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DD's symptoms started last October with headaches and stomach aches. She had had a sore throat and swollen glands in her neck for about 6 weeks. She was tested for strep, which came back negative, and we were told it was a reoccurring viral infection. She started changing in dramatic and heartbreaking ways.

She started feeling the need to pee every 60 seconds and would be inconsolable and panic stricken when nothing came out. She would cry "Why can't I pee, is God punishing me?" I took her to the Dr. again who said her sore throat was viral and they did a urinalysis to rule out a bladder infection.

She stopped eating saying that she was either going to choke or that her food was poisoned. It was VERY difficult getting her to eat anything. I was concerned about malnutrition and used every trick in the book to get her to eat. If we walked past a bush she knew was poisonous, she would insist that a leaf of it had blown off and into her mouth. She would start spitting to get rid of it. Then she started walking past things like this with her hand over her mouth.

She became irrational, and I could not reason with her. She became argumentative, and highly emotional. She had significant problems making choices.

She developed severe separation anxiety, and cried when I dropped her off at school. She needed multiple reassurances that I was positive that I would be back to pick her up. She obsessed "what would happen to her" if something happened to me.

She thought she was swallowing strange objects, like pen caps or homework papers, anything that might go missing. She would say "I know I didn’t swallow it, but I think I did anyway". She would be panic stricken until she had found the lost object.

She had a hard time falling asleep. She would ask if she was going to wake up in the morning, and how did I know something bad wouldn't happen in the night. She asked repeatedly if I was sure she wouldn’t die in her sleep. She started waking up with nightmares about parasites.

She also became terrified of being "locked in" and insisted on doors being left open in rooms or buildings, or windows rolled down so she wouldn't become hysterical.

She didn't want to "go anywhere, just straight home". She didn't want to go to any of her favorite places. She became less social at school, and sat alone on the playground. She would sometimes sit and stare with her eyes very large. Other times she expressed almost a terror of being "bored". I had to keep her constantly occupied with distractions through the worst of it.

She cried frequently "Mama, why am I so sad, I'll never be happy again, everything is different. Why is everything so different?"

I was so shocked and grief stricken. She was 8 years old, and her beautiful personality was completely gone. The pediatrician could offer me no insight or understanding of what was happening on a physical or mental level, she just said find a psychiatrist as soon as possible.

After I researched PANDAS online, I requested bloodwork be done. Everything came back "normal". By Christmas she was 90-95% herself again.

We saw Dr. D. at CHC, who eventually put her on a low dose (12.5m) of Zoloft ( I think in January), which she is still on (to give her brain a rest).

Then in March, she contracted Fifths disease, and it started again, maybe 60% strength, and lasted about 4 – 6 weeks before tapering off. Her Zoloft was doubled to 25m. She hasn't had a full blown illness again, but her baseline has changed.

I live in fear of her next illness. On Dr. K's website, he mentions that PANDAS and PITAND are probably the same thing, it's just that we don't know all the bacteria and viruses (or vaccinations) that can trigger the autoimmune response yet. He feels that ANY infectious agent can trigger these horrible symptoms. DD's triggers seem to be infections with FEVER and SWOLLEN glands, whether from a virus or bacteria.

What is equally disturbing is that between episodes, DD's baseline personality seems to deteriorate a little more. She is having problems in the area of memory, attention, rigid thinking, empathy, social interaction, anger, emotional liability, rational thinking, decision making, and anxiety. I also believe her handwriting and drawing skills have been adversely effected.

On November 15, DD's pediatrician agreed to a 30 day trial of Azithromicyn. As I write this document, she is on day 21 and I believe I have seen a measurable and significant improvement in DD's mood and behavior, far quicker and broader than I ever experienced with the Zoloft or therapy.

History – Scarlet Fever at 2 years of age.

In October, DD underwent a complete Neuropsychological Evaluation at Children's Health Council. The most significant findings were that DD's full scale IQ was 120 (91st percentile), and her verbal comprehension index was 134 (99th percentile), her working memory index was 88 (21st percentile). Additionally, it was noted that she does suffer from issues that cause social problems for her in school.

Autoimmune disease is common in my family history, my mother has MS, for example. I have one brother with celiac disease, and one who had ulcerated colitous serious enough to warrant a colostomy at age 19.

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