Thank you to everyone who contributes to this forum. I'm reading and learning. Thanks for sharing.
My daughter, age 8, is currently experiencing PANDAS symptoms. My daughter is ADHD - hyperactive on Focalin 30mg. I would describe her as being slightly anxious on a normal basis. She can be obsessive about food such as when is our next meal, what will we have, where will we go if eating out etc.
Over the weekend 12/26/09 she started being more "intense" and quiet (she never stops talking). Then 12/27-12/28 she started repeating a phrase and counting how many times she repeated it. She had to repeat is 9-10 times. She said the phrase ("I believe") after everything she said,,,every sentence. I asked her why she said it and she said it was because of the people in her body. I asked how many people in your body and she said as many as bones and blood vessels. On the evening 12/27 in bed she started pawing at her face. I quickly scheduled an appt with her psychiatrist for 12/29. Her psych asked about family history and asked if she had been sick with strep. I said no because I hadn't seen any signs of illness. She started explaining a little about the connection between strep and OCD. It sounded like mumbo jumbo to me. The next day 12/30 my daughter was so sick she could not get out of bed. She slept all day and only got up to puke (about 4-5 times). She couldn't eat or watch TV. I did a little research and learned about PANDAS. She was better the next day 12/31 but I took her in to see her pediatrician because I wanted the strep test. She tested positive via the throat culture. She got a shot of antibiotics (actually a shot in each leg) because I didn't want to risk her puking oral antibiotics.
Now 1/5/10 she is still repeating the phrase but not doing the counting,,,,at least not out loud. I find her whispering more to herself and repeating the phrase. Every once and a while she will just yell it out. Sometimes she will draw my attention to it,,,such as,,,,"mama,,I believe" and look for my acknowledgement. She has resumed a habit that we broke a year or so ago and that is waking up in the middle of the night and coming to our bed.
We stopped the focalin when she started showing the OCD. I don't think her doc wants us to go back on it but try something else instead. I'm very worried about her going back to school tomorrow and how she will be able to hold it together. I'm printing off the fact sheets that I've found on this forum and taking it to her pedia. office. I'm not sure what to do next.
Linda (tx)
