The Day My Child Was No Longer the Same: A Functional Medicine Look at PANS & PANDAS

Little Johnny loved his brother Jack and his younger sister Susy. From toddlerhood through early elementary school, Saturdays were filled with backyard games, cousins, sunshine, and the simple joy of being a normal, healthy child.

Then, shortly after his seventh birthday, everything changed.

Johnny had recently recovered from what seemed like an ordinary infection — runny nose, fever, cough. He appeared to be improving. The day before, he was finally back out of his room, playing again. But the following morning, his parents woke up to a child they barely recognized.

When Jack picked up Johnny’s baseball bat, Johnny erupted in a rage so intense his mother feared he might strike his brother. When she separated them and tried to understand what had happened, Johnny could only say that Jack’s hands were “covered in germs.” He immediately ran to the sink and began washing the bat and his hands repeatedly, in obvious panic.

His parents hoped this was an isolated incident. It was not.

Throughout the day, Johnny became increasingly fearful, reactive, and unable to tolerate touch or normal interaction. Everything felt “contaminated.” He spiraled into repeated handwashing, emotional outbursts, and overwhelming anxiety. A call to the pediatrician brought reassurance to “wait it out.” But better days never came.

Over the next two years, the sweet, easy-going child was replaced by one who lived on edge — irritable, explosive, obsessive, anxious, and struggling in school. Despite multiple evaluations and tests, no clear explanation emerged. His parents were left asking a heartbreaking question: Is this our child’s future?

This is the world many families enter when their child develops PANS or PANDAS — Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, often triggered by infection and driven by autoimmune inflammation in the brain.

In these conditions, a previously normal child can change dramatically over days or weeks following an infection or toxic exposure. The immune system, meant to protect, becomes misdirected and begins attacking the child’s own nervous system. Depending on which brain regions are inflamed, symptoms can include:

• Sudden onset OCD and contamination fears

• Tics or abnormal movements

• Severe anxiety or panic

• Depression or emotional volatility

• Rage episodes

• Sleep disturbance

• Hallucinations or delusional thinking

• Seizures

• Academic regression
  

At a recent MAPS conference, these conditions were reviewed as classic examples of autoimmune-mediated neuroinflammation. Triggers can include common bacteria such as strep and mycoplasma, as well as organisms like Lyme and Bartonella. Viral illnesses, including influenza, EBV, HHV-6, and even COVID, can provoke flares. Parasites, environmental toxins, heavy metals, and mold biotoxins can further dysregulate immune function and intensify brain inflammation.

Genetics may load the gun, but infections and toxins often pull the trigger.

When the immune system is chronically activated and the brain becomes the target, behavior, emotion, cognition, and perception can all be affected. What parents witness is not willful misbehavior, it is neuroimmune dysfunction.

Families who live this reality often arrive exhausted and discouraged. Many have seen multiple specialists and tried countless therapies, yet their child continues to suffer because the true root causes have not been fully identified or addressed.

The good news is that when the underlying immune triggers, infections, toxic burdens, and inflammatory pathways are properly evaluated and treated, children can recover. Their brains can heal. Their personalities can return. Their families can find peace again.

If your child’s story sounds like Johnny’s — sudden personality changes, anxiety, OCD, tics, or emotional instability following illness — we encourage you to take the next step.

At Sanctuary Functional Medicine, our Intensive Program is designed to uncover the root causes driving complex neuroimmune conditions and to create a personalized, comprehensive path to healing.

Schedule a discovery call with our team today to learn how our Intensive Program can help your child reclaim their health and your family reclaim hope.

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