Possible UK doctor for adults

[Wombat140]

After e-mailing all sorts of people, I've found what I think may be a possibility for PANS treatment for adults. I'm still in the process of trying to arrange a referral to them, but since that looks like taking at least a few weeks yet, I thought I'd post this here for other people to look into for themselves.

It's called the National Severe OCD/BDD Service, it's a specialist NHS service that deals with particularly severe or complicated cases of OCD or body dysmorphic disorder that other professionals have been unable to sort out. Their web page is http://www.swlstg-tr.nhs.uk/our-services/ocd-bdd-service-bcpu-national/ They're based in London, but they're set up with the purpose of providing long-distance treatment all over the country, by working with patients' local doctors.

Dr Isobel Heyman at Great Ormond Street Hospital suggested them to me (in an e-mail) as the best bet she could think of (she seems to be a PANS expert herself but she only treats children), and when I contacted them they said they had done research on PANS and would be willing to discuss this if I was referred to them.

 

They'll only accept people who score 30 or more out of 40 on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms scale, and who have already been through two trials of SSRIs or clomipramine (for at least 3 months) and two trials of CBT, though exceptions may be made where special circumstances make that impossible, e.g. "Patient refuses medication due to OCD beliefs; Patient is unable to take medication due to side effects; Patient has not fulfilled the criteria for previous CBT treatment due to mental or physical illness". You can't self-refer, they require a written referral from a consultant psychiatrist, there is (from my experience) no room for negotiation on this - annoying, but I suppose they'd be overrun if their criteria weren't strict, they're probably understaffed like all the other mental health services. More details are on the webpage.

 

They only treat adults. If you're looking for treatment for a child, it might be worth contacting Dr Heyman herself, who is an OCD specialist who, I found out in the course of my researches, definitely does seem to know something about PANS and has written at least one paper on it (and not from the debunking side of the argument). Her details here: http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/medical-information/staff-z/isobel-heyman

Edited April 27, 2016 by Wombat140