After eight years of mental illness and symptoms that over a dozen doctors failed to explain, in 2014, I was diagnosed with PANS.  My symptoms had come and gone since I developed the disease at age eleven, so I’d successfully completed my first year of college a couple of months before my diagnosis.  At nineteen, I’d been sure that my future was full of possibilities, but after what seemed like a mild case of mono, instead, I lost my mind that summer.  My whole world shattered.

Out of nowhere one afternoon, I went from being filled with dreams to becoming inexplicably suicidal and terrified at the thought of simply continuing to exist.  My entire body was suddenly consumed with wild involuntary movements, and I couldn’t walk.  I was delusional and convinced I was going to die, but the indescribable psychiatric torture that had overtaken me was so intense that the delusion was the only thing that gave me peace. 

My PANS was so severe that my specialist gave me high-dose IVIG right away, and she said it would start to help in six weeks.  I naively assumed that after a few months, I would have my life back, and things would be how they were before.  But more than three years later, I’m still fighting.

There are so many things that no one told me about what it takes to beat PANS—far more than I could possibly fit into one post—but for anyone out there beginning the healing process, there are three key pieces of wisdom that I’ve discovered along the way.  

It might be a long road, it won't be easy, but you WILL get there.

1) It might be a long road.
My doctor warned that it could be several months for the full effects of my first IVIG to kick in.  Indeed, a year and-a-half passed before I truly went into remission, and recovery was so slow that I often felt like I wasn’t making any progress.  Nevertheless, after two high-dose IVIG infusions, months of antibiotics and steroids, a tonsillectomy, and some therapy to eliminate what was left of my OCD, I did finally get better in 2015. 

I wish I could say that was the end of my journey, but a few months later, I contracted Lyme disease in 2016 and relapsed.  My progress has been just as slow this time around, but the long road to healing is more endurable and less discouraging now that I know what to expect. 

Recovery isn’t a straight line—there are lots of ups and downs and twists and turns, but if you keep fighting, the road ends in a beautiful return to health

I wonder, do you remember her?
Her name is Justine. She has PANDAS
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep.

Justine, a now 6-year-old girl, had a very normal life before all of this. She did have 8 cases of strep the year prior so I scheduled an appointment to get her tonsils and adenoids out in April 2016. No one was pushing it, I just thought enough was enough; I scheduled and pushed for it. Much to our surprise at the ENT visit 20 days prior to her surgery, she tested positive for strep. We were given the normal 10-day course of antibiotics and thought nothing of it. She was pretty healthy, had a very high tolerance for pain and did great for the surgery and recovery. Life went on...until 7 months later.
 
It came on suddenly in November 2016; it changed our daughter, it changed our lives. She was 5 at the time of her onset. We had just returned from a family vacation cruise and a trip to Disney. This is part of her story.
 
Justine started gradually having frequent urination and some anxiety. I brought her to be tested for an UTI, which was negative. She then changed overnight on November 22, 2016 in Kindergarten. It all started with very OCD and frequent urination with the need to go to the bathroom every few minutes at school. She went 54 times by noon. We had her tested for UTI's a few times in a matter of days. We were told it was behavioral, nothing medical, maybe vaginitis due to a lot of swimming on vacation.
 
They were wrong. We knew this day we lost our daughter. This was no tantrum; she had a fit of anger, this was a major event-out of character for our daughter at school.
 
Our daughter changed, you could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice and actions. She was gone from us. Justine showed signs of separation anxiety and had asked to be driven to school for 2-3 days leading up to this. She had a very difficult time separating from me. Absolutely terrifying. As parents we were not buying that our daughter was starting to act out behaviorally for no reason at age 5. She was a fully functioning happy, energetic, polite, great listener and smart girl. What in the world was going on? Who took her? What took her? What did we do for this to happen? There has to be something medically wrong!