So, our buddy Mister has hyperthyroidism. The Resthyro showed up from Canada today, and Sean was able to give him his first dose. It comes in liquid form--one drop for every two pounds of body weight--and we'll give it to him twice a day. Per Sean's report, Mister tolerated it well. (He was asleep when Sean woke him to give it to him, so Sean got very little resistance.)
Resthyro is an herbal supplement containing Eleuthero, Bugleweed, Valerian, Lemon Balm, Gotu cola, Hawthorne and Skullcap. It comes extremely highly recommended by hundreds of pet-owners who claim it has helped their hyperthyroid cat return to normal. The worst reviews say that at least it has done no harm. Given that it is also supposed to stabilize mood and digestion, and Mister has been vomiting more lately, it seems like it could really help him. Since Mister is currently only mildly hyperthyroid, we feel like it is worth a shot. And it's far, far better than the alternatives.
The three main courses of treatment, in increasing order of effectiveness, are:
1.) Surgery to remove the thyroid gland entirely. This is risky in that the thyroid is not a particularly large gland, especially in a cat, so there is always the chance that the surgery could be botched. Apparently there is a high mortality and morbidity rate for this one. Not something either of us is willing to risk.
2.) Conventional medicine twice daily for the rest of the cat's natural life. Side effects like nausea, lethargy, anorexia are to be expected. This is one of those things that makes you wonder if the cure is worse than the disease.
3.) (And the one that scares me the most) Radiation. The cat is actually injected with radioactive iodine (yep, you read me right--radioactive iodine). This is apparently the most successful conventional treatment, with approximately a 98%-99% success rate. Sounded okay to me until I realized that Mister would have to travel to South Carolina, be injected with radiation, and then essentially be radioactive for up to a week. The cat has to stay there until they're no longer radioactive. All I could think about was Mister being ministered to by these scary-looking people in E.T. haz-mat suits. Okay, maybe it wouldn't be that bad, but I have a really hard time wanting to put him through that misery. Apparently it really does work. Apparently, it causes no other organ or tissue damage and has no lasting side effects (the glowing only lasts for a few days...kidding). But I still want to hold that out as an absolute last ditch option. For obvious reasons.
So what we're left with is alternative veterinary medicine. It's what we do. Sean and I are both big believers in holistic approaches to medicine. We both take numerous supplements daily. We've seen positive results in ourselves, and frankly, positive results in our buddies from using what some would call 'fringe medicine." Only problem is, in a cat, it could never be a placebo, so how do you explain that it works? Sean believes in alternative medicine so strongly that he has his own radio show on AshevilleFM.org called "Holistic Harmony," in which he plays jazz music and has interviews with local holistic health practitioners. (For more information, go to his website, www.seandennis.com.) If it's good enough for us, and it clearly is, why wouldn't it be good enough for our buddies?
And so we begin with Mister's new therapy today. It will be coupled with lots of extra mush, and we're giving him treats right after each dose of "alterna-drops" to try to set up a nice Pavlovian "happy response" to getting his "meds." Maybe it's just my imagination, but tonight, he seems happier. Calmer. (Maybe a result of the Valerian?) Who knows--maybe this will all turn out to be a good thing, ultimately. If it can keep Mister from "moving like prey," keep him happy and calm and purring again; if it can give him the confidence to once again stand up for himself against the (very sweet) feline bullies in our household, then maybe this all happened for a reason and Mister will ultimately be better off for it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Once again, we'll keep you posted.
My fingers are crossed for you! Hope it works!
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