Visual disturbances

[dut]

Hello.

 

Our dd is having a minor exacerbation. (She had no obvious strep throat symptoms, instead presented with a cold and no sore throat but 4 days into the cold ran a 103 fever and vomitted out of nowhere. The sudden vomitting seems to be the warning signal for us. We had been seeing low level behavioural changes, mainly just anxiety, OCD, some separation stuff and thought maybe it was just in response to the cold. Anyway we all got swabbed at the start of the cold before the fever/vomit and we all came back clear. 3 days later I get a letter from my dr saying I'm positive for strep! They gave me the wrong info on the phone. I go ballistic with them.....)

 

Anyway... during her one and only "bad" episode in April/May she complained that in bed at night before she fell asleep that things were moving away from her. For example, my face as I lay next to her felt/looked as though it was moving away. Because of everything else going on at the time we never tracked it and I'm not sure when it went away but it did. Again, tonight she has the same sensation/visual disturbance and says it started the night she vomitted. It's obviously PANDAS related, we were just wondering if anyone else had encountered it.

 

Thanks.

[michele]

Could she be lightheaded from being sick? My son has complained of being dizzy during this last virus he has had that included vomitting about 7 times. His stomach hurts, and he has a headache and is dizzy.

 

Another thing I thought of is her vision. Have you had it checked. When I took my son to the ped eye Dr. he was overusing one eye. I don't know if this is connected but his visual perception is very low for his age. I believe this is another wonderful symptom of PANDAS. If has affected his motor skills including his eyes. The interesting thing I thought of last night is that as a toddler my son was awesome at puzzles. Now after more exacerbations of the PANDAS he can't duplicate patterns in a sequence with blocks. It is like the damage to his brain keeps compiling over time. Wheh he was little (he had his first strep PANDAS at 13 months) I never noticed delays in his motor skills. He walked and talked and did everything on time. Now at five and six they are magnified and the delays stand out especially in Math concepts. Have you noticed any troubles with her number identification in Math?

 

Hope this helps.

 

I just wondered if your daughters vision could be affected by the PANDAS?

Hello.

 

Our dd is having a minor exacerbation. (She had no obvious strep throat symptoms, instead presented with a cold and no sore throat but 4 days into the cold ran a 103 fever and vomitted out of nowhere. The sudden vomitting seems to be the warning signal for us. We had been seeing low level behavioural changes, mainly just anxiety, OCD, some separation stuff and thought maybe it was just in response to the cold. Anyway we all got swabbed at the start of the cold before the fever/vomit and we all came back clear. 3 days later I get a letter from my dr saying I'm positive for strep! They gave me the wrong info on the phone. I go ballistic with them.....)

 

Anyway... during her one and only "bad" episode in April/May she complained that in bed at night before she fell asleep that things were moving away from her. For example, my face as I lay next to her felt/looked as though it was moving away. Because of everything else going on at the time we never tracked it and I'm not sure when it went away but it did. Again, tonight she has the same sensation/visual disturbance and says it started the night she vomitted. It's obviously PANDAS related, we were just wondering if anyone else had encountered it.

 

Thanks.

[Lacy]

Hello.

 

Our dd is having a minor exacerbation. (She had no obvious strep throat symptoms, instead presented with a cold and no sore throat but 4 days into the cold ran a 103 fever and vomitted out of nowhere. The sudden vomitting seems to be the warning signal for us. We had been seeing low level behavioural changes, mainly just anxiety, OCD, some separation stuff and thought maybe it was just in response to the cold. Anyway we all got swabbed at the start of the cold before the fever/vomit and we all came back clear. 3 days later I get a letter from my dr saying I'm positive for strep! They gave me the wrong info on the phone. I go ballistic with them.....)

 

Anyway... during her one and only "bad" episode in April/May she complained that in bed at night before she fell asleep that things were moving away from her. For example, my face as I lay next to her felt/looked as though it was moving away. Because of everything else going on at the time we never tracked it and I'm not sure when it went away but it did. Again, tonight she has the same sensation/visual disturbance and says it started the night she vomitted. It's obviously PANDAS related, we were just wondering if anyone else had encountered it.

 

Thanks.

 

Our 7y.o. DD had been symptom-free since May 2008 after a 9 month course of antibiotics. Then, about three weeks ago we started seeing minor warning signs with her behavior at school. She started becoming more inattentive, and defiant. Then last week they tried to suspend her because she had an episode where she started spitting out hateful words: I want to kill you, I want to cut off your arm... you'd have to know our DD - she's nothing like that - she's sweeter than pie.

 

Late last week DD and I both got horrible sick - sore throat, snotty noses, achy joints... a really bad cold. We both went to the doctor and our tests came back negative for strep (not unusual for DD). Saturday we went to dinner where she played with her Nintendo DS at the table (we rarely let her do this, but since we were eating with friends we figured she'd have more fun playing her DS instead of listening to our jibber-jabber). Out of nowhere like the exorcists DD throws up everywhere. We took her home and she bounced back - she said she was hungry.

 

Maybe it was a fluke, but I thought it might be worth mentioning. On Thursday DD has an appointment with her pediatric infectious disease specialist. I imagine he'll want blood tests to check her ASO/Titers... I'm betting their sky high.

[michele]

Is she currently on an antibiotic? My son is on the antibiotic Omnicef daily however he still gets the PANDAS symptoms from exposure to strep or even virals. However, I can't get the neurologist to buy into the concept. So, he gives him TS meds and I guess they help but he still gets the worsening of symptoms after illness. We have had it bad lately here with illness in our house also. My son missed school Mon. because he threw up all day Sun. Then I found out today the girl I watch before and after school who had a rash last week tested positive to strep Mon. Well today getting my son ready for school was just like your daughter. He was creaming I hate this and that and everything. He was so horrible just spitting venom. Sun. when he woke up he said he wanted to go to school, but not today. I kept him home yesterday. He seemed okay so I sent him today. He couldn't have been worse this morning if he tried. How do you handle these behaviors? He was throwing things, and screaming hatreds and just being obnoxious. Eventually he got on the bus and I breathed a sigh of relief. I sent a note to his teacher and she never called so I am guessing he is fine. I just don't know how he holds it together there but unleashed it on me at home. They claim he is perfect for them. I don't know if I should smack him or scream at him or leave him alone during these meltdowns. How do others discipline these difficult behaviors? He is six and shouls know better.

 

Hello.

 

Our dd is having a minor exacerbation. (She had no obvious strep throat symptoms, instead presented with a cold and no sore throat but 4 days into the cold ran a 103 fever and vomitted out of nowhere. The sudden vomitting seems to be the warning signal for us. We had been seeing low level behavioural changes, mainly just anxiety, OCD, some separation stuff and thought maybe it was just in response to the cold. Anyway we all got swabbed at the start of the cold before the fever/vomit and we all came back clear. 3 days later I get a letter from my dr saying I'm positive for strep! They gave me the wrong info on the phone. I go ballistic with them.....)

 

Anyway... during her one and only "bad" episode in April/May she complained that in bed at night before she fell asleep that things were moving away from her. For example, my face as I lay next to her felt/looked as though it was moving away. Because of everything else going on at the time we never tracked it and I'm not sure when it went away but it did. Again, tonight she has the same sensation/visual disturbance and says it started the night she vomitted. It's obviously PANDAS related, we were just wondering if anyone else had encountered it.

 

Thanks.

 

Our 7y.o. DD had been symptom-free since May 2008 after a 9 month course of antibiotics. Then, about three weeks ago we started seeing minor warning signs with her behavior at school. She started becoming more inattentive, and defiant. Then last week they tried to suspend her because she had an episode where she started spitting out hateful words: I want to kill you, I want to cut off your arm... you'd have to know our DD - she's nothing like that - she's sweeter than pie.

 

Late last week DD and I both got horrible sick - sore throat, snotty noses, achy joints... a really bad cold. We both went to the doctor and our tests came back negative for strep (not unusual for DD). Saturday we went to dinner where she played with her Nintendo DS at the table (we rarely let her do this, but since we were eating with friends we figured she'd have more fun playing her DS instead of listening to our jibber-jabber). Out of nowhere like the exorcists DD throws up everywhere. We took her home and she bounced back - she said she was hungry.

 

Maybe it was a fluke, but I thought it might be worth mentioning. On Thursday DD has an appointment with her pediatric infectious disease specialist. I imagine he'll want blood tests to check her ASO/Titers... I'm betting their sky high.

[Lacy]

Is she currently on an antibiotic? My son is on the antibiotic Omnicef daily however he still gets the PANDAS symptoms from exposure to strep or even virals. However, I can't get the neurologist to buy into the concept. So, he gives him TS meds and I guess they help but he still gets the worsening of symptoms after illness. We have had it bad lately here with illness in our house also. My son missed school Mon. because he threw up all day Sun. Then I found out today the girl I watch before and after school who had a rash last week tested positive to strep Mon. Well today getting my son ready for school was just like your daughter. He was creaming I hate this and that and everything. He was so horrible just spitting venom. Sun. when he woke up he said he wanted to go to school, but not today. I kept him home yesterday. He seemed okay so I sent him today. He couldn't have been worse this morning if he tried. How do you handle these behaviors? He was throwing things, and screaming hatreds and just being obnoxious. Eventually he got on the bus and I breathed a sigh of relief. I sent a note to his teacher and she never called so I am guessing he is fine. I just don't know how he holds it together there but unleashed it on me at home. They claim he is perfect for them. I don't know if I should smack him or scream at him or leave him alone during these meltdowns. How do others discipline these difficult behaviors? He is six and shouls know better.

 

DD seems to save the outbursts you're experiencing for school. I've noticed that since her last flare up which was almost a year ago, her fits have morphed. It used to be violent - kicking, screaming, spitting, hitting, thrashing, riping stuff, and throwing... it was awful. Those fits have turned into mostly rage and venom.. she tells the various school administrators that she wants to chop off their hand, and kill them. Scary.

 

It's really tough trying to discipline her. I know that it's not 'her', but the PANDAS talking. I still feel that she should be punished for the behavior. She's 7 and definitely knows better. I just don't know if she can help it.

 

Anyways, when she has bad days at school we'll do the typical taking stuff away. If she doesn't have homework we've been known to make her do sentences - writing phrases like, "I will respect others".. it helps her practice her handwriting. DH has also had DD just lay in the spare room on the bed and stare at the ceiling for a cool down moment.

 

If she refuses to behave or throws a 'grand mal fit' for us, she gets a swat to the butt. That usually jars her just enough to be complacent. I try to use the spankings for moments where she's going to seriously hurt herself, or another.

 

Anyways, that's my two cents.

[dut]

Thanks for the responses.. I don't think it's due to dizziness as she has been better form the usual cold/ill symptoms for a few days... just the PANDAS stuff left, which is also thankfully going away thanks to azithromycin. I might have to buy shares in it :-) We also got her eyes tested as part of her annual checkup and all was ok and so far no problems with other things visual. I'll see if it's still happening tonight when I take her to bed.

 

Interestingly, she's never had the urinary urgency problem before but has this time round but it too seems to be decreasing now she's back on antibiotics...

[dut]

Michelle - we also got those horrible tantrums and tempers not this time around but back in May. It's as if someone has possessed your child and although I didn't always manage it, by a long stretch, that's how I tried to look at it. I think they really can't help it. they obviously have some control but I believe a lot less than normal. They can hold it in so much but then it just comes out. Our dd is normally a kind, conscientious, fairly compliant 5 year old but back in May she could be awful.. so full of rage and temper. I think you have to mantain discipline and control, they probably need it at that point more than ever but I "tried" at least to remember it wasn't her it was the PANDAS. The more I got cross the worse she would get. I found that of all the symptoms the temper bit probably lingered the longest I think...

[michele]

We are starting 12 mg a day of Zoloft along with the 5 mg of abilify and the 300 mg omnicef. I hope this will help with the obsessing and mean behaviors. He has been exposed to strep several times this fall and been sick with fevers and flu and sore throats too several times. I have had a hard time keeping him healthy he has missed school about seven days. He has been dizzy also and no appetite. Also has the mouth sores often as others here have mentioned. I think we need to try the Monolaurin again for the winter. I hope I am doing the right thing giving him these meds. I just think we need to get this possessed person out of his body! He is really such a sweet kid. Waking up and giving me hugs. I don't think he wants to be that demanding controlling individual who says all those mean things to us.

 

 

Michelle - we also got those horrible tantrums and tempers not this time around but back in May. It's as if someone has possessed your child and although I didn't always manage it, by a long stretch, that's how I tried to look at it. I think they really can't help it. they obviously have some control but I believe a lot less than normal. They can hold it in so much but then it just comes out. Our dd is normally a kind, conscientious, fairly compliant 5 year old but back in May she could be awful.. so full of rage and temper. I think you have to mantain discipline and control, they probably need it at that point more than ever but I "tried" at least to remember it wasn't her it was the PANDAS. The more I got cross the worse she would get. I found that of all the symptoms the temper bit probably lingered the longest I think...

[dut]

Thought you may want to take a look at this.. came across it the other night.. not sure if it's right but...

 

http://www.primarypsychiatry.com/aspx/arti...x?articleid=561

 

Also wondered if you had tried other antiobiotics..azithromycin makes toast of strep for us. Also if you've been on one for a while the strep can become resistnat if it's not being totally got rid of. I know how helpless you can feel seeing your child like this. We're okay at the moment but when this slight epidsode she's having started my heart just sank. I feel sick to my stomache until I see her coming back out again.

 

(We are starting 12 mg a day of Zoloft along with the 5 mg of abilify and the 300 mg omnicef. I hope this will help with the obsessing and mean behaviors. He has been exposed to strep several times this fall and been sick with fevers and flu and sore throats too several times. I have had a hard time keeping him healthy he has missed school about seven days. He has been dizzy also and no appetite. Also has the mouth sores often as others here have mentioned. I think we need to try the Monolaurin again for the winter. I hope I am doing the right thing giving him these meds. I just think we need to get this possessed person out of his body! He is really such a sweet kid. Waking up and giving me hugs. I don't think he wants to be that demanding controlling individual who says all those mean things to us.)