mycoplasma, strep... are people seeing differences in symptoms, severi

[ajcire]

Just curious.. my son is what I consider mild... very minor tics, had minor ocd in the past that was short lived, and definitely has the pandas attitude/irrational/emotional liability but certainly not to the degree of rages I read about here.

 

I don't know if he has mycoplasma as he has never been tested...he tests positive for strep frequently (no sore throat symptoms though)

 

So just curious if those with mycoplasma and strep or the mycoplasma and not strep are seeing more severe symptoms than those with just strep... not sure if I am making any sense.

 

Not sure if I should be testing my son for mycoplasma too or just keeping it in mind if he ever needs bloodwork again... I hate to keep poking the poor child.

[momaine]

My dd tested neg. for strep but positive for mycoplasma. she has had symptoms for 3 years. Initially they were moderate. severe enough that erp didn't make her symptoms managable and we put her on ssris. This fall however, her exacerbation incapaciated her. She could pretty much only sit on the couch and watch tv and eat. She couldn't dress, walk, brush her teeth, shower, all daily activities caused excessive repetitions so much so that she stopped doing anything that she would feel compelled to repeat, which was pretty much everything except watching TV.

 

Before beginning augmentin I discoverd that Advil helped tremendously. So then when we did start augmentin it was hard to say if it was the augmentin helping or the advil.

Then when we added Zith to the regiment, she did begin to improve within days (vocal tic left within days but came back for a while when she got sick, then went away again)but never got back to baseline. I can't wait to pick up her new script for Biaxin XL tomorrow and start that. (that is what Dr. T wants her on for ten days, then reevaluate)

 

I pray that this is the answer we are looking for.

 

Angela

[amy s]

Just curious.. my son is what I consider mild... very minor tics, had minor ocd in the past that was short lived, and definitely has the pandas attitude/irrational/emotional liability but certainly not to the degree of rages I read about here.

 

I don't know if he has mycoplasma as he has never been tested...he tests positive for strep frequently (no sore throat symptoms though)

 

So just curious if those with mycoplasma and strep or the mycoplasma and not strep are seeing more severe symptoms than those with just strep... not sure if I am making any sense.

 

Not sure if I should be testing my son for mycoplasma too or just keeping it in mind if he ever needs bloodwork again... I hate to keep poking the poor child.

 

 

My dd had mycoplasma, strep A and B, and bartonella. I don't know when mycoplasma and bartonella showed up but my dd was exposed to scarlet fever (in household) about 8 weeks prior to onset of symptoms (and she DID have a sore throat and fever- but cultured negative so they did not put her on antibiotics) I consider her pandas symptoms to be very severe.

[GatsMom]

My dd tested neg. for strep but positive for mycoplasma. she has had symptoms for 3 years. Initially they were moderate. severe enough that erp didn't make her symptoms managable and we put her on ssris. This fall however, her exacerbation incapaciated her. She could pretty much only sit on the couch and watch tv and eat. She couldn't dress, walk, brush her teeth, shower, all daily activities caused excessive repetitions so much so that she stopped doing anything that she would feel compelled to repeat, which was pretty much everything except watching TV.

 

Before beginning augmentin I discoverd that Advil helped tremendously. So then when we did start augmentin it was hard to say if it was the augmentin helping or the advil.

Then when we added Zith to the regiment, she did begin to improve within days (vocal tic left within days but came back for a while when she got sick, then went away again)but never got back to baseline. I can't wait to pick up her new script for Biaxin XL tomorrow and start that. (that is what Dr. T wants her on for ten days, then reevaluate)

 

I pray that this is the answer we are looking for.

 

Angela

 

Angela,

 

Can't wait to hear how she does. Due to stomach upset from regular Biaxin, Dr. T switched Gat to Biaxin XL yesterday. We picked up the Rx today, gave him another full day today of no abx and fighting yeast to try and get a foothold on it. Tomorrow we start XL. My fingers couldn't be crossed any tighter. My son is also a very good responder to Advil.

[nomoz]

Just curious.. my son is what I consider mild... very minor tics, had minor ocd in the past that was short lived, and definitely has the pandas attitude/irrational/emotional liability but certainly not to the degree of rages I read about here.

 

I don't know if he has mycoplasma as he has never been tested...he tests positive for strep frequently (no sore throat symptoms though)

 

So just curious if those with mycoplasma and strep or the mycoplasma and not strep are seeing more severe symptoms than those with just strep... not sure if I am making any sense.

 

Not sure if I should be testing my son for mycoplasma too or just keeping it in mind if he ever needs bloodwork again... I hate to keep poking the poor child.

 

Perhaps the symptoms hang on longer, if the mycoplasm goes undetected. also, certain antbx that work for strep do not work for mycoplasm.

My daughter currently has a mycoplasm igg of 5, and is raging alot -

My opinion - get him tested for whatever you can. The more research you do, the better off you'll be.

Good luck!!

[Joan Pandas Mom]

My S had strep and mycoplasma and his story is almost exact to Angela's daughter's. This fall he became incapacitated too. He would not shower, sleep in his room, brush his teeth, flush the toilet, etc. It got so he could just sit and watch TV too. He would have to do too many rituals to complete any small task. He is on Clindomycin for 10 days (about 6 days left) and he is on a 5 day 40 mg a day Prednisone blast, today was the last dose. He is doing a ton of rituals. I dropped him off at school at 8:00, he called me to pick him up at 10:00.

[memom]

I'm glad you asked this question. I was about to do the same. My 17yodaughter has never been tested for mycoplasma but her symptoms mirror momaine. Numerous strep infections and elevated titers and positive cultures. No rage. In fact, that would be against her OCD which pushes her to not be angry with anyone (long story). She also could do nothing but sit in her chair and watch tv during her worst time due to her OCD.

 

On the other hand, my son who is 20, had sudden onset depression/rage/anxiety/fatigue 4 years ago. No one ever considered it could be anything but mental health issues. Long story short, after 4 years of failed treatments, I became suspicious it was Pandas while watching him try to find his way through a simple intro college course in November. His mental processing was identical to his sister who we discovered Pandas about a year earlier (though in retrospect has milder symptoms for years with severe exacerbation after repeated strep infections). He had definate encephalitis type disorganization with his higher mental processing. Strep titers very elevated, elevated Cam k., and now have had the Mycoplasma drawn (though it was drawn after a full 6 weeks on Zithromax so may have been higher) and was IGG elevated twice normal. Don't know what is responsible for his symptoms, but the rage is like nothing I had ever seen and very much not who he is. We have seen definate improvement with Augmentin though were starting to see improvement at the end of the 6 weeks of Zith.

 

memom

[faith]

Yes, very good question ajcire......

 

Does it seem that those with the elevated mycoplasma might be more of a mixed bag of symptoms and more toward the severe, at least in the way of behavior. I'm thinking that if it was strep PLUS the mycoplasma, then maybe that's two punches and so makes it worse?

 

memon, interesting what you said, .. momaine (Angela) mentioned on another thread that her child doesn't hve the high strep titers tho. I was trying to see if those with mycoplasma didn't neccesarily have strep titers or even much strep as a connection.

 

Anyone else have the mycoplasma and could weigh in symptoms' severity?

 

 

Faith

[momaine]

I'm glad you asked this question. I was about to do the same. My 17yodaughter has never been tested for mycoplasma but her symptoms mirror momaine. Numerous strep infections and elevated titers and positive cultures. No rage. In fact, that would be against her OCD which pushes her to not be angry with anyone (long story). She also could do nothing but sit in her chair and watch tv during her worst time due to her OCD.

 

On the other hand, my son who is 20, had sudden onset depression/rage/anxiety/fatigue 4 years ago. No one ever considered it could be anything but mental health issues. Long story short, after 4 years of failed treatments, I became suspicious it was Pandas while watching him try to find his way through a simple intro college course in November. His mental processing was identical to his sister who we discovered Pandas about a year earlier (though in retrospect has milder symptoms for years with severe exacerbation after repeated strep infections). He had definate encephalitis type disorganization with his higher mental processing. Strep titers very elevated, elevated Cam k., and now have had the Mycoplasma drawn (though it was drawn after a full 6 weeks on Zithromax so may have been higher) and was IGG elevated twice normal. Don't know what is responsible for his symptoms, but the rage is like nothing I had ever seen and very much not who he is. We have seen definate improvement with Augmentin though were starting to see improvement at the end of the 6 weeks of Zith.

 

memom

My dd had been on Zith (for 2 months) and AugmentinXr (for 3 months) before she was tested for Mycoplasma. It's possible hers were higher too as she has had some changes for the better since starting Zith. (vocal tic is gone, motor tic is reduced a lot, ocd not as bad)

 

Today was a very good day. (3 doses of Biaxin Xl in her) She ate a lot which is usually very difficult for her due to ocd. she went outside on her own and asked me to go on a bike ride with her. Has only gone outside on her own once (a few days ago, after prednisone began to kick in) since last fall. She did have trouble brushing her teeth, which brought her to tears, but she regrouped and i took her to the YMCA swimming with her cousins. She went to the locker room after and showered and dressed on her own. She didn't even ask me to come with her. Then she went to her cousins to hang out for a couple hours. With all she ate today, she only had trouble eating during one of her meals. (so I have to watcher her eat) But it wasn't to the degree that she usually has trouble.

 

Still could be the prednisone, but I hope its the Biaxin kicking in as well. Last time on prednisone she had 5 really good days so it may be that.

 

Angela

[momaine]

Might be worth trying Biaxin with your son.

 

Angela

 

I'm glad you asked this question. I was about to do the same. My 17yodaughter has never been tested for mycoplasma but her symptoms mirror momaine. Numerous strep infections and elevated titers and positive cultures. No rage. In fact, that would be against her OCD which pushes her to not be angry with anyone (long story). She also could do nothing but sit in her chair and watch tv during her worst time due to her OCD.

 

On the other hand, my son who is 20, had sudden onset depression/rage/anxiety/fatigue 4 years ago. No one ever considered it could be anything but mental health issues. Long story short, after 4 years of failed treatments, I became suspicious it was Pandas while watching him try to find his way through a simple intro college course in November. His mental processing was identical to his sister who we discovered Pandas about a year earlier (though in retrospect has milder symptoms for years with severe exacerbation after repeated strep infections). He had definate encephalitis type disorganization with his higher mental processing. Strep titers very elevated, elevated Cam k., and now have had the Mycoplasma drawn (though it was drawn after a full 6 weeks on Zithromax so may have been higher) and was IGG elevated twice normal. Don't know what is responsible for his symptoms, but the rage is like nothing I had ever seen and very much not who he is. We have seen definate improvement with Augmentin though were starting to see improvement at the end of the 6 weeks of Zith.

 

memom

My dd had been on Zith (for 2 months) and AugmentinXr (for 3 months) before she was tested for Mycoplasma. It's possible hers were higher too as she has had some changes for the better since starting Zith. (vocal tic is gone, motor tic is reduced a lot, ocd not as bad)

 

Today was a very good day. (3 doses of Biaxin Xl in her) She ate a lot which is usually very difficult for her due to ocd. she went outside on her own and asked me to go on a bike ride with her. Has only gone outside on her own once (a few days ago, after prednisone began to kick in) since last fall. She did have trouble brushing her teeth, which brought her to tears, but she regrouped and i took her to the YMCA swimming with her cousins. She went to the locker room after and showered and dressed on her own. She didn't even ask me to come with her. Then she went to her cousins to hang out for a couple hours. With all she ate today, she only had trouble eating during one of her meals. (so I have to watcher her eat) But it wasn't to the degree that she usually has trouble.

 

Still could be the prednisone, but I hope its the Biaxin kicking in as well. Last time on prednisone she had 5 really good days so it may be that.

 

Angela

[momaine]

Dr. T starated my dd on Biaxin XL right off the bat. He must have learned from your son's case and went right to the XL. Glad he did. No need to ahve stomach upset on top of everything else. Keep us posted.

Angela

 

My dd tested neg. for strep but positive for mycoplasma. she has had symptoms for 3 years. Initially they were moderate. severe enough that erp didn't make her symptoms managable and we put her on ssris. This fall however, her exacerbation incapaciated her. She could pretty much only sit on the couch and watch tv and eat. She couldn't dress, walk, brush her teeth, shower, all daily activities caused excessive repetitions so much so that she stopped doing anything that she would feel compelled to repeat, which was pretty much everything except watching TV.

 

Before beginning augmentin I discoverd that Advil helped tremendously. So then when we did start augmentin it was hard to say if it was the augmentin helping or the advil.

Then when we added Zith to the regiment, she did begin to improve within days (vocal tic left within days but came back for a while when she got sick, then went away again)but never got back to baseline. I can't wait to pick up her new script for Biaxin XL tomorrow and start that. (that is what Dr. T wants her on for ten days, then reevaluate)

 

I pray that this is the answer we are looking for.

 

Angela

 

Angela,

 

Can't wait to hear how she does. Due to stomach upset from regular Biaxin, Dr. T switched Gat to Biaxin XL yesterday. We picked up the Rx today, gave him another full day today of no abx and fighting yeast to try and get a foothold on it. Tomorrow we start XL. My fingers couldn't be crossed any tighter. My son is also a very good responder to Advil.