Homeopathic treatment of hyperthyroidism in cats

Imagine,  your   heart  is  pounding, you feel like it  is  going to explode,  you feel hungry all the time and can’t  keep any weight  on;  you are restless and can’t  sleep at night.  After a while,  the high blood pressure affects  your kidneys,  you  feel  restless, crabby and unwell.

Welcome to the world  of hyperthyroidism in cats,  one of the most  commonly diagnosed  conditions in veterinary practice

The conventional  approach to treatment  includes  some of the following:

1. Radioactive iodine  injections  that selectively “kill” the thyroid  gland  cells but also expose  the whole body to radiation.  You  would not be able to touch your cat for a few weeks. It would be locked in isolation with minimal  human contact.
2. Tapazole is a conventional drug that selectively poisons the thyroid  gland.  It  affects  the liver and increases the chances  of other health problems.
3. Surgically removing the thyroid gland.   This results in the need for supplementing the necessary thyroid hormone with another  drug.  There is also a risk  that your  cat’s  parathyroid gland ( the calcium regulator )  would be damaged  during the surgery and  a life threatening low calcium crisis may follow.

Wondering, if there is something simpler and safer than the above treatments?

More than 10 years  ago,  I asked  exactly  the same   question  when  my  cat  Mina  was  diagnosed  with  hyperthyroidism.

I  adopted Mina  in 1992.  She  was a stray cat brought  to the clinic  where I worked.  I was determined to  avoid any of the above treatments for as long as I could.

I came across Natrum  Muriaticum, a homeopathic remedy derived from  plain and simple Sodium Chloride – common table  salt.  I was  skeptical but decided to  try it.  I gave Mina 2 doses, 2 weeks  apart.

My skepticism soon faded away when I started to see Mina being less cranky, her heart rate dropping back to normal  and to my big surprise, the test  results  showed normal thyroid values. I was stunned.  A homeopathic remedy made of CHEAP TABLE SALT  CURED MY CAT.  How crazy was that?

Because I still  wasn’t  convinced that I this was not a coincidence, I treated more cats and saw a very  clear  and predictable pattern.

Cats that  responded  well to this treatment were:

1. middle aged  (less than 12 years old)
2. their T4 (thyroid hormone)  values  were  over the normal but  not  more than 60mmol/l
3. behavioral  change usually happened within 1 – 2 weeks  with cats being less cranky and their  heart rate  dropping to normal.

Note: Cats  over 10 – 12 years  of age or those with T4  hormone values over 60mmol/l  did not  respond  well  and had to be  treated with Tapazole, the least damaging of the 3 conventional treatments.

Seeing these results, I decided to publish my study on hyperthyroidism in cats and my  presentation was accepted at  The World  Small  Animal Veterinary Conference.  My lecture was scheduled just after another one called  Supplementary, Complementary and Alternative Medicine. A SCAM in Flagrant Violation of Veterinary Ethics and Science.

It was presented by a veterinarian, who had, as I learned later,  ties to the pharmaceutical industry.  Apparently, he goes around the world and lectures against holistic veterinary medicine. ( I  asked my  Canadian born friend,  what  flagrant  meant,  he  didn’t  really know but  we both assumed that  it is something “nasty.”)

There is still a lot to clarify and explain and if you know of someone who would be willing  to provide research  funding for such an important  and interesting  study, I hope you will let me know. I have no doubt that the sponsor  will not  be the “Big Pill Inc.”  Table  salt  is cheap and  there is no money to be  made!

My cat is  now 18 years, to my amazement, her thyroid values continue to be normal.  There are few  other cats from the study that are still  well and  alive and I see them regularly.

I often wonder,  how many undiscovered, inexpensive solutions there are for many medical conditions.  Wouldn’t  be great if there was a system of unbiased medical research in place? If we allow drug companies to  control the single most important area of our lives, it is  the same as  making a goat  a gardener?

Dr. Peter Dobias

PS:

If you have a hyperthyroid cat, please  feel  free to contact me at www.peterdobias.com/services.  See text  below  for detailed data of my study.

Homeopathic treatment of feline hyperthyroidism

Peter Dobias, DVM

Dr. Dobias Healing Solutions Inc,  North Vancouver, BC,  contact@peterdobias.com

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Hyperthyroidism is one of the most commonly diagnosed problems in cats. The most frequently used conventional treatments involve the use of methimazole or Iodine 131. The following study is a retrospective analysis of 13 cats diagnosed with hyperthyroidism that were treated by using one homeopathic remedy. The diagnosis of hyperthyroidism was established based on the serum thyroxine values and clinical symptoms of increased  appetite, tachycardia, weight loss and change in behaviour.  A single dose of homeopathic remedy, Natrum Muriaticum 200 C, was administered upon the diagnosis and the thyroxine values were rechecked in 4 or more weeks.

The selection of the homeopathic treatment was based on the principles of classical  homeopathy. Only one single remedy was used at the time of treatment and no other methods were used. A dose of the remedy was repeated only when laboratory values confirmed increased thyroxin values or if clinical signs of hyperthyroidism recurred.

The homeopathic preparation of Natrum Muriaticum[1] was administered in the form of pellets in 200c potency.  There was one  cat (see Table 1) that received a higher, 1M, potency later  on  during the  treatment.

The goal of this study is to demonstrate the use, efficacy and long term effect of homeopathic treatment in cases of feline  hyperthyroidism. The second goal is to compare the patients whose values had gone back to normal with the patients that did not  respond to homeopathic treatment.

Results:

• A total of 13 cats were treated.
• The age at the commencement of  treatment ranged from 5 to 17 years
• Thyroxine values in the treated cats ranged from 39nmol/l to 175nmol/l (normal reference range is 18-40nmol/l).
• Symptoms of hyperthyroidism seen in the treated cats included tachycardia, weight loss, restlessness and increased appetite.
• The thyroxine values of 8 cats from this group returned to normal and the clinical signs of hyperthyroidism also disappeared.  The average age of these cats was 7.4 years (5 – 12 years). Their initial thyroxine values did not exceed 60 nmol/l and ranged from 39 – 59 nmol/l
• There were 5 cats that did not respond to treatment and were prescribed  conventional therapy of methimazole.  The average age of this group of cats was 13.8. The thyroxin values ranged from 55 – 175 nmol/l with the average of 97 nmol/l.
• One cat, the oldest in the test group, LaRue (age 17), was originally diagnosed as sick euthyroid due to an advanced stage of chronic renal insufficiency. This cat’s thyroxin value initially increased to 55 nmol/l and later returned back to normal. Unlike the other patients that responded to therapy, this cat continued to be unwell and later had to be euthanised.   We have put this patient in the non-responsive group.
• All cats that responded well to therapy maintained normal thyroxin values for at least 1 year and up to 5 years.  The average number of years each patient was followed was 2 years with the average frequency of administration of 1.875 doses/year.
• 1M potency was used in 1 cat where fluctuation between a normal and a hyperthyroid state was noted. This cat’s thyroxin values returned to normal and the clinical signs also resolved.

Study Data:

Table 1:

Succesfully treated patients
Patient	Age at the start of testing	Remedy doses since beginning of Tx	Years in the study	Thyroxin levels (nmol/l)
Hobbs	7	4	2.0	39	39	29	22	30	32	32
Calli	7	4	2.5	45	32	31	33	34
Q	12	2	1.5	50	38	22
Mina	9	6	5.0	41	36	42	36	30	30	30	44	32	48**	32
Sita	5	4	2.0	41	39	37	28
Harley	6	2	2.0	41	33	28	25
Emily	7	5	2.0	41	24	21	17
Beau	6	3	1.0	59	31

** 1 M potency was administered

Table 2:

Unsuccessfully treated patients
Patient	Age at the start of testing	Sex	Thyroxin levels (nmol/l)						Comments
Blackie	15	F	175	145***					Started on Methimazole prior to first visit
Pumpkin	8	M	81	79***					owner declined further homeopathic treatment
Nefer	15	M	63***						owner requested tapazole immediately
LaRue	17	M	16	55***	17	33			sikc euthyroid, renal insuficiency,  euthanized later
Tia Maria	14	F	112	100	13	45***	56	71	sick euthyroid, poor compliance, methimazole

*** Methimazole started

Conclusions:

This retrospective clinical study demonstrates that Natrum Muriaticum (homeopathic preparation of sodium chloride) can be successfully used in the treatment of feline hyperthyroidism without the  high cost and undesirable side effects of conventional use of Methimazole or radioactive Iodine 131. It appears that early diagnosis and the age of cats  are  important factors in successful treatment.

Comments:

Despite the fact that Natrum Muriaticum has proven to be effective, other homeopathic remedies may be needed in individual patients to achieve curative results. It is important to remember that proper use of homeopathic remedies is absolutely essential and treatment should only be performed by a veterinarian who has deep knowledge of the principles of classical homeopathy. I would like to emphasize that there is a tremendous need for  open minded, objective and unbiased research and cooperation in the field of veterinary medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, physiotherapy and other modalities for the sake of the health and wellbeing of  the patients – our animal friends.

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[1] Natrum Muriaticum 200 C – is a homeopathic preparation  of sodium chloride in a 200 C potency

Tags: cat, dr peter dobias, feline hyperthyroidism, holistic treatment hyperthyroidism, homeopathic treatment, hyperthyroid, hyperthyroidisim in cats, natural treatment hyperthyroidism, thyroid condition, thyroid gland

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