Adult PANDAS

[ewaite]

I have had OCD/General Anxiety disorder since I maybe 10 years old. I have recently gone back to psychiatrist/specialist for some help, it flares up pretty bad every so often.

 

I am 42, and the doctor mentioned I may have had PANDAS when I was a child and they are going to do some blood tests on me. I am allergic to penicillin and I had strep ALOT as a child and still have my tonsils.

 

Could it be possible I have/had PANDAS and thats what my OCD is all about?

 

They are going to test for strep in my blood test.

 

Are there adults with PANDAS?

 

 

Thanks.

[Chemar]

Hello and welcome

I am just bumping your post up for other members to see and respond

[Missmom]

Yes, it is definitely a possibility. Although pandas/pans are relatively new diagnosises(sp?). Strep has been around for ages and none of these symptoms are new. It has only been in the last 20 years or so that research has been done linking all of it to strep and an autoimmune reaction to strep and other illness. I hope you find some answers that you are seeking through the bloodwork that you are having done, however don't be discouraged if your tests come back negative for strep. You have been dealing with this for a long time and I am sure your body has adjusted to a lot of it over the years. Most of us here are constantly trying to learn more and offer advice/support for others in the same situation. If you have children there has been a lot of discussion on these boards indicating a genetic link as well, so you may want to check that out so you can be aware of some of the symptoms in children and if you see any indication get prompt treatment for your children. It seems those who start treatment fairly quickly see results more quickly. I know others adults will chime in and hopefully point you in the right direction. Good luck.

[PIK]

I certainly think so. I have had ongoing problems with OCD and anxiety and I strongly believe I had PANDAS and still do. I'm 35.

[ewaite]

I appreciate the response, my children do not show signs of OCD but my son may be Aspergers. He is way off the charts IQ, but with that comes some of its own issues (and thats a whole different story).

Honestly PANDAS is not something I was looking at. Doctor had mentioned it, Im not really sure what to do with all of this yet.

[cobbiemommy]

A Pandas diagnosis can actually be good news. At least you will know what you are dealing with. My son, and probably many others on this board, is highly intelligent. PANDAS can get in the way of processing information; thus reducing IQ scores on a timed portion of the test. I have a sister that is quite brilliant, but is debilitated in many ways by OCD behaviors and anxiety. She traces her fatigue back to a case of strep when she was in college. I cannot convince her of the strep connection to her OCD. She denies she even has OCD. When she is sick with sinus infection, which is frequently, she does better while on ABX.

[Guest]

I am an adult and I think I have pandas. I have the same back story as you. Recently I was able to get my hands on all my gp records. They show that my first complaints of tonsils and sore throat were at age 6!!!!!!!! Then every year I was at the doctors 4 x's and put on abx constantly, but nobody ever removed my tonsils (stupid). At age 8, positive for strep.

 

This just seemed to get gradually worse for me. But the ocd didn't show up until 4 years ago in 2010. However, other things were cropping up through out my teenage years. I think it is possible to have immune mediated ocd and autoimmunity and / or neuroinflammation causing neuropsychiatric problems. I just don't know what you call all of this.

 

I wish I had more to say but I'm only newly diagnosed and learning. I'm trying to get in with an expert in this field, I am eager to see what he thinks about my records. If I get an appt. and find out anything, I will post it here certainly.

 

There's this excellent article about all of it, though it is a tough one to read. I think it's the most scientific in terms of what we are discussing and is geared towards the adult patient.

http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/content/10/1/43

 

This first half discusses autoantibodies in the brain. The second half I believe is about neuroinflammation even in the mild form leading to neuropsychiatric illness.