sww817

Just to chime in on the "waiting".... It is not nearly as clear with the kids that are not sudden onset and / or that are affected at an early age when the symptoms can be misread as developmental. Add that to the new developments in PANDAS research and it becomes very easy to be mis-diagnosed. The residual issues also cause a challenge because these kids do not always return to baseline and there comes the question of "normal" OCD and anxiety. Trust me... It is not always as "easy" to see on the outside. I definitely relate to momwithocdson... My child is similar and many years younger and we still are searching for the right answers.

I think you will get a lot of informative responses to your post. My thought would be get him on another abx if you can get it. The response he has will be benefitial to Dr. M. Perhaps even more so that "seeing" for herself. As we all know, sometimes these issues pop up at times other than when you are sitting in a dr's office! So it would probably be helpful if you can get him the abx and document thoroughly the changes you see in him before your appt. I can't help much with your other questions. We are actually about a week behind you seeing Dr. M also. But we are more years into this and I don't have the answers I wish I could give you! We definitely are PandaX as well and I think it makes things more complicated. I am interested to see what Dr. M thinks. Good luck! I hope you get some answers.

This is good news. Although my son's cam k number is the ONLY thing that makes me doubt his diagnosis. He was in normal range even though he has a classic presentation. I have often wondered though how the whole PITANDS thing figures into the cam k numbers? I know he reacts to more things than strep... but he does not show any indication of lyme on western blot. Except that band 41 that "almost everyone shows" (as I have been told). Anyway... still great news that this will be more readily available!

I would try the doctor that is going to pull the tonsils like the others suggested. Our ent did not find it overly unusual to have antibiotics before the surgery but he is a little mire progressive. If that doesn't work, you could try a phone consult with Dr. T. I know you have an appt with Dr. B scheduled but I personally would not pull his tonsils without the abx. You can find plenty of horror stories about flares after the t&a and also some that had improvements. I wouldn't panic over the stories... But get the abx first. It can't hurt and it could head off a problem if there is strep released.

Interesting post. I do not have it but my husband developed it last year. My son obviously had strep at the same time since his titers were elevated a couple of months afterwards when he started having an episode and also had the flu. I did not think about the carrier aspect. I will have to put that on my list of questions for my next doctor appt. I might also see if I can get my husband to run his titers so we have an idea.

Philamom- Calms Fort'e 4 kids was suggested to us by our sensory OT. She knew we had sleep issues and she had another mom who praised it. It had absolutely no effect on my son. I was very hopeful but I guess it just depends on the child. I have heard mention of 5htp but have not tried that. Also does anyone use valerian root?

Interesting that you posted this as it has been on my mnd this past week too. My son takes 2mg of sustained release nightly and has been on some dose ranging from 1-3 mg for about 2 years I think. Last week he became sick with a virus and the melatonin was not needed since he was worn out and in bed much earlier than normal. When the virus was gone, I started wondering if I should just keep him off since his sleep patterns had gotten so much better over the past month or so. What I saw was a very hard time falling asleep and a much more restless sleep for him. So I decided to put him back on so that he can get the sleep his body needs. In all fairness, he may be having issues resulting from the virus also but either way, he needed it for better sleep. I do wonder if anyone uses any other supplements that are helpful for sleep? I feel like we need something if we stop usng melatonin to get a quality sleep and stop the restless patterns.

My problem right now is we will all be in fl for our appointments. All includes my three year old ( who just tested positive for strep!!). I just think it might be better for them to stay at the hotel. We are traveling from NC so there will not be any extra hands.

I am just curious who all you take to the doctors appointments. In the past, sometimes my husband and I both go and sometimes I just go with my son. I think it is benefitial for my husband to be there and hear the doctor first hand though. Right now I am trying to figure out our next appointments with Murphy and Storch. I don't know if I am going to be able to coordinate for both of us to go and I am kind of worried about that. So I was wondering, how do you all handle the appointments?

I saw that quote and almost posted it here as well. Love it! Especially being one of the Moms that constantly hears that is not our issue..... I did not see the show so I do not know. I just saw it on the web site. But typically I think it usually goes with a story on tv when it has that Good Morning America logo beside it.

jasimon2- I am not in Charlotte but I think there are several NC people on here. So I wouldn't be surprised if you hear from them. I have heard of Dr. Corbier on this board I believe as well. Good luck to you on this journey. This board is a GREAT place for information. There are so many people on here with lots of different experiences that are willing to share so much!

Thanks DeeDee. I am going to try a local CBT (left an e-mail) and see how that goes. If I can determine that this is OCD, I would think an intensive program might be benefitial. But I can get started a lot quicker with a local person and see if maybe we can just tackle it that way. Was Storch's program helpful with your other child? Thanks for the advice from a parent that is farther down the same road. It is always very helpful and I take all of it to heart!

Just saw this on the front page. PANDAS story with NC family and Dr. B. Looks like it might have been a Good Morning America story? Is the mom on this site? We are in NC too. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/pandas-strep-throat-trigger-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-children/story?id=14668292

I had forgotten what a wealth of knowledge this board is! So I have another question from your experience. You know how they say urinary frequency is a PANDAS sign... is this frequency with actual output? Or is more of an OCD symptom with going frequently but not really having a full bladder? I know when we are in full crisis mode we will often see a nightime acccident or two (or naptime when he still took naps). But I am unclear about it in general. My ds went to the bathroom four times this morning before school but he actually needed to go. His symptoms had quieted down I thought, so I am curious. There is definitely plenty he could have been exposed to but I am hoping this is just a fluke.

Thanks for the info. It is good to know I am not alone in dealing with these issues. It is tough though when most people just think picky child but I know it goes deeper. I cannot even bribe him with anything (Other issues he can be bribed when not in crisis mode). And I know he wants to eat these things for the bribe. He will get himself all ready to do it and then when it is in front of him, he just won't / can't. He has mentioned something about not eating animals ONE time. It was a passing comment and I have tried to dig deeper without putting ideas into his head... in case he was not actually thinking that. I am not prepared with how I would react to that. And I would be 100% fine if he did not want to eat meat... but he also does not eat cheese, milk, peanut butter, nuts... all of the typical meat protein substitutes. My only protein sources are pastas, the little meat he eats around and protein cereal bars. Frustrating... plus he is small for his age... although he is strong so he is not truly malnourished, I suppose. Thanks for the help though. I am going to call a CBT therapist I found that is about 45 minutes away. I would love to try Dr. Storch's program but that will take some work if we could even get him in. We did get an appointment with Dr. Murphy in November and the food issues will be at the top of my list. But I think I will go ahead and see if I can get in with the local person. Apparently she is on the IOCDF committee with Murphy and Storch so she should know a little about PANDAS and the residual effects hopefully.