cessation of symptoms when ill

[smartyjones]

i recall people mentioning they observed a cessation of symptoms while their child was ill some time ago. if you have observed this, could you tell me about it? i'm thinking it was mainly with tics, but that may be incorrect.

 

my son has not gotten back to 'baseline', (which is still not 100% pre-pandas) since an exacerbation with the flu around thanksgiving. he's doing 'okay', just not well -- he's functioning very well in school but at home, usually has one incident a day of inappropriate upset or cognitive inflexibility or extreme sibling trouble, not incapacitating but troublesome.

 

he had a particularly bad week this past week. i was giving him ibuprofen in the morning which did seem to have some effect. one day, i gave him a morning dose and an evening dose. two days later, he had diarrhea. i was worried i had caused it with the ibuprofen. for the past two days, he's been fabulous. during this entire week, he hasn't seemed sick or tired at all -- just had about a day and a half of occasional diarrhea. could he have pooped out his pandas?

 

please tell me your stories of lack of symptoms when your child's been ill. thanks!

[faith]

My son usually gets a virus once or twice a year, lethargic, fever, maybe some vomiting......I pretty much always noticed his tics seem to cease, but only during this 24 hour bug, his vocal will be quiet, but eventually they start again when he's better. we have discussed this a bit on the ts board alot, many of us note tics seem to subside. (but then there are others who feel their kids get worse). I am not really talking "PANDA" symptoms, just noting on tics. (of course if they're just lying in bed feeling weak, any other symptoms are not going to be noted since the opportunity isn't really there.). .

[lboll]

When my son gets sick, all symptoms dissipate. He is quiet, calm, has no tics and seems "at peace". I can honestly say that it's the only time he is like this.

[T_Mom]

When my son gets sick, all symptoms dissipate. He is quiet, calm, has no tics and seems "at peace". I can honestly say that it's the only time he is like this.

 

That is interesting-- Both children with Pandas have had exacerbations of Panda symptoms when exposed to or having "caught" an illness--I wonder what it is with your son that is triggering this non-standard Pandas response, very interesting.

[lboll]

When my son gets sick, all symptoms dissipate. He is quiet, calm, has no tics and seems "at peace". I can honestly say that it's the only time he is like this.

 

That is interesting-- Both children with Pandas have had exacerbations of Panda symptoms when exposed to or having "caught" an illness--I wonder what it is with your son that is triggering this non-standard Pandas response, very interesting.

 

I'm sorry. I should clarify. I mean that his symptoms dissipate when he has a high fever. Perhaps at this point, he's just too sick to have the tics, etc. But I notice that is is during these high fevers that he smiles the most and is very communicative with me. My son is autistic and I believe PANDAS is the cause of many of his tics, but have had no formal diagnosis. So perhaps he does not have PANDAS at all, and the fever just brings down the symptoms of autism. It's all so confusing!

[bronxmom2]

This was definitely true of my son. Last fall when the #### was hitting the fan for us, with repeated strep infections and increasingly bizarre behavior between them, he ALWAYS became calm and serene when he was actually sick. There was a sudden spike in the weird behavior, then a moment of beautiful calm, then sick and calm.

 

This even happened in the middle of the psych eval we had done at the time. The tester rushed out and told me, "wow, I don't think he has ADHD after all, he's amazing right now, he's calm and focused and perfect!" On that portion of the tests, he got literally a perfect score. Half an hour later he was curled up on the floor with a high fever.

 

It was like the autoimmune reaction surrendered to the actual microbe and we had this brief window of happiness.

 

In hindsight, even as a toddler, when he got sick I would notice this. He would suddenly become incredibly, eerily thoughtful and sensitive, almost clairvoyant, and start stroking my cheek and tell me, "don't worry mommy, I'm just a little feverish right now, soon I will be well again, I don't want you to worry about me..."

[justinekno]

We are new to the road to PANDAS and not 100% sure that my son has PANDAS but our experience with fevers and tics subsiding has been that if my son gets any kind of a fever, the tics totally subside. Our neurologist said that it is because when my son is sick and not eating, his brain is having the same reaction as with the ketogenic diet which helps with tics or seizures. I'm not sure if I buy that explanation. As soon as the fever drops, and regular diet resumes, the tics come back in full force. Could it be diet or the virus he's fighting? I don't think I'm smart enough to figure that one out. Although my "mother's instinct" tells me it has more to do with the fever and the virus than it does with the diet. I go back to my son's first ever fever at 15 months when it caused a febrile seizure. I think that's when the seed was planted. We noticed the tics at age 2 1/2 after another very high fever.

 

i recall people mentioning they observed a cessation of symptoms while their child was ill some time ago. if you have observed this, could you tell me about it? i'm thinking it was mainly with tics, but that may be incorrect.

[sww817]

We are still trying to determine if my ds has Pandas or not but whenever he gets sick, which is often, he seems much more present and clear. He will be calm and extremely verbal and expressive. Often this will last several days after the time he becomes better and then he will deteriorate again.

 

Interesting about the comment of diet. He often does not eat at all when sick. And in contrast to the calm, this all is negated if he is vomiting as he will obsess over "throwing up".

 

I have read studies on autism symptoms decreasing with fever.

[faith]

We are new to the road to PANDAS and not 100% sure that my son has PANDAS but our experience with fevers and tics subsiding has been that if my son gets any kind of a fever, the tics totally subside. Our neurologist said that it is because when my son is sick and not eating, his brain is having the same reaction as with the ketogenic diet which helps with tics or seizures. I'm not sure if I buy that explanation. As soon as the fever drops, and regular diet resumes, the tics come back in full force. Could it be diet or the virus he's fighting? I don't think I'm smart enough to figure that one out. Although my "mother's instinct" tells me it has more to do with the fever and the virus than it does with the diet. I go back to my son's first ever fever at 15 months when it caused a febrile seizure. I think that's when the seed was planted. We noticed the tics at age 2 1/2 after another very high fever.

 

i recall people mentioning they observed a cessation of symptoms while their child was ill some time ago. if you have observed this, could you tell me about it? i'm thinking it was mainly with tics, but that may be incorrect.

 

I often wonder what exactly is going on when my son is sick (and to clarify, I am talking fever/virus, not a cold or sore throat or general malaise).... and yes, we've wondered if it could be that the child is not eating, and therefore, his food triggers are not present, but I am inclined to feel its not as simple as that, because it happens too suddenly...(i.e. not feeling well, fever sets in, child kind of collapses in bed, lethargic, etc.)..don't know, but I wouldn't think not having certain foods for a day would cease symptoms of tics, altho it may not be one particular food group, but something with the digestive system, .... really don't know, but something to think about.

 

but what I really wanted to put here was that recently on another thread, (titeled, "So what could be going on here?") .. (.which is a pretty good read for anyone who is interested, its a discussion on how viral (things other than strep) may play a role here)......

 

here is an excerpt from that post where I mention that I asked the doc about this (cessation of tics during fever/virus)....not sure if I totally understand it or even believe, it... , but this was what he said... I should have talked more about it and clarified it, but we were kind of there for something else and in the middle of taking some repeat blood tests, so you know how it goes.......

 

.So yesterday, his fever subsided, altho he still felt some hurting when he swallowed. By evening he was feeling better altho still somewhat tired and droopy, we spent some time returning items after the doctor, so that wiped him out (and me!).....oh yea, and the doctor told me he made a mental note that the vocal was quiet. I told him this was usual for him when he's ill, but then they return. I asked what he thought and his reply was 'because his nerve endings are not being stimulated".......i really didn't get that, but just said, 'oh'.....we could figure out that later.

 

I can't say that really speaks to me, I don't really quite get it, but that's what he said.. ..... Could it be just as simple as they are too weak to do much of anything, and expend any energy to eat, tic, etc?

[lboll]

We are still trying to determine if my ds has Pandas or not but whenever he gets sick, which is often, he seems much more present and clear. He will be calm and extremely verbal and expressive. Often this will last several days after the time he becomes better and then he will deteriorate again.

 

Interesting about the comment of diet. He often does not eat at all when sick. And in contrast to the calm, this all is negated if he is vomiting as he will obsess over "throwing up".

 

I have read studies on autism symptoms decreasing with fever.

 

 

Here is a podcast regarding fevers and the cessation of symptoms in autism http://www.autismpodcast.org/?p=102

[melanie]

This is funny.We were juat saying that when Danny is sick hes always soooo good.No tics no behaviors.Its always been likee that.When hes getting sick hes not so good .Right before hes comming down with something he does something not so good.Its horrible to want your kid to be sick but...Anyway things are great right now I hope it continues.

 

melanie

[reactive]

i recall people mentioning they observed a cessation of symptoms while their child was ill some time ago. if you have observed this, could you tell me about it? i'm thinking it was mainly with tics, but that may be incorrect.

 

my son has not gotten back to 'baseline', (which is still not 100% pre-pandas) since an exacerbation with the flu around thanksgiving. he's doing 'okay', just not well -- he's functioning very well in school but at home, usually has one incident a day of inappropriate upset or cognitive inflexibility or extreme sibling trouble, not incapacitating but troublesome.

 

he had a particularly bad week this past week. i was giving him ibuprofen in the morning which did seem to have some effect. one day, i gave him a morning dose and an evening dose. two days later, he had diarrhea. i was worried i had caused it with the ibuprofen. for the past two days, he's been fabulous. during this entire week, he hasn't seemed sick or tired at all -- just had about a day and a half of occasional diarrhea. could he have pooped out his pandas?

 

please tell me your stories of lack of symptoms when your child's been ill. thanks!

Over the last five years, I have noticed that my ds9 with most viruses, especially with high fever, tics get better. Some viruses increase the tics...I guess it depends. With strep, the tics increase for us even with fever. For some reason, starting the antibiotics with strep does not decrease them, it is almost like when strep turns it on, it has to "take it's course". That is how I know he may have strep...he will have a constant vocal tic that suddenly increases. He has not had strep as often in the last three years due to his tonsillectomy.

 

I wasn't sure why the symtoms decrease with fever...after reading the forum I wonder if it is the fever or the ibuprofen I give him for the fever...

[fuelforall]

Dear Smarty

Refer to my post here for my experience

 

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6828

[Laurensmom]

Could the remission be from treating the fever with ibuprofen or another immunosuppressive drug?

[lboll]

Could the remission be from treating the fever with ibuprofen or another immunosuppressive drug?

 

 

My son is impossible when it comes to taking meds. When he is sick with a fever he refuses all food and drink. So when all of his tics cease and his behavior is calm, I know it's due to the fever and not the meds. But that's just my personal experience.