PANDAS and my child

amother

Mon, Nov 05 2012, 11:32 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PANDAS

I have been having issues with my four year old darling son for a few weeks. I noticed that when he usually starts acting up, he either has an ear infection or strep.

recently he had become extremely defiant, hurting himself, and me and others, not sleeping and an all around pain in the butt. after a bit of time, and taking punch after punch from this tiny little kid of mine, I brought him to the doctor, to recommend a psychiatrist but she tested him for strep and he tested negative, which I was surprised. the doc saw that he had strep within 6 weeks, and had strep before that - she suggested antibiotics to treat PANDAS- Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections.

I was a bit skeptical, but after realizing that his behavioral issues are always around when he either has strep or when hes getting over it, I decided to try it. I put him on this medication about 2 weeks ago and hes a different child. I have not seen him hurt himself one time, and he has not lifted his hand to me once. hes been sleeping at night and its amazing what a different kid he is.

I spoke to the doc today and she said to keep him on for 6 weeks of full back to himself behavior and wean him off of it. meaning if it took him a week to adjust to the medication, only count in one week.

am I crazy for putting my son on antibiotics for such a long period of time?

is this unheard of?

any body have experience with this, or is this all some coincidence and PANDAS is some made up theory?

just looking for more information.

all advice welcome. negative and positive.

JackieLion

Mon, Nov 05 2012, 11:41 am

PANDAS is a real syndrome. do not think you are crazy. I know it sounds kind of hokey but it is absolutely true. actually, even in adults with ocd, they tend to flare when their strep titers are high. but definitely in children there is a strong connection. listen to ur doc. she knows her stuff.

B"H YOM YOM

Mon, Nov 05 2012, 12:07 pm

PANDAS is a real issue and thank goodness for the affected children that it was recognized! I have a friend who's son was diagnosed, treated and is now B"H doing fine. Absolutely stay the FULL course and do not play around with this. Doc is on the mark (but I am surprised that she did not do bloodwork as it can be detected this way), but in either case, stick with it and Refuah Shelaimah.

amother

Sat, Nov 17 2012, 9:52 pm

My son has pandas and Zithromax did not work for him. Ater a year on the antibiotics with minimal results, I put him on a very strict diet, called gaps (like the SCD) which heals the gut flora and boosts immunity. Since pandas is autoimmune, I felt this was a good approach. The results have been remarkable. It takes a lot of hard work and cooking special but is worth it. As a side benefit, my other kids who regularly get strep a few times a year, have not been sick at all with anything, over the year + that we have been eating this way. The food we eat is a very big factor in our health, much more than our doctors will ever tell us or believe.