Thanks for the idea. I think we will practice as I can't see making her go through this regularly if she needs more long term treatment:(

They did add some flavoring. In fact, the pharmacist came out and specifically told me I needed to! She said she highly recommended it because this particular antibiotic smells and tastes 'like cat urine.' What?! Gross. We shall see how it goes this morning. I am not above bribing with a bit of chocolate to get rid of the taste:) Unfortunately, the more I read the more it seems as though PANDAS/PANS is probable. It would explain so much. But it is very upsetting as it looks like it will be a difficult road.

I tried this with her, but she gags:( I really, really wish it was a possibility! She won't even drink anything but water. With her current level of compliance I don't actually know if it will be possible. She knows that the only option is IV in hospital, so that will help. I resorted to bribery tonight, in the form of TJ chocolate to wash out the taste, and managed the first dose after 20 minutes of tears and drama. I have an amazing, lovely hubby...but tonight I am not feeling particularly happy after dealing with all this, as well as the fact that he scheduled an evening exam...on our tenth wedding anniversary😄

ITA. My hubby is very, very organized and intelligent. He has a PhD in chemistry. I have never seen him even raise his voice. When our son was 3 months old we dropped dd5 off for a kids night out and met friends at a restaurant for dinner. The handicapped spots were occupied, so hubby used the front loading zone to drop me off in my wheelchair. We had a conversation about whether I should take the baby with me or he would bring him in the infant seat. It was a busy night, there was an accident in the parking lot, hubby had to circle for a parking spot and ultimately had to park in an adjacent lot...when he came walking up he didn't have the baby and we both panicked. Our friends found it hysterical:(. Baby was never really in danger, but it IS Texas. A different time of year, a slightly different situation, no significant other present to question? It CAN happen to anyone...and does. Never, ever assume...I am so much more tolerant.

Update: After one of the very longest and most miserable days of my parenting life, we saw the pediatrician...who pretty much ignored everything I had to say. She examined dd and said she didn't see any sign of infection, hadn't heard of PANDAS and saw no need for bloodwork as dd appeared in great health. I insisted on at least a throat culture for step, and lo and behold, guess what? Positive within a minute. Doctor came back very apologetic, but we already made an appt with her reg pediatrician (who is out of town) so I don't really care. Maybe I am now on the right track at least:( You know, every time we have run into major behavioral problems with dd I have discovered that she had an ear infection, and felt badly. Now I am wondering, since ear infections are typically secondary, if Strep wasn't the ultimate problem:( The other issue: dd is allergic to penicillin and cephalosporins, and after her recent reaction to Zithromax the only option left was Clindomycin. Anyone with experience knows this tastes and smells like cat urine. I have to get my incredibly picky 5 yo to down 12 mL three times per day for the next 10 days!!! The only option if I can't do this is to admit her to hospital and have it IV?! Off to search for local oR thereabouts PANDAS experts....

Yes, I agree! Previously things were 'quirky.' Now it is out of control:( As far as preferring woman: nothing nefarious, and I am hyper-vigilant as a survivor of abuse as a child! She simply says women are 'prettier, nicer, and much fancier!' It isn't that she is uncomfortable at all, she just warms up to women much more.

Good thought. Something else to ask at the ped this afternoon. She always has bloodwork done at annual exams, but that isn't until December.

Yes, we are vegetarian. I am absolutely not opposed to giving her whatever she needs as far as diet. Unfortunately this is much harder done than said:( She is allergic to eggs and milk. Or at the very least was when she was small. I think we will ask about retesting as well. She is also EXTREMELY picky, and won't drink anything but water. We do slip in a DHA supplement from fish oil for her on the advice of her ped nutritionist. She would freak if she knew, which upsets me as we believe in being completely honest with her, but she has recently been rejecting all the foods that she needs:(

This is kind of what I was thinking, except for dd has been adamant that she needs a female doctor. Her reg ped is lovely, and a father of eight himself:) But she has always wanted women for everything, and in this case with so much going on I am going to try another doctor for her to ease the anxiety. So far most things are more like strong preferences, if that makes sense? She always wants the 'one on the left' for example, or even numbers of things. Randomness that often cause a bit of drama but could easily just be her need for some control. This is an extremely intelligent kid who doesn't really fit with kids her age but wants to:( I would just hate to pass it off as quirky when there is something I might be able to do. Last night I had to zip her into a sleeping bag in her bed three separate times when she woke up sure there were roaches in her bed:(

I went ahead and made an appointment with her pediatrician, but am worried that he is going to think I am crazy if I ask about PANDAS off the bat. Anyone have any experience with this? How did they know to look?

Thanks, I ordered this one and also the anger one.

Oh, and I didn't see the mushroom planet series mentioned! The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet is fantastic, and is a series... http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Flight-Mushroom-Planet/dp/0316125407/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443093477&sr=1-1&keywords=wonderful+flight+to+the+mushroom+planet

That book looks pretty good. I just ordered it from Amazon. Even if it is something like PANDAS, I am still going to need to work with the now. I also ordered a couple others like it by the same authors.Thanks To you and Sadie for the recommend...

This is a good point, I need to think about this. She is such an asynchronous mix! She desperately wants to be the ' big' girl and definitely identifies with much older children. We have tried to take our cues from her in this, but something to think about.

Wow. This is frightening. When I wrote the post I was really thinking this crazy behavior must be some further manifestation of her quirky, gifted self. To everyone that suggested I look at PANDAS: I looked at symptoms and got cold chills. She has had strep multiple times in the past, but recently our whole house was ill for two months. I got the flu, followed by pneumonia. Eventually both hubby and dd were treated for walking pneumonia as well. The thing is, dd is allergic to both the penicillin family and cephalosporins. She was given a 3-day course of Zithromax and went absolutely MANIC. I think every parent secretly hopes that when their child's behavior goes horribly wrong that there is a quick solution, a magic bullet or pill:) but this sounds like something I really need to have checked. It is just such a strange change. This is the kid who never looks back but takes new places and faces at a run. Never had a bit of shyness or separation anxiety from day one. The other thing that really worries me is worsening (ah, that doesn't even come come to describing it!) of her ADHD symptoms. Literally going crazy silly, can't stop. And her behavior, oh wow. The same consequences (verbal warning, our point system for earning American Girl stuff, going to her room until she can calm down) suddenly don't work and she doesn't seem to care. She has had a lot of changes all at once as well: new brother, taking her out of Montessori part-time preschool to homeschool full-time for Kindy, and a few other biggies. Sigh.

Books, definitely books:) Oh, and we have a large drawer in the spare bathroom that is desperately full of hotel toiletries. The drawer is at least a foot deep and 18 inches long! We keep making them into bags for the local homeless but the drawer is seemingly bottomless.

My dd5 is intense in every aspect of her life. She has always been...quirky? But lately I am really beginning to worry. Maybe threse things are attention-seeking (after 5.5 yrs as an only she has a 5 mo old brother!), but it seems more than that. There are just too many examples. Here are just a few of the more recent ones: Dd can swim like a fish. She can do the length of the pool in freestyle, back, breast, and has a rudimentary butterfly. Suddenly she freaked out at swim lessons, which are private. She loves math and was doing strange mental calculations about getting into the 5 ft depth. Screaming and refusing to get in. We left after 20!minutes of attempted coaxing and are taking a break from swimming as she insists she won't go. She will pipe up with random calculations, such as the volume of water she would have to swim across to get to the flags:( For multiple weeks it was roaches. Never mind that she has never even seen a roach alive in our house. I don't even know where that one came from but she made us shake out her blankets, exchange dark blankets for light ones so she could 'see', and would even wake up in the middle of the night in fear of them, claiming they were crawling in her bed. I finally had the idea of having our semi-annual pest treatment person talk to her when he sprayed (we live in Texas!) and that seemed to work. Fingers crossed. Today she is obsessed with the idea of Tapeworms. She recently read a book for SOTW called The Secrets of Mummies, in which one was revealed to have died due in part to a tapeworm. She fully understands and appreciates where a tapeworm comes from. She spent ages researching, as the only way to seemingly allay even some of the fear is a wealth of information. The kicker is that we are vegetarian!!! She is worried about raw pork! And that is another issue...whilst we are vegetarians, we have been very, very careful to make sure she knows it is always her choice. We do not pass judgment on other's choices. We do not turn up our noses. We do not comment. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, she seems to have picked up on SOMETHING:( We recently ate out with friends, and her little friend ate baby back ribs RIGHT next to her. Dd freaked. Crying. I was sympathetic but we also do not let her get away with being rude. She was allowed to move by me, but I cannot let her get away with rudeness. She ended up clinging in my lap and wouldn't eat:(. At the time I thought she was overly tired and emotional, but since then she says she 'can't stop thinking about it' and suddenly won't eat random things like the red goldfish crackers in the box that 'are meat colored' or the berry Nutrigrains she usually begs for when we tried to give her when we had to get out the door one morning. If you have gotten this far, thanks! We are dealing with other behavioral issue, so I am not exactly sure what to make of it! Any insight or thoughts would be great...

This is the book I believe that goes with the site Multiplication.com...we love the stories that accompany the math facts. Nothing short of miraculous. You can buy the book, or just download the cards for $0.99 and read the stories for free on the website. There are also free games to play there. Similar to Times Tales, but we preferred these.

Yes, George and the Secret Key to the Universe and sequels, as well as the Uncle Albert series would be my recommends as well!

Sounds cute:)Just a slightly different idea: We are rock climbers and the company that makes our climbing shoes sells a rubber-sole paint for resoling shoes...and for myriad other uses. For example, I buy it because since I am in a wheelchair normally, I need food knee pads when we are out at the crag. I have tried every type but they either slide around, pinch, or cut off circulation. The paintable rubber allows me to literally paint it on a pair of pants to make my own perfect knee pads. It adheres to just about everything and is a nice soft, flexible rubber. You could paint it on the bottom of any shoes you make, or even just newborn socks. You can do it as thick or thin as you like, and choose just the sole or a whole shoe-like cover. Here is the link. If you like the idea and want to try without buying a full kit, I bet I have enough to do a pair of nb socks or two...and even have nb socks from our little one:) http://fiveten.com/products/accessories-detail/4280-stealthr-paint-kit

I recently started a collection of these sweet classic fairy tales by Brighter Child. The top half had the English translation and the bottom of the page has the Spanish. They are more 'meaty' than many I saw, with a bit more complex sentence structure and word choice. We love them! http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Brighter+child+bilingual+books And best thing? Only $4 each:)

I think you should really consider doing it. Your situation and Caden's birth are great examples for what GoafundMe should be about. So many people shared your journey here that I am sure people would love to help.

Just an alternative: Is your 6 yo reading well? I agree that you want to start at the beginning to mak sure all the rules are learned, especially since the lessons build on each other. BUT your older is going to fly through level 1, and if your 6 yo is reading well, they both will. Level 2 has a lovely review of everything gone over in level 1, and is very detailed. I would be very tempted to start there but camp out as long as necessary to make sure the rules are learned before heading into level 2 material. Much of level 1 is so very basic, such as phonograms. You could still purchase the student packet for level 1 so you would have a complete set of tiles, phonogram cards, sound cards etc...

His parents raised them, after suing the school district, until the happy couple could be reunited:( Mary Kay and Villi even benefitted from the proceeds of a book, a movie, and granting ET the rights to their wedding. Soooo wrong.

Or mine! I have ONE dd. I have spent a small fortune on bands, bows, and barrettes, in every hue of the rainbow. Enough sparkle and glitter to make a fairy cringe, yet there are rarely any to be found in the two huge drawers devoted to them. Where are they going?!