I have an 8 year old son who has the following symptoms : OCD, severe separation anxiety, bits of rage or tantrums, suicidal thoughts, deterioration of learning abilities / concentration and a mild tic. The onset of these symptoms began October 2012. Regular pediatrician tried him on three different ssri's. Prozac (2 weeks, no improvement), Zoloft (2 weeks, intensified fits of rage and suicide) and he is currently on Luvox (limited help with OCD symptoms).
We felt like we weren't making any progress in treatment so we changed doctors. We visited a new psychiatrist last week (who was a pediatrician for 32 years previously) and he introduced us to A possible diagnosis of PANDAS or PANS. We did bloodwork on Friday to screen for strep and are waiting on results. Over the weekend I have scoured and spent hours investigating this disorder. I am waiting for the psychiatrist to call me back with results but have a few questions.
From what I can tell antibiotics are the first course of treatment when we determine what virus is causing symptoms. I have also gathered that I need to be as aggressive as possible in treatment. I have researched IVIG and Plasma exchange and feel like I am willing to go on with these treatments as soon as possible. I have read a few if these posts and seen there are a few doctors that people recommend. My question is would my son get better treatment if I traveled to see a certain doctor who specializes in pandas? Who would you recommend? I would like to take him to the top doctors if possible. Any suggestions or insight would be appreciated.