Intersting, Sharon. I've seen the iodine therapies used before, but have never had call to use them myself. The majority of methimazole side effects tend to clear up pretty quickly after you get the balance right, and it's certainly no more stressful than having to go through chemo. I can understand it for cost though, if he's only 13 and healthy otherwise, you could be looking at supporting his 'habit' for another 5 or 6 years at least! There are some comparable generics, however, that are dirt cheap. Did they give you reasons why he might be at risk for anesthesia (other than the usual)? Granted, our area isn't as advanced as most, but the general practice is just to remove the entire thyroid and supplement the T4 in pill form. The pills are fairly inexpensive, and if your doc has an in-house lab that can run bloodwork then the cost gets cut quite a bit there too. Should you ever find yourself medicating him for any lenght of time, I HIGHLY recommend Pounce's Hairball treats. If you pinch them like a coin-purse, they open up, you can hide a pill in there easily. We've had terrific luck with them. Saves on the vet bills, as well as the ER bills and blood transfusions for the owners!

Loads of nuzzles to Artie for when he's finally decontaminated, he's lucky to have you :)
~J