Just need to ask

[cagirlintexas]

My son who is 3 years old has always been a little OCD but nothing to bad. Likes things orderly and in a certain way. Also a little anxious. Back in June had one episode of wiping his mouth with his shirt that lasted a month. Kinda of an anxious tic but not to frequent. For some reason at the time I though strep not sure why. Took him in and had rapid strep test but was negative.

 

Well on Sept 21 he was his normal happy self and on Sept 22 he developed 3 really frequent anxious tics. He grabs at both ears, grabs at both legs, and wipes his hand down his face. At the time we were on vacation in California. It was our 4th day there.

 

We did a step culture and aso titer test yesterday.

 

No family history of tics but family history of ocd

Edited October 5, 2010 by cagirlintexas

[Phasmid]

Sounds suspicious! Good you're on top of it early. My son sucked his shirt early on.

[cory2605]

Did your son have any vaccines prior to the onset of either episode of tics? Before the shirt tic or the ones you witness in late September. My son use to line things up and liked certain things orderly also. He was also a bit anxious as well. It wasn't until his vaccines that the tics and ongoing OCD started. Keep your eyes open and start logging things. Don't mention his tics to him either at this point. I find it made my son's worse and feel insecure about them.

 

Trish

[SarahJane]

I don't mean to make light of this, but you've posted in a place where we're all gonna think PANDAS/PITAND. We see it everywhere now.

 

I'm fairly new to all this but am a quick learner. I'm sure another poster can give more info or you can just take a look around the forum. Even if titers are low, it doesn't rule anything out because they aren't always high. (I'm assuming the strep A swab was negative/culture may grow). And if PITAND, it could be any infection (or vaccines/shots) that causes reactions/behaviors. Seems mycoplasma & Lyme are other culprits for behaviors. Done a flu shot recently? If he's 3, I don't think there would have been any recent vaccines unless you were off on the schedule.

 

I recommend that you keep a good record of behaviors right now. If you get into the middle of this & it is PANDAS/PITAND, you may not remember everything. Go back & record what you noticed in June too & what was going on (strep exposure, shots, etc...). I've been going thru my son's medical records and am amazed how behavior issues were flaring with infections/vaccines and I didn't always make the connections. Or he'd be dx'd just before or after the behaviors. You think once you treat with abx that it can't be the illness causing behaviors...not the case with PANDAS/PITAND. And watch for the idea that you need to put him on SSRIs/meds for the OCD/tics...microbes can cause mental illness. Drugs just mask the symptoms.

 

Be proud that you're being proactive! It's unlikely a doctor would mention this to you as a possibility. AND if they brush you off, don't be discouraged and keep on researching. I let 4 months go by after being told it wasn't PANDAS & was further placated by a good summer until strep A reared it's head again & everything came back. I recommend the book Saving Sammy too.

 

GOOD LUCK!

[EmersonAilidh]

If it's mainly tics/anxiety/OCD you're dealing with I wouldn't look too far into Lyme/MycoP unless you're in an endemic area (the only one I've ever heard accepted for Lyme in Texas is Commerce). I'm in DFW myself. If you need any help feel free to PM me whenever you'd like.

 

Also, I'd look more for a family history of screwed up immune systems than actual symptoms like OCD & tics. Out of my eight siblings none tic, I can think of at least half that exhibit OCD type behaviors (one of which is mentally retarded & autistic), but no matter what... ALL of us get ANY bug or whatever else that's going around. Not all people with compromised immune systems end up with P.A.N.D.A.S., but typically it's not too hard to determine how well the immune systems function in your family. Let us know how the titers come back! You said the first rapid was negative.. Has he had strep or any other infections?