Super Sam and the Battle against PANS/PANDAS tells the story of a sibling's experience with PANS/PANDAS and uncovers all the ways the entire family, while different now, is still super.
This book is about a young boy’s journey with a harrowing illness called PANDAS, an acronym for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus. He wakes up one morning, and overnight, is stricken with unusual and frightening symptoms that turn his world upside down. Some of the symptoms he experiences are anxiety & OCD. This happened all because an autoimmune response caused dysfunctional antibodies to invade the basal ganglia of the brain instead of fighting off the streptococcus bacteria. The boy has never even heard of PANDAS. After a long road, filled with doctor visits, blood draws, procedures & surgery, he is finally on the road to recovery. In time, he is able to forget about this harrowing illness. Then, the only PANDAS he knows of are the black and white bears at the zoo. www.PANDAS-DISORDER.com Keywords - PANDAS, PANS, Pediatric, Autoimmune, Neurological, Disorder, Streptococcus, Anxiety, OCD, Antibiotic.
The story of one mother’s fight against the medical establishment to prove the link between infection-triggered PANDAS and her son’s sudden-onset OCD and Tourette syndrome. The summer before entering sixth grade, Sammy, a bright and charming boy who lived on the coast of Maine, suddenly began to exhibit disturbing behavior. He walked and ate with his eyes shut, refused to bathe, burst into fits of rage, slithered against walls, and used his limbs instead of his hands to touch light switches, doorknobs, and faucets. Sammy’s mother, Beth, already coping with the overwhelming responsibility of raising three sons alone, watched helplessly as her middle child descended into madness. Sammy was soon diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and later with Tourette syndrome. Unwilling to accept the doctors’ prognoses for lifelong mental illness and repeated hospitalizations, Beth fought to uncover what was causing this decline. Beth’s quest took her to the center of the medical community’s raging debate about whether OCD and Tourette syndrome can be caused by PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections). With the battle lines firmly drawn, Beth searched until she found two cutting-edge doctors who answered that question with a definitive yes. Together, they cured Sammy. Five years later, he remains symptom free.
Once a typical boy, Owen's journey with PANS/PANDAS began after an infection that changed everything. Abruptly faced with severe anxiety, OCD, tics, and rage, Owen finds himself navigating a world full of doctors and medical tests. Owen's path towards health is sometimes straight and easy, but sometimes it zig-zags, and he must find another way.
At 16, when most juniors are worried about getting a car, getting a date, getting on the tennis team or getting into college, Benjamin Rubenstein instead got Cancer. Relying on the pop culture icon Superman as his role model, Rubenstein took on harrowing surgeries, transplants and chemical therapies in order to beat the cancer menace. Like his offbeat and irreverent blog, I've Still Got Both My Nuts: A True Cancer Blog, this compelling, behind-the-scenes story of his struggle combines the author's unique blend of humor, honesty, and the indefatigable attitude that helped him become a two-time cancer survivor. Rubenstein brings a fresh, GenY perspective to health concerns that are not addressed by the more traditional cancer communities of the Gen X'ers and Boomers. As Gen Y comes of age, its leading edge voices -- like Rubenstein -- show us they have something to say that spans all generations while striking a responsive chord with cancer survivors in their teens and twenties.
Does your child have rages, OCD, tics, aggressive behavior, prolonged tantrums and/or anxiety? Is your child exhibiting sudden behavioral changes or a developmental regression? Your child may have PANS. PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) is an umbrella term which includes diagnoses such as PANDAS, PITANDS, and Autoimmune Encephalitis--all of which describe a condition marked by concerning psychiatric and physical symptoms that often appear suddenly. Children in the US are being diagnosed with PANS at a very concerning rate. What is behind this epidemic? What makes a child vulnerable to these conditions? Most importantly, what can be done to bring to bring our kids back to good health? In this book you will learn:
Arguably one of the most complex emotional disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is surprisingly common. Furthermore, most people at some time in their lives exhibit a smattering of OCD-like symptoms. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder For Dummies sorts out the otherwise curious and confusing world of obsessive compulsive disorder. Engaging and comprehensive, it explains the causes of OCD and describes the rainbow of OCD symptoms. The book shows readers whether OCD symptoms represent normal and trivial concerns (for example, a neat freak) or something that should be checked out by a mental health professional (for example, needing to wash hands so often that they become raw and red). In easy to understand steps, the authors lay out the latest treatments that have been proven to work for this disorder, and provide practical and real tools for living well long-term. Whether you or someone you care about has this disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder For Dummies gives you an empathic understanding of this fascinating yet treatable mental disorder.
Discovered in a hidden compartment of an old chest long after his death, the secret writings of John Dee, one of the leading scientists and occultists of Elizabethan England, record in minute detail his research into the occult. Dee concealed his treatises on the nature of humankind's contact with angelic realms and languages throughout his life, and they were nearly lost forever. In his brief biography of John Dee, Joseph Peterson calls him a "true Renaissance man"? detailing his work in astronomy, mathematics, navigation, the arts, astrology, and the occult sciences. He was even thought to be the model for Shakespeare's Prospero. All this was preparation for Dee's main achievement: five books, revealed and transcribed between March 1582 and May 1583, bringing to light mysteries and truths that scholars and adepts have been struggling to understand and use ever since. These books detail his system for communicating with the angels, and reveal that the angels were interested in and involved with the exploration and colonization of the New World, and in heralding in a new age or new world order. While Dee's influence was certainly felt in his lifetime, his popularity has grown tremendously since. His system was used and adapted by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and subsequently by Aleister Crowley. This new edition of John Dee's Five Books of Mystery is by far the most accessible and complete published to date. Peterson has translated Latin terms and added copious footnotes, putting the instructions and references into context for the modern reader.
Preeminent psychologist Lisa Barrett lays out how the brain constructs emotions in a way that could revolutionize psychology, health care, the legal system, and our understanding of the human mind. “Fascinating . . . A thought-provoking journey into emotion science.”—The Wall Street Journal “A singular book, remarkable for the freshness of its ideas and the boldness and clarity with which they are presented.”—Scientific American “A brilliant and original book on the science of emotion, by the deepest thinker about this topic since Darwin.”—Daniel Gilbert, best-selling author of Stumbling on Happiness The science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on par with the discovery of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology. Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose research overturns the long-standing belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, Barrett shows, we construct each instance of emotion through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture. A lucid report from the cutting edge of emotion science, How Emotions Are Made reveals the profound real-world consequences of this breakthrough for everything from neuroscience and medicine to the legal system and even national security, laying bare the immense implications of our latest and most intimate scientific revolution.