Can Flumist cause PANS?

[ktinaaz]

Hi. I'm new to this forum. My daughter, age 10, had the flumist in the fall of 2015. It was the first time she received the vaccine via mist instead of shot. She developed severe school anxiety shortly thereafter. She developed OCD in Jan 2016. We were convinced she has PANDAS, but had a doctor who sees quite a few PANDAS patients each year rule it out (and bloodwork also confirmed no strep or history of such). The OCD, Anxiety and rage continue to get worse. She is being treated with CBT / ERP by a psychologist for the OCD and anxiety, and we are seeing a psychiatrist this week for medication. I am not sure what made me think today about the flumist in relation to this possibly being PANS, but I made the connection and wanted to see if anyone has any thoughts. Thank you!

[pr40]

i would use term "trigger" in place of "cause". our dd had flumist in the fall a month before she had her first PANDAS episode. If I remember correctly, there are a few more people on this forum with the same experience.

[dcmom]

Yes. My daughters both had the flu mist for the first time about 2 mos before pandas onset. They both had strep with NO SYMPTOMS other than pandas symptoms at time of first episode. It was luck that we found out about pandas immediately and cultured them. They had NO TITERS after that documented case of strep. In the years previous to pandas, each had strep once or twice with symptoms and no pandas issues.

 

I definitely wonder if the flu mist contributed!

 

I also personally think they had a mutated strain of strep.

 

But tha is me :-)

[WorriedDADNMOM]

Pandas....probably not......PANS......YES.

 

I know kids who had febrile seizures post flu mist. So Yes.....I would say there is a link.

[EAMom]

The flu mist can definitely trigger a flare (PANDAS).


​Any vaccine, infection, toxin, or drug could potentially trigger or contribute to PANS.

Here's an old thread on flu-mist. http://latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=21660

Other vaccines can cause flares as well, but the flu-mist is one vaccine that even the very pro-vax PANDAS docs say to avoid. (Other PANDAS docs say to avoid all vaccines once you know a kid has PANDAS.)

Edited May 23, 2016 by eamom

[EAMom]

Did they do a throat swab to check for strep? My dd never had elevated titers but both she and her sister were positive on the throat swab. Also, my PANDAS dd ended having vaginal strep. Neither had typical sore throat symptoms.

From your description, it sounds like your dd would qualify for a PANS diagnosis (PANDAS could be considered if there was evidence of strep).

My dd had a flu shot 2 mo. before her big PANDAS exacerbation started (when she got strep). I also wonder if the vaccine played a role in tweeking her immune system toward autoimmunity. BTW, there's a whole book out on vaccines and autoimmunity now. It's expensive but you can go to Amazon and "look inside" to get an idea.... http://www.amazon.com/Vaccines-Autoimmunity-Yehuda-Shoenfeld/dp/1118663438

Edited May 16, 2016 by eamom