Truffle is 9 year old cat, female, spayed sometime before I got her when she was about 6 months old. She's about 10 pounds and she's eating every day, but not much. She's quite thin. She is very clingy with me and my husband and pretty much wants one of us to be petting her any time she's not asleep.
She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at the end of 2024. She had no symptoms other than the weight loss when we took her in, but her T4 levels were quite high (12.4). She was put on transdermal methimazole and we tried with that for several months, but it made her stop eating and throw up multiple times a day. She hasn't been on any medications since mid-May. Her T4 levels are quite high and she had some episodes of passing out about a month ago. We took her to an emergency vet who referred us to a cardiologist, and she said Truffle has thickening of some tissues in her heart. The cardiologist thinks this is due to the hyperthyroid and is hopeful that it will resolve once the hyperthyroid is cured. At the time we took her to the emergency vet, at the beginning of June, her T4 was at 15.6.
Which brings me to the I-131 treatment. Every vet (4 of them) who has seen her has pushed us toward the I-131 treatment. We're scheduling a consult with the I-131 place in 2 weeks and I think at this point we'll likely do it because I'm not sure there are other options. I'm concerned that they're going to give her a high dose because her T4 levels are high, but she's such a tiny little cat.
If we do it, is there a homeopathic remedy or other supplements we could give her to support her during and after the treatment? I'm asking about both during her stay at the facility (72 hours) as well as the 2 weeks after when she will be processing and eliminating the radioactive materials. I'm very concerned about what that will do to her kidneys and bladder.
She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at the end of 2024. She had no symptoms other than the weight loss when we took her in, but her T4 levels were quite high (12.4). She was put on transdermal methimazole and we tried with that for several months, but it made her stop eating and throw up multiple times a day. She hasn't been on any medications since mid-May. Her T4 levels are quite high and she had some episodes of passing out about a month ago. We took her to an emergency vet who referred us to a cardiologist, and she said Truffle has thickening of some tissues in her heart. The cardiologist thinks this is due to the hyperthyroid and is hopeful that it will resolve once the hyperthyroid is cured. At the time we took her to the emergency vet, at the beginning of June, her T4 was at 15.6.
Which brings me to the I-131 treatment. Every vet (4 of them) who has seen her has pushed us toward the I-131 treatment. We're scheduling a consult with the I-131 place in 2 weeks and I think at this point we'll likely do it because I'm not sure there are other options. I'm concerned that they're going to give her a high dose because her T4 levels are high, but she's such a tiny little cat.
If we do it, is there a homeopathic remedy or other supplements we could give her to support her during and after the treatment? I'm asking about both during her stay at the facility (72 hours) as well as the 2 weeks after when she will be processing and eliminating the radioactive materials. I'm very concerned about what that will do to her kidneys and bladder.
