Waiting for diagnosis

[RubyRed]

Hi,

 

My name is Dorothy and my 4 year old son is Mikey. Mikey had strep about 2 weeks ago. He started having pretty bad facial tics yesterday afternoon. It looked very frightening and we took him to the closest children's clinic as our regular pediatrician is quite far away. The doctor there obviously wasn't sure what it was but the head doctor from pediatrics at the hospital where the clinic is located happened to be there and he said PANDAS right away.

 

From what I have been reading on line I guess we are pretty lucky that the doctor identified it right away. I am currently waiting for our pedi office to open so that we can talk to his regular doctor about this.

 

I am absolutley terrified. I have no idea about this condition and everything I'm reading seems to be very openended. Some kids outgrow it, some kids don't, some show symptoms all the time, some don't etc. I'm very anxious to see where we will fall into this category.

 

I'll be a frequent visitor here from now I guess so I thought I'd introduce our story and I will be starting to read the other messages.

[dcmom]

Hi Ruby Red-

 

Stay calm. Be prepared for your ped not to know anything about pandas.

 

Some kids, if caught early, and treated aggressively can make a full recovery from pandas, quickly.

 

I would be as aggressive as possible with antibiotics. Possibly try a course of clindamyacin followed by a month of daily zithromax.

 

Many kids on this board are on daily long term antibiotics, others on prophylactic antibiotics. You will have to proceed cautiously.

 

Good luck- and keep us posted!

[colleenrn]

Dorothy,

 

Your son had strep 2 weeks ago and just began with tics? What antibiotic was he on, what dose, and what is his weight? IMO, he could still have strep. Did the clinic you took him to yesterday do a throat culture? If not, I would suggest getting a throat culture (make sure they grow it out for 72 hrs. and that they vigorously swab both tonsils and side of throat. When PANDAS began with my daughter at t he age of 5, she had strep from January until April. Everytime she would stop taking antibiotics, she would have strep again. We came to learn that the Amoxicillin she was on was not getting rid of the strep. This could possibly be the case with your child? Zithromax or even a cephalosporin (Omnicef or Keflex) would be better choices.

Colleen

[thereishope]

Welcome.

 

Here are some very useful links to read that may answer some questions along the way...

 

PANDAS Fact sheet

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6265

 

PANDAS FAQ

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6266

 

Amoxicillan Failure rate in strep

http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/.../169459644.html

 

Great website to refer your doctor to

www.pandasnetwork.org

 

I know it seems like a lot to read, but just print them off and read when you get a chance. There really is a lot fo info for you to learn from.