Re: strep/bloodwork

[Guest guest]

I know it is hard to take a stressed-out child in for bloodwork. was

tested for the presence of strep too (Hannah was not--I guess the doctor

figured it was just in the genes at that point.) It was my understanding

that it can be dormant for years but still present and that if they do find

it in the blood, they treat the OCD with antibiotics. had shown signs

of OCD for several years too but we still had her tested. Most kids don't

like having blood drawn and the dr. did give me some medication to put on

's arm to numb it before we went in. The lab we went to was awesome and

the tech had no trouble convincing to let her do it. Remember, our

kids are like everyone else's at times like these and the techs are used to

it! even admitted that the numbing stuff didn't really work but that

it didn't hurt too much anyways. She also seemed to understand when I

explained to her why we were going and I am sure that I offered some sort of

reward after--it is unpleasant and I think deserves a little treat. I

certainly didn't put conditions on the reward just in case she was awful--it

was more of a " as soon as we are done we will get our ice cream cones. " Good

luck! Kelley in NV

[Guest guest]

I know it is hard to take a stressed-out child in for bloodwork. was

tested for the presence of strep too (Hannah was not--I guess the doctor

figured it was just in the genes at that point.) It was my understanding

that it can be dormant for years but still present and that if they do find

it in the blood, they treat the OCD with antibiotics. had shown signs

of OCD for several years too but we still had her tested. Most kids don't

like having blood drawn and the dr. did give me some medication to put on

's arm to numb it before we went in. The lab we went to was awesome and

the tech had no trouble convincing to let her do it. Remember, our

kids are like everyone else's at times like these and the techs are used to

it! even admitted that the numbing stuff didn't really work but that

it didn't hurt too much anyways. She also seemed to understand when I

explained to her why we were going and I am sure that I offered some sort of

reward after--it is unpleasant and I think deserves a little treat. I

certainly didn't put conditions on the reward just in case she was awful--it

was more of a " as soon as we are done we will get our ice cream cones. " Good

luck! Kelley in NV

[Guest guest]

Hi Belinda, the info you would get from these tests is whether she has a strep

infection right now (throat culture) and whether her strep titers are elevated

(ASO blood test.) The gain is in being able to link her current symptom levels

to an active strep infection or elevated titers. Kids with Pandas OCD have very

worsened symptoms under these conditions, and their symptom level usually falls

dramatically once these resolve.

Is your daughter having pronounced symptoms at this time? What I would probably

do (and do with my child) is have the throat test, ask for the other one not the

rapid strep test, it will either be pos or neg. If pos she will be put on an

antibiotic like any other kid, this means she has an active and current strep

infection. It's possible that treating with antibiotics will quickly get rid of

the infection and keep her circulating strep antibodies from escalating any

further...which can reduce the period of time she's having worsened symptoms

from this. My daughter has had several strep infections with no symptoms

besides the suddenly worse OCD. (No fever, sore throat, etc.)

If the throat test is negative (no active strep infection at this point), the

blood test would tell you if her antibodies are elevated. It's these strep

antibodies that actually cause the mischief and worsened symptoms in Pandas

kids, and they can be elevated a long time after the actual strep infection has

cleared. The main value in this is that strengthens a Pandas diagnosis because

you've demonstrated elevated titers at the same time as an OCD worsening.

However the only way to quickly get rid of these antibodies is to have a blood

filtering procedure done in a hospital, which I believe I'm correct is not

recommended for our kids, so I doubt she would recommend Madison for this even

if her antibodies are high and are believed to be causing her worsened symptoms.

If you decide to have the blood test, I suggest you ask your ped for Emla cream

(has to be put on the draw site at least an hour before the procedure) and take

Madison to a hospital lab, one with a prominent childrens section is best.

These folks are usually expert at getting blood quickly and near painlessly from

kids.

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

From: Belinda Greiner

My pediatrician is recommending bloodwork and a throat culture for Madison

is there a reason behind this? I mean i have read there can be a correlation

but it is obviuos to me Madison has had the OCD for years so wouldn't this (

at least the blooodwork) be adding stress to Madisons already stressful

little life? Belinda

[Guest guest]

Hello Belinda,

I just know from personal experiences that I believe your doctor is

right to order the blood work for strep and cultures. I had

undetected strep for 5 months and it threw me into major panic and

anxiety. I took the rapid tests and failed them every time. After 5

months and 45 pound weight loss I was admitted and three days later

in the hospital they found I had,, had strep the whole time. After

that I was getting strep 6 times a year failing the rapid tests every

time and when it flared up my panic did as well. I also asked Josh's

doctor which is my doctor about strep and his OCD because she said

that his OCD can become worse if he carries the strep virus. After

two years of fighting I finally had a tonsillectomy at the age of 28

bad ordeal too long to get into with but if they find that is a

factor in your daughter she will pare much better at her age for

treatment than me. But I can relate to the stress to her for the

blood work took three people to hold my son who is 11 down for blood

work while he was in the hospital for his OCD and fear of eating.

Good luck with the tests! Let me know>

in Ohio Mom of Josh 11 OCD/PANIC (klonopin and zoloft)