PANDAS 101- help!!

amother

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 10:13 am

Can someone help me? My adorable child over the past year became almost unrecognizable. Acting out, impulsive, obnoxious, tantrums...
She has ADHD but it was well medicated with little side effects and she was great in the class so much that teachers were shocked she has ADHD. Never had these extreme behaviors.
I heard about PANDAS on here and wanted to learn more about it. How do I know if she has it?

rose613

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 10:43 am

Was there recent illness? How old is your child? Are there any other symptoms other than behavioral? Tics, bedwetting, being weird about food, emotional lability…

Pandas can be very hard to diagnose as many doctors won’t deal with it and there is no specific test. I have a child who I believe has a more mild case and it’s been a year of trying to find doctors who will help. BH we have made progress but mostly due to changes in the home.

Checking for a current infection and ASO and Anti D-Nase B and other infectious diseases (Lyme, Epstein Barr, etc) is a good place to start. But if symptoms are very severe it might not matter what those levels are to diagnose. Nancy O’Hara DeMystifying Pans/Pandas is a very good resource.

I’ve personally found that good multivitamins (you want sufficient vitamin D), probiotics, and omega 3 helps a bit. I also cut out food coloring and started feeding my kids much healthier (little processed, big focus on fruits and vegetables). Trying to limit gluten and dairy as well.

I make sure my dc is in a lot of extra curricular - to channel the extreme hyperness/ healthy ways to get out aggression

You could do Motrin/benadryl trial to see if that helps symptoms. My dr said Motrin 3x a day. Benadryl/allegra 2x a day. I only do this is symptoms are very bad.

amother

Blue

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 12:13 pm

I would say first step is to talk to your pediatrician or whoever prescribes her meds.
There are times it needs to be tweaked, but at th e same time if you can ask them about it possibly being pandas.
See where that takes you.
I finding pandas to be a journey. One step at a time.
Vitamins,-multi and D and probiotics can only be helpful no matter what the diagnosis is.

rose613

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 3:19 pm

Anxiety, OCD, or sensory issues? If not I agree with the other poster to first check adhd meds and talk to pediatrician.

PANDAS is a journey and a spectrum.

Lots of kosher multi vitamins. Ashlee, viteey, life’able, garden of life.

Re food coloring/processed foods - it was hard for me but you can do baby steps. It’s a mindset. There is a connection between brain health and gut health. It’s all added chemicals/neurotoxins - it’s not good for anyone. There’s no side effects but there are with any pharmaceutical approach. Not trying to be preachy - but encouraging that it is possible.

I’m only pushing because I see a very big difference and it’s known for adhd food coloring can exacerbate symptoms. There’s also a lot of info out there about natural approaches to adhd with magnesium/vitamin d. Might be helpful in addition to current meds. Hatzlacha!

amother

Pewter

Thu, Apr 18 2024, 11:01 pm

Adhd meds sometimes have to be switched /adjusted after a while.
Going thru the same thing with my 8yr old son right now and Dr explained that outburst/anger management/emotional disregulation can all be part of adhd symptoms.
There's also the "rebound effect" when meds works during the day and kid becomes crazy when it wears off.
Sometimes Adhd meds can create anxiety and kids can develop side effects even if they didn't have them before. I would discuss with whoever prescribed her meds.