Pandas Place

Wave asked:


Add 17 years to the time you got strep, and think about your mental health around that time. There’s a condition called PANDAS associated with strep that seems to induce anxiety and OCD. 17 years is the average time it takes for PANDAS patients to seek help.

I’d be interested to hear from anyone who thinks they may have gotten this and is just figuring out the connection with strep.

I’ve been learning about this and other fascinating illnesses in the new book: “Survival of the Sickest.” A great read.
The author seems to think it’s triggered by the bacteria. (I may also have included notions above from the Discovery channel on this.)

PANDAS is technically a pediatric disease with sudden onset (I just read); but researchers have made a connection to strep in adults with anxiety, OCD and ADD.
Thanks for all your sharing. There’s a lot of diversity in them and I wish you all great mental health! Since I mis-stated the original problem of PANDAS as being delayed onset OCD resulting from strep, I’ll include a short definition of what it is from the NIMH.

Nature can be so surprizing in her complexity, and it can be both beautiful and terrible.

PANDAS, is an abbreviation for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. The term is used to describe a subset of children who have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and/or tic disorders such as Tourette’s Syndrome, and in whom symptoms worsen following strep. infections such as “Strep throat” and Scarlet Fever.

The children usually have dramatic, “overnight” onset of symptoms, including motor or vocal tics, obsessions, and/or compulsions. In addition to these symptoms, children may also become moody, irritable or show concerns about separating from parents or loved ones.