I really hate to leave a bad review, but I'm compelled with how harmful the advice was for my child. If your child has PANDAS/PANS, please do NOT utilize this office. Though listed on the PANDAS provider directory, Dr. Zeiger absolutely doesn't understand the disorder! A PANS flare up is a MEDICAL issue and not a BEHAVIORAL issue. This is absolutely the case when the said child returns to a baseline after being treated medically.
My child had a neuro-psychiatric response to gluten (NCGS) where she was suddenly out of control emotionally, had terrible ocd behaviors, increased anxiety, separation anxiety, and increased tics. Her entire system was hijacked. I was told by this provider that she was manipulative and calculated for sneaking gluten knowing it would cause this. She's only 9 and doesn't always have self-control, as expected.
We gave her a steroid from her PANS specialist (not this provider) within the first 3 days of her flare up, and her brain inflammation and immune system response was able to come down enough to give us our child back. She was back to herself with regulation and her other neurological symptoms died down significantly. This is because she had a medical issue, and it follows the same pattern with the same trigger, one we've been working on eliminating.
We were told by Dr. Timothy Zeiger to ignore her completely during a flare up so she'd hit an extinction burst with behavior. Again, a PANS flare up is a medical issue and not a behavioral issue. The idea to ignore her when she was feeling so unsafe in her body from the inflammation and immune system attack only exacerbated the situation tenfold. She wasn't looking for control or attention, she was deeply afraid to be in a body with that level of inflammation. She needed co-regulation and connection, and a specific medication to settle her until she was past the flare up.
Dr. Zeiger gave advice to send her to a mental institution to teach her a lesson when she deals with extreme separation anxiety during a flare up, and they aren't trained to deal with the medical component of PANS. She's on long term antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, steroid bursts, many different supplements, etc. High stress can also be a trigger for another PANS flare up. This would have been deeply harmful to her! *Children with PANS shouldn't be sent away while dealing with a flare up. It's only if symptoms persist OUTSIDE of them, according to the documentation on the PANDAS website.* She doesn't have emotional regulation issues outside of a flare up and is actually very emotionally intelligent. She doesn't have access to coping skills and can't self-soothe when her brain and body is under immense inflammation and an immune system attack response, and she's in the throes of debilitating neurological issues.
I urge Dr. Zeiger to be in touch with PANDAS medical specialists to better understand the disorder before continuing to provide harmful advice. It's the exact opposite of what PANDAS knowledgeable providers state. Trying to lock away a chronically ill child during a flare up is terrifying advice! read more
