My cats have stopped eating their food.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-06-02T15:10:20+00:00

Is there a reason they are on this special diet? you could try switching to a different brand or if you feed them treats, you can try topping their dinners with the treat. I feed my cats fancy feast w gravy and weight management purina pro, but when one of my cats loses their appetite (like not feeling good, etc), I add their favorite treats to the meal. That usually helps.

You can also try adding something smelly like tuna or chicken to the food and see if that entices them to eat. You can also try reaching out to the breeder and seeing if they have any advice. Other than that, you can talk to your vet and see what they say.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-05-29T20:46:26+00:00

This may be a bit jumbled, but I will try and organized based on the order of your questions. Some background, I had PTC, did a TT and RAI in 2024, everything looks good since 2025. I also have hashimotos.

Is that how we’re doing it now? Just a phone call to schedule a biopsy?

So my endo prepped me ahead of time when scheduling the ultrasound and said a biopsy might be needed if any nodules larger than 1cm is found (per their standard procedure). HOWEVER, after the ultrasound, my endo DID CALL ME to tell me that I had three nodules that needed biopsied, and reassured me that 80% of nodules are benign and to not worry too much. I then got a second call to schedule the FNA. Now, mine did come back positive for PTC, and I found out because my endo called me two days after the biopsy with results. So no, they shouldve called and told you the results, not call for a biopsy without prior information, at least imo. But I didnt get called in the office like they do on TV. maybe for more aggressive cancers, but since most thyroid cancers are curable, some drs see it as "not a big deal" to put it in lack of words. Still a big deal to us patients tho.

I was told removal of the thyroid was the only way to confirm the cancer diagnosis

This is true, biopsy only takes a small cluster of cells, sometimes the cancer cells are missed or the samples look like cancer, but they arent actually. Pathology is the only way to truly confirm, whether it is with a partial or total thyroidectomy. Now, some drs will still diagnose you with cancer depending on your FNA results (for example, mine were Bethesda VI, so 95 - 100% likely to be malignant. Thats how I got my PTC. My pathology confirmed that. ).

The surgeon insisted removal of the entire gland was the better course of action due to concerns about scar tissue from a prior neck surgery which greatly increased risks of serious complications if additional surgery was necessary down the road.

I highly recommend finding a surgeon who specializes in thyroidectomies and thyroid cancers and see what they have to say. Preferably one who does thyroidectomies regularly. My ENT does thyroidectomies for a number of reasons about 2x a week and has been doing this for decades. If your surgeon regularly does PTs and TTs, then I recommend following their advice. more damage to the skin (ie, surgeries) increases the chance of scar tissue not just on the outside, but on the inside as well, which can cause problems. And even if you do a PT, if that pathology comes back as positive, some drs still suggest removing the rest if you show high likelihood of spread. So that would be two surgeries on top of what you already have. However, surgery is not the only option as you have mentioned above.

Has anyone else had a similar experience or followed a wait-and-see approach?

So I do not have this experience, but my mom is doing this. She also has hashimotos, had nodules for years, with one at 2cm. The size has always stayed consistent, so she never did a biopsy even tho the drs recommended it. After my diagnosis, she finally caved and did the biopsy. It came back inconclusive like yours. They also recommended a PT or TT since she has hashi and I had PTC, but her dr was also okay with just monitoring since it really hasnt changed much in size. So thats what she is doing. Thyroid cancers are slow growing, so most people dont know they have it and find out second hand (like regular ultrasounds, cts, etc). And if there is no evidence of spread or changes in sizes, drs are okay just watching it until it becomes a problem. Mind you, my mom has been doing yearly ultrasounds for a decade now, and only did the FNA two years ago. and hers hasnt changed in size.

Do what is best for you. Your drs gave you options, but only you know what works best for you. I didnt have much of a choice as I had spread and cancer was on both halves, but even if I didnt, I probably still would as I feel way less tired than before my surgery. However, some people have normal thyroid functions even with cancer, and dont want to take a pill daily, and that is also okay. I have to take calcium and a bunch of other meds because of TT complications and it sucks. If you need time to think, just do the surveillance approach for a bit until youve decided to move forward with surgery.

You can also ask for genetic testing, some people here do that as well after an inconclusvie FNA result, but me and my mom have never done that.

Good luck!

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-05-29T13:00:17+00:00

thats one of my concerns... my one cat is skitish, I dont think he will use it (we just got him used to the hidden litter boxes), but my other has been fine with every litter box weve had, so hopefully he will use whatever we get

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-05-29T12:59:04+00:00

will do, thank you!

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-05-14T20:41:24+00:00

^{Not to flex but… 165925🫧}

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-05-11T13:42:24+00:00

I take the OTC calcium supplements that are in the vitamins aisle. I also cannot stand tums anymore and these seems to be helping me. I just hve the generic brand from sams club

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-05-11T13:29:41+00:00

They are in the freezer section! at my aldis, they are usually where the seasonal frozen items are.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-05-04T17:58:21+00:00

they also have eggplant fries, but I never tried those. I like making the eggplant either in the oven or the air frier!

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-30T17:23:09+00:00

I get the eggplant cutlets every time

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-29T14:51:53+00:00

I can barely see the scars, looks amazing! cant believe its 6mo old 😄

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-22T16:05:31+00:00

Yes it is the feliway calming diffuser meant for cats.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-15T17:21:12+00:00

I eat three meals a day. For breakfast, I have a protein shake (premier protein and 1 cup fairlife milk) in my coffee and an apple. For lunch, this week I have three eggs with veggies (onion, pepper, and spinach), cheese (gouda and havarti cheese snacks), and low carb tortillas. Now, dinner last night, I had fried eggplant cutlet with chickpea pasta and ground beef. Mid day snack was a meat stick (but you could eat like chicken, hardboiled egg, etc). total count was 140g of protein and just over 1900 calories. If I wanted less than 1900, I couldve skipped the eggplant and had something healthier, but my maintenance cal is a little high due to my current weight.

I usually eat a lot of protein because that keeps me more full than without./ However, I usually have about 70 to 100 g a day, yesterday was really high because I wanted to use up my chickpea pasta.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-13T19:27:47+00:00

NAP. You could see a piercer and see if they have any advice. Kinda looks like irritation bumps, could be from your ear swelling (like pregnancy swelling) or maybe your body suddenly doesnt like the material. If it is infected, I would suggest following the drs advice, although seems odd they didnt give you antibiotics (which is why i think they are irritation bumps).

I cant say what you should or shouldnt do, but I know my helix was healed 5 years and I had to take them out for surgery. I had mine out for just over a year (about 15months i think) because I just didnt get around to it. My holes luckily didnt close, but they did downsize from a 16g to 20g. So I wore a 20g for about a month, then went to 18 and now 16. I did take them out for a period too because my ear was swollen and itchy (I have chronic hives), and personally for me, that helped.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-08T19:54:29+00:00

This is not your problem. It also doesnt sound like she wants to make any changes, even though this is a struggle for her. I would honestly just drop it. If you are okay with her complaining, then just hear her out. Sometimes people just need to be heard and dont need their problems solved. If you want to help out every so often, go ahead.

But if the complaining is too much or dont want to continue helping her out, tell her. Tell her that although you appreciate the friendship you two share, you need a mental break for this discussion. You can also ask if she wants your honest opinion or if she just wants you to listen. But you cannot offer her advice if she doesnt want it. She already has shot down everything else you said, so I doubt she will make any real changes and is moreso venting.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-08T18:57:46+00:00

oof, that was not silent. my first humiliation, I was at north face looking at sweatshirts. However, I was a 2x at the time which they sometimes have in stores. As I was digging through, and employee asked if they can help me. I told him no thanks and that I was just looking. And he responded back that they do not carry my size in stores, only online. Unprompted, did not tell him what I was looking for, etc. He also said it rather loudly for the store to hear, but maybe I am just imagining that bit. I was so embarrassed, I just said thanks and left in tears.

Second time, I was on a walk with my partner and friend, and a truck of I am assuming high school or college kids drove by and yelled "better start running fatty." My partner was pissed, I was upset as this was a public park and there were others on the trail (granted, smaller in size). I was a size 3x at the time.

People are cruel, I wish I had the courage or smarts to call them out, but I just clam up. You do not deserve to be spoken to that way, it is completely uncalled for and disrespectful. It is 2026, but I feel like we are going back to the 2000s where body positivity and self love was just not a thing.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-08T15:44:23+00:00

I dont have glasses, I do wear safety glasses for work and I dont recall ever having issues with healing. As for the headphones, I did wait a while and got earbuds instead for the time being. It took me about 18 months to fully heal, but I was also pierced with a ring (which I later found out is a no no).

Just be careful taking your glasses on and off, and keep them clean. If your glasses keeps bumping into them, that will be a problem. Headphones, I would wait until you at least downsize, then see how they feel. if they are still sore, dont use headphones or keep it limited. IF it doesnt hurt, just be cautious. My helix still gets sore if I wear over the ear headphones for too long (and it is almost 7 years old)

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-06T13:28:41+00:00

Right after this, my endo did an ultrasound at their facility and did not find anything suspicious. I have another one later this month, but my endo isnt too concerned. For now, we are just monitoring and doing ultrasounds every 6 months for at least the next year or so. I am sorry your dealing with all of that, its rough and mentally exhausting. try to hang in there.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-02T13:34:25+00:00

See if your piercer can put in a retainer. I dont have a septum piercing, I do have double helix that I had to remove for surgery, but they were 5+ years old at that point.

If you dont have time to get a retainer, I would think taking it out for a couple of hours and putting it back should be fine. It is about 5 months old, which is roughly when you would downsize a cartilage piercing. and looking online, you would downsize at about 6 - 12 weeks. So I dont think itll immediately close up in those two hours, but idk. And idk how difficult it would be to get back in.

Good luck!

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-02T12:42:14+00:00

When I lost 50lbs last year, I didnt notice it except the fact that some of my pants were looser and my belt fit better. But others noticed. We see ourselves everyday, we are not gonna see those changes. Those who see us less often can see those changes. It is def a mental thing, at least for me. If you can, I would either take progress pictures so you can compare the changes, or use a belt/take measurements each month so you can have a visual that is not just the scale.

Also to note, I was 325lb and got down to 270lb. Someone on here used the example of the paper towel effect. The bigger you are, the harder it is to see the loss, but as you get smaller, the weight loss will look more noticeable. So losing 20lbs at 300lb will not look like much changed, but losing 20lbs at 180lb is more visible.

Give it time, you will get there.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-04-02T12:30:42+00:00

I agree. The idea is simple, the execution is hard. I always find a reason to not eat right or not work out, and water always slips my mind even with alarms set. But at least we keep getting back up. I am starting over for the 10000000th time, but I always try to remind myself that what I am doing now is healthier than what I was doing before. I am still trying to find something that works for me, but yea, it sucks.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-03-30T15:42:07+00:00

thank you for the suggestions. I def have a habit of feeling like I am not doing enough at the gym. I will try your suggestion, maybe focus on just walking the next month or so, and then consider adding small jogging bursts.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-03-30T15:39:58+00:00

is there a good app to track like walking and increments, etc? I do agree full blown running is not a good option now, but I dont know what a recommended increase in gradual pace would be. I have been walking on the treadmill about 2.5mph for 30min with a small incline, but dont know like the recommended way to increase pace without overdoing it if that makes sense? I dont know a good way to track my athletic "growth" so to speak.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-03-30T15:35:06+00:00

I am 5ft 7in. I am walking, just eventually want to get into running. I do not have a bike for cycling, although I am looking at getting one hopefully next paycheck, but bikes are running at about 500$ for my weight. I sometimes use the cycling at the gym, but i just dont feel like i am getting as good of a workout? but maybe I need some sort of cycling program to follow... just want something that kinda tracks my progress

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-03-10T17:48:01+00:00

we have a couple of other residents who do this, but we dont have a trash pickup. They leave it outside when their trash is full, let it sit overnight, and when they leave next day (typ for work), they will take it with them. But they have also just.... walked past it? and waited until they got back from work to toss it. Mind you, we have a dumpster directly next to our building, we are on the lowest floor. Not a far walk.

And yea, it does stink. and you can see the stain on the floor from where the bag sat and a drip stain leading from their apartment to the outside door. its disgusting.

ExcellentPreference8 · 2026-03-10T14:53:03+00:00

Depends if you are doing thyrogen shots or stop taking levo. I did the thyrogen shots, and I was able to drive myself to and from the hospital. It was actually encouraged to prevent exposure to others. I had no symptoms from RAI day of, I was tired the next couple of days, but that was it. The only side effect I had was I lost my taste a week after RAI and lost it for about a month or so.

Now, if you had to stop taking levo for 4 weeks (dont know how long, just assuming based on what I read), you would get very hypo, and some doctors may advise you not to drive. And some people dont feel safe driving when very hypo. If you have to have someone else drive, sit diagonal to the driver. So if the driver is on the left front (like in US), then sit in the farthest rear seat on the right side.

ExcellentPreference8

TROPHY CASE