PANS & Eating Disorder/Food Restrictions & Toolkits/Handouts
PANS PANDAS & Eating Disorders/Food Restrictions – Full Packet of Recent studies and Flyer. Please note that the Flyer is also available in two poster sizes...
Not always. Some symptoms can remit fully while others are reduced but not back to baseline.
Source: NIMH Information About PANS/PANDAS https://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/research-conducted-at-nimh/research-areas/clinics-and-labs/sbp/information-about-pans-pandas.shtml
PANS symptoms can relapse and remit. In between flares, symptoms do not always go back to baseline. Unfortunately, in some cases, subsequent flares can be more severe with a longer duration; symptoms move further away from baseline and can become chronically debilitating.
PANS symptoms can remit completely, especially if treated quickly and thoroughly. Treatment plans should not only include treatments to clear the current flare but also address symptoms that have not returned to baseline. Ultimately the goal is to relieve symptoms and prevent symptoms from becoming chronically debilitating. See Treatments.
Treatment plans reflect the severity of the current PANS flare and case history. Not all patients return to baseline between flares, which can affect treatment plans. PANS is a clinical condition identified by an abrupt onset of a specific cluster of symptoms as a result of a variety of etiologies and disease mechanisms. Therefore, tracking symptoms and their onset, severity, and duration is critical to making a clinical diagnosis. Both clinicians and parents can use PANS symptomology rating scale tools to monitor symptom severity. More information on PANS Rating Scales and Symptom Tracking.
Mild PANS PANDAS symptoms may present in some situations but not in all. For example, a patient may be able to attend school with some reservations but once back home is definitely anxious about being separated from a parent, needing significantly more attention than before the flare. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms occupy 1 to 2 hours of the patient’s day without escalating to obsessional fears.
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms are present 50% to 70% of a patient’s waking hours but do not interfere with all activities. For example, a patient may not be able to attend school but may be able to go to a friend’s house if a parent is with them. Other symptoms are also moderately severe; they impact the patient most of the day but are not completely incapacitating at all times.
Serious weight loss (>10%-15% of body mass) can be a result of obsessional eating restrictions associated with fear of vomiting or choking, fear of contamination, and other reasons. Severe impulsivity or severe behavioral regression can manifest in life-threatening ways such as jumping from heights or moving cars or threatening harm to self or others with knives or other dangerous objects. Aggressive treatment is typically necessary. Obsessive-compulsive thoughts are dominant, occupying 80%-100% of waking hours, obstructing most daily functioning like attending school, showering, performing simple tasks. Separation anxiety is equally extreme; patients often can barely leave the house, will not separate from parents at all and sleep in the parent’s bed. Other symptoms may be equally impacted, including increased aggression, emotional lability, and irritability.
PANS PANDAS & Eating Disorders/Food Restrictions – Full Packet of Recent studies and Flyer. Please note that the Flyer is also available in two poster sizes...
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