ASO titers unchanged

[bronxmom2]

When my son's ASO titers were first checked, in early Feb., they were about 500.

 

They were checked again last week, in preparation for a T&A tomorrow, and they were exactly the same, after 6 weeks of antibiotics. (Though for two weeks of it he was back on amoxiccilin and all the symptoms came back)

 

Shouldn't that number be coming down?

 

Also, he is having his T&A tomorrow... any advice?

 

Thanks!

[Worried_Dad]

Hi, BronxMom2:

 

I was told by an expert on an SC forum (and also found some online medical articles to substantiate this) that ASO titer levels may not return to baseline for 6 months or more after a severe infection, in some cases. After our son's original illness, his ASO level stayed elevated for at least 3 months (per a follow-up titer test).

 

Hope that helps!

[Dedee]

Did he only have ASO titers done or were there others? My son also had T & A and did much better with symptoms after. Unfortunately, we didn't have titers done before, but even eight months or so after the T & A and continuous antibiotics his ASO was 1,287 and AntiDNAse was almost 3,000. Understand that while his titers looked awful (we had nothing previous to compare too), he was doing very well. So really, it is about symptoms as they relate to a rise and fall of the titers. At least that is how it was explained to me. Good luck with the procedure tomorrow. Hope you get good results.

 

Dedee

[bronxmom2]

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, only the ASO titers were measured. Since they were only measured after all this started, I don't know what his baseline is. Could 500 be "normal" for some people?

 

I have been not feeling that hopeful that the T&A will really help him, but not that it 's imminent, I feel so relieved and happy. (I had to beg and plead to get him in before June)...I guess I'm hopeful after all!

 

Thanks again

[colleenrn]

I wish you the best of luck. Two of my children have had a T & A and did much better afterwards. It kept them from getting strep for about 1 1/2 years, but when they started getting symptoms back, it was not as bad as before.

If his tonsils are cryptic, the T and A will help b/c the strep hides in the crypts and also in the adenoids. If he snores or has any sleep apnea episodes, that will get a lot better after.

Make sure they give him good pain relief. My children took tyelenol with codeine. The recovery is a little hard, but lots of cool fluids and soft, bland foods will help. I would recommend antibiotics immediately after the surgery, at least one course if not more. We did not do this with my 1st child, but did with my 2nd and I think that helps with any strep that is "released" during surgery.

 

Children are so good at bouncing back!

You will be in my thoughts and prayers!!

 

Colleen

[colleenrn]

Bronxmom-

I was wondering how you are all doing post T and A? I hope everything is going well!!

Colleen

[bronxmom2]

Thanks for your kind wishes... the surgery went well and the surgeon said they were perhaps the worst he'd ever seen. Infected for years.

 

He is recovering fine, though he's been in more pain than I expected!

 

He was given a big shot of prednisone as part of the surgery, and I was advised to be on the lookout for how this affected his PANDAS symptoms... if he seemed to respond positively, steroid treatment could do him a lot of good. But it's hard to tell-- I'm inclined to think he's subdued by all the pain he's in, but he's certainly calmer than I've ever seen him!

 

I have learned so much on this board! For example I just realized that strep was the cause of the itchy butt my son had last year for 3MONTHS. and which culminated in the dreaded sore throat trip to the doctor. I remember that I asked about the itchy bottom when I went to get the antibiotics for strep, and no one every suggested they could be related.

 

Thanks again, I'll keep you posted!

[michele]

My son has the itchy bottom. She gave him vernox for worms Fri. He still seems itchy this morning. Is there a test for anal strep? She said he wasn't that red down there.

 

Michele

Thanks for your kind wishes... the surgery went well and the surgeon said they were perhaps the worst he'd ever seen. Infected for years.

 

He is recovering fine, though he's been in more pain than I expected!

 

He was given a big shot of prednisone as part of the surgery, and I was advised to be on the lookout for how this affected his PANDAS symptoms... if he seemed to respond positively, steroid treatment could do him a lot of good. But it's hard to tell-- I'm inclined to think he's subdued by all the pain he's in, but he's certainly calmer than I've ever seen him!

 

I have learned so much on this board! For example I just realized that strep was the cause of the itchy butt my son had last year for 3MONTHS. and which culminated in the dreaded sore throat trip to the doctor. I remember that I asked about the itchy bottom when I went to get the antibiotics for strep, and no one every suggested they could be related.

 

Thanks again, I'll keep you posted!

[bronxmom2]

from what I read, after reading the itchy bottom discussion, they can easily do a strep test on the anus.

 

I tried all kids of anti-worm, anti-fungal stuff last year... but all that worked was antibiotics that were given when he finally got it in his throat!

[michele]

That is really interesting about the anal strep. We have had the compulsive need to urinate before but this is the first time to experience the itchy bottom. He is still picking his bottom tonight. Plus his behaviors seem more hyper/high and then low/meltdowns. I guess there is two case of strep in his class. Plus my daughter has a sore throat for the past four days. I feel so at a loss at what to do anymore. Nothing seems to be working. Last year the Abilify worked for awhile. Then it would stop working as well and we upped it. Now we upped it again and started strattera and he is so moody again. Dr. said to try Risperdal. I guess that is an option but these meds are so tricky.

 

Michele

from what I read, after reading the itchy bottom discussion, they can easily do a strep test on the anus.

 

I tried all kids of anti-worm, anti-fungal stuff last year... but all that worked was antibiotics that were given when he finally got it in his throat!

[bronxmom2]

Has he been on antibiotics??

[EAMom]

Hi bronxmom2,

 

I'm glad to hear the surgery went well. It sounds like it definitely was a good choice. I don't expect it will cure his PANDAS but I think it will help. Did your son's tonsils look really bad on the outside (when they looked at them during an exam)?

 

Our dd tested positive for perianal strep (in addition to throat culture) March 08. The reason we requested the perianal culuture...she had some blood in that "hat" thing they make them pee into in the hospital. So yes, strep can be on the skin as well as the throat.

[kim]

Michelle,

 

You might want to run out and grab some Neosporin (unless someone knows of a reason that you shouldn't). If it works on his itchy bottom, might give you a clue. There is also a prescription cream of nystatin and triamcin acetonide that works wonderfully.

 

Bronxmom2,

 

I so glad your son's surgery went well and it's over. I don't know if you've read any of the posts on the TS board, but one thing that I wish I would have done differently would have been to use more motrin than tylenol. The sulfur that tylenol depletes, I believe can be bad for some of our kids. Just a thought.

[kim]

remove double post

[bronxmom2]

The tonsils did not look that bad from the outside. In particular, they did not look particularly large, but in fact they were huge.