Sep
29
My aging cat and I both take thyroid medication now, except hers is supposed to slow her thyroid down while mine is supposed to goose mine into action. Probably that’s not a hugely accurate description of how they work but you get the idea: my thyroid is apparently kinda sluggish and needs a swift kick in the rear, while hers is stuck in overdrive.
My own thyroid medication is a teeny little pill that I’m supposed to remember to take a full 30-60 minutes before I drink coffee in the morning. In theory this doesn’t seem a major logistics issue: I wake up early to pee every single day of my blessed life, and I leave the pills in a little bowl on my nightstand. You’d think it would be quite easy to remember to take one when I go back to bed, and YET.
Meanwhile, Callie’s medication is a transdermal deal that comes in a little clicky pen. The pen disperses a dose of medication that looks sort of like a blorp of sunscreen, which I must then apply to the inside of her ear twice a day.
The INSIDE of her EAR, yes. This is what I chose in lieu of giving her a pill, because we already have to periodically give her pills for flea medication and that is a Whole Entire Thing. So twice a day I’m coming at her with this weird wet willie action (she tolerates it but her face is always like I DO NOT CONSENT) and I’m always wondering if my brief skin contact with her meds is undoing the effects of my own tiny pill.
I paid the hojillion trillion bajillion dollars to have her blood re-tested again recently and the vet called to tell me that her thyroid numbers looked a little better but not much. She wanted to know if I felt like she was getting the full dose each time, and it’s just like, dude, I have no idea. I’m doing my best to shmear the ear but there’s no definitive method of verifying success. If I had to run a QA department on cat-ear dosing I’d have a hell of a time establishing the benchmarks, you feel me?
She’s too skinny, I feel too heavy. Both of us have fur that has seen better days. Probably we could each benefit from a better medication regimen. But what can I say, we are muddling along the best we can.
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I worked at a cat-only vet for a year and a half, my first post-covid job. Most people have issues with pilling their kitties, they don’t make it easy lol, we had lots of clients use the gel instead. If you wear gloves when applying the medicine you can rub it in a bit better without absorbing any of it yourself. It probably won’t counter act your own medication but it’ll ensure she gets all of it. We always told people to wear gloves.
What a gorgeous beast. And the kitty isn’t too shabby either, har har!
I’ve been on Synthroid for a good decade and the doc tells me it’ll most likely be a permanent thing. I learned the hard way when I forgot to refill the meds on time and went a week without them. I gained a pound each day.
I remember when drugs were fun.
That’s a happy cat face. Clearly you are forgiven for the ear fiddling.
Waving from Half-a-thyroid Island over here. I’m on a low dose of replacement hormones forever more. I know it all interacts with menopause as well. Fairly mysterious.
Bot h are also sweet, and also have fangs? I’m trying here — just meant you can be fierce, no knock on your perfect teeth!!
I feel you with remembering to take the meds. I have ADHD and the success of my entire day depends on me remembering to take a little pill in a particular window of time. [sigh!]
Your catto is gorgeous. Ours needed thyroid meds. We just use to chop it up and put it in her food. I’m sure she realised it ruined the taste of breakfast but she conceded it was better than jamming it down her throat and we agreed.
I got these finger cots to use when giving my cat her thyroid medicine. I didn’t feel like wasting a whole glove each time.
Beautiful cat :)
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Ohhhhhhh beautiful cat, and lovely little FANGIES!!
I have a cat who takes a pill every other day, and SOME days he is a very good and cooperative boy, and OTHER days, like TODAY, it takes four attempts until finally I am holding a gross soggy pill that will no longer unstick from my fingers to drop into his ungrateful throat.
Oh beauteous Callie! Her happy-fangs make her look like Bunnicula.
I have taken a thyroid medicine for over 10 years, and after many mornings that I missed that window, my doctor said it was fine for me to take it at night. So now I take it when I brush my teeth and it’s so much easier than in the morning. Maybe that would work for you too? Also I love your cat!
That is a pretty kitty and I love her.
That is a beautiful cat, and I love how you wrote about you two!
I’ve been on Synthroid for a long time too. What I’ve learned is that — yes, a full 30 to 60 minutes before you eat/drink is ideal but…. — what matters most is that you are standardized. I tend to take it with less of an interval before food but that is what I ALWAYS DO. So when my levels are tested, it is with a standard dosing. Might my prescription be a little different if I were taking it regularly 30-60 minutes before eating? Yeah. But am I REGULARLY AIMING for the right TS3 level? Yes. And my GP agrees. YMMV.