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My son was at Rogers last year for eating disorder related to PANDAS. He was in the inpatient 24 hour ED department for minors. The program is good especially for kids who are very ill and need immediatiate refeeding. Rogers was very good about keeping him on the antibiotics he was already on. They seemed open and interested in learning more about PANDAS. Rogers was a great facility for his immediate need for refeeding they dont put up with any excuses for not eating and do what they have to to get the kids nutrtionally well enough to accept therapy. Rogers wanted my son to go to their residential program after release from their inpatient program but we were able to find a program closer to our home. He then was in Sheppard pratts ED day program for 30 days.

Does anyone have any knowledge of how accurate the PCR strep test is for our PANDAS kids? My son is having PANDAS flare but not showing any other signs of strep. Doc is sending of PCR for strep and did not run rapid. Im sure PCR works great for "normal" kids but PANDAS kids always seem to not follow the rules of test results. Should I trust the PCR results?

Thanks for the replys. I took 18 YO to ped yesterday and they are running PCR strep test. We will know the results today. Doc thinks it combination of allergies, stress and exposure to whatever the strange rash we had was. I agree with the doc but he did not provide us with any solutions other than take him back to his therapist for a while. I will be putting him back on antibiotics and ibuprofen. Hopefully this will curb this PANDAS flare. Thanks Again Melissa

18 YO son with PANDAS probably since infancy. He was hospitalized with Eating Disorder one year ago. He had been doing very well until about 6 weeks ago. Our 7YO nonpandas son had what looked like scarlet fever rash all over and myself and two of our older kids had same rash but not over whole body. We all felt fine no fever no sore throat. Took 7YO to doc his rapid was neg and culture was neg. during the same time the pandas son started saying he was starting to feel like the ED was acting up. He even said this feels so weird because I havent even thought about weight or eating since last year until now. my question is should I have 7yO titers tested to see if he actually had strep Do I bother testing 18yo who didnt have any strep symptoms and titers usually dont rise anyway. Do i test any of us for other things I would like to have proof that his current exacerbation of PANDAS ED was set off by something that one of us in the family had six weeks ago. Thanks for any thoughts on this mess. Melissa

my 7YO had strep last year from feb thru may -10 days of antibiotics, he would seem better but on thirteenth day would wake up with fever and sore throat then would start another 10 days of antibiotics - tonsils and adenoids removed in April only to test positive again two weeks after. It took 30 days of Rifampin with 10 of those days on clindamycin to finally rid him of the strep.The entire family followed the same medicines we all started it at the same time. He has not tested positive since last May. We had to have a compounding pharmacy make the rifampin into liquid.

Dont be sorry for the suggestion of bedbugs, they are possible everywhere, they always cross my mind when we travel. This rash is what I think of with Scarlet Fever except we all felt fine. It is very slightly raised, not bumpy like bites, covered the 7YOs skin almost completely, very ruff, felt like a lizard, and now he looks like one with the flaky skin on his face. I am taking him today for a strep test. I dont know if it will show up since it started 10 days ago and is now gone, but I need to make sure he is negative in hopes of getting the 18YO back to base with his PANDAS. The 18YO reacts terribly when the younger kids have strep. If it is strep at least I know what I am dealing with and can treat it. Thanks

No symptoms before the rash. The only thing I noticed before we left on the trip is that the 7YO's face looked a little puffy. This time last year he fought strep for over four months and his face was puffy off and on, but then he had typical strep symptoms(fever, sore throat etc). It could be parvo but 7YO was the only one with red face. The other big kids had rash on face but you could feel it more than see it. Theirs was more on the ears, behind the ears, neck, and back. Mine was mostly on my arms. I took pictures when the rashes were fresh so I could show the doctor if needed when we returned to the states. I may take the 7YO to pediatrician tomorrow and have him tested for strep. The 18YO (PANDAS) is now on antibiotics so I'm guessing his rapid would show negative. I read that if it is scarlet fever it continues to stay contagious during and after the rash if not treated. Do you know if that is true?

Anyone have any thoughts on this situation? -Last Friday April 26 our family flew to Aruba for vacation -Saturday I woke up with itchy rash on inner forearms on both arms(first thought it might be allergic reaction to sheets at resort). -Our seven year old wakes up with rash on face which progressed to rest of body over the next day. - Later Saturday our nineteen year old and 22 year old started having rash on face, ears neck and back. -The older kids and myself had the rash but it never got as bad as the seven year old. -The rash looked like scarlatina, it could be seen easily but some areas it could be felt more than seen, it felt like a lizard. Red, lightly raised, a little itchy, mine itched worse than the kids. -None of us felt sick no fever, no sore throat, felt normal. The little guy was a little cranky. Our 18 year old(PANDAS CHILD) had to fly into Aruba Saturday a day after the rest of the family. When he arrived I could see his tics were acting up and he said his throat hurt and he was stuffy, but no rash or fever. I started him on antibiotics(I go no where without extra antibiotics). All of our rashes have cleared the seven years face is now dry and scaling. Could this have been Scarlet Fever on all four of us with no symptoms but rash? Could it have been a viral rash? Any other thoughts on what it could have been? Thanks for any thoughts!

PANDAS son woke up this morning with fever, and body aches. If we find it is the flu are the PANDAS doctors recommending using antivirals like Tamiflu? My son has been fairly symptom free for 6 months and so far today we are not seeing any issues. He had IVIG and Plasmpheresis about a year ago.

Great post! Diffrent thoughts from doctors, researchers, parents etc. all contribute to finding an answer for our kids. We all may not agree with every opinion but taking a look at all possibilities is what will make progress. Even the nonbelievers in the medical world who have taken the time to decide why they do not believe can be a valuable(also a pain in the A'') tool. With out the naysayers the believers would not have to work as hard to prove what is the best treatment for our kids. It will take these doctors giving their all, to find answers. Until we have 100% answers it would be nice if all of the medical community would be willing to look at the things that researchers have come up with so far. Ignoring our kids problems or covering them up with SSRI's will not make them go away. Our kids need help now! The one thing that bothers me most is doctors who practice as if they do not believe because the head of their practice has decided that their practices protocol will be to not believe in PANDAS. A doctor who practices against something he believes in(because their boss tells them too) is not living up to their code of "Do no harm." Being a good doctor is an unbelievably hard job and a huge responsibility. Doctors please do not make your decisions on treating or not treating an illness because your offices protocol book says so. Make decisions based on medical knowledge. "A good doctor is a leader not a follower." Each PANDAS doctor may have a little diffrent course of treatment for our kids but thankfully they have spent much time and effort to come to their conclusions. Thank you to all of the doctors, parents etc. for your effort to help our kids. Your work will "lead" to answers