I-131 radioactive iodine aftermath
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 9:06 pm
I know there are already a few threads on hyperthyroidism and radioiodine treatment but 1 I don't want to tag this onto any one of those and 2 this is about post treatment recovery.
So Molly had her treatment in March and at first seemed to be a very different cat on return, much more chilled, more cuddly, and generally less feral. Her cravings have gone - dairy, fish, mashed potato, all high iodine so maybe the tumour was making her eat them. But she seems to change all the time, which makes some sense if her hormones are still fluctuating and her body is getting used to being euthyroid again and adjusting to mild renal failure as well. All this I can handle.
She did not present as a typical hyperthyroid, there was no weight loss at all, her T4 was definitely high but not very high, normal changes in liver enzymes, but also high bilirubin that made the vet suspect an ongoing liver issue - but the hospital found nothing in her pre or post checks to support this idea. Her hyperthyroidism was actually found in a routine blood screen when I took her in with acute digestive issues including but not limited to yellow diarrhoea. Yellow for bilirubin, seemed reasonable to me.
But now we are 14 weeks post treatment and she started having loose (not liquid but very soft) stools that are partially yellow again. Just yesterday we got the first solid one but still with one yellow section. It's taken me a long time to be sure it was her because other cat Boo also has digestive issues which have only just been brought under control with steroids ... we don't know what he has. Also she has not produced a fully formed furball since she was diagnosed last November, just a few half-formed ones.
My question is, is it normal post I-131 to continue getting occasional diarrhoea, or should I worry? I'm awaiting a delivery of Pro-kolin, I've tried giving her a capsule of Nutraflora which just seems to have caused very bad smelling wind. She already has hills i/d dry and has been on Felix for 4 months without issue until recently.
How long has it taken other cats to settle fully post treatment? I have read it can take up to 6 months to a year and we are only 3 months in. Was there a change in hairball production?
Is it possible she has caught whatever Boo has, which has never been identified in stool sample or blood testing? Vet suggests could be just IBD or possible lymphoma but either way steroids would be the preferred treatment at his age and given his general health.
Any thoughts here would be helpful, I am totally baffled not so much by one cat but by the two of them having such similar problems and yet apparently nothing contagious. And Molly has not yet had her 6-8 weeks post treatment check as we just don't have £250 after her treatment and me losing my job. Obviously we will go to the vets as soon as we can, most likely borrowing again.
So Molly had her treatment in March and at first seemed to be a very different cat on return, much more chilled, more cuddly, and generally less feral. Her cravings have gone - dairy, fish, mashed potato, all high iodine so maybe the tumour was making her eat them. But she seems to change all the time, which makes some sense if her hormones are still fluctuating and her body is getting used to being euthyroid again and adjusting to mild renal failure as well. All this I can handle.
She did not present as a typical hyperthyroid, there was no weight loss at all, her T4 was definitely high but not very high, normal changes in liver enzymes, but also high bilirubin that made the vet suspect an ongoing liver issue - but the hospital found nothing in her pre or post checks to support this idea. Her hyperthyroidism was actually found in a routine blood screen when I took her in with acute digestive issues including but not limited to yellow diarrhoea. Yellow for bilirubin, seemed reasonable to me.
But now we are 14 weeks post treatment and she started having loose (not liquid but very soft) stools that are partially yellow again. Just yesterday we got the first solid one but still with one yellow section. It's taken me a long time to be sure it was her because other cat Boo also has digestive issues which have only just been brought under control with steroids ... we don't know what he has. Also she has not produced a fully formed furball since she was diagnosed last November, just a few half-formed ones.
My question is, is it normal post I-131 to continue getting occasional diarrhoea, or should I worry? I'm awaiting a delivery of Pro-kolin, I've tried giving her a capsule of Nutraflora which just seems to have caused very bad smelling wind. She already has hills i/d dry and has been on Felix for 4 months without issue until recently.
How long has it taken other cats to settle fully post treatment? I have read it can take up to 6 months to a year and we are only 3 months in. Was there a change in hairball production?
Is it possible she has caught whatever Boo has, which has never been identified in stool sample or blood testing? Vet suggests could be just IBD or possible lymphoma but either way steroids would be the preferred treatment at his age and given his general health.
Any thoughts here would be helpful, I am totally baffled not so much by one cat but by the two of them having such similar problems and yet apparently nothing contagious. And Molly has not yet had her 6-8 weeks post treatment check as we just don't have £250 after her treatment and me losing my job. Obviously we will go to the vets as soon as we can, most likely borrowing again.