LNN

There are two different variants/mutations that are tested - A1298C and C677T. Approx 45% of the population has at least one of these mutations. When you have an MTHFR mutation, it means your body is less effective at converting (methylating) folate (vitamin B9) into methylfolate, which is the form your body needs. Having one mutation (heterozygous - shown as +/-) means you're about 60% efficient at this conversion. Being homozygous (+/+ or having one mutation from each parent), means you're only about 10% efficient at converting folate into methylfolate. This leaves your body deficient in methylfolate, regardless of how much regular folate you ingest. When you're methylfolate deficient, you can't fuel the methylation process - a process that creates cell energy (ATP) and serotonin. It also leads to a build up of homocysteine, which is implicated in heart disease, stroke and macular degeneration. There's also evidence that having an MTHFR mutation may play a role in repeated miscarriages. The treatment is to supplement with methylfolate. Think of it as having a body that can't squeeze orange juice when "normal" people can. If I can squeeze my own, you can give me oranges and I won't get scurvy. If I can't squeeze my own oranges, you can give me crates and crates of oranges and I'll still get scurvy. Likewise, if you have an MTHFR mutation, you can take enough folate to choke a horse but can still be methylfolate deficient. So instead, you need "pre-squeezed" or methylfolate as your supplement. Because methylfolate and B12 work as a team, people usually take both supplements, tho some people need methylB12 while others do better on hydroxyB12. The trick is in finding the right dose of methylfolate. My daughter only needs 67micrograms every other day. Some adults need 5-10 milligrams daily. Depends on your mutations, your diet, your size and how other genetics interact. Start LOW and only increase the dose slowly. Too much methylfolate can produce negative behaviors as much as too little can. Here's my best shot at an explanation: http://www.easytolovebut.com/?p=2782

Agree with SSS - I thought "lyme" based on the symptoms you list before I even got to where you mentioned Igenex. Dr B told me my son didn't have lyme based on similar Igenex labs - 31, 34, 39 and 41. Our LLMD disagreed and we saw significant improvements once we started treating for lyme with combo abx rather than only one abx at a time. (HD IVIG didn't help my son). Dr B's current patients say he's learned much about lyme since we saw him several years ago, but in your case, I think you need another opinion. I don't see how you can't be suspicious of those results when paired with your symptom list. Haven't seen Dr O but hear great things about her. Tho I believe she knows Lyme I'm not under the impression she considers herself an LLMD. We see an awesome LLMD in central CT. PM me if you want his contact info.

Hey Smarty! I mean she had EBV symptoms - extreme lethargy, malaise, etc. She was on a medical 504 and only able to go to school half days, with a tutor coming for 1 hr in the afternoons. She took artimisinin for 8 weeks that did nothing for her. Then I tried l-lysine and within a week, she was noticeably better. Two weeks after that, she was back at school 6 hrs/day and 2 weeks after that, we dropped the 504 and she was back at school full days. But the EBV never gave her PANS symptoms, just the typical "mono" symptoms. Naysayers would argue that it was simply a matter of time, that she'd gotten better regardless of the lysine. But she'd been symptomatic and had positive blood work for 4 months without any improvement - only got worse. The lysine turned things around. Lysine is my go-to viral now. It doesn't work on every virus. But when the kids start getting colds, I give it to them and we have a 50/50 chance of nipping it in the bud. Also works great on cold sores. For the EBV, I gave 500mg 2x/day for about 3 weeks. Then backed down to 1x/day for another 3 weeks. For cold symptoms, I give 500mg 2x/day at the onset.

Nystatin never gave us any issues. After re-reading the post Mayzoo linked to, I can tell you that yeast did seem to be part of our problem and diflucan/nystatin did help. Just not entirely. Soon after that post, I found mold on my son's bedroom windows (cold winter air, an unlocked window which created a small leak of cold air into the room, a fish tank that evaporated warm, bacteria-laden water into the air = mildew problem). Got rid of the fish tank, cleaned and locked the window, cleaned bathroom window that had a similar issue - symptoms resolved. But nystatin was a positive experience for us.

It means your child may not see sustained improvements until you eliminate the source(s) of the mold. But after that, you could see lasting improvements. Think of it as being in a box within a box. The lyme could be the inner box and the mold the outer box. You need to fight your way thru both, but until you remove the outer mold box, you won't see daylight. Once you do remove it, the lyme box becomes much easier to break down. Mold is a tricky subject.You can go back to the forum archives and find a lot of discussions around the '11-'12 time frame. You may want to have your doctor test your DDs HLA-DR gene status. This tells you how well or how poorly the body can handle mold and lyme toxins. Mold is everywhere and you can quickly spend tons of money chasing it. Remediation of large areas (greater than say 4'x4') requires professionals or you'll spread the mold spores while you're trying to remove the source. But I've found that even small amounts cause neurological symptoms in my kids (eye blinks, brain fog, compulsions). Mold on my washing machine drum, mildew on the bathroom window from steamy 1/2 hr long showers, mildewed cardboard boxes in the basement, and even mold that grows in the soil of house plants - all have been issues. When they were removed, the kids got better. So where do you start? Personally, I started with the cheapest things first. Do a thorough inspection of your house. Clean out the basement. Inspect areas under sinks and behind the trap door that's usually behind the faucets of showers (usually in a closet or cabinet that abuts the shower). Inspect the attic, making sure the insulation is dry and there's no mildew on the rafters. Pay special attention to areas near any vent pipes that go thru the roof. If you've ever had a leaky window or a drafty door, pull the molding off around that area and see if you detect moisture. You can buy a moisture detector from Home depot for @$15 - if you detect moisture, you probably have mold in that spot. If you have carpeting and a pet who's soiled that carpet, there could be mold under the rug. You can buy mold test kits from any hardware store - about $10/kit. These kits are notoriously unreliable in that they often fail to detect issues. A clean plate doesn't mean you have a mold-free room. BUT they're a very cheap place to start. If mold does grow in the plate, then you know you have an issue without having to spend $$$ on mold inspections and it'll help you evaluate which rooms may be more contaminated than others, helping you zero in on your hunt. The directions tell you to expose the plate for an hour. Instead, expose the plate for 24hrs. Many slower growing molds or molds with lighter weight spores won't drop onto the settle plate in just an hour. A 24 hour sample is more likely to catch samples. Wait 48-72 hrs and see what grows. You can then mail the plates away for the co. to tell you what sort of mold you have. Not all molds are equal in their toxicity. You can also do an ERMI test, which I think runs @$400. I've never done this but you can find old posts from those who have. Of course, other places where your DD spends a lot of time could also be part of the problem - school for example. And you may never know if the school has an issue. But start with the home first - plenty of things to investigate there.

Could ever get lauricidin into my kids. But lysine is awesome for viral issues. Neither of my kids had Pans symptoms from virals. Only bacterial infections brought symptoms. But when my DD had EBV, it brought her back within weeks when other treatments (e.g. artimisinin) had failed utterly.

Sacc B is "supposed" to be a good yeast. Many latititudes families see good results from it and like that it survivies abx and doesn't have to be taken at least two hours away from abx. But there are always exceptions to every "rule". My son and a few others have bad reactions to Sacc B. It makes him angry, hyper and unfocused. Have tried it more than once, always with the same negative results. Things that have made my son tic: herxing, yeast, and mold. Mold is a big trigger for him. He's been clear of Pandas and lyme symptoms for over a year. But now when I see tics, I go hunting for mold and when I find it, tics stop. We use CP-1 as a probiotics - only now that he's off abx, we only use it twice a week. Hopefully, your son won't have issues. But you're not crazy if you think it's having the opposite effect. It's not "good" for everyone.

There is no single gene that tells you your tolerance or need for methyl groups. You cannot say "COMT +/-" means someone should avoid methyl donors. Nothing about methylation is that simple. There are over 30 genes in the cycles and they all affect one another. But the ones most telling are the inter-relationships and combos of mutations between COMT, VDR Taq, MTHFR and to a lesser extent, MAO. Heartfixer spends a fair amount of ink going over the various combos of COMT and VDR Taq because they affect each other to such a great extent. Beyond methyl groups, you also need to focus on the rates at which these genes (and their assorted mutations) degrade neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and epinephrine. Everyone in my family is COMT +/-. Two do really well on methylB12 and methyl donors and two need hydroxyB12 and need more niacin and other users. You need to look at interplay and also do a fair amount of experimenting. It ends up being very individual.

Welcome to the forum. Many here have found that lyme, as well as strep and other chronic infections, can also cause "overnight" symptoms. I'm going to send you a private message with a doctor recommendation in central CT. He's very knowledgeable in both Pandas and lyme and should be able to offer you the support your son deserves. To access your private messages (PMs), look at the top of the page, right hand corner, and you'll see your log in name. To the left of that, you'll see an icon of an envelope. Click on that to get to your mailbox.

Yes, you can do PEX and IVIG while on abx. But I personally don't think PEX should be done while you know you have an active infection. PEX is a "clean up" treatment. You spend 3-5 days in dialysis, cleaning the blood of antibodies and auto-antibodies. But if you still have an active infection, the body will just keep on producing more auto-antibodies. So your clean up will be for naught, or bring only short term relief. IVIG can help fight a current infection by assisting the body with a boost of antibodies from donors. It's also speculated that IVIG "dilutes" your own auto-antibodies. So it can be beneficial not just to those with Pandas but with other infections as well. But...it can also produce a big herx and the aftermath can be brutal (my personal experience). While it's only 1/3 the cost of PEX, doing multiple treatments makes it even more expensive than PEX. It is not risk free. There is the chance you can introduce a new issue from a human blood product. So educate yourself on the pros and cons and don't just take someone else's word for it. We did both treatments. PEX was initially helpful but didn't last. IVIG was a horrible experience for us - tons of fallout but...the one silver lining is that it turned my son's lyme tests positive (his own body wasn't producing enough antibodies), so it did allow us to finally get on the right treatment path. Others have very positive results from IVIG. There doesn't seem to be a way to predict how your own child would respond ahead of time. But the $8-10K for IVIG buys a lot of abx and many people can achieve recovery without resorting to either PEX or IVIG. So it's a very individual decision. There's no "right" decision. Some of the symptoms you describe can be from either Pandas or lyme or myco. Some - like brain fog, headache, scalp pain - seem more like lyme (have you done Igenex to test?). The tremors could be chorea - you can Youtube videos to compare. Chorea can affect walking, standing, etc. They could be from Pans. Or they could be from a nutritional deficiency. B6, choline and other nutrients play important roles in nerve health and how the nerves send signals. My DD had tremors and tachycardia from zyrtec and/or cold meds given while she had a choline deficiency. The OTC meds are anti-cholinergic, so these combined with a deficiency was enough to create serious tremors and movement issues. Finding the answer to your questions is like looking at a bunch of overlapping circles in a Venn diagram. There's no single cause for any of these symptoms. So finding your particular triggers is a big detective mystery. In many cases, you end up finding more than one factor that contributes. In my house, we've dealt with chronic lyme, pyroluria (a big source of brain fog for my DS), mold (a big source of tics and brain fog), strep, choline deficiency in DD, methylation issues, and yeast. What got us to wellness was peeling things away and addressing multiple issues. In hindsight, PEX and IVIG were probably the least effective - and most expensive - treatments we used. T&A, long-term abx, and nutritional supplements* were the most helpful. (*nutritional supplements that addressed very specific issues for each kid based on labs/23andMe, not a "throw everything at it" approach).

My 2 cents - aside from the infection side of PANS, what I've experienced is that stress is like trying to drive the car up a hill with the parking brake on. It drags on the whole body, taxing the adrenals, thyroid, immune system, etc... and depletes resources usually used to keep a healthy supply of neurotransmitters in balance. So you may run low in things like zinc, B vitamins or such and then when there's only so much to go around, the body short changes the shipment normally slated to head to the brain for a "luxury" item like a good mood or behavior regulation. What to do about it I think depends on your genetic tendencies. if you tend to run "iffy" on serotonin, then you'll probably run low on that. The things you need to supplement in general may need a little extra during times of high stress. The things you supplement for methylation may need a re-balance when the system's been on high alert for an extended period. So maybe break out your notes on copper/zinc, over/under methylation, histamine...and try tweaking the things that've worked in the past. When my DD went thru prolonged stress at school last year, her adrenals and TSH got out of whack. Aside from matrculating from Ms. Evil Teacher, CoQ10, Vitamin C and lymph massages helped. We also did a spectracell blood test that showed a few deficiencies, notably choline. Supplementing choline really helped in the fatigue dept and made her feel better balanced. Would one of your docs consider a similar test? In my house, small deficiencies seem to have big consequences. Keeping you and DS in my thoughts!

Yay Kath!! So happy to hear! We too seem to be out of the woods. It took a long, long time and a lot of money. It was more than strep. It was more than lyme. It was a half dozen things that all intertwined. But both kids came out on the other side and seem to be holding on to the good place they've been in for quite some time. I actually seem to have achieved a long time goal and weaned myself from this forum - a place that was once more essential to me than air. I know it feels like it may never happen, but if you keep digging, keep believing in your child and in yourself, recovery does happen. Hang in there!

See post #18 in this thread. You can always return to it by looking under the "helpful threads" pinned at the top of the forum. http://latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3928&page=2

You have an IEP - this by its definition provides for a different workload than typical students. A 504 allows for accommodations within the typical cirricula (e.g. extended time for assignments, but still needs to complete the same assignments). An IEP allows for a changed cirricula (e.g. LESS assignments, testing for comprehension, not repetitiveness). If she already has an IEP, it sounds as though they're not complying with it or with your rights. They are giving you a 504. You may want to go to wrightslaw.com and read up on your rights. Then request a meeting with the principal, the school psychologist, the school's or district's special ed director and the guidance counselor and primary teacher(s). The people whose job it is to worry about compliance with the law need to be there. While an annual IEP review is mandatory, a review or adjustment to the IEP can be requested at any time. You don't need to wait for the annual review. You have every right to request a lighter workload or shorter tests. In my son's class, there are several kids who get separate work packets that have less questions. This isn't something new to your school personnel. They should know exactly how to accommodate her needs - you're not reinventing the wheel. They've done this plenty of times. They just sound reluctant to do it for your DD. Push back on them. If DD is back in school, this is a huge accomplishment and she should be supported, not driven to wish she hadn't returned or wish she had an escape route. Their job is to set her up to succeed, not fail.

I agree with Rowingmom. Despite what the Tourette's doctors would have you believe, there's a lot of evidence that "TS" is an immune or biomedical condition that can also be "cured" and isn't something you just have to live with. It matters less what label you use and more what lens you use. My son's tics were once directly related to his level of infection load (strep and/or lyme). They'd show up during a herx and go away as he cleared toxins. He's been infection-free for a year (off abx) and yet his tics can still return from a yeast infection or more likely, from a mold problem. He doesn't have TS. He has a problem with eliminating toxins. When we find a source of mold (not an infested basement - it can be something small like mildew in the bathroom or mold spores from house plants or a mildewed cardboard box in the basement) and we eliminate that source, his tics go away within days. That's not TS. I'd really consider triggers like mold, yeast, and methylation issues/nutritional assessment. They have been key issues beyond herxing/infection for my son. It's not always "just' Pandas that can become a tic trigger. Pandas may start the ball rolling, but then the body becomes far more sensitive to other issues. Read Scot Forgenson's "Biotoxin Pathway" article - great job of explaining the cascade of events. http://www.betterhealthguy.com/images/stories/PDF/PHA/2007_06.pdf

The best book out there for teens is John March's "Talking Back to OCD" http://www.amazon.com/Talking-Back-OCD-Program-Parents/dp/1593853556/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396089589&sr=8-1&keywords=john+march+talking+back You should read it as well, as it does a good job of explaining the parent's role in this - your job is to become the coach - NOT do the hard work for him. He has to own the problem. Some of the rituals your son is engaging in are "reasonable" in that we all do a bit of checking at bedtime - are the doors locked, is the coffee pot set up, etc. But when you need to check more than once, or when the rituals interfere with moving on, then it's a problem. I personally would not get involved in performing his rituals for him. It's not your role. Instead, he should make a list of the important things that need to be checked - is his phone charged and in its proper place, are his morning things ready to go, etc. If he needs his golf clubs for practice tomorrow, its ok to check that they're where they should be. If he's not using his clubs tomorrow, then he needs to agree in advance that it's something he does not need to check on as part of a ritual. He needs to learn to face the discomfort that comes from denying a ritual and over time, that discomfort loses its grip on him. He should also agree to start his "reasonable" checklist at a time other than bedtime so that it doesn't become a pre-requisite for sleep. Do it an hour prior, or after dinner or break the list into parts - check the backpack once when done with homework, then 30 min later, check the phone - once - before heading in to brush teeth, etc. By breaking up the ritual into small steps done at different times of the evening, it can loosen the power of the ritual. He can make a written list and check things off, but he cannot go back and re-check later in the evening. You get the idea. The book will do a better job of explaining. YOUR job is to support him, be his coach. Not to become part of the rituals. Otherwise you'll get "Mom, did you check the phone? And seeking reassurance will suddenly get woven into the dance. Then ultimately, he'll probably still want to check for himself. I understand the reluctance to turn to a therapist due to expense but I'd give yourself a set time frame and if you're still dealing with this in 3 or 4 months, get professional help and make sure the therapist is specifically experienced in ERP. The book will help you have a better idea of what to be looking for. The longer it goes on, the more entrenched it becomes.

Maybe ask Dr M to order a SpectraCell blood test for her and test for zinc deficiency. Zinc deficiencies can be linked to eating disorders. Also ask him about maybe doing a 1-2 week trial of zinc supplements - 50mg/day in a pill (can get at any grocery store, CVS or health food store) or if she won't swallow a pill, you can get it in a liquid from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Designs-Health-Zinc-Challenge-Beauty/dp/B000FGXMAY/ref=sr_1_2?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1395320655&sr=1-2&keywords=liquid+zinc If she's deficient, the liquid will have no taste. If she has enough zinc, she'll detect a metallic taste. The degree of taste tells you the degree of deficiency. Zinc supplementation can sometimes bring big improvements.

23andMe did not stop testing. They had to stop providing some "risk assessments" because they used to say "you have a 1.6x greater chance of developing xyz where another company was saying you have a 1.2 greater risk for xyz - and the company couldn't provide data to validate its 1.6 risk number. It's just too new of a field and there's too little research to make those claims. The FDA wants to "protect us" by making sure we don't get our undies in a bunch and worry about a risk that hasn't been verified. But the company still provides raw data that can tell you - fairly accurately I believe - that you have one mutation on your MTHFR gene, two mutations on your CBS gene, etc. It's the raw data that's useful, not the mildly interesting health assessments. For my kids, treating methylation issues made a big difference, as did lyme treatment. But not everyone has lyme and not everyone has seen the big impact from methylation that I've seen. Everyone has their own journey. Follow your gut on risperdal. If you aren't comfortable, don't do it. Have you tried using motrin 3x/day?

I've not seen antihistamines make tics worse - however I have seen them induce tremors and tachycardia in my DD because she had a choline deficiency and antihistamines block choline receptors. My personal theory is that allergies don't necessarily trigger the PANDAS autoimmune response but histamine is a potent neurotransmitter in its own right. Toss a histamine imbalance into the mix on top of a dopamine/serotonin/glutamate imbalance brought on by PANDAS, or a dopamine/serotonin/norepinephrine/glutamate..imbalance brought on by methylation roadblocks - and you've got yourself an explosive child. My DD uses sublingual allergy drops (used to get allergy shots, which helped a lot except she freaked over the needles every single time). She takes quercetin as needed on bad days, but not too often because she has a CBS gene mutation that makes quercetin not so great for her in the long term, and once in awhile, zyrtec coupled with an extra choline supplement on those days. We also control other allergens to reduce her overall load - using mattress and pillow encasements, frequent cleaning, and vigilance for mold triggers, etc.

lindamw - fwiw, it "only" took us 2.5 yrs on the lyme journey to get to wellness. Everyone's journey is different. But we too had additional issues beyond lyme - a zinc deficiency known as pyroluria, that we will treat for life - and a mold sensitivity. The mold causes tics, brain fog and respiratory problems for my kids. 3 times in the past 3 yrs, we've found that a tiny amt of mold can set them back. Things like mildew covering the bathroom window after a winter of hot tween showers without turning on the vent or opening the bathroom blinds...a moldy chair cushion in the basement that somehow "polluted" the upstairs air enough that their bodies reacted (caused eye tics that went away once we threw out the chair)...and mold on the outer plastic drum of the washing machine (the metal drum you see sits within an outer plastic drum you can't see and the mold grew between those two spaces). Both the mold and the pyroluria were stumbling blocks and we made renewed progress against the lyme once we cleared the path. You just need to keep at it and eventually you'll get there.

You can find suggestions for LLMDs by going to www.lymenet.org. On the left, click on "flash discussion" then go to the link "seeking a doctor" and you can ask for recommendations in your area or based on how far you're able to travel. Many LLMDs will understand neuro-lyme and PANS and co-infections such as mycoplasma. Turning to an LLMD made all the difference for my son. But we're in CT, so we had some good options.

I've been on these boards for many years and still don't know what "turning back the pages" means. But I can tell you that when my son had HDIVIG, he had a horrible recovery. 10 weeks of h**1 on earth. Rage is the first word that comes to mind. In our case, it turned out that DS had undiagnosed lyme and then got strep, which triggered the whole PANS nightmare. When we finally resorted to IVIG, it provoked a horrible herx. The standard western blot we did for lyme 3 months prior to IVIG was completely negative. But 10 weeks after IVIG (half life of IVIG is 6 weeks?), we did an Igenex lyme test and DS had 6 positive or indeterminate bands. Most likely, he'd been chronically ill and his own body had stopped making antibodies to the lyme. IVIG made his system strong enough to start making those antibodies and he was able to show positive bands after the IVIG. I do not think the IVIG itself caused the test to be positive based on the length of time we waited before re-testing for lyme and based on his positive response to treatments. We treated for lyme for 2.5 yrs. He's been off abx for a yr now and is doing awesome. If you continue to struggle, consider a chronic infection and don't lose faith. It was a horrible, horrible thing to go through, but for us it had a silver lining. Once you find (all of) the enemy/enemies, the kids do get better.

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The Igenex lyme test is @$200. Some people will tell you to also test for co-infections ($660?). But since you're only trying to get a feel for it, I'd personally only do the basic for now. It's not that common to have only a co-infection like Bartonella w/o also having lyme. So I'd start with the cheaper test first, assuming your doctor will even agree to use Igenex. There are many flaws with all the tests, but with the time spent on LI, it's worth doing. You can look under the pinned threads at the top of the forum and see "helpful lyme discussions" - read those for some good background. We had a negative Western Blot but had 5 bands show + or indeterminate after one IVIG. But even tho lyme turned out to be a big part of our picture, and I do support testing for it, I don't think it's everyone's problem. H Pyrlori makes sense and it's a test covered by insurance. Methylation (23andMe for $99) may also make sense as it can sometimes explain why GI issues and tics become problems. But one trail at a time, or you'll drive yourself and your family nuts. As much as tics suck, they aren't fatal and you do have time to figure things out, even tho it doesn't feel that way right now.

It sounds like you're embracing the idea of exploring more than just strep as a trigger and I think that's great. My kids had multiple issues that needed to be addressed. But unfortunately, the symptoms you list can be caused by a number of things and you might be in that phase of information overload where you just don't know which way to turn. It's made worse, in my opinion, on the FB pages. It's really hard to learn things in soundbites and my own FB experiences are that many parents have recently had an "aha" moment that explains a lot for their child and they end up coming across (again in soundbites) that their truth may be everyone's truth. I've been guilty of it too, but I think a forum like Latitudes gives you enough time to think through your answers and realize as you type that everyone's story may be a little different. Just like your recent question about Lyme and Pandas - for some, parasites might be part of the story. But not for all. I've not heard of stool tests being unreliable due to biofilms. But SFMom may have better insight. She was once our resident poop-ologist. If you were to trawl through the TS forum, I'm sure you'd come across a long list of tic triggers. Infection, EMFs, diet, mold, allergies, nutritional deficiencies, methylation bocks, fluorescent lights, etc. For my son (Pandas/lyme/pyroluria/mold/methylation), his tics show up when he's having trouble handling toxins - could be toxins from die-off or from mold. Even the tiniest source of mold can make him tic. We've tried dozens of supplements to help detox, none did. The only thing that helped was finding and eliminating the source of the toxin (getting rid of strep, lyme and mold). I think there's merit in looking into any or all of these issues, but you need to be practical about it. I can't tell you how much money we put toward tests, supplements, treatments...so you need to be a wise consumer. Consider the most likely culprits first. It's so easy to get sucked into worrying about all of it. But you need to prioritize. If you live in the desert, lyme and mold probably aren't high on the list of suspects. If you live in New England in the center of lymelands and have a damp basement, then they're probably pretty good places to start. Make yourself a list of what you want to learn about, what the testing for that thing is, how much it costs, how reliable the test is, what the treatment is - and start with the easy stuff first. Otherwise, you'll be tying yourself into knots and going broke before you get to the bottom of things. I would also use this site as the great resource library that it is. Search the archives. There's little the members haven't explored and discussed over the past decade. If you don't like the internal search feature, you can also go out to google and type your search words + ACN and find threads that way.