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Plasmaphereis or IVIg


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We have seen Dr. K for PANDAS and Dr. P for Lyme and they both recommend IVIg.

 

I have been researching the "medical Necessity Guidelines" for our insurance and have found that they cover Plasmapheresis for PANDAS, but don't cover IVIg for PANDAS or Lyme.

 

Is one treatment more effective than the other? I have seen things on this forum for both.

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You might find that the doctors who will order Plasmapheresis recently often follow-up with IVIG anyway. The problem is that plasmapheresis is harder to come by. On this board, Dr. L near Georgetown, MD and Dr. Elia at CHOP are the ones most frequently mentioned as offerring their patients both. There might be others, just not sure who they are. Another consideration is that the risk factors associated with each are different. Of course, the risk of not doing anything must also be weighed.

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We are doing daily abx right now, but I don't see that as the long term solution. I have seen that some have done IVIg first and when it didn't work they did plasma and it worked.

 

I know that there may be one of many other treatments out there from vitamins to food avoidance. It just seems so overwhelming sometimes and the puzzle just keeps getting bigger when we thought that we found that last piece.

 

We have reached our insurance out-of-pocket maximum for the year and thought that we would try and get something done with the little time that we have left this year. I have a ped that is willing to work with us to get what we need and it can be done at our local hospital. We haven't discussed all of our options yet, as I am trying to become educated myself and gather as much information and personnel experiences as I could.

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Also, i believe that the plasmaphoresis will bring about a quick reduction in symptoms because it gets rid of the malfunctioning antibodies, but the symptoms come back because the body still makes the same antibodies. The ivig effects can be more enduring because it may help the immune to produce healthier or more normal antibodies.

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