Deja2

I am following up on my original post. Thank you for your support. We saw Dr. Fuhlbrigge yesterday. (First, we met with his assistant who took a history.) Dr. Fuhlbrigge is a very nice guy who answered all my questions and did not rush us. His general conclusion was that my son does not have PANDAS, but he wants us to continue to watch for any association of his symptoms and strep infections. My son's symptoms have waxed and waned and have not always changed abruptly with strep infections. He mentioned that sometimes the stress of an illness (e.g. strep throat) can cause an increase in symptoms, but not due to an immune system response. Another option he gave us was to monitor his titres every couple months, but did not think that was warranted at this time. I really appreciated the fact that he did not "close the door" on my son's case, and is willing to follow up with phone calls or future appointments. NancyD, I was glad to hear that your daughter is doing so much better. My son has intrusive thoughts, too. His therapist has given him some Cognitive Behavior Therapy methods (e.g., sitting with the uncomfortable thoughts; writing scripts about them), but he seems to like to argue with the thoughts instead (not always the best option in the long run). Currently, the thoughts have subsided quite a bit and don't bother him as much as they did a few weeks ago.

Hello everyone, I have an 11 year old son who I suspect has PANDAS. When he was 7 years old, he had a sudden onset of OCD symptoms along with impulsivity, separation anxiety, regression, irritability, and tics. His strep titres were elevated so he was put on Zithromax (5 days) without any apparent change in his symptoms. His initial symptoms eventually subsided, and since then his OCD/tic/ADHD symptoms have waxed and waned over the years. At times his symptoms seemed correlated with a strep infection, but other times it hasn't been clear. He has never been treated with psych meds, but he has seen a psychologist and has responded well to Cognitive Behavior Therapy. In addition, we give him Omega 3 (Omegabrite) and sometimes magnesium. This past month he had a strep throat treated with Keflex. Several weeks later he had an increase in tics, impulsivity, and OCD. This recent bout has caused me to look into the PANDAS research once again. His pediatrician is open to the possibility of PANDAS, but isn't too experienced with treating it. I asked her about a referral to a rheumatologist, which she thought was a great idea. So, we are waiting to get an appointment with Robert Fuhlbrigge in Boston. I hope he agrees to see my son even though his symptoms are on the milder end of the continuum. I have read cwmom's posts and it sounds like Dr. Fuhlbrigge has been very helpful with her son. This forum has been a great resource for information and it seems like there is much support among the members here. I look forward to being part of the forum.