PANS/PANDAS

A once, happy and engaged child is plagued overnight by a mysterious illness whereby the child suddenly develops severe obsessions and compulsions to the point where even eating becomes a problem with severe food restriction. Tics from out of nowhere emerge and are constant. Separation anxiety appears and is so pronounced that even going to school becomes almost impossible. A once bright and interactive child has now regressed cognitively with behavioral and personality changes that make this child almost unrecognizable. It is almost as if a completely different kid appeared. Though the face and body are the same but everything else seems completely foreign. The worst part is that despite the child’s frustration and fear and the family disruptions that ensue, the doctors are unable to explain what is happening (other than to suggest the emergence of a psychiatric problem requiring strong psychiatric medications or perhaps an inpatient psychiatric hospital stay). Many children go through a similar scenario and have a condition called PANS or a subset called PANDAS.

Read the story below of Jordan Moore reported in the Journal Scene (Summerville, SC).