hyperthyroidism

Question
My 16 1/2 year old male cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.  He has lost a lot of weight and also vomits regularly and has very loose stools or diarrhea.  His bloodwork showed elevated levels in his thyroid and liver only. We recently started him on methimazole twice daily but I  had already purchased Resthyro an herbal medication consisting of eleuthro root, bugleweed, lemon balm, gotu kola, hawthorne, skullcap, and valarian.  My questions are the following.  1.  Is it safe to administer the herbal remedy while taking the prescribed medication?  2. Have you heard of any felines been succesfully treated with herbal remedy for this condition?

Answer
I have not encountered this herbal remedy myself, though have read of it helping in some cases.  I cannot say that it would be a problem, however I would recommend trying one treatment at a time.  Not all treatments work for all cats and if both are started simultaneously it would  be difficult for you to assess the value of each treatment.

If however you did decide to give both I would have your veterinarian monitor his blood levels closely to be certain thyroid hormone was not overly suppressed leading to hypothyroidism.

I hope this helps.  Best of luck to you and your feline friend.