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A PANDAS "quick fix" I just discovered


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For those not familiar with my story, we use classical homeopathy, diet, supplements and now juicing and camels milk (a whole nother post ladies LOL) to manage/cure pandas and it is going fabulously well, we are 7 months into it.

 

I know many on this forum are not ready yet for classical homeopathy, but I found a quick fix the other day that I felt I just had to share here for those of you who may have days when you are desperate to try anything. Arnica, it's a homeopathic remedy that can be found at Whole Foods or a health food store (heck, i think they might even carry it in some walgreens in cream form, but that won't work for this purpose). When I say quick fix, I mean temporary, kind of like ibuprofen, although I suspect that for some kids you may even get a couple days out of one dose.

 

Here is what happened and why I think it worked. My son was due for a dose of his regular constitutional remedy yesterday morning, but he was riding his bike so I was just waiting until we were going to go inside to give him his remedy. The reason I say he was "due" for his remedy is b/c he had been displaying several pandas symptoms all morning (some mild ocd, frequent crying, not playing nice with the neighborhood kids, wanting to be in charge and control everyone, etc.). Well, before I could get him inside to dose him, he fell off his bike and took a pretty bad hit on his arm. He acted a bit more dramatic than usual, being in pandas-mode and all, so I decided to give him a dose of arnica, which is what I do anytime there is the chance that an injury will either be a fracture or a big bruise (or they are in great pain). I gave him arnica 30c (that's the potency, but in severe cases I would give a 200c). 15 minutes later not only was the pain gone but all pandas symptoms were gone and have been ever since (this is the end of the second day since that dose of arnica). I never did have to give him a dose of his regular remedy! Teh experience reminded me very much of the days when I would give a dose of ibuprofen for a quick pandas fix, except it was even more of a rapid response and much more long term. Ibuprofen would turn him around in 30 minutes and last about 5 hours, where arnica worked in about 15 minutes and has lasted for 2 days now.

 

So, arnica is primarily used for injuries, wounds, any type of trauma to the body. It is also sometimes used to prevent bruising, or after surgery to speed up healing. My cousin's plastic surgeon had her use it when she was getting injections for spider veins. There are many many uses for arnica. And to give you an idea of how effective it can be, when my other son broke his foot 5 months ago, he was screaming bloody murder. I gave him arnica 200c and he stopped screaming within 3 minutes and I never heard another peep about it again! He also did not bruise and the swelling was minimal. This is off of ONE dose; I had no idea that I could have dosed it several times over a few days and prevent swelling all together.

 

So my theory as to why arnica worked to clear pandas symptoms yesterday? Well, strep antibodies attack the basal ganglia. So the basal ganglia is under trauma, it is "injured" and there is inflammation. If arnica stimulates the body to heal this "injury" then I suppose it can speed up the reduction of inflammation from a bout of pandas. I also wonder if it works to heal the blood brain barrier that has been comprimised during pandas, allowing antibodies in to the brain. Now I can't say for sure how one would respond to arnica if he/she were not also receiving a constitutional remedy. Maybe for my son they worked in conjunction, I have to believe that is the case b/c his remedy is very good at clearing strep infections, I am pretty sure that arnica will not stimulate the body to clear a strep infection, but it CAN stimulate the body to bring down/prevent inflammation. The other thing to know is that homeopathic remedies cannot work to their full potential when antibiotics are on board, but I do imagine that it could be used to help as a quick fix here and there. I certainly do not recommend using it long-term, or doing any type of homeopathy long-term without the guidance of a homeopath.

 

By the way, I tried it on my 3yo tonight (arnica, when he seemed a bit clingy and in need of his remedy). I have no idea if it worked b/c he was brought to bed right after, but I might know in the morning. Hope this can help someone...

Edited by Stephanie2
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I just wanted to share that I had an initial consult with Angelica Lemke this morning and it seemed to go well. She is definitely very thorough and spent OVER 3 hours with me trying to truly understand my son and our family history. If nothing else it was very therapeutic for me in that the session enabled me to try to see (and feel) my son's PANDAS from his perspective. I had several revelations that gave me a deeper understanding of what he goes through at times. It was an emotional but uplifting journey. She has prescribed Carcinocin along with a strep nosode. I will keep everyone updated on his progress. He has been doing OK on antibiotics (since January), but he is still reacting to strep exposure and other viruses (he's likely PITANDS or I guess PANS would be more fitting now).

 

I may try arnica for my other two son's who have been acting different (whining, aggressive, hypersensitivity to touch and sounds, oppositional) since one of them had a skin infection a few weeks ago (don't know if it was strep, but my confirmed PANDAS son reacted with increased OCD at the time). I believe we are seeing early signs of PANS in my youngest two sons (9 and 5), but nothing that is so clear cut and debilitating that doctors are wanting to diagnose and treat at this point. I will very likely pursue homeopathy for all my kids in an attempt to avoid having them completely incapacitated before they can get help.

 

Thanks for being so open in sharing your story.

 

Vicky

Edited by VickyLH
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For those not familiar with my story, we use classical homeopathy, diet, supplements and now juicing and camels milk (a whole nother post ladies LOL) to manage/cure pandas and it is going fabulously well, we are 7 months into it.

 

I know many on this forum are not ready yet for classical homeopathy, but I found a quick fix the other day that I felt I just had to share here for those of you who may have days when you are desperate to try anything. Arnica, it's a homeopathic remedy that can be found at Whole Foods or a health food store (heck, i think they might even carry it in some walgreens in cream form, but that won't work for this purpose). When I say quick fix, I mean temporary, kind of like ibuprofen, although I suspect that for some kids you may even get a couple days out of one dose.

 

Here is what happened and why I think it worked. My son was due for a dose of his regular constitutional remedy yesterday morning, but he was riding his bike so I was just waiting until we were going to go inside to give him his remedy. The reason I say he was "due" for his remedy is b/c he had been displaying several pandas symptoms all morning (some mild ocd, frequent crying, not playing nice with the neighborhood kids, wanting to be in charge and control everyone, etc.). Well, before I could get him inside to dose him, he fell off his bike and took a pretty bad hit on his arm. He acted a bit more dramatic than usual, being in pandas-mode and all, so I decided to give him a dose of arnica, which is what I do anytime there is the chance that an injury will either be a fracture or a big bruise (or they are in great pain). I gave him arnica 30c (that's the potency, but in severe cases I would give a 200c). 15 minutes later not only was the pain gone but all pandas symptoms were gone and have been ever since (this is the end of the second day since that dose of arnica). I never did have to give him a dose of his regular remedy! Teh experience reminded me very much of the days when I would give a dose of ibuprofen for a quick pandas fix, except it was even more of a rapid response and much more long term. Ibuprofen would turn him around in 30 minutes and last about 5 hours, where arnica worked in about 15 minutes and has lasted for 2 days now.

 

So, arnica is primarily used for injuries, wounds, any type of trauma to the body. It is also sometimes used to prevent bruising, or after surgery to speed up healing. My cousin's plastic surgeon had her use it when she was getting injections for spider veins. There are many many uses for arnica. And to give you an idea of how effective it can be, when my other son broke his foot 5 months ago, he was screaming bloody murder. I gave him arnica 200c and he stopped screaming within 3 minutes and I never heard another peep about it again! He also did not bruise and the swelling was minimal. This is off of ONE dose; I had no idea that I could have dosed it several times over a few days and prevent swelling all together.

 

So my theory as to why arnica worked to clear pandas symptoms yesterday? Well, strep antibodies attack the basal ganglia. So the basal ganglia is under trauma, it is "injured" and there is inflammation. If arnica stimulates the body to heal this "injury" then I suppose it can speed up the reduction of inflammation from a bout of pandas. I also wonder if it works to heal the blood brain barrier that has been comprimised during pandas, allowing antibodies in to the brain. Now I can't say for sure how one would respond to arnica if he/she were not also receiving a constitutional remedy. Maybe for my son they worked in conjunction, I have to believe that is the case b/c his remedy is very good at clearing strep infections, I am pretty sure that arnica will not stimulate the body to clear a strep infection, but it CAN stimulate the body to bring down/prevent inflammation. The other thing to know is that homeopathic remedies cannot work to their full potential when antibiotics are on board, but I do imagine that it could be used to help as a quick fix here and there. I certainly do not recommend using it long-term, or doing any type of homeopathy long-term without the guidance of a homeopath.

 

By the way, I tried it on my 3yo tonight (arnica, when he seemed a bit clingy and in need of his remedy). I have no idea if it worked b/c he was brought to bed right after, but I might know in the morning. Hope this can help someone...

 

Thank you for sharing that! We are in the early stages of trying to get a diagnosis and just found this forum and other info a few weeks ago. We go to an immunologist end of Oct. I have tried the motrin for tics and it worked, of course short term as I could not give it everyday long term. Now doing a 14 day augmentin (all I could get) and it seems to have made things worse somewhat, especially the tic. And is causing diarrhea! I would be VERY INTERESTED in ANYTHING you have found that works. Can I try the arnica without any side effects or without seeing a homeopathy? Where do I find a GREAT homeopathy person that understands what I am trying to cure? I live in SW Florida. Hoping for an appointment soon w/ Dr Murphy. Any help or advice will be appreciated beyond any words I can express!

 

Please pm me anything that you have found to work. We are not on anything diet wise.....just discovered this PANDAS/PITANDS and are at the beginning of a long road with little guidance it feels.

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Vicky, interestingly, Carcinosin is one of my son's "backup" remedies (meaning if his first chosen constitutional remedy does not work, then we will try carcinosin). At this point, his first remedy is working pretty well, to the point where it can clear an actual strep infection/pandas exacerbation, but he has many complications so maybe at some point we will be going to carcinosin. Also, maybe you already know that Amy Lansky (author of impossible cure) cured her son of autism with carcinosin. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

 

MaggiesMoons, you are welcome to friend me on FB and I will get you in touch with some other homeopathy moms (I will pm you my contact info). Maybe one day we can meet up as I tend to visit Ft. Myers and Tampa area from time to time. As far as a good classical homeopath, I highly recommend ours who practices in NYC, but she does skype appts so you don't need to fly up there. She has helped many many pandas kids. She is getting good at it, too! Homeopathy is not easy to do, but it is easier than what we were doing (antibiotics, steroids, ivig, ibuprofen and a slew of supplements) and more effective. Her name is Angelica Lemke, ND, and you can contact her here:

www.asdhomeopathy.com

 

Oh, and someone asked if you need to see a homeopath to use arnica. No, it is available at the healthfood store, I recommend a potency of 30c, but if the exacerbation is severe then do 200c. I do not, however, recommend this for long-term daily use at all (besides, over time it would probably stop working if overused). For long-term use, the child needs to be on a carefully selected constitutional remedy and guided by a homeopath.

Edited by Stephanie2
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I just wanted to share that I had an initial consult with Angelica Lemke this morning and it seemed to go well. She is definitely very thorough and spent OVER 3 hours with me trying to truly understand my son and our family history. If nothing else it was very therapeutic for me in that the session enabled me to try to see (and feel) my son's PANDAS from his perspective. I had several revelations that gave me a deeper understanding of what he goes through at times. It was an emotional but uplifting journey. She has prescribed Carcinocin along with a strep nosode. I will keep everyone updated on his progress. He has been doing OK on antibiotics (since January), but he is still reacting to strep exposure and other viruses (he's likely PITANDS or I guess PANS would be more fitting now).

 

I may try arnica for my other two son's who have been acting different (whining, aggressive, hypersensitivity to touch and sounds, oppositional) since one of them had a skin infection a few weeks ago (don't know if it was strep, but my confirmed PANDAS son reacted with increased OCD at the time). I believe we are seeing early signs of PANS in my youngest two sons (9 and 5), but nothing that is so clear cut and debilitating that doctors are wanting to diagnose and treat at this point. I will very likely pursue homeopathy for all my kids in an attempt to avoid having them completely incapacitated before they can get help.

 

Thanks for being so open in sharing your story.

 

Vicky

Wow Vicky! Your story sounds so much like ours!!! Except we've been on the PANDAS path a lot longer. Anyway, I too I am giving it a try for my other kids, and I think it is helping. Like yours, my other kids are not as bad as my original PANDAS, but after you've seen it in a child you can tell much sooner.

I agree those consults are therapeutic in and off themselves!

 

Hi Stephanie,

I'll definitely be trying Arnica soon... I'll keep you posted. It makes sense as it is usually seen as something to reduce inflammation/deal with trauma. Did you dilute it or just give a few pellets like one normally would?

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I normally dilute all remedies, whether they are the constitutional rememdy or an acute remedy, but since he was screaming and I had my other son outside with the neighbor, I had to act fast and I just popped a few tiny granules under his tongue. It worked very well that way.

 

They have no taste (if anything you can taste the sucrose they make it with so it tastes like sugar), or you could dilute them ( in a tablespoon of water or so) and just give a couple drops of that.

 

I had arnica on hand as part of a 100-remedy kit I ordered from Washington Homeopathic Products. You do not need to get through a doctor, and you can also get arnica at whole foods, health food store and some pharmacies. You should look for 30c or 200c potency (I used 30c, but I would think for a severe and prolonged exacerbation you would need 200c). The full name is arnica montana.

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