OUR NEW, 4-MODULE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM - MAKING SENSE OF PANS/PANDAS!!

Youtube video - Scientific Study Review - OCD and Autoimmunity

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder has been around for a long time. PANS - Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, and PANDAS - Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep - are a little bit newer and trendier terms, but, it's because we are seeing more and more kids presenting with sudden behavioral shifts, motor tics, and OCD tendencies, and very often it's after Strep infections.

Did you know that these are AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS??

Here is a brief explanation of how that works, using Strep infection as an example. Check out the podcast for much more detail, or better yet, check out our online educational program Making Sense of PANS/PANDAS where we go deeper and I show slides, pictures, I review studies, I explain lab testing options, supplements, support strategies, additional resources, but you ALSO learn about the mental health side of things from my good friend and counselor Alicia Howe LCPC, who specializes in treating OCD.

SO - a kid (or adult) gets Strep throat (or many other infections). The immune system produces ANTIBODIES to "flag" Strep and produces INFLAMMATION to go "kill" Strep. We want this to happen. The problem is, that the body can "mistakenly" flag (antibodies) and attack (inflammation) its self - - THAT'S WHAT AUTOIMMUNITY IS - - and in this case, antibodies and autoimmune inflammation can impact dopamine signaling in areas like the basal ganglia - - that's why another name for this is autoimmune encephalitis or basal ganglia encephalitis. This can drive different responses like FEARS, ANXIETY, EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS, EATING DISORDERS, EMOTIONAL LABILITY, MOTOR TICS, OBSESSIONS, COMPULSIONS, and more.

As with ANY health condition or symptom, the key isn't some "miracle drug" to treat this condition, the key is to UNDERSTAND WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING - - because understanding the mechanisms helps you understand the solutions, and helps you get actual results. The hope of this podcast, and our online educational program especially, is that we can help parents or others suffering to understand a bit more about what's going on and what they can do about it - - so share this with somebody who you think it could help!

According to Dr. Google, "Dysbiosis refers to an imbalance in the composition and function of the microbial community within a body, particularly the gut microbiome. This imbalance can lead to various health issues, including digestive problems, inflammatory conditions, and even neurological and mental health concerns."

In the medical or scientific world, you would have to live in a cave to not know the word "dysbiosis" - - it's ALL OVER the scientific literature, it's a popular buzzword on the internet, and along with "leaky gut" it's REALLY, REALLY important for autoimmunity - - but what exactly does that MEAN?!?! It just means imbalance of living things in the body, but it is a MAJOR DRIVER of inflammation, permeability, immune imbalances, histamine, autoimmune progression, and SYMPTOMS.

Did you know you can have dysbiosis of the ear canal and that drives inner ear inflammation?

Did you know you can have dysbiosis of the mouth and it drives gingivitis and cavities?

Did you know you can have dysbiosis of the sinus, lung, vaginal tract, or skin?

Dysbiosis is bad, it drives inflammation, and the solutions are generally to "pull weeds and plant seeds" - - but still - - HOW DO YOU KNOW, HOW CAN YOU MEASURE IT, and WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?!?!

That's what this podcast breaks down - - (some of) the tools I use in an effort to suspect dysbiosis (symptoms), detect dysbiosis (labs), or address dysbiosis (action steps) - - some of my favorite probiotics, antimicrobials, and more.

Bloating is one of the most common symptoms that I see, if not THE SINGLE MOST COMMON COMPLAINT I HEAR IN PRACTICE (but anxiety is up right there....).

Honestly, I see great results with bloating and feel confident that I can help improve this complaint, but over the years I have realized that there are different "types" of bloating - - there can be gas production, food reactivities, intestinal inflammation, uterine/ovarian inflammation, maldigestion, water retention, or all-of-the-above could be happening at the same time - and all these can lead to the feeling of abdominal distention and make someone say "I just feel BLOATED!"

I used to think that almost all bloating was fermentation of foods from imbalanced gut bacteria (dysbiosis - my next podcast episode!!!), but as I've helped hundreds of cases of bloating throughout the years, I now realize that not all "bloating" is the same thing - there is fermentation and gas production yes, which can come from Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), and this is STILL the single-most common driver, but what if it's NOT SIBO? What if it's SIFO (fungal overgrowth)? What if it's LOW bacteria in the gut? What if they have H. pylori or a parasite? What if it's not from gut dysbiosis? What are the MECHANISMS THAT MAY BE INVOLVED? How can we test for these things, and WHAT CAN WE DO?!?!

In this podcast I discuss how I approach these cases, what the mechanisms might be, and how I differentiate bloating from foods vs. bloating from inflammation vs. bloating from histamine vs. bloating from water retention vs. bloating from hormone cycles - and how I might address each of these differently so that someone comes back in and says "MY BLOATING IS GONE!", which is a great thing to hear :)