I've just learned about PANS and so I haven't done very much research yet, but I'm realizing more and more that every problem that my son has ever had are a symptom of this illness. My only question is that since its my understanding that PANS occurs because of an infection, how could this be the case for him? The only infection I remember him having was a flu he had around the age of 7 months (and he began suffering from his issues from birth) and then a flu at age 4. I don't remember being sick while I was pregnant with him. I did have an incident when I was 20 weeks along with him, I began having a lot of back pain after drinking the glucose yuckyness for the gestational diabetes test, I started having contractions, they determined that I was in danger of going into preterm labor, they injected me with steroids, and I got better. No fever though. I will list his symptoms from birth.
From birth, the first things I noticed were his lack of eye contact, complete discomfort while being cuddled (he would push me away or wriggle himself away, even while nursing) and his apparent anger. He would be very red in the face and cry a lot for no reason that I could find. He also really didn't like having his diaper changed at all, he would make very angry faces and cry and get red. He still needs frequent promoting to make eye contact and still is very uncomfortable with touching.
When I began giving him solid food, he showed a strong dislike for most foods. I thought he was only being stubborn and so I was persistent with him, but he would actually gag and cry and at times vomit. This lasted until he was about 2 and I stopped trying to make him eat things he didn't like, figuring that he was just picky and that I should calm down. He still refuses to eat most foods.
At 9 months, he began banging his head quite forcefully on the floor, walls, or furniture. When he began doing this, he would do it spontaneously, seemingly for no reason. He did this until about 18 months, the last few months he would do it more often to get my attention. I asked his pediatrician about it and he told me that it was not uncommon and he wouldn't give me a baby helmet or suggest anything to help. I switched my children's pediatrician at that point.
As a toddler, he showed a lot of aggression and rage, he was somewhat violent with me and his older sister, but I figured it was normal toddler behavior. When he was not being aggressive he was very energetic and silly. At around 3 he suddenly went from aggressive to timid, nervous, and anxious, but still displaying the extreme hyperactivity and goofyness at other times. At about 4 years old he developed a third state, which was very withdrawn, depressed, and sullen. He still goes between these three basic states: happy (very hyper), timid (anxious/panicked), or sad (withdrawn, depressed).
When he was around 2 he was starting to talk in sentences, but regressed almost completely by the age of 3 (almost no speech at all), and didn't get back to sentences until almost 4. He was still hard to understand until 4.5.
At 4 he had about a week of bedwetting.
Since starting kindergarten (it's been 8 and a half months) his school has noticed the following: depressive moods, social problems (unable to make friends, "telling on" other children frequently, even when they are across the room from him), wandering around the room and being unresponsive, saying things that make no sense (like telling school psychologist very seriously that she has a dirty sock under her desk), not focusing, not being able to complete work independently (needs one on one attention to complete any work), needing constant promoting to do anything(even throwing away his garbage), anxiety, problems with fine motor skills
He has recently been whispering to himself almost daily
He was recently diagnosed with migraine headaches (not sure if this is relevant)
I strongly suspect sensory processing disorder (hypersensitivity to light, sound, touch, and some need for tactile simulation (like the head banging as a baby. He still does things like throwing himself down or against a wall, today he was rolling on the bed at the doctor's office after I repeatedly asked him to be still, things like that)
He recently has had more trouble with bedwetting
I do notice that his eyes look dilated sometimes when he is in his panicked state. I never knew what that meant or if I was imagining it.
He has some ocd-like traits (things have to fit perfectly on him, he hates tags, waistlines and socks have to be straight, he always takes his shoes off immediately when he comes in the house, he can't stand having any wet or dirty spots on his skin or clothing, he always puts the toilet seat down... these are things some grown people forget, this is why I mention this. I realize this does not mean ocd, and that people who suffer from ocd have much more to struggle with, these are just a few things I notice that give me suspicions)
His school did an iep and concluded that he is not eligible for special education, they do not consider him autistic. They suggested I contact community mental health for the possible depression and anxiety. I did so, we qualified for home based services with a wonderful therapist who has helped us with a couple of things, but honestly this is barely scratching the surface. The school also suggested OT with someone who specializes in sensory processing disorder, and we are in the waiting list. His pediatrician is aware of the issues and thinks he might also have adhd... I'm not really wanting to explore that just yet. I don't think he is THAT hyper.
I really feel like PANS explains all of his symptoms, I'm just not sure where the onset would have been our if I'm even looking in the right direction. Maybe I'm just grasping at straws here. Any ideas?
