Priscilla

Funny I just got a notification from this response. I have not been on this forum in a very long time. I am so happy to report that I have a very healthy happy 16-year-old daughter who is no resemblance to the child that was in such turmoil. I will however say it has contributed to the person she is kind, compassionate and confident. I just went for an IEP meeting today which we did not even try Start one until eighth grade where things got worse before they got better but I have to say once over the hump of entering puberty things really started to balance out. She has not used one accommodation from her bare bones IEP she has good grades healthy social relationships and almost no residual OCD. I hope this gives hope to the parents that are going through this. My main advice and one of the hardest lessons I learned and she actually helped me see it was not turning her into something that needed to be fixed with all the desperation of trying to find her help she did feel like that for a time. Funny once I excepted exactly how she was whether it was going to last forever or not is when she started to get better. Sending love and good vibes to all of you and hope for a better day.

So true.. well we've struggled through all of this yet my daughter is a much better person than I was at her age and we share a very special bond Sisterhood having struggled through this together and for sure having other moms the speak to that I understand has been a godsend

Hello, its been a long time since I've been here..but just happened upon a quote I keep on my fridge.. Something I came across several years ago in my dark days and it really resonated with me, I've kept it... And this moment I just had, made me feel I need to share a message of hope for u. I get frustrated when desperately searching forums for anything, and u never see the outcome.. So I feel it is my duty to give u some hope. I was a regular here several years ago, my daughter was slipping from me, an 8 year old that seemed to be losing her mind, posesed even..we desperately tried everything... Pandas, Lyme, tourettes...years of antibiotics, 7 supplements a day, diet that was gluten, dairy, wheat, and sugar free (what the did I feed her?) Multiple ivig treatments, counseling...all of which this strong willed child protested..it was . Hair pulling, couldn't say certain words, no door ways , nothing passing her side, couldn't touch her, jumping spitting, grunting, violent outbursts, and all kinds of other rules her mind made that I could never even know.. So here we are..14 and a half years now.. I would love to say it miraculously got easier...but it hasn't ..as a matter of fact..this strong willed teen got worse, Bigger, stronger, and raging hormones with no period at 14 years old.. By last Jan we did what I have avoided since 7 years old..she was hospitalized for 5 days..it was necessary.. Violent and physical altercations ( with her now bigger than me!) And put on partial outpatient program for 3 weeks Instead of school.. I was fortunate to have a wonderful program available for this.. And am not recommending hospitalization because as a nurse with some mental health experience ..it often does more harm then good...u need to find your path... I'm not sure what she learned from it..as she is..as always very resistant to discussing these issues..but she did get a bit better.. And opened up a little.. And I learned how damaging my good intentions to constantly seek help for her have been...she has always seen me as trying to "fix" her..a brief conversation about this.. And me telling her I know she can't help it..and doesn't want it..but letting it go has been huge... Is it easy? Absolutely not, are there still issues? Yup..but by June if this year..period came..I we afraid..will it get better or worse? I have to say..better..things seemed to be balancing.. School was horrible last year..(8th grade) the worst yet...but we just started high school ..she loves it..grades ate great..and Ocd and tics definitely milder..but still there...is it me backing off? Puberty finally giving relief? I don't know.. But I am confident she WILL be OKAY.. Different..but ok..I just wanted to give those of you who are where we were just a few years ago hope😀😀

Hi, been a while... I am back puberty is tough... looking for any teen support groups for tourettes near Orange County, Ca... any ideas??

My dd seemed what could be textbook PANDAS at first, elevated strep antibodies, and fit the diagnostic critieria to a "T" but I hadn't known of any strep infection since she had strep throat as an infant. We did abx and IVIG with improvement, but not enough. Saw parents getting lyme diagnosis and recalled a bite around 3yrs old and went for testing. We had pos lyme bands an mycoplasma. This was after 4 ivig though, so I have always wondered. Regardless, treating for lyme and Pandas was basically the same. Lyme doc added zith, and was very good about listening, monitoring labs... I do credit him with our greatest success. She continued to improve under his care, and he was on the same page when we started to wean. I still have trouble understanding all the puzzle pieces though. She was bit at 3, but showed the seatbelt and other hypersensitivity prior to that bite. hmmmmmm. Then, like I said, the research on vax made the most sense. I still have many "ah ha" moments as I read more. Asthma that started as soon as I stopped nursing her???? The timing is key after the MMR too. I also had a MMR vax in hosp after giving birth, then nursed (always wonder if that has some contribution to the problem too) I read about the maternal child TH1/TH2 immunity and it made sense to me. Then, I just go back to the basics of my motherly instincts.... I did not like the way she was being vaccinated, so much so, that I left her first ped, went to Dr Jim Sears b/c he does a monthly talk to actually help parents make an INFORMED decision about vaccines (rarity at a peds office!) no bullying, or rejecting patients for not vaccinating! So, I (regretably) went forward with vaccinating the full series.. but on an alternative schedule for a while. Then I had to move to a ped closer to me, and they went back on their schedule. I do feel the time we spaced them out, may have saved her from a worse fate (like the poor children suffering from full blown autism) My child is not unlike them in that many of her early behaviours were on that spectrum. Vaccine injury also makes sense to me why children can actually "recover" fully! from autism!!!! You don't "recover" from a genetic problem. So, looking back on it from the other side (Thank GOD!) I feel there is alot of confusion and misdirection in the research. That is just my opinion, but I have to say I am so glad we are where we are, and I feel God led us here, by stripping away the layers, not getting too caught up in the details. Looking at the bigger, simpler picture about what was going on. I hope our path can help at least one of you. Don't ever hesitate to contact me.

she is 10, and does't seem to be near puberty (think she will be a late bloomer:)) Hard to say exactly which vaccine, but in retrospect, the very first signs of something wrong came right after her 15 month MMR. She became extremely hypersensitive to her seatbelt. It was new, and it was so severe I knew something wasn't right, but she was so normal otherwise I really just hoped it was a phase. She also had asthma, (which makes sense that it could have also been caused by vax) so of course Dr encouraged the flu shot. After the first one, she became extremely ill within 48 hrs (high fever, sore throat...) I took her back, rapid influenza test positive! of course it was brushed off as coincidence, but I know better. She was in no way ill, or exposed to anyone ill before getting the vax. I have become consumed with educating myself about the vax and everything makes perfect sense on why we ended up with our "PANDAS/Lyme" diagnosis, which neither of those diagnosis made as much sense to me as the possibility of vaccine injury. When I changed my focus to helping her recover from injury, we were able to get well. How I got here: first- education, like I said about the effects of vax and the additives, not just mercury, but aluminum and other adjuvants affecting neuro, gut, skin....... second- prepare myself mentally... we want to heal, and balance her immune system, not continously fight off microbes that are a natural part of our environment. If her immune system can be balanced and work properly again, these microbes/viruses will not be a problem, her body will handle them like children have for thousands of years (sans the assault of microbes, virus, heavy metals and exposure to multiple disease at once that is given to our children nowadays via vaccine). I really focused on getting her off the abx because while I always hated her being on them, I felt they were absolutely necessary, and at at time she was in such severe psychosis, they probably were. At this point though, I felt they were just adding to the toxic load in her body, and I really wanted to simplify what her body had to process. I had to mentally prepare for what would happen when we decreased because she always slipped when we tried. third- diet. "let food by thy medicine" I had gone back and forth on this, but the more I realized how her gut was probably affected by the vaccine, therefor contributing to neuro/BBB issues I knew there was a connection. Many parents of autistic children can attest to this (I truly believe add, adhd, PANDAS/PANS, aspergers, autism are all then same spectrum, just a different degree/mechanism of injury, then add that to all of the other autoimmune dz our children are suffering from: diabetes, asthma, arthritis.....I feel it is all linked to the vaccine assualt). I limited gluten and sugar, and went for organic everything! We also gave carlson fish oil daily fourth-start the wean and hold on!!! we went down first on the zith b/c I felt she was less dependant on this one. I made small decreases and waited several weeks between adjustments. Lots of water, epsom salts baths almost daily (necessary!and I read it is acutally a mild chelation). I really want to stress this for you other parents thinking of weaning, THERE WAS SLIPPING!!!! each time I made a decrease SHE DID SLIP! but I refused to go back, and she knew I had that confidence with my new focus. I prayed and felt in my core that we were going down the right road. I put my faith in GOD, I knew a long time ago not to put it in science or doctors (no offense to the wonderful docs trying to help, but they ARE human, and unfortunately, almost entirely educated by pharmacuetical companies that make billions from vaccines and patient dependant on their drugs). I saw some old behaviors come back, and some new ones start, but I held fast, made her soak everyday in epsoms, and stayed calm. I told her it was normal she would feel this and it would pass within a few days. AND IT DID!!!!!! Then I would wait until she balanced a little, and make another decrease. I think I started weaning in Dec of last year, we were completely off by May. fifth- I prayed and prayed, and gave thanks for every little thing. I truly believed she would be ok,( and believe me, I didn't always project this) but I felt it was important for her to know I felt this. Somethimes I had to summon strength and try to make myself believe it, but I feel my strength definitely gave her strength. Now- She is doing amazing! I sometimes forget how bad she was, but I do remind myself so I can be thankful. I would say she still has some anxiety at times... but she knows she can conquer... if you read my old posts, you will know we were pretty dark at one point. I see her wit, and I know she thinks better. Grades are up, she can definitely process math better (scored on the line of advanced on her start testing!) NO MORE VACCINES for us. I will use our medical exemption, but if I am bullied, I WILL resort to homeschool... whatever it takes, I will not let her be injured again. I have educated her to not let the school vaccinate her too! Sorry so long, but I feel it important to share. I pray for strength and healing for all of you! Please know you can heal, we are proof!!!!