Paranoid mom or should I be looking into this?

[becjonz]

So 10 yr old ds was diagnosed with PANDAS in February, has been on antibiotics and shown improvement. Starting last July he had behavior changes, tics, ADHD and anxiety. He is currently at a good point with only a slight up swing right now with ADHD and impulsivity but we see Dr. on Thursday anyway so will provide that info and see where to go.

 

Through all of this I was in the hospital for 5 days last summer, in Nov. I discovered my bipolar dh was involved with drugs and kicked him out for a week until he entered an out patient rehab program and then we decided to divorce in Jan. Why am I spilling all these personal details? I want you to see the lens through which I've had to view all this. At first with my ds I thought anxiety due to all the things going on at home (mom's guilt). And many people did tell me that despite us not fighting in front of the kids that the tension in the house was causing everything. Switch to several months later and the main issue was PANDAS.

 

Younger son(age 8) has had bouts of being overly emotional and whiney since October especially but he had switched to a new school this year so I blamed it on that. He has been understandably upset over divorce and so being emotional was normal. About 2 months ago I noticed how much my younger ds' blanky has become a huge thing for him again. He also designated his comforter as his blanky's father, his brother's old blanky is stepfather and these along with his pillow can not be referred to as "it". They have to be told good bye each day, like to lay in my bed while we are gone, etc. I have figured these are all stand ins to create a stable family and kind of go along all the while relating it back to us and encouraging him to say what ever he needs to and so on.

 

Skip to tonight when he spent a long time crying because brother told him that his own possessions aren't alive and I made the fabulous parenting decision to say that in reality we all know what is alive and what isn't but that I understand he needs the comfort from them during divorce. He sobbed! 15 minutes after calming down he asked me if I really meant they weren't alive and I said I knew to him they were. Not a good enough answer for him!

 

So am I looking at clingyness, overly emotional behavior with some OCDish stuff or a boy who put up with months of watching his brother stay home sick, dragged to therapists and doctors, etc and putting up a divorce and his view of family having to change?

 

I don't want to see PANDAS everywhere but I don't want to ignore things just because I think I'll look foolish.

[thereishope]

First, I think it's normal when you see odd behaviors surface to look if anything different can be causing. Either it be stress in the household, new school, etc. You're not the first to do it. I did the same. My son started a new school, had a birthday, and it was in 2009 when Hurricane Ike winds came through and put out the power in Cincinnati for a week. So, boy,was I able to find excuses. But the important thing now is that you know the real problem and you will fight PANDAS.

 

As for the incident about his things being alive...I can see that happening in my household. Is that the only thing that has happened so far that set up a red flag for your other son(besides the blanket too)? It's hard. That little boy has been through a lot and as a parent you don't know which way to turn. Has he been sick? Does your PANDAS son show classic signs of strep when he's sick? What you can do look at this link. It's OCD as seen by PANDAS parents. Look at it and see if he is exhibiting anything else. Then keep an eye on him. If oddities keep popping up, I see no harm in taking him in for a strep test. That will ease your conscious as well.

 

Signs of OCD in a young child

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...ic=6153&hl=

Edited April 28, 2010 by Vickie

[mom md]

I took my second son in today for a strep test and bloodwork. I have noticed subtle things since December but I thought I was being paranoid. Today the teacher called and said she had noticed some things too. She had my older son and knows the story. She felt she was seeing some of the wierd things we saw three years ago (strange hand movements, mood swings, impulse issues, inability to sit still). I feel like it is ground hog day and it is starting all over again. He is MUCH less symptomatic than his brother but I have seen some other things. He wakes up at 5am now (used to have to wake him), can't look you in the eye, doesn't like to wear his shirt, chewed on his shirt for a while. My guess is my maternal instinct is right. His strep culture was negative today but we will wait on the culture. He also drew an ASO, AntiDNaseB, and ANA to start. I will also get Dr. Cunningham to mail us a test kit. He felt he had sinusitis and started him on amoxicillin for 10 days. We will switch to azith if it comes back positive.

[simplygina]

No wisdom to offer. Unfortunately I'm in the same boat. I see some "interesting" things going on with my 7 year old and wonder if he too has PANDAS. His list of things that make me wonder is very different from his brother's, but that shouldn't surprise me, they are opposites in just about every way.

 

I've decided to get the Cunningham test done for both of them just to see what the results are.

 

I think the age regression could definitely be a sign of PANDAS but the way he is acting it out reflects his feelings about his current life situation. Does that make sense. Maybe it's a little of both? I hope not for your sake. I know how difficult it is for me to watch and wonder.