Hi everyone,
I'm looking for recommendations for a doctor experienced in PANS/PANDAS.
My 8-year-old daughter has had some behavioural and emotional difficulties for over a year, including difficulty falling asleep, being very hyper before bedtime, mild separation anxiety, occasional hitting at bedtime, distractibility, and a couple of occasions where she told me that "a voice in her head" was saying she was stupid. These symptoms were intermittent rather than constant, so we weren't sure what was causing them.
In mid-January 2026, she had a throat infection with a fever and was treated with antibiotics. By the end of January, she suddenly developed motor and vocal tics, including humming, finger snapping and foot stamping.
Since then, we've seen a paediatric neurologist, psychologist and psychiatrist. Her EEG was normal. The psychologist felt she showed some ADHD traits and recommended a psychiatric assessment. The psychiatrist diagnosed OCD along with anxiety/stress-related difficulties and recommended CBT and management strategies.
Over the past couple of weeks, however, we've seen a sudden escalation in her behaviour. She's been using very aggressive language towards us (e.g. "you're an idiot", "you're dumb"), shouting, and occasionally hitting us over seemingly minor things. It has been very distressing because this change happened so suddenly. Thankfully, she's been much better this week, although she can still become very verbally aggressive when she's angry.
Someone at our health insurance company suggested we look into PANS/PANDAS.
Has anyone experienced anything similar, or can you recommend a doctor in the UK who specialises in PANS/PANDAS?
Thank you so much.