Ozimum

i now think ds3 has another ear ache...says he has owey...and i am sure a tornado and 6 robbers have been in our house!!! Hi Fixit, That ear ache would have me reaching for OLE, vit C and echinacea...and off to the doctor. Good luck! I live in fear of strep... I'm diagnosing myself with PTSD (my naturopath says maybe without the P!) And maybe compulsive something or other because I spend hours researching and reading this forum! (My house is lucky if it gets a weekly vacuum!)

Hi Peglem, Oww! Good luck for tomorrow! I feel I know you from reading your posts over the past few months as I've struggled to understand my son's condition. Hoping all goes well for both your daughter and you. Take care of you too!

Hi sk8rmom, I sympathise. I think I can cope with most things but it's my son's OCD which really upsets me. I will do anything to have that disappear! Have you seen the ped gastro yet? How did it go? We went to a DAN! doctor who did testing and found that my son was deficient in a number of vitamins and minerals which meant that the immune system was compromised (despite a healthy diet), and he has a leaky gut (with strep and staph, and no e-coli - not good!) This is what I understand: With a compromised immune system the body finds it difficult to fight infection, and the gut wall becomes vulnerable and it starts to leak (not good!) The body's systems are then out of whack. I understand that 70% of the body's neurotransmitters are located around the gut, so it's not that surprising that neuro symptoms develop. My son gets worse with exposure to strep (history of ear infections.) The DAN! doctor is treating him with supplements, antibiotics to kill the strep and staph, enzymes, and probiotics to balance the gut flora, and a gut healing diet (GFCF, no grains, no sugar, organic food, lots of veggies, no potatoes) and we've tried hard to stick to it. We're really vigilant on no casein because he can't process it. I suspect my son has had this a long time. Improvements over the past couple of months have been slow but steady - I dare to hope that they will continue. He looks better, feels better, the OCD stuff is less severe, and he says the fog is lifting (Yes!) So, we're in this for the long term. It sounds like your son may have gut issues... I hope your gastro ped can help and you see improvement soon. Good luck!

Hi Phasmid, My ds lies about teeth cleaning too, and he's 16! I've been trying to work out whether this was just normal teen stuff. I've even talked about it with his psychologist and all I've ever got from him is that shoulder gesture (which means 'I really have no idea.' I get that a lot!) I agree - it's as if he really thinks he has cleaned his teeth even though the toothbrush is dry. I don't know what to think about a memory deficit... I have to think about that because it certainly is something psych and auditory testing has thrown up before. Wow! I'm gobsmacked right now.

Ok - sounds like both of you are running on empty. I've so been there! PLEASE - get yourselves to a sympathetic medical practitioner. (My experience is that an intergrative doctor is more likely to understand the stress and will offer some natural treatment, and maybe a shoulder to cry on.) Get some blood work done eg. Vitamin D, magnesium, etc. Also, a good psychologist to unload to can help too. We are strong but we're not superhuman. BIG cyber hugs coming to you now...You will get through this!

Does anyone else have this going on?...a burning desire to just get in the car and drive before there's nothing left of you? ugh. It's such a horrible disease. Any of you parents of the older kids, please feel free to offer some guidance to a mom that's going down fast. Hi Gat's Mom, YES! And, I feel your pain... We all need a mum to take care of us too, don't we! So here's some mum advice from me: Concentrate on you for a bit, so you can be as strong as you need to be. PTSD is REAL! I'm sorry, I don't have any suggestions to offer on separation anxiety. But I can share this - I have a 16 yo son with OCD and anxiety which go through the roof with exposure to strep. The last one was BAD, and I went with him - I was having panic attacks, the lot! I so wanted out. I've recently found a supportive doctor, also a homeopath, (also has DAN training) - he rescued me when I went to see him about being a local support for my son, and he recognised that I was hardly functioning, close to a blithering mess as I look back on it now... (He also ordered some blood work, and I was really shocked to discover my Vit D levels were crashingly low! Due to Stress? PTSD?) (Better now.) Is there someone who can do the same for you? Please, get youself as well as you can be, so you can stay strong. And do something for you: exercise, meditation, yoga, gardening, just sitting still to breathe, whatever works. You are an amazing mum! (We all are for hanging in there!) BIG cyber hugs coming your way - all the way from Australia... Ozimum

Hi Vicki, I found this too... Ozimum http://www.aftau.org...rticle&id=13179 Obsessing Over Strep Throat in Kids A common infection in children, strep throat can lead to problems with a child’s heart, joints or brain if left untreated. And when the brain is involved, motor and mental functioning may be compromised, leading to syndromes such as attention deficit disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). While scientists have speculated on a link between OCD and childhood infections like strep for more than two decades, Prof. Daphna Joel and her team of researchers at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Psychology have now scientifically demonstrated that strep can lead to brain dysfunction and OCD. Dr. Joel says their breakthrough could lead to new drugs for treating OCD, and may in the future prevent the psychiatric disorder altogether. Conducted by the PhD student Lior Brimberg and in collaboration with Prof. Madelaine W. Cunningham of the University of Oklahoma, the research, recently presented at the 13th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies in Florence, Italy, is expected to be published by the beginning of next year. How strep attacks the brain “It’s almost impossible to show how strep can lead to OCD in humans ― almost all of us, even very young children, have been exposed to the bacterium at one time or another,” says Prof. Joel. “But childhood seems to provide a distinct window of opportunity for the disorder to take root through strep infection,” she warns. Working with the world’s leading specialist in strep-related heart disease, Prof. Cunningham, the researchers developed a new animal model to show how exposure to strep affects the brain and leads to a number of physical and mental ailments. In her Tel Aviv University laboratory, Prof. Joel and Brimberg created an animal model using rats exposed to the strep bacteria. Comparing them to a strep-free control group, Prof. Joel measured a distinct difference in behavior in the strep-exposed animals. First, the strep-exposed rats developed a strep antibody which deposited in their brain, confirming the suspicions of previous researchers. Those exposed also developed balance and coordination difficulties, as well as compulsive behaviors such as increased and repetitive grooming. More important, they also found that the strep antibody binds itself to dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the brain. This finding is in harmony with the fact that one of the main drugs for treating Sydenham's Chorea, a motor disorder associated with strep, targets these same dopamine D2 receptors. “We were able to show that these antibodies are binding to receptors in the brain and changing the way certain neurotransmitters operate, leading to brain dysfunction and motor and behavioral symptoms,” Prof. Joel says. Prevention before the cure This breakthrough finding could lead to new modes of diagnosis of the disease and provide a new platform for drug developers seeking to treat or cure OCD. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, OCD affects up to 2% of all children and adolescents in the U.S. The disorder is characterized by recurrent intense obsessions and/or compulsions that may cause severe discomfort, anxiety and stress, and interfere with day-to-day functioning. Prof. Joel stresses how important it is for parents who notice signs of strep throat to ensure that their children get treated with the appropriate antibiotics in a timely fashion. Strep-induced OCD will likely continue to be a major problem in the developing world where strep is not treated adequately, she concludes.

From what I've read, deficiencies in Vitamin D and B appear to be implicated in OCD... wouldn't hurt to check it out if you haven't already.

I feel your pain and frustration. I dunno if this helps, because we've had different anxiety OCD stuff...Recently 16 yo DS got the flu and strep and it got really bad. Along with antibiotics, our Biomed doc suggested a very low dose of an SSRI (Gulp!) There must have been enough serotonin for it to work on because it hasn't made things worse, and the anxiety abated. (Phew!) At the time we had just started working on trying to improve his immune system and gut issues (strep and staph!) (Also found he couldn't process caseine so also started a no dairy gut healing diet...) So here's a thought, for what it's worth... Have you had blood tests done for vitamin levels? We found our son was VERY deficient in Vit D and he's been taking supplements for a few months. We're waiting retest results now. We've also tested Vit B12 levels for the first time... While DS's anxiety has improved alot, the OCD has not yet disappeared entirely. I'm figuring we will continue to work on a number of fronts and hope that time will heal! I hope you find what works for you and your son.

Hi KelC, I want to send you a PM but I haven't figured out how to do that! I would be very happy to talk further, if you would like. Where are you? Our experience of OCD has been very hairy to deal with. I HATE strep! We are slowly getting to grips with underlying gut issues (I had no idea!) and a compromised immune system, so this is where the Biomed has been so-o-o-o good for us. Vit D level was a jaw dropper! Ozimum P.S. I think I've managed to send you a message...scroll up to the right hand corner of screen.