SAR2011

Can anyone recommend a good lyme-literate doctor in NJ/NY area (preferably northern NJ but will travel) that would be able to hand a 5-yr old?

Yes, I will definitely keep you posted and please do the same. We haven't tried antibiotics yet but hopefully that will help.

I haven't tried it (or heard of it) but will certainly look into it. At first glance, it looks like it only comes in capsule form. Is that right? That may be an issue for our son but worth a shot. Thank you for responding.

Gpookie - thank you for responding. Any particular brand/dosage that worked best for you or are they all essentially the same? Did you find it more effective for getting them to sleep or keeping them asleep (or both)? Thx again

My son is 5 yrs old and 50 lbs and we've been unable to find any prescription that effectively allows him to fall asleep and/or sleep through the night. His anxiety seems to spike as bedtime approaches. We've tried ambien, doxepin, melatonin, clonazepam, clonidine, etc, but we've been wildly unsuccessful in finding the answer. We've also driven him around in the car for up to 2 hrs in an effort to get him down but nothing is working at this point. And when we do finally get him to sleep, he usually wakes up 4-5 hours later and then is up & down through morning. It seems as if he simply cannot turn his mind off at night. Does anyone have any suggestions for something that has worked well in helping young children with extremely high anxiety sleep? Thank you in advance.

I apologize in advance because I know there are several similar posts. I know this because I’ve been reading the forums for a while now but I am desperately seeking guidance at this point. Prior to Labor Day of this year, our four year-old son was an extremely verbal, high-functioning 4-year-old boy with normal physical, psychological, and academic development. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he started having terrible nightmares that eventually evolved into daytime hallucinations. He also experienced a significant regression in speech. We noticed a severe deterioration in his sleep patterns and additional changes in his behaviors and personality. He developed an ever-changing pattern of nervous tics and his regression got to the point where our son was (is) almost entirely non-verbal and is consumed by anxiety that has significantly impeded his well-being. We have to drive him around in the car at night, often for hours at a time, in an effort to calm him enough to go to sleep. I should’ve mentioned that he had strep throat in mid-August, which was treated with 10 days of amoxicillin. Although we live in northern New Jersey, we brought him to CHOP in October because of their infallible reputation for pediatric neurology. Our son has since been hospitalized at CHOP for three different stays, during which he has given more than forty different blood panels, sat through three EEGs, two MRIs, a lumbar puncture, one abdominal ultrasound, and one throat Doppler. Unfortunately, none of these tests and procedures resulted in a diagnosis for what is suddenly ailing our boy. Each attempt to determine if there is an organic, metabolic, or genetic issue has failed to produce conclusive results. In reading all of the symptoms of PANDAS/PANS, it certainly seems like this is what is plaguing our son. However, none of the extensive blood work that was done at CHOP has resulted in markers that typically indicate PANDAS/PANS. I know that this doesn’t eliminate the possibility and from what I’ve read on here, it sounds like CHOP doesn’t exactly embrace the PANDAS diagnosis. My wife is in her third trimester with our fourth child and we are at wit’s end in trying to determine what our next step should be to help treat our son. We met with Dr. Elias at Dupont in mid-December but were kind of left in limbo there. We are scheduled to go back in early February (her first available) but, as many of you know, six weeks is an eternity at this point. We feel like we are on an island and have no clue where to turn to help get him better. I’ve researched several doctors in the NY/NY/CT area (Dr T, Dr B, etc) but it seems as if every positive review is followed by a scathing one. I’m sorry for writing a novel but we are desperately in need of help. We want to help get our child the proper diagnosis, which we believe to be PANS, and get him treated aggressively and quickly. Thanks for listening.