jfarrell

Any way you can get to Dr. B? VERY impressive immunologist who totally gets PANDAS. Many on this forum see him. He runs immunulogical testing and those are tests a non-pandas kid would get. It helps prove the immune side of it. We have been VERY pleased with him and we started with a nuerologist but felt it wouldn't hurt to get an immunologist as second opinion. Because we do not have any nuero symptoms, we are sticking with him. THe more I walk this out, the more I wish I'd gotten to the experts sooner!!

It seems really tough to tell the difference with the stretch marks. My daughter's are on her lower belly and her arms. They are quite prominent. She's had them for years, and our pediatrician and our dermatologist told me they were just stretch marks. It wasn't until we finally got to Dr. B that he told us they were Bart. My daughter has been on two different ABX for about two months. Many of her ADD symptoms have significantly subsided. She still has major aches and pains and anxiety.

I wouldn't even mention insurance and if they ask, simply say I'm self pay and prepared to pay in advance or pay at the time of my visit or pay cash or whatever similar phrase seems appropriate.
 
I haven't been to his office in years but even back then, it seemed his long-time staff struggled with the changes in the practice. Pandas parents and kids are certainly a whole different breed than allergy patients. Frequent calls, high maintenance, very non-routine sorts of crisis issues...I'm sure some of them pine for the good ol days of allergy shots.
 
One thing that maybe his current patients can answer - I know he has one or two PAs in his practice now. Is it possible to make an appt with them instead of Dr B and maybe get in sooner? Or does Dr B have to do every new patient consult himself?

Thanks - I know I cannot protect him from other kids being vaccinated (sounds strange when I put it that way). However, he is the oldest in our play group - just missed the birthday cut-off for kindergarten by 5 days. I had understood by our Peds that 5 years old is the vaccine age. What I can assume, I think, is that no 4 year old would be getting live flu vaccine as it is not recommended for littler guys. I appreciate your response. I find myself worrying about the other shoe dropping all of the time because we have had such good fortune in Dr. B's protocol and our lives have drastically changed for the better over the last few weeks. I can honestly say that I have not had this level of reprieve for 2 years. I find myself letting go and laughing, like really laughing occasionally, and it feels alien to me - had not realized how deep into the abyss I had fallen until things got brighter. I cannot bear the thought of losing him again and I am hypervigilant right now as a result! Best to you, Kath