An 82-Year Old Woman with PANDAS?

[SarahJane]

Peglem...GMTA!

[EAMom]

Wasn't there an article posted here not long ago about post infectious encephalitis in the elderly being a fairly common phenomena?

 

I know someone posted seniors in rest homes and urinary tract infections causing mental changes .

 

I would think dental infections could cause problems too...

[peglem]

Wasn't there an article posted here not long ago about post infectious encephalitis in the elderly being a fairly common phenomena?

 

I know someone posted seniors in rest homes and urinary tract infections causing mental changes .

 

I would think dental infections could cause problems too...

Yeah, the UTI one is what I was thinking of... but stands to reason that urti could do the same- its closer to the CNS!

[Fixit]

A couple of days ago, I was out raking our monstrous maple leaf collection in the front yard when my elderly neighbor stepped out on her porch and called out to me. This lady is 82, widowed and has faced some major health problems in recent years, including cancer. That being said, she has always been very "with it" mentally: friendly, holds a conversation well, driving herself places, attending her church, running the local United Way drive, etc.

 

Anyway, she tells me that she's developed an "anxiety problem." She says she worries about everything and everybody, and that she can't seem to stop. Then she tells me she's very afraid of germs. I asked her if this came on suddenly, and she said yes, just this past summer, after she was hospitalized for a bad upper respiratory infection. She says first her doctor gave her Lexapro but it didn't help, so now she's taking Prozac and clonansepam.

 

She invited me inside her normally neat, tidy little house. It's still tidy, but she's begun to hoard. It is organized hoarding . . . lined up along all the walls . . . but it is a dramatic amount of stuff she's accumulated since I was last in her home. And true to her reporting of her fear of germs, she's got everything covered with tissues or paper towels (like the phone) so that she doesn't have to touch it directly, and it appears she's eating off paper plates with plastic utensils so that they can be thrown away after a single use. All of this is dramatically different from less than a year ago.

 

I found myself telling her about my DS and his journey through anxiety and OCD and, finally, the help he's gotten from PANDAS treatment via antibiotics. She was stunned, of course. I asked her if her doctor had tested her for any infections, like strep or myco p., and she said no. I told her I had some research that I could share with her, and maybe she could give it to her doctor and see if he would at least give abx a try, since first the Lexapro and now the Prozac don't seem to be helping her at all.

 

I came home and printed out a rheam of research and information on infection and mental illness, and then I wrote a cover letter to her which she could also show her doctor with bullet points of major facts and findings, including our personal experiences with our DS. She's said she'll take the packet with her to her next doctor's appointment.

 

First I was floored, and now I'm just certain that the Universe works in mysterious ways. I just hope her doctor will step outside the box a little and give it a try . . . . . .

 

I havent' read any of the other posts....

BUT, SO GLAD you stepped up and were not afraid to tell her about this...

i ABSOLUTELy think it's pan/pits or an/its....

now the problem is getting her doc to listen and or children if she has any....

hopefully you can print out more and more info for her to take with her to her docs...

The Elderly are not well listened too...

when my parents were around and i would go to docs...the docs did listen to my parents...but they were SHARP till the very end..and a bit like mr and mrs claus...(God I Miss THEM!!!)...but i could see how others would be swept under the carpet and/or railroaded....

I have a great fondness and respect for the elderly...

I am so PROUD of you doing this for her MWOS...this will come round!!!

ALSO thanks for sharing it here!!!

[MomWithOCDSon]

Is it possible that the infection could be Lyme? I know there's been a lot of talk about it, but given her age, and the fact that she apparently hasn't had problems in the past, I would think along the lines of something that she could have contracted easily and more recently. Lyme can cause these symptoms, they certainly could be a form of PITANDS, and I think it would be a good question to pose to Dr. C.

 

If Lyme is a possibility, it would help for her to be able to ask the doc about that, as well, because it may not yet be chronic, and would make things so much easier to treat.

 

Please keep us informed.

 

I seriously doubt that Lyme is a contender here. She doesn't travel, she's not an "outdoorsy" type, and she has no pets at all. Seems much more likely to me that she picked up something in her last hospital stay, or that the infection that brought her into the hospital in the first place has not been properly eradicated. Or, even, that given chemo for the cancer and her subsequent viral and bacterial illnesses, her immune system has just become so majorly compromised that it's whacked out.

 

I'll be sure to follow up with her in a few days and see if she's gotten any help from her doctor. Thanks again to you and everyone else for the ideas and support.

[MomWithOCDSon]

 

Great idea to contact Dr. Cunningham; I think I will, if only to see what she thinks about it.

 

You are AWESOME!

 

How about cc'ing (or contacting separately) Dr. Swedo, Dr. Leckman, Dr. T., Dr. K. etc. ?

 

Great idea! I have Cunningham's, Dr. T.'s and Dr. K's email addresses; anyone have Swedo's and Leckman's to share?

[EAMom]

I also wonder if she might have had PANDAS/pitands when she was younger.

[EAMom]

 

but i could see how others would be swept under the carpet and/or railroaded....

 

 

yup...especially since that generation doesn't normally know to question or doubt a doctor.

[T_Mom]

Way to go Nancy-- Your friend is lucky to have you! You might ask her (as an aside) if she has ever had her B 12 levels checked. Pernicious anemia can cause sudden-onset dementia, as the elderly sometimes lose the physical ability to take in B 12 from their food (through the intestines)...the result is a very low level of B 12 and increasing confusion, = dementia. B 12 shots are given and the mind comes back--I had a friend who this happened to, B 12 levels are easy to check in blood work...

[Fixit]

i dont' know if this is worth adding to your pile..

posted a couple days ago..about sepsis and memory loss...maybe it can ocd too...as we are learning so much about all the possible triggers

or at least support how infection effects the brain

 

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/26/severe-sepsis-can-lead-to-memory-problems/?hpt=Sbin

Edited October 31, 2010 by Fixit

[momto2pandas]

Wanted to mention that this happened to my grandmother. She had anorexia nervosa as a teen, then various episodes of anxiety disorders on and off throughout her life...and a million semi-chronic infections, the whole shebang. At around age 82, she had a sudden-onset episode of anorexia nervosa again, for the first time in something like 70 years. One has to wonder...