duffy for some time. He has lost weight
(but not as much as most cats his age, according to TED) and he walks
around howling a very loud, complaining sound--not like the cute
"trilling" sound that previously was normal with him. I suspected
hyperthyroidism and took him to the vet some time ago. Everything
looked normal in the blood panel, but the vet did not take a T4 test.
He could not feel any abnormality in the thyroid glad, which he said he
usually can detect if there is a problem. The problem continued with
loud crying, weight loss despite good appetite, and increased drinking.
So, I took him back to the vet last week. Once again, his blood panel
looked normal (in fact, very good for his age), and the vet could not
feel a tumor or any abnormality in his thyroid gland. This time, I
requested a T4 test even though my vet (who is very good) did not run
the test until I requested it. The results came back yesterday and
confirmed my fears--hyperthyroidism.

I know Jill went through this with Persia, and some of the others on the
NG may also have experience with it. I would appreciate hearing about
any of your results. One irony is that hyperthyroidism sometimes causes
blindness. That is not a problem for Duffy, of course, but all the
other issues are! If there any on this NG who are not familiar with
Duffy, the reason I called it an "irony" is that he has been blind since
birth, but he can do anything that any sighted cat can do.

MaryL

On 1/30/2016 10:57 AM, MaryL wrote:
I have been concerned about Duffy for some time. He has lost weight
(but not as much as most cats his age, according to TED) and he walks
around howling a very loud, complaining sound--not like the cute
"trilling" sound that previously was normal with him. I suspected
hyperthyroidism and took him to the vet some time ago. Everything
looked normal in the blood panel, but the vet did not take a T4 test. He
could not feel any abnormality in the thyroid glad, which he said he
usually can detect if there is a problem. The problem continued with
loud crying, weight loss despite good appetite, and increased drinking.
So, I took him back to the vet last week. Once again, his blood panel
looked normal (in fact, very good for his age), and the vet could not
feel a tumor or any abnormality in his thyroid gland. This time, I
requested a T4 test even though my vet (who is very good) did not run
the test until I requested it. The results came back yesterday and
confirmed my fears--hyperthyroidism.

I know Jill went through this with Persia, and some of the others on the
NG may also have experience with it. I would appreciate hearing about
any of your results. One irony is that hyperthyroidism sometimes causes
blindness. That is not a problem for Duffy, of course, but all the
other issues are! If there any on this NG who are not familiar with
Duffy, the reason I called it an "irony" is that he has been blind since
birth, but he can do anything that any sighted cat can do.

MaryL

Those were the symptoms, for sure. I'm glad you asked for that test.
Hyperthyroid is very treatable. (In Persia's case she was allergic to
the medication, hence the need for the expensive one-time radioactive
isotope treatment.) If Duffy is hard to pill the medication is
available in gel form. It comes in a tube you just click to the
prescribed dosage. You just rub the gel inside his ear.

Purrs for Duffy. Do keep us updated!

Jill

On 1/30/2016 11:19 AM, Judith Latham wrote:
In article ,
MaryL wrote:
I have been concerned about Duffy for some time. He has lost weight
(but not as much as most cats his age, according to TED) and he walks
around howling a very loud, complaining sound--not like the cute
"trilling" sound that previously was normal with him. I suspected
hyperthyroidism and took him to the vet some time ago. Everything
looked normal in the blood panel, but the vet did not take a T4 test.
He could not feel any abnormality in the thyroid glad, which he said he
usually can detect if there is a problem. The problem continued with
loud crying, weight loss despite good appetite, and increased drinking.
So, I took him back to the vet last week. Once again, his blood panel
looked normal (in fact, very good for his age), and the vet could not
feel a tumor or any abnormality in his thyroid gland. This time, I
requested a T4 test even though my vet (who is very good) did not run
the test until I requested it. The results came back yesterday and
confirmed my fears--hyperthyroidism.

I know Jill went through this with Persia, and some of the others on the
NG may also have experience with it. I would appreciate hearing about
any of your results. One irony is that hyperthyroidism sometimes causes
blindness. That is not a problem for Duffy, of course, but all the
other issues are! If there any on this NG who are not familiar with
Duffy, the reason I called it an "irony" is that he has been blind since
birth, but he can do anything that any sighted cat can do.

MaryL


Sweep (RB) developed this, she suddenly lost weight and started to pee in
odd places (including on my stove and I was having to clean that every
evening after work before cooking our meal). However once she started on
the pills she became her normal self with a couple of days. although she
was getting on a bit, She lived on for several years just taking the
pills. Our next door neighbour's cat also had it and he had an operation
and again lived years after that. This was all about 25 years ago and
medicines and treatments have moved on a lot since then.

Purrs being sent for Buffy to be normal self very soon.

Judith

I know you meant DUFFY, not Buffy. When I first adopted Buffy I
can't tell you how many times my fingers automatically started to type
Duffy!

Jill

[hyperthyroidism]
I know Jill went through this with Persia, and some of the others
on the NG may also have experience with it. I would appreciate
hearing about any of your results.

My Chloe (aged 18) has it. She's been on antithyroid medication
for nearly two years. She is slowly getting thinner but that seems
to be the result of simple old age rather than inadequate thyroid
control. She's a happy little cat and otherwise her health isn't
too bad. She's long-haired and needs help with grooming, but that
isn't a new development. And she has gluten intolerance, but so do
a lot of cats and it's easy to manage that. Her sight and hearing
are fine and she still has an epically thunderous purr which almost
never stops.

She comes to ask for her felimazole tablet twice a day. She gets
it rolled up in a small strip of thin sliced chicken.

She also has a bowel problem which seems to be unrelated to the
thyroid. By sheer guesswork, I've found that dosing her with
biotin (1/4 of a 1000ug capsule) once a week keeps it under control.
(I think the deficiency is a result of the egg in the food that
comprises most of her diet). She gets the biotin in another piece
of sliced chicken and would probably be happy to add several other
chronic conditions of old age if it meant getting even more of it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07800 739 557 http://www.campin.me.uk Twitter: JackCampin

On 1/30/2016 10:57 AM, MaryL wrote:

I have been concerned about Duffy for some time. He has lost weight
(but not as much as most cats his age, according to TED) and he walks
around howling a very loud, complaining sound--not like the cute
"trilling" sound that previously was normal with him. I suspected
hyperthyroidism and took him to the vet some time ago. Everything
looked normal in the blood panel, but the vet did not take a T4 test. He
could not feel any abnormality in the thyroid glad, which he said he
usually can detect if there is a problem. The problem continued with
loud crying, weight loss despite good appetite, and increased drinking.
So, I took him back to the vet last week. Once again, his blood panel
looked normal (in fact, very good for his age), and the vet could not
feel a tumor or any abnormality in his thyroid gland. This time, I
requested a T4 test even though my vet (who is very good) did not run
the test until I requested it. The results came back yesterday and
confirmed my fears--hyperthyroidism.

I know Jill went through this with Persia, and some of the others on the
NG may also have experience with it. I would appreciate hearing about
any of your results. One irony is that hyperthyroidism sometimes causes
blindness. That is not a problem for Duffy, of course, but all the
other issues are! If there any on this NG who are not familiar with
Duffy, the reason I called it an "irony" is that he has been blind since
birth, but he can do anything that any sighted cat can do.

MaryL

I hope that treatment is easy for him and it controls it. I don't have
experience with hyperT but I'm starting to get mad about vets who seem
to only base illness on blood test results. I know you trust your vet
and I respect that. I've just had a few experiences where I am worried
and blood work comes back normal so vet doesn't pursue.

Purrs that you get the answers you need and for your gorgeous boy.

--
ღ.¸¸.✫*¨`*✶
Cheryl

On 1/31/2016 4:09 PM, Cheryl wrote:
On 1/30/2016 10:57 AM, MaryL wrote:

I have been concerned about Duffy for some time. He has lost weight
(but not as much as most cats his age, according to TED) and he walks
around howling a very loud, complaining sound--not like the cute
"trilling" sound that previously was normal with him. I suspected
hyperthyroidism and took him to the vet some time ago. Everything
looked normal in the blood panel, but the vet did not take a T4 test. He
could not feel any abnormality in the thyroid glad, which he said he
usually can detect if there is a problem. The problem continued with
loud crying, weight loss despite good appetite, and increased drinking.
So, I took him back to the vet last week. Once again, his blood panel
looked normal (in fact, very good for his age), and the vet could not
feel a tumor or any abnormality in his thyroid gland. This time, I
requested a T4 test even though my vet (who is very good) did not run
the test until I requested it. The results came back yesterday and
confirmed my fears--hyperthyroidism.

I know Jill went through this with Persia, and some of the others on the
NG may also have experience with it. I would appreciate hearing about
any of your results. One irony is that hyperthyroidism sometimes causes
blindness. That is not a problem for Duffy, of course, but all the
other issues are! If there any on this NG who are not familiar with
Duffy, the reason I called it an "irony" is that he has been blind since
birth, but he can do anything that any sighted cat can do.

MaryL

I hope that treatment is easy for him and it controls it. I don't have
experience with hyperT but I'm starting to get mad about vets who seem
to only base illness on blood test results. I know you trust your vet
and I respect that. I've just had a few experiences where I am worried
and blood work comes back normal so vet doesn't pursue.

Purrs that you get the answers you need and for your gorgeous boy.


Well, I do agree with you. I like my vet and think he is good, but I
don't understand why he only relied on the blood panel. I even
mentioned the possibility of hyperthyroidism when I took Duffy in the
last time, and I'm annoyed with the vet and also with myself for not
pursuing a T4 test. We (or at least, I) tend to rely on the vet because
they have training, but the symptoms I described sounded like thyroid
problems to me, and Duffy went undiagnosed all this time. He still
would not have been diagnosed if I had not insisted on T4 this time. I
stay in the waiting room because my back problems cause pain if I go
into the exam room. They brought Duffy out to me, and the vet came out
to discuss his blood work. That's when I discovered that he had not run
a T4. After discussing it with him, TED agreed to run that test. My
poor little Duffy. He has lost so much weight that it really worries me
(some from his age but some I am sure was caused by the hyperthyroidism).

MaryL

On 1/31/2016 3:26 PM, MaryL wrote:
On 1/31/2016 4:09 PM, Cheryl wrote:
On 1/30/2016 10:57 AM, MaryL wrote:

I have been concerned about Duffy for some time. He has lost weight
(but not as much as most cats his age, according to TED) and he walks
around howling a very loud, complaining sound--not like the cute
"trilling" sound that previously was normal with him. I suspected
hyperthyroidism and took him to the vet some time ago. Everything
looked normal in the blood panel, but the vet did not take a T4 test. He
could not feel any abnormality in the thyroid glad, which he said he
usually can detect if there is a problem. The problem continued with
loud crying, weight loss despite good appetite, and increased drinking.
So, I took him back to the vet last week. Once again, his blood panel
looked normal (in fact, very good for his age), and the vet could not
feel a tumor or any abnormality in his thyroid gland. This time, I
requested a T4 test even though my vet (who is very good) did not run
the test until I requested it. The results came back yesterday and
confirmed my fears--hyperthyroidism.

I know Jill went through this with Persia, and some of the others on the
NG may also have experience with it. I would appreciate hearing about
any of your results. One irony is that hyperthyroidism sometimes causes
blindness. That is not a problem for Duffy, of course, but all the
other issues are! If there any on this NG who are not familiar with
Duffy, the reason I called it an "irony" is that he has been blind since
birth, but he can do anything that any sighted cat can do.

MaryL

I hope that treatment is easy for him and it controls it. I don't have
experience with hyperT but I'm starting to get mad about vets who seem
to only base illness on blood test results. I know you trust your vet
and I respect that. I've just had a few experiences where I am worried
and blood work comes back normal so vet doesn't pursue.

Purrs that you get the answers you need and for your gorgeous boy.


Well, I do agree with you. I like my vet and think he is good, but I
don't understand why he only relied on the blood panel. I even
mentioned the possibility of hyperthyroidism when I took Duffy in the
last time, and I'm annoyed with the vet and also with myself for not
pursuing a T4 test. We (or at least, I) tend to rely on the vet because
they have training, but the symptoms I described sounded like thyroid
problems to me, and Duffy went undiagnosed all this time. He still
would not have been diagnosed if I had not insisted on T4 this time. I
stay in the waiting room because my back problems cause pain if I go
into the exam room. They brought Duffy out to me, and the vet came out
to discuss his blood work. That's when I discovered that he had not run
a T4. After discussing it with him, TED agreed to run that test. My
poor little Duffy. He has lost so much weight that it really worries me
(some from his age but some I am sure was caused by the hyperthyroidism).

MaryL


I've noticed that most doctors, both vets and people doctors, have a
blind spot somewhere. Either they appear not to believe in certain
things or they are sure each patient has a specific problem. I used to
go to a doctor who would take a blood test, sure that it would show we
had Mononucleosis every time one of us went for anything. Many years
later, after we moved away and had a different doctor, our daughter did
get Mono. I thought of that doctor then.

Joy