# Methimazole transdermal gel



## lang61 (Aug 13, 2016)

View media item 76252My 14 year old cat was diagnosed with a hyperthyroid condition. We live in London and want to try the Methimazole transdermal gel treatment. I have read about summit pharmaceutical you supplies it. Does anyone know a vet that works with them or know a cheaper option to get it. I persuaded my vet to write a prescription, so I could order it myself.

Thanks in advance.


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

lang61 said:


> View media item 76252My 14 year old cat was diagnosed with a hyperthyroid condition. We live in London and want to try the Methimazole transdermal gel treatment. I have read about summit pharmaceutical you supplies it. Does anyone know a vet that works with them or know a cheaper option to get it. I persuaded my vet to write a prescription, so I could order it myself.
> Thanks in advance.


I have used the transdermal gel from Summit Veterinary but they only supply vet practices. It is recommended for stabilising cats prior to surgery or iodine treatment but my vet has used it successfully long term in the past. Unfortunately although my girl was fine using this for a few months, I have had to change to Felimazole as we could not keep her T4 levels down even though we increased the dose of Methimazole.


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## lang61 (Aug 13, 2016)

QOTN said:


> I have used the transdermal gel from Summit Veterinary but they only supply vet practices. It is recommended for stabilising cats prior to surgery or iodine treatment but my vet has used it successfully long term in the past. Unfortunately although my girl was fine using this for a few months, I have had to change to Felimazole as we could not keep her T4 levels down even though we increased the dose of Methimazole.


thanks, do you mind providing the contact details of your vet, as my vet does not work with summit. You can also mail it to fromwald at sign hotmail dot com, if you do not want to post it in the forum. Thanks in advance.

Dieter


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## Ceiling Kitty (Mar 7, 2010)

Was there a reason you wanted to use the transdermal gel over oral medication?


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## lang61 (Aug 13, 2016)

Ceiling Kitty said:


> Was there a reason you wanted to use the transdermal gel over oral medication?


yes because we have a hard time giving her the pill each day and think the gel would be easier for the cat to handle over time


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## Ceiling Kitty (Mar 7, 2010)

Have you heard of Thyronorm? It's an oral liquid of methimazole just come out. Not sure but you might find this easier to administer than tablets?


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## lang61 (Aug 13, 2016)

Ceiling Kitty said:


> Have you heard of Thyronorm? It's an oral liquid of methimazole just come out. Not sure but you might find this easier to administer than tablets?


thanks we will check it out, did you hear about any experiences with it yet?


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## Ceiling Kitty (Mar 7, 2010)

Not really, it's so new - but it's the same ingredient as the tablets so I'd be hopeful it will be equally effective.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

lang61 said:


> thanks we will check it out, did you hear about any experiences with it yet?


I am just about to start using it thanks to @Ceiling Kitty for putting out the word about it recently. My vet wants me and my cat to be a guinea pig for it as cat is impossible to pill so will let you know how we get on.

My vets hadn't heard of it till I let them know about the details in @Ceiling Kitty s post. They were quite excited 

Had to chuckle though. Took my cat in about something completely unrelated and one of the other practice vets I had never met before said"I see your cat won't take thyroid pills, did you know it now comes as a liquid?"..... um, yes that was me that informed your practice about it actually


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## rosiepirana (Sep 4, 2016)

Ceiling Kitty said:


> Not really, it's so new - but it's the same ingredient as the tablets so I'd be hopeful it will be equally effective.


My cat has been prescribed thyronorm to get her ready for thyroid surgery. She was delighted to take it at first- lapping it up but after 2 weeks she is not at all happy- like a zombie - hard to get her to eat & she looks unwell. She is also vomiting - bringing back the liquid. I have changed the way I give the the medication- after cat treat biscuits & this morning at least, she hasn't vomited it back. The vet seems fairly relaxed about this & says vomiting is part of the side effects & it is transient. I would like to know if anyone out there has had the same experience & what they did. She needs to get her thyroid reading down- it is over 90 - before she can have surgery. It makes you feel so helpless what you see your pet look so unhappy & ill.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

rosiepirana said:


> My cat has been prescribed thyronorm to get her ready for thyroid surgery. She was delighted to take it at first- lapping it up but after 2 weeks she is not at all happy- like a zombie - hard to get her to eat & she looks unwell. She is also vomiting - bringing back the liquid. I have changed the way I give the the medication- after cat treat biscuits & this morning at least, she hasn't vomited it back. The vet seems fairly relaxed about this & says vomiting is part of the side effects & it is transient. I would like to know if anyone out there has had the same experience & what they did. She needs to get her thyroid reading down- it is over 90 - before she can have surgery. It makes you feel so helpless what you see your pet look so unhappy & ill.


I still haven't been able to persuade mine to eat it yet. He won't eat food unless other cat also eats it.

Hope your kitty is feeling better soon and you see and improvement.


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## Marlene Johnson (Oct 21, 2016)

QOTN said:


> I have used the transdermal gel from Summit Veterinary but they only supply vet practices. It is recommended for stabilising cats prior to surgery or iodine treatment but my vet has used it successfully long term in the past. Unfortunately although my girl was fine using this for a few months, I have had to change to Felimazole as we could not keep her T4 levels down even though we increased the dose of Methimazole.


My vet is charging £153 for 12 syringes of Methimazole 50mg and that lasts just over a month. Obviously we can't afford this as they also want to take frequent blood tests. I am hyperthyroid so I understand all about t4 levels etc. Are you paying this sort of money to your vet?


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## QOTN (Jan 3, 2014)

Marlene Johnson said:


> My vet is charging £153 for 12 syringes of Methimazole 50mg and that lasts just over a month. Obviously we can't afford this as they also want to take frequent blood tests. I am hyperthyroid so I understand all about t4 levels etc. Are you paying this sort of money to your vet?


Yes they are very expensive. I used to have a box of 3 1ml syringes of the 50mg/ml which cost me about £30. (I have a 15% discount at my vets.) Obviously the cost depends on the dose required. It sounds as though your cat takes a very large dose. Initially the three syringes would last a month at a twice daily dose of .05ml but then the dose was increased slightly to .07ml so probably only lasted three weeks. She takes the tablets now because of the difficulty of keeping her stable on the gel. As I said before the manufacturers recommend it for stabilising a cat prior to surgery or iodine treatment.


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## rosiepirana (Sep 4, 2016)

lang61 said:


> thanks we will check it out, did you hear about any experiences with it yet?


Yes, I have. My cat had THYRONORM before an operation & it reduced her thyroid levels right down to normal. It was higher than 90. The dosage was 0.5ml x 2 a day. She initially licked it straight from the pipette. However, after a week or so, she displayed side effects- vomiting it back, not eating & generally looking like she was drugged. Of course I rang the vet! She said these symptoms were transitory & they were! She wouldn't take it straight from the syringe but would let me administer it via squeezing it in her mouth- dead easy. However, the op didn't find the thyroid so she's back higher than 90 with her thyroid levels. Because her thyroid could be anywhere in her chest/throat we are trying something different to see if we can control it without anymore exploratory surgery or disturbance to her. We are working with the vet using very low doses of THYRONORM 0.25ml once a day to see if we can bring her thyroid level down with a lower dose. Also there is talk of the symptoms not developing as strongly. (my cat didn't display some of the more extreme side effects though!) This will be checked with regular blood tests to see the effect and increase it gently until the dose has the effect we need. At the moment she is still behaving like a starved kitten- wants food all the time and wants to play, play play! (She's 11) So we will see. Will keep you informed. (Please see your own vet re doses- this was for my cat only)


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

@rosiepirana with a cat so young the radio active iodine must be the best bet for treatment?


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## Hazel Eve (Dec 30, 2017)

Marlene Johnson said:


> My vet is charging £153 for 12 syringes of Methimazole 50mg and that lasts just over a month. Obviously we can't afford this as they also want to take frequent blood tests. I am hyperthyroid so I understand all about t4 levels etc. Are you paying this sort of money to your vet?


Hi I have just joined as I have only just been told by our vets receptionist that we can buy on line with a vets prescription. At the moment we are paying £105 for 6 50mg/ml syringes not sure where to start looking for competitive prices on line. My cat is 18 and doing well but now on max dosage so 1 serine lasts no more than 3 days .. expensive but so loved. Any pointers would be grateful.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

Hazel Eve said:


> Hi I have just joined as I have only just been told by our vets receptionist that we can buy on line with a vets prescription. At the moment we are paying £105 for 6 50mg/ml syringes not sure where to start looking for competitive prices on line. My cat is 18 and doing well but now on max dosage so 1 serine lasts no more than 3 days .. expensive but so loved. Any pointers would be grateful.


Is this for the ear application ?

Would the liquid oral version be suitable for you perhaps. Thyronorm by Norbrook do a tasteless medication you can add to food. I pay about £50 for 100ml which on 7.5 per day lasts us a few months. This price is with a prescription from the vet £11 and from an online seller. I get up to six repeats on that prescription.


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## Lottiecat (Sep 28, 2010)

Thyronorm is certainly worth trying as it's much easier to administer than tablets, if you're lucky you can insert it in the side of your cat's mouth while they're asleep! My cat has been on tablets for a couple of years, but my elderly Mum struggles to administer them, so we got some Thyronorm off the vet recently and finished using it on our return. There was no change in symptoms during use. Thyronorm works out more expensive than tablets, but I'm currently considering changing over to it, as I have an elderly cat and want to make her last months as easy as possible.


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## Ceiling Kitty (Mar 7, 2010)

Thyronorm is on my list of Top 5 Favourite Medications!


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

My cat would be seriously ill if it wasn't for Thyronorm as he doesn't do tablets. I am so happy they brought it out when they did.


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## Lottiecat (Sep 28, 2010)

kittih, can you let me know which online seller you use for Thyronorm. I'm seriously considering asking vet if we can change over to it permanently and ordering online is obviously going to save a lot of money as I paid vet £43 for 30ml, just about a months supply here.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

Lottiecat said:


> kittih, can you let me know which online seller you use for Thyronorm. I'm seriously considering asking vet if we can change over to it permanently and ordering online is obviously going to save a lot of money as I paid vet £43 for 30ml, just about a months supply here.


Will do. Can't access records right now but will dig them out shortly.


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

Lottiecat said:


> kittih, can you let me know which online seller you use for Thyronorm. I'm seriously considering asking vet if we can change over to it permanently and ordering online is obviously going to save a lot of money as I paid vet £43 for 30ml, just about a months supply here.


Hi sorry for the delay in replying.

I have been using Animed direct.

It's £46.82 plus free delivery for 100ml Thyronorm.

If you get the prescription from the vet you can scan it or photograph it and send to them. They are pretty fast at processing the order and sending it out.

If the prescription allows for a certain number of repeats they will keep the prescription on record so you don't have to upload it each time.


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## Lottiecat (Sep 28, 2010)

Thanks for that. I've use Animed before, but know you have to ensure you get medications from a reliable source. She's due to have her levels checked in the next couple of weeks so will review medication then.


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## Neil1969 (Oct 12, 2018)

rosiepirana said:


> My cat has been prescribed thyronorm to get her ready for thyroid surgery. She was delighted to take it at first- lapping it up but after 2 weeks she is not at all happy- like a zombie - hard to get her to eat & she looks unwell. She is also vomiting - bringing back the liquid. I have changed the way I give the the medication- after cat treat biscuits & this morning at least, she hasn't vomited it back. The vet seems fairly relaxed about this & says vomiting is part of the side effects & it is transient. I would like to know if anyone out there has had the same experience & what they did. She needs to get her thyroid reading down- it is over 90 - before she can have surgery. It makes you feel so helpless what you see your pet look so unhappy & ill.


We have had a similar scenario with our cat who is 18 she was put on tablets by our vet for hyperthyroidism but we had to stop giving them to her as she became incredibly unwell and we thought she was going to die as she was so ill.
We have also changed her diet as I researched that fish increases the thyroid issue due to salt and also chlorine in water aggravates the condition but this only worked in the short term.
Sadly she is too old to insure and the options available are incredibly expensive without guarantees we are now at the point of making a very hard decision as she is so unhappy and constantly obsesses all day about food.
We are looking at the gel but our vet initially was leaning towards putting her to sleep as her quality of life is now diminishing


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## shaggy886.pj (13 d ago)

Marlene Johnson said:


> My vet is charging £153 for 12 syringes of Methimazole 50mg and that lasts just over a month. Obviously we can't afford this as they also want to take frequent blood tests. I am hyperthyroid so I understand all about t4 levels etc. Are you paying this sort of money to your vet?


 We have just started to give our cat it and the vet charged £63 for 3 syringes which should last a month


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