Another Thyroid Patient

Sometime in late 2009/early 2010, my veterinarian and I decided to help my oldest cat, Fermata, slim down a bit.  At the time, he was weighing in at around 14-15 pounds, which really wasn't very healthy for him.  By late 2010, my handsome cat was at 13 pounds (not bad), but his hindquarters were showing some signs of being too thin for the rest of his build.  Not wanting to miss a potential health problem, I agreed to a thyroid panel to rule out hyperthyroidism.  The results were high normal but with no thyroid enlargement, so a "watch" status was enacted.  Today, after a well vet check, watching became treating.  Fermata is officially hyperthyroid.  Diagnostics have begun to determine the current status of his thyroid and to determine his starting dose of methimazole, an antithyroid drug.  I have decided on this course of action, at least for the time being, until my husband and I can discuss the other options more thoroughly (i.e., surgery or radioactive iodine treatment).

While I am not thrilled at the prospect of caring for a feline thyroid patient, the amusing part of this scenario is that my husband is also a thyroid patient.  He was diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer in 1993 and underwent a thyroidectomy in early February 1994.  He has been on Synthroid ever since, a drug to replace the thyroid hormone that his body no longer produces.  Fermata has the opposite problem:  his body produces too much thyroid hormone.  In fact, the veterinarian explained to me today that King Richard would need to make sure that he steers clear of the cat's ears (the cream medication application site) for a few hours after dosing so that the antithyroid meds that the cat will be taking do not interfere with the thyroid replacement meds that he takes.

This could be interesting!