Crying for no reason

[PhillyPA]

My DS8 will burst into tears for no reason. He will sob and sob for maybe 10 minutes and then stop and be perfectly fine.

 

Does anyone else's child do this? What is this and why is it happening? Is there a medical reason for it?

[MomWithOCDSon]

I think these "sobbing sessions" followed by "feeling fine" are part of the emotional lability profile that can come with PANDAS.

 

I can only speak from our experience and say that there were points in time, especially early on, that DS appeared to go on a crying jag for no reason. This was especially true when he was younger (he's now just shy of 14). What we came to understand as he got older was that it wasn't actually for "no reason;" rather, it was for a reason he couldn't yet articulate. Our DS was tormented by OCD thoughts long before we knew he had PANDAS or PANDAS OCD, and when he would get overwhelmed by them, he'd go on a sobbing jag. I think some kids rage, but ours would sob. We'd ask him what was wrong and try to ferret out all sorts of possible rational reasons behind the "sadness," but every query was met with a "no," yet he couldn't stop.

 

And then, just as inexplicably, he would turn on a dime, stop, and, as you've put it, be "perfectly fine." For us, that is the neverending frustration of the OCD; it is entirely irrational and, in many ways, unpredictable, and what sets him spinning one minute is over the next.

 

As he's gotten older, 1) we've gotten more savvy to the ways of the OCD and are better prepared to identify when it lies behind a behavior, and 2) he's gotten more savvy to the OCD, as well, and more articulate about why he's being suddenly set off.

 

Don't know if OCD is behind your son's crying jags, but it seems possible, especially if OCD behaviors are part of his PANDAS profile.

Edited December 3, 2010 by MomWithOCDSon

[Worried_Dad]

Our ds also had the hours-long crying jags (interspersed with rages) during the worst of the "PANDAS storms." As Nancy said, we attributed this to the classic emotional lability associated with SC or PANDAS.

[momcap]

My DS7 has PANDAS and he rages. DS5 has crying spells. He is a strep carrier, but has no other PANDAS symptoms, other than crying. I will ask him why he's crying and he says, "I don't know." Sometimes he sobs for over an hour. All he will say is he doesn't know why and that he can't stop. I'm sure it is PANDAS related.

[Hierge]

My 12 year old daughter has stopped this behavior which went on for four years. She would cry at the drop of a hat and would report to us that she just couldn't stop, it was clearly compulsive. She was anorexic during this period of four years and we had trouble getting her to eat.

 

We came to the conclusion that low blood sugar was the primary factor in these episodes. Take her to Pizza Hut and she'd be all smiles AFTER she finished eating. See if snacks and meals help. PANDAS kids need to eat, so you get two birds with one stone.

 

Also, my daughter stopped this behavior completely after a month on steroids and 1000 mg of Augmenin XR which she will be on for a long time. Dr. told me that long-term antibiotics somehow do not have the adverse effects on PANDAS children they have on other people. No explanation for this, just having experience with a LOT of PANDAS kids taught the doctor this.

Edited December 3, 2010 by Hierge

[Kayanne]

Yes!! This was one of the most heart wrenching for us. It is so horrible to have a child crying and crying and not be able to tell you why. I suspect that MomWithOCDSon is spot on with her explanation.

 

In fact, one of the ways I distinguish normal childhood behaviors from PANDAS, is to make sure my daughter can tell me WHY she is so upset. If she can do that, then I breath a sigh of relief.

[PhillyPA]

Yes my son has OCD. The strange thing about his crying sessions is after they are over, and he is calm, he then usually does something remarkable. The other day he was sobbing for 10 minutes on my chest. Then, he stopped and used a bathroom he hasn't used/avoided for 2 years.

 

My son has been on azith for almost three weeks. We have seen some great changes with this new medication. Before the azith he was on augmentin for 10 months. These crying spells seem to have really picked up since we stopped the augmentin. However, the other stuff we are noticing on the azith is so good.

 

Perhaps it is just an adjustment to the new medication???

[Kayanne]

Yes my son has OCD. The strange thing about his crying sessions is after they are over, and he is calm, he then usually does something remarkable. The other day he was sobbing for 10 minutes on my chest. Then, he stopped and used a bathroom he hasn't used/avoided for 2 years.

 

My son has been on azith for almost three weeks. We have seen some great changes with this new medication. Before the azith he was on augmentin for 10 months. These crying spells seem to have really picked up since we stopped the augmentin. However, the other stuff we are noticing on the azith is so good.

 

Perhaps it is just an adjustment to the new medication???

I'm so glad to hear things are going good on the zith!!! I was thinking of emailing you to see how he is doing on it.

 

Is this crying a relatively new behavior? If it is, then my guess would be it is just part of that "rocky" healing.

[PhillyPA]

It is an old behavior that has come back in full force.

 

Kayanne, I was going to call you yesterday and I got distracted. I will touch base soon. Just got an e-mail from Kathy Alverez at Cunningham's lab. She has my son's results(2nd test after three ivig's) and she sent them to Latimer but she forgot to tell me what the results are!

[EmersonAilidh]

Rages were the norm for about six years. Crying jags started about five years ago, then replaced rages as the main emotional lability about two years ago. Rages are still here to stay though. Just not as common. When I do it, it's definitely not just for "no reason" but a lot of the times I really don't know why. & sometimes if I do know why, it's something stupid & irrational. That's one of the things my Mom has trouble understanding. Kids with OCD don't make sense!!! It's like mood swings on steroids (although... P.A.N.D.A.S. kids on steroids tend to do better so that phrase is a little confusing, haha). Nothing has to MAKE me sad or MAKE me mad. When we're driving a certain turn can make me sad. Or it's OCD thoughts (thoughts of my Dad dying are most commonly responsible for the crying fits). Or I can just get "stuck". It's when I'll think about something RANDOM, that can have nothing to do with me or is sometimes at least a little related, & the just can't stop thinking about it. Maybe that's an OCD thing too. Wednesday was World AIDS day, & I kept randomly crying because my favorite movie is RENT (it's about AIDS) & I kept thinking of it & how sad AIDS is & would just burst into tears. & then get distracted & move on to some other emotion.