PANDAS doctor in Bergen County?

amother

Ivory

Mon, Feb 11 2019, 1:40 pm

It's me again...
I'm so confused. The symptoms that I have seen are all immediate symptoms. What about suspected PANDAS that was untreated from many years ago. My child is a teen, diagnosed with ADHD but not typical. We've been completely unsuccessful with the medication route. I am wondering if anyone can help me figure out if we should pursue this diagnosis further.

And thank you so much for the name.

amother

Blue

Mon, Feb 11 2019, 3:18 pm

amother wrote:

[quote]

If it's pandas you should see some improvement when trying a short bout of antibiotics and decline again afterwards. That was my experience with a child with adhd and pandas. It gives some insight when medical treatment has a behavioral effect. Good luck! It's not easy

amother

Aubergine

Mon, Feb 11 2019, 3:31 pm

[quote="amother"]

Quote:

If it's pandas you should see some improvement when trying a short bout of antibiotics and decline again afterwards. That was my experience with a child with adhd and pandas. It gives some insight when medical treatment has a behavioral effect. Good luck! It's not easy

This might be true if you start treating immediately at onset, but not at all true if it's been going on for years. Untreated autoimmunity and inflammation over years can cause so many other imbalances that just antibiotics is not going to be enough to fix it. OP you need an excellent pandas specialist, and/or a functional MD to help you sort this out. They are experienced at looking at the whole picture plus hidden clues in various labwork to figure these things out. Dr. Rosario Trifiletti mentioned upthread is great. Dr. Jyonouchi at St. Peter's in New Brunswick is amazing as well and takes insurance.

In the event your child does not fit the criteria for pandas as per a pandas specialist (don't rely on pediatricians, they are not well versed enough to make the call), don't stop digging. Unlike what you may have believed until now, adhd is not a disorder. It's really just a group of symptoms, and symptoms always have a cause. So if in your case the cause is not strictly infectious (meaning, caused by a strep innfection or any of the other bacterial or viral infections that are known to cause the same set of neuropsychiatric symptoms of pandas), there are plenty of other treatable biological causes for you to look into. Good luck!