PANS/PANDAS Chemical Sensitivity Connection?

[PANDAnaut600]

Hi All,

Does anyone know of any connection between PANS/PANDAS and multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome? I was a PANDAS patient when I was young and over the years I’ve developed fairly strong chemical sensitivities, plus an odd, implacable chronic fatigue. I think it must be connected to PANDAS somehow, but I’m not sure how. I really haven’t had an OCD flare in years, nor have I had a strep infection since I was young. My symptoms include fatigue, sleep issues, hypersensitivity to medicines (at first) and other household chemicals (emerged later), plus difficulty concentrating, some tics/twitches, cardiac symptoms, visual disturbances, and a variety of other things. Any guidance is appreciated. 

[Sheila]

Hi PANDAnaut600 (great name!) Welcome to the forums. I'm sorry to read that you are dealing with so many symptoms.

Others may jump in on this. Meanwhile, it would not be surprising for there to be a connection between PANDAS/PANS and MCS symptoms. But both fields are complex, with layers of controversy, and despite major progress with PANDAS/PANS, much uncertainty remains. MCS is "real," yet to my knowledge, an immune link has not been clearly identified through research. 

What treatment was used for your PANDAS when you were a child? Do you have a physician now who can treat  your chemical sensitivities and related symptoms?

[Atex]

Given the lack of any meaningful research in the field MCS, I feel like anyone with PANS/PANDAS or any tic disorder should really be considering a toxin free lifestyle.  And I'm not just talking about organic produce at the grocery store, but really going all in. 

[Sheila]

I would agree with you, Atex! 

[Chemar]

My son's dx of MCS some years back (by a respected Allergy MD) certainly answered a lot of questions for us regarding his hypersensitivity!

We had already gone all in on being as toxin free as we could, so the dx rather helped us understand more about past reactions, and also added an even greater level of awareness on things he may not have considered. Although no PANDAS dx, we know there was a PANS connection more than likely along with the TS.

I do know of others with no clear infection connection whose tics do seem triggered by various chemicals so certainly an interesting area of research I would hope.  So many more people seem to be realizing how bad all the chemicals added to everything may be, whether or not one has underlying health issues.