# hyperthyroid



## sharon123 (May 6, 2005)

hi i have topic under guilt in cat chat so came in here to learn about hyperthriod problem, you see i had a kitty who was about 12 and he had hyperthroid probem when i took him to vet last year he was losing a lot of waight so the vet told me to he could go on some pills but because his heart rate was 240min it stressed him out, i told a friend about this and she said her cat had the same problem and she put him on the pills but died 4 months later, you see i read in here a lot of cases where cats have been put on pills and live along time,now i cant sleep since then because i feel i did not give him that chance, now i feel guilty 
god maybe i should have tryed him on the pills after reading about all the good forums about they could have helped


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## Gudewife (Jun 27, 2004)

You know, this is an issue that no one can clear up for you. In some cats, the tapazole doesn't work effectively, in others it works initially and loses effectiveness, and in some cats, it can cause liver toxicity. And, some people have reported more rapid degeneration due to other diseases (like chronic renal failure) whose severity has been masked by the hyperthyroidism (once that excess blood flow to the kidneys is slowed, the extent of the damage becomes apparent and the patient declines more quickly). You could well have used the pills to no appreciable effect, adverse effect, or discovered another disease underlying. Or not. There's really no second-guessing it now; we all do what we can, and what seems right to us as guardians based on our abilities and our cats' natures. 

I have a friend with a hyperthyroid cat, aged 16, very sensitive and easily upset cat; they're treating with tapazole, and have decided that if it loses effeciveness or they need to stop using it, they are going to euthanize her, because they can't justify treating her with surgery or radioactive iodine given her age and emotional state...she would heal badly from surgery, and would probably not survive the necessary 2-3 weeks in the radiation lab because she's so easily upset. I certainly don't think less of them as cat owners for that; they've chosen what they believe to be the best course of treatment for that particular cat (and have said that if it was one of the other cats, they might make a different decision because they all have different personalities).

Vets (and doctors) often don't explain things well enough for us to make informed and wise decisions, and our friends and internet forums can sway us from our decisions (for good or ill), but at the end of the day, we all work with what we have for information at a given moment in time. Feline hyperthyroidism isn't something that most of us would generally be conversant about, so we get a crash course from the people we trust and make the best decisions we can based on that information...it sounds like that's what you did. I've made decisions for my cat that I later regretted, because I was relying on information from people I trusted (my vet, my mom, a friend with many cats)...but their intentions were good, as were mine. There's such a thing as making a pure and loving decision that has a less than pleasant outcome, but that outcome should not eclipse the manner in which that decision was made.


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## sharon123 (May 6, 2005)

Gudewife said:


> You know, this is an issue that no one can clear up for you. In some cats, the tapazole doesn't work effectively, in others it works initially and loses effectiveness, and in some cats, it can cause liver toxicity. And, some people have reported more rapid degeneration due to other diseases (like chronic renal failure) whose severity has been masked by the hyperthyroidism (once that excess blood flow to the kidneys is slowed, the extent of the damage becomes apparent and the patient declines more quickly). You could well have used the pills to no appreciable effect, adverse effect, or discovered another disease underlying. Or not. There's really no second-guessing it now; we all do what we can, and what seems right to us as guardians based on our abilities and our cats' natures.
> 
> I have a friend with a hyperthyroid cat, aged 16, very sensitive and easily upset cat; they're treating with tapazole, and have decided that if it loses effeciveness or they need to stop using it, they are going to euthanize her, because they can't justify treating her with surgery or radioactive iodine given her age and emotional state...she would heal badly from surgery, and would probably not survive the necessary 2-3 weeks in the radiation lab because she's so easily upset. I certainly don't think less of them as cat owners for that; they've chosen what they believe to be the best course of treatment for that particular cat (and have said that if it was one of the other cats, they might make a different decision because they all have different personalities).
> 
> Vets (and doctors) often don't explain things well enough for us to make informed and wise decisions, and our friends and internet forums can sway us from our decisions (for good or ill), but at the end of the day, we all work with what we have for information at a given moment in time. Feline hyperthyroidism isn't something that most of us would generally be conversant about, so we get a crash course from the people we trust and make the best decisions we can based on that information...it sounds like that's what you did. I've made decisions for my cat that I later regretted, because I was relying on information from people I trusted (my vet, my mom, a friend with many cats)...but their intentions were good, as were mine. There's such a thing as making a pure and loving decision that has a less than pleasant outcome, but that outcome should not eclipse the manner in which that decision was made.


thank you so mush for your reply in some way you will make me sleep alot better tonight thank you again god bless


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

Did your vet do any bloodwork to conclude that it is a thryroid problem and not something else? If not, I'd be very hesitent to start a medication geared to helping a thyroid problem just because your vet thinks that's what it is. He may be right, but then again... he may not be.

I'd ask lots of questions and have them run bloodwork (if they haven't) to say for sure what's causing the problem before you start medication. Also, ask about possible side effects. As Gudewife pointed out - it can cause liver problems in some cats. If bloodwork shows that your cat already has some borderline liver problems, I'd weigh the pros and cons of giving a medication that could just worsen them.

Basically, ask for more information than you could ever need to know. If your vet isn't willing to help you find the answers you need, find another vet who is.


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## Gudewife (Jun 27, 2004)

Jessie, the cat in question has already passed away; Sharon is having a difficult time with her decisions regarding his medical treatment...and I think that we all make the best decisions we can in the best of faith based on what we know and what we learn from the people we trust to inform us. No one can ask more than that.


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## micp879 (Mar 22, 2005)

Any time I hear that evil word "tapazole" I tell people to beware and watch their cat closely. The tapazole had a rare reaction in my cat (who was about 16 at the time) and it killed off all her platelets. She started to bleed from dental surgery, and kept bleeding, and bleeding, and bleeding. We didnt expect her to make it through the night. Only after multiple blood transfusions, multiple shuttle trips from the emergency vet to her regular vet for a few days, did her vet research the tapazole and find out that was the problem. She got better when the tapazole was discontinued, and lived a couple more years before dieing of cancer. 

So in my case, actually giving her the tapazole ended up being almost fatal.


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

I'm so sorry, I didn't read the post well enough. 

In this case, you did what you were told to do and it didn't turn out well. However, there's always a chance that it would have happened anyway. If it was your kitty's time to go, there isn't much you could have done.

Please don't blame yourself. Just enjoy every single happy memory you have of your cat and know that you loved him very much.


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## sharon123 (May 6, 2005)

thankyou all for your kind words, i will start thinking of benji instead of somehow blaming myself.
thankyou all again god bless.................


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