Episode 309-When Strep Attacks the Brain: Ethan Pompeo's 20-Year Battle with PANDAS

What happens when a simple strep throat infection triggers a devastating autoimmune response that attacks your brain? At age 13, Ethan Pompeo's life changed overnight when mysterious motor tics, compulsive behaviors, and overwhelming anxiety suddenly appeared, beginning a two-decade journey toward answers and healing.

Ethan takes us through the frustrating reality of living with PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neurological Disorders Associated with Strep) – a condition where strep antibodies cross the blood-brain barrier and create inflammation in the basal ganglia. His vivid descriptions of trying to complete simple tasks while battling uncontrollable tics paint a stark picture of the daily challenges faced by those with neurological autoimmune disorders.

The path to diagnosis wasn't straightforward. Misdiagnosed with Tourette syndrome, Ethan became what he calls a "pill guinea pig," cycling through over 40 different medications by age 17, with side effects often worse than his symptoms. This experience fostered a deep skepticism of conventional medicine and pushed him toward finding his own solutions.

What makes Ethan's story particularly compelling is his holistic approach to recovery. Moving to Colorado to work on an organic farm became a turning point, introducing him to lifestyle changes that would transform his health. His discovery that CBD's anti-inflammatory properties – not the psychoactive effects of cannabis – were addressing the root cause of his brain inflammation led to a comprehensive healing protocol combining anti-inflammatory diet, strategic supplementation, strength training, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Today, Ethan is 95% symptom-free and dedicated to helping others through PANDAS advocacy. His powerful message about accepting his condition rather than hiding it resonates beyond just those with autoimmune disorders: "The day I decided to be open about what I'm dealing with, it's like I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders."

Whether you're battling chronic illness or supporting someone who is, Ethan's journey offers practical insights, scientific understanding, and above all, hope. Follow his continued advocacy work on Instagram @ethan_pandas or visit greenvalleynutrition.com to learn more.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to The SJ Childs Show
• 1:35 Meet Ethan Pompeo
• 4:50 Teenage Onset of PANDAS
• 9:20 Misdiagnosis and Medical Journey
• 16:39 Finding Relief Through Lifestyle Changes
• 22:08 Understanding PANDAS Diagnosis and Treatment
• 27:00 Path to Recovery and Healing
• 35:35 Acceptance and Community Support
• 40:25 Closing and Contact Information

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The SJ Childs Show is Backwards' 13th season. Join Sarah Bradford and the SJ Childs Show team as they explore the world of autism and share stories of hope and inspiration. This season, we're excited to bring you more autism summits featuring experts and advocates from around the world.

Speaker 2: 0:30

Go to sjchildsorg hey everyone.

Speaker 1: 0:36

I wanted to take a second to talk to you about the International Autism Summit coming up in April April 25th and 26th. It's going to be streaming free from all of my channels. If you haven't already gone to follow me, go to sgchildsorg. Click on any of the social media icons and go follow me so that you can be with us at the International Autism Summit 2025, the International Autism Summit 2025, april 25th and 26th. Can't wait to see you then. Hi, I'm SJ Childs. Join me in building a community of inclusion. I'm holding a silent auction where you can bid on unique items and experiences for autism awareness and our International Autism Summit 2025. Every bid helps support autistic individuals and families worldwide. Find out more at sjchildsbetterworldorg. Hi, and thanks for joining the SJ Child Show today. We are going to be having a wonderful, engaging conversation today with Ethan Pompeo, and where are you from, ethan? Where are you at today?

Speaker 3: 1:51

I'm in Charlottesville, Virginia, Central Virginia.

Speaker 1: 1:54

Oh, beautiful. I've never been to Virginia, but I do have some friends that post pictures all the time. It's gorgeous when they are. They are doing that. So oh it's. I'm so nice to have you here today. I'm in Salt Lake City, utah, so it's a chilly, rainy day. Today we had a little snow. Spring day Utah spring a tulip with a little snow on it Darn it. I'm really excited to talk to you and thank you for being flexible with our schedules and getting here. Before we start the discussion, tell the audience a little bit about yourself, introduce yourself and kind of what brought you here.

Speaker 3: 2:40

Sure, yeah. So I, as we were talking before we started the recording, I'm a dad, I've got four little daughters. My wife and I we live here in like the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and we have more or less a homestead lifestyle here started experiencing neurological symptoms that really wrecked my life and my quality of life. I started having motor tics like loss of motor function, compulsive behavior, OCD, ADHD all these neurological symptoms that came out of nowhere, and it was a long, multi-decade journey to get to where I am here today and understanding the cause of all this and how to heal from it. So that's my message and that's what brought me to your podcast.

Speaker 1: 3:31

Yeah, and I'm so glad I love to share stories because I think that we really can learn so much from another person's living experiences and, of course, others lived, ones who have passed on but you know, the those experiences of people we can relate to and just kind of ideas and and things that we can really draw from. I know, in in my journey, even just being a podcaster, I've learned so much in I learned from every single guest you know, and that is so much to take away and I'm so grateful for that. So, yeah, let's let's start at the beginning kind of tell us a little bit about where the, because I have a 13 year old and heaven knows I was 13 at one time and it can be a very disastrous and like very grueling place to be in your life and tell us a little bit about kind of that onset and what started happening, and we'll go from there, there, sure, yeah, 13 is a tough age for everybody, right?

Speaker 3: 4:50

We're becoming an adult in many senses, we're trying to figure out who we are and form our own path in life. And to be hit with a chronic disease like that in the midst of everything else that's going on in life, it was traumatic, it was a lot to deal with, and then, on top of that, add the fact that we had no idea what was happening or what was causing this for almost 10 years. It's an acronym, for it's not the cute cuddly bamboo-munching bear that we all are familiar with. It actually is a disease called Pediatric Autoimmune Neurological Disorders Associated with Strep, and basically what that means is a strep. Throat infection, or sometimes other infection causes an unusual autoimmune response in the body, namely excess production of strep antibodies. Now, antibodies are our frontline defense mechanism against foreign pathogens and invaders. Ideally, they're good, right, but when your body produces them in excess in response to this chronic, recurring infection, you can start to get problems.

Speaker 3: 6:08

And my problems occurred when those antibodies crossed the blood-brain barrier and entered my basal ganglia, which is the motor cortex of the body, and so I was, in essence, overnight, I went from being a healthy, otherwise normal teen to being plagued with these autoimmune and neurological symptoms like the motor tics and loss of motor function, chronic anxiety, all these other symptoms that were not normal, and it was a hard pill for me to swallow to realize, hey, something is not right, something is wrong here, my body's not acting the way it should be, and I dealt with those symptoms in numerous respects.

Speaker 3: 6:53

First of all, the physical manifestation of the tics was incredibly frustrating. I'd have to pick up my phone or my pencil, then put it down and pick it up and put it down over and over again until it felt just right, and sometimes this would go on for hours until I was so frustrated that the device would end up sailing across the room into the wall of my bedroom. And let's just say I got very good at repairing drywall from all the damage that I caused. So, emotionally, I had this anger and this intense anxiety and rage and frustration based around the symptoms I was dealing with, and it impacted every aspect of my life. The immediate onset of PANDAS is very difficult too, because, quite literally, you wake up one morning and you have these symptoms and these ticks and they only worsened over time as we struggled to find answers and the infection and the inflammation in my brain continued to fester and get worse as a result of not finding the correct treatment.

Speaker 1: 8:01

It's just an incredible story and I'm so sorry you had to go through that and I'm so grateful that you're sharing this story because for everyone out there and anyone that needs you know this information or might have already experienced this, may go through this in the future. And now you'll know, you know what to maybe look for and we'll get more into that but what a scary situation to have to go through, especially, like we both had said, just going through teenageism, you know, as a typical and neurotypical teenager without some type of, you know, immune attack. Then you know that's it's hard enough, but I can't imagine like how frustrating that might've been and how confusing and um, yeah, and, and how hard it must've been on your family for I mean your parents to not have the answers or know where to find them. So hard. What do you? Where did they start Like? What kind of misdiagnosis is, if any, did you get, and what? How did that look? Cause I think that's really important to shine a light on.

Speaker 3: 9:24

Absolutely yeah. So this was just about 20 years ago. This year will be the 20th anniversary of the onset of my symptoms and I've come a long way. Clearly, I'm sitting here now. You wouldn't know that I had these issues. They still impact my life, but in a very minute sense compared to the way they used to plague my life.

Speaker 3: 9:48

I've learned many ways to cope and overcome with this, and we'll talk about that as well, but in the early days we didn't know what was going on. I remember I started having this fit of ticks in the bathroom as I prepared for bedtime. I started having this fit of ticks in the bathroom as I prepared for bedtime. I was brushing my teeth and something was wrong and I kept just banging the toothbrush on the countertop over and over again and I couldn't get myself to stop. There was toothpaste spraying on the mirror and I started to exhibit like the classic Tourette's syndrome response of cursing and swearing and raging around. And my dad came in the bathroom and said Ethan, like dude, what's going on? This is not like you like. Something is clearly wrong. We need to address this.

Speaker 3: 10:32

And so we scheduled an appointment with with my pediatrician and he referred us to a neurologist, because this was outside of his area of expertise, and and so we actually traveled out of state to visit this neurologist, and I remember in the car thinking, oh you know, this neurology guy is going to tell me what's wrong, he'll get me on the right path and everything will be good. That is not what happened. I was told I had Tourette syndrome, which really didn't give us any answers. We didn't know what caused it, we didn't know how to treat it, we didn't know the cure or anything. So, in effect, the diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome was more or less a label that I was given to prescribe me drugs, and so that's exactly what happened. Within 10 minutes or less, we were in and out of his office and I walked away with a prescription for this blood pressure medication that had been shown to sometimes reduce tremors and ticks, and so began my journey as I refer to. I was like a lab rat.

Speaker 1: 11:31

A guinea pig. Yeah right, exactly the pill, guinea pig. Exactly, I went through that.

Speaker 3: 11:37

Oh, it's not fun. I mean, by the time I was 17, I was on and off more than 40 different prescription meds. None of them helped Like the side effects outweighed the benefits of all these meds. And I ended up feeling worse by taking many of them Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 11:58

I can't imagine. Well, I mean, I kind of didn't have that experience but had a lot of like misdiagnosed or for, probably, female autism, now I know. But back then, you know, it was like, oh, you're bipolar here, let's put you on this. Let's let's put you on this birth control's, put you on this birth control, this birth control, this birth control, this birth control. And I wasn't doing anything that I needed that for. Uh, they were just trying to control moods and other things like that, and it was just like this massive overload of nasty medicines and it's just crazy I can't imagine the hormone imbalance that that treatment would cause it.

Speaker 3: 12:44

Right, I mean the side effects of these things that I feel like the physicians often don't even consider the the adverse effects that could come with trying these medications.

Speaker 1: 12:54

You know, it's crazy oh, man, let's talk about the um, the over, kind of how you did overcome some of these challenges while you were going through it, kind of how you managed them, things like that, and then we'll talk about how we finally got to the end of that in a little bit.

Speaker 3: 13:19

Yeah. So I've always been a go getter no-transcript and I told my parents like look, I am on drugs. These medications are terrible, and I think it was that use model of substance reliance and substance use that led me into an ideology that this was the way to treat things. And honestly, in my opinion, the pharmaceutical experience that I had was the gateway drug to moving into illicit substances. And so, being a young teenager, I was seeking out anything that could give me relief, and during high school I tried cannabis and I remember the first time I smoked I immediately felt like this sense of relief and calmness and you know I never go on anybody's show to condone cannabis use because I don't think that is a good solution for for most people, uh, especially kids and teenagers, um, but nevertheless, that was the only thing I found. That was like my only tool that I had at the time to help me feel better and give me some relief.

Speaker 3: 14:56

So I relied on that for many years and, like I come from a conservative family, like my parents busted me I don't know how many times for smoking and it was. It was not a fun place to be. I remember one time I came home from cross country practice and my dad. He probably smelled it on me and said you know, ethan, have you been smoking? And I said why are you asking me this, dad? And he said, well, you're just so calm, you're like relaxed, you don't? You're not having any tips. And I'm like dad, like yeah, you just answered your own question, like do you see why I'm doing this? And so the light bulb kind of went off in his mind like oh man, he's not just trying to party, like this is actually something he's using, um trying to use medicinally. Like this is actually something he's using, um trying to use medicinally. The problem is I didn't know why it was helping me, and this was before we got the PANDAS diagnosis right. I still really didn't even know what was wrong with me. I just knew that when I used this substance it helped me and after going on and off all these meds, it was like this is the answer. Yeah, so I went through that, uh, that lifestyle for many, for many years, experienced all the negative consequences of that, including trouble with the law. I had paranoia and anxiety associated with my use to the consistency of the material, and the medicine that I was getting was lackluster. You know, sometimes it would help me and other times it would make me feel more anxious. Other times it would put me to sleep, and then the people I was hanging out with as a result of that lifestyle was not great either. So I really needed a reset, and it was actually after college. I went through a five-year undergraduate program and actually got my degree Congratulations, thank you. Yeah, it was still to. This day is probably the hardest thing I've ever done, but I did do it.

Speaker 3: 16:50

The day after college, I moved to Colorado. I got a job on the oldest organic farm in the state and I just started growing watermelons and carrots and everything except cannabis. Basically we grew, but I I moved out there really pragmatically because I didn't want to get in trouble anymore. I just wanted to do what I knew would help me and live a carefree lifestyle. You know, I still had responsibilities on the farm, but it was nothing like what I was used to, with assignments being due and everything like that. I was was working outside. I was breathing fresh air, drinking clean water, eating fresh farm produce. I was doing physical labor every day. There was very little stress or anxiety or pressure on me and I just fell in love with that lifestyle.

Speaker 3: 17:37

And it was actually there in Colorado that I was introduced to CBD, which is one of many active components of cannabis that I call nature's most powerful anti-inflammatory.

Speaker 3: 17:48

And knowing what I know now about pandas and how the strep infection causes this brain inflammation, the pieces of the puzzle started to come together in my mind and I realized what was actually helping me was not being high, it was not getting the THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

Speaker 3: 18:06

It was actually the CBD in this plant that was relieving the inflammation in my basal ganglia, relieving my symptoms and helping me to feel better. It was actually addressing the root of the cause instead of just masking my symptoms pause, instead of just masking my symptoms. So in addition to that, I realized that CBD could be taken orally or applied topically. So I didn't have to smoke, right, I didn't have to deal with the psychoactive, I didn't have to be intoxicated any longer, I didn't have to carry around an illegal substance. So it was like an answered prayer for me because I got that relief I needed without any of the negatives, and so that was kind of like the catalyst to my lifestyle change. You know, I'm sure when you deal with any kind of chronic illness, neurological illness. It's very difficult to make changes when you're stuck in those symptoms.

Speaker 3: 19:01

And dealing with motor tics. I'm physically stuck in these symptoms. You know, I'd come home from school just trying to like push everything to the side and ignore my symptoms, and the last thing I wanted to do is like talk about this with my family or go see a doctor. I had physician fatigue, I was sick of doctors and pills and pharmacies and all this stuff. I just wanted to ignore it, and so I really didn't make any progress from that whole time from high school to college, and so it wasn't until I found something that helped me, without the side effects, without the health risks, that I was able to take a step back and take a deep breath and refocus and think, okay, like what are areas of my life that need to change? And after working on the farm and experiencing that lifestyle, I learned a lot about myself and the things that that helped me.

Speaker 1: 19:52

I love that and I do appreciate what you said about, um, you know, not condoning smoking, but it is. This is your story and your experience, and so I really appreciate you sharing it with us, and I think it those that are interested in are curious, which you all should be. This is the type of information that you can look into to see if it will work for you and if it's good for for the you know things you might be going through. I think that it's wonderful to have more resources than less resources available to you. Let's talk about what the pandas diagnosis looks like and a little bit more kind of information about that for our listeners so that they can kind of grasp their mind around that.

Speaker 3: 20:47

Yeah, so PANDAS diagnosis is a clinical diagnosis. There's no quantitative blood test or anything you can take that says you have this right. It kind of like many neurological disorders. It involves putting together the pieces looking at your medical history. It involves putting together the pieces looking at your medical history, your history of infection in the past, taking blood work, looking at your symptoms and analyzing all this and putting the pieces together and determining the cause and effect relationship. And that's how PANDAS is diagnosed.

Speaker 3: 21:19

And, like 20 years ago when I first started having my symptoms, no one had even heard of PANDAS. I mean, it was not on the doctor's radar at all. So it was very, very difficult. A lot has changed since then and I work with several organizations to promote awareness and advocate for PANDAS so that it's easier to diagnose and treat, and I'm very encouraged by that. I was just on a call with a PANDAS advocacy group earlier this week and that's exactly what they said. Like today people don't have to go a decade without knowing what's going on. Like oftentimes you can go to two, one, two, maybe three doctor's appointments before you find someone who is experienced and knowledgeable in this enough to identify it and get you on a treatment protocol. And that is the key to making progress in this Because, like I said, when you're misdiagnosed, you don't even know where to begin.

Speaker 3: 22:10

You have to know, like, what is causing these issues in order to address it. And so, with PANDAS, the typical treatment protocol is a two-pronged approach. One you have to address the source of infection. So in my case it was a strep throat infection. So getting rid of that nipping the strep throat bacteria in the bud, getting rid of it is paramount because you don't really have a fighting chance if your body is still fighting off that pathogen that's causing all the problems. So the first there's many ways to deal with this and physicians have different opinions on it, but typically long-course antibiotics is the protocol, you know 60, 90-day therapy, even longer, in order to get rid of every trace of that bacteria in your system so that you can start fresh.

Speaker 3: 22:57

And the second prong to this approach is to address the source of inflammation. And the second prong to this approach is to address the source of inflammation. So, now that you've gotten rid of the strep bacteria, you want to address that inflammation in the brain that's causing all these symptoms. Pandas is also known as autoimmune encephalitis, so brain inflammation caused by the immune system. So again, when you're fighting that strep bacteria, your body is continuing to produce the antibodies that are causing the inflammation. So, first off, getting rid of that infection and then addressing the inflammation is your pathway to healing, and there's lots of different ways to do that.

Speaker 1: 23:33

Yeah, and I think that finding what solutions work best if you are in this situation is best for you. I mean mean, tell us about some other solutions and I I love that the, you know the cbd works best for you. What have other support groups or other advocates that you've met along the way? What are some of their uh advice that they might give?

Speaker 3: 23:59

or you know what I'm trying to say there's other treatment options available, but the jury's still out. I mean, there just is not enough research on this and that's why, like uh, actually, in two weeks we have our annual 5k fundraiser with the alex manful foundation. Who, uh, susan manful, is like an incredible advocate for pandas in this community. Her daughter had pandas as well, and we've just we have this dinner in Washington DC followed by a 5K fundraiser, and we've done so much work in advocating for this and making progress and educating physicians, and so, again, we know a lot more about this now than we did previously. But there are blood transfusions that have worked really incredibly for some people and then not really worked at all for others.

Speaker 3: 24:50

I never actually went through that treatment because at that point I was just done. I was done with all the conventional medicine and the last thing I wanted to do is sit in a hospital bed for three hours with an invasive procedure. So that wasn't for me. But what I have found is just focusing on an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, and that's with regards to exercise, diet and supplementation mainly, and many of these things are, you know, we should all be doing them quite honestly Like I was living a very sedentary lifestyle.

Speaker 3: 25:26

I was eating the food from the dining halls. I was snacking all the time. I was probably eating too much sugar, probably drinking too much alcohol, all these things that were just making the problem worse. And so you know I don't recommend any specific diet or anything, because we're all different. But what I can recommend is eliminating processed foods, eliminating sugar and alcohol and empty carbs that cause inflammation, focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet. I believe the food we eat is our primary medicine, so you can't just eat junk and inflammatory foods and then wash it down with a pill and expect your problems to go away.

Speaker 1: 26:03

That's just not how it works. Thank you for saying that. Thank you, I mean, that is the truth, you, it's really. That's really. That's a hard pill to swallow for people, but isn't? That is the dang truth right there. You can't just expect a medicine to change your lifestyle Like. You've got to make the steps on your own, you've got to be disciplined, you've got to have enough self love to do it for you know, do it for yourself. Number one. Um, that's it Right.

Speaker 3: 26:36

So purpose was not great. But, for example, when you have a strep throat infection, antibiotics can absolutely help. So I did rely on certain medications for my healing, but today I take zero pills, I don't take any medication. I don't smoke, I'm completely off all that stuff because of the changes I've made in my life. And so number one is diet. Just analyzing your diet and what you eat throughout the day, intermittent fasting, can be helpful. There's lots of tools that you can use that cost you nothing, basically, that we should all be utilizing.

Speaker 3: 27:16

Um and kind of a parallel to that. Uh, exercise, like getting off the couch and getting in an exercise routine, is so critical, and for me in particular, weightlifting and strength training has been integral to my healing journey, and not not just because, like I'm exerting energy at the gym, I look better, I feel better, right, I'm stronger. All those things are more or less side effects of weightlifting. But my functional medicine doctor has actually gone back and examined my journey and he has said that muscle mass acts as a sink for eosinophils, like inflammatory compounds, cytokines, antibodies these compounds that are causing the inflammation in my brain.

Speaker 3: 28:02

At the time when I was struggling the most, I was very underweight. I was like skin and bones. I was running in high school but not really doing much exercise in college and the antibodies had nowhere to go, so that's why they kind of entered an area where they didn't belong, which was my brain. By gaining almost 60 pounds of muscle mass over this past few years from working out and exercising, I have built all that muscle mass which acts. It basically gives the antibodies a place to go. So not only has that muscle mass diluted the effects of on my body, of the antibodies on my body, because there's more of me, but it's actually has given them a place to go other than into my brain.

Speaker 3: 28:46

So that's been very helpful, if that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 28:49

Absolutely Now, without sounding uneducated and which I am about this, so I guess it's okay Is? Is it curable? Is that even like politically okay to say? I didn't want to just be very, you know, respectful and sensitive, but that is that. That probably is a question that people might be wondering. And what does that look like?

Speaker 3: 29:13

Yeah, no, it absolutely is. And I, I tell people, you know, I still deal with the impact of pandas on my life. I still have certain minor tics, I still have some compulsive thoughts, which we probably all do to some extent, and so I still deal with the impact of that on my life. However, it's minute compared to what it used to be. Like you know, I don't have the rage or the anger anymore at all. Everything's very controllable.

Speaker 3: 29:40

And so, while I'm not 100% cured, I like to say I'm 95% cured and an amazing quality of life. I've learned to cope and live with it in a way that doesn't bother anybody, and where sitting in church or a lecture hall previously would have been nearly impossible for me, now I do it, I have no problem. Like going to this fancy dinner, uh, in a couple of weeks, I'm not nervous about that at all. Like it's going to be a good time, I can look forward to it. Um, you know, I've got a family.

Speaker 3: 30:09

Now I'm, I'm running a business, which is amazing, and so, uh, there there's ways to manage your symptoms, even if they're not completely gone, in a way that makes your life very functional and fulfilling, and so there are many people who have been completely cured as well as a result of using these tools we're talking about over time, and one of them that's very helpful is CBT cognitive behavioral therapy.

Speaker 3: 30:36

You can actually retrain your brain to respond differently to these external stimuli, whether it's like for me, it was coughing and sniffing and these audible noises in the background of these lecture halls and large gatherings that absolutely drove me crazy. I don't know what it is, but when I hear these noises, my brain signals my body to start doing these ticks and it's like a relief of that anxiety that's created from the triggers, as we call them. So what I've done is I use cognitive behavioral therapy to retrain my body's response to these triggers, using deep breathing exercises and just forcing myself to ignore it and push it out, and over time, what seems like it would be impossible becomes very possible, and so I've actually mitigated many of these tics and compulsions and symptoms over time by using cognitive behavioral therapy.

Speaker 3: 31:30

And what's really interesting is that there's actually clinical data that shows CBD can be used in conjunction with CBT. They're symbiotic. I did immunotherapy in the form of allergy shots as a teenager. I had bad allergies, probably as a result of inflammation as well. What they tell you when you go in to get your allergy shots is to take an antihistamine. They always ask you when you go into the office have you taken your antihistamine? And the reason they ask you to do that antihistamine is an allergy medication. The allergy medicine reduces the risk of major side effects, anaphylaxis, a negative reaction to the injection. So in a sense, like you go in there, the antihistamine doesn't interfere with the results of your immunotherapy. You're still building tolerance up against those allergens. You're still improving your symptoms and teaching your body to be more immune to these allergens. But the antihistamine makes it a little bit easier so you don't end up in the hospital or have major swelling or any of these other issues. And the reason I bring that up is because CBD acts the same way with cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive training.

Speaker 3: 32:46

I take CBD before my CBT sessions and it takes the edge off. It helps me feel less anxious. It makes everything easier and smoother. So CBT is very difficult. You're retraining your brain, you're telling yourself to do something that's uncomfortable, intentionally, and it's very difficult. But taking CBD can actually make things a little bit easier and take the edge off, and that's been studied in clinical trials. But that's something I experienced just anecdotally, just by using it and noticing the effects. So it's really cool to have that validation through clinical trials. But CBD is not the only anti-inflammatory that I use. I take quercetin and vitamin D, a powerful flavonoid that has anti-inflammatory properties. I take curcumin, like turmeric, as well. So, and then in combination with an anti inflammatory diet, all of those compounds have done a very fantastic job of reducing my inflammation and helping me to feel better.

Speaker 1: 33:50

I love that and I'm really really glad that we made this connection and got to have this conversation, ethan, because I really once again learned so much from you. Thank you so much for for bringing all of this to my audience and to me, and, um, I feel really grateful to be able to share now this knowledge and and share that with people. Um, two things before you know we leave, I want you to tell everyone where we can find you to to hook up with you or to have you on their podcast or just ask questions if they might have any. And then don't let me not get that information for that dinner and everything, cause I'd love to share it with my network and share it with people that might have that same interest. I know a family that is in Maryland that their daughter I think she's like 21 is really has just barely had a pandas diagnosis as well, and I want to share this information with her family for sure. So I'd love to do that.

Speaker 3: 34:57

Yeah, please do that's. That's wonderful. The 5k is such an awesome event. I mean it's just a wonderful place to connect with people who have walked this journey and are walking this journey. I mean there's people of all stages of life and of their healing journey at this event and just a wealth of knowledge and experience and people who just want to connect and reach out to you and do this walk life together right. So I think it's great. I've built an awesome community through this organization and others, so I'll definitely send you that. You can find my information. My website is greenvalleynutritioncom. My story is on there. You can learn more about my business and what I do on there. I also have Instagram. It's Ethan underscore pandas and I post all kinds of fun lifestyle content on there Farm life, motorcycles, kids, all the stuff that I do. I will say I used to be very ashamed to talk about this. I was unwilling to talk about this.

Speaker 3: 36:01

I didn't want people to know what I was doing. Yeah, perfect. I would encourage people, just like you're saying, be open and honest about what you're dealing with, regardless of if it's pandas or autism or anything that you're dealing with in life. Bottling it up and trying to fight it yourself is a losing battle.

Speaker 3: 36:22

The day that I decided to be open about what I'm dealing with, it's like I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, Like I didn't have to bear this alone. I thought that I was honestly like a freak, like I thought I was the only person dealing with this. I thought I was all alone and that people were judging me and they would ask hey, man, are you okay? And I, I just got so upset. Um, learning to just be okay with that and say, yeah, I'm okay, I have these tics, yada, yada. I mean it's like the questions are qualmed immediately. Like, instead of worrying if I have a seizure or if I'm going to you know keel over, they're like oh, he's got these ticks, all right, whatever.

Speaker 3: 37:01

And for a long time I didn't want to be the kid who, like, had ticks or was twitching, but like it's okay and just admitting that and accepting it that's your pathway to healing, like being okay with yourself and talking about it. Now you've given an opportunity. You've given yourself an opportunity to connect with others who can relate to you and also, you know, potentially help them along their healing journey too. So now, if you go to my website, you'll see at the top my logo is a panda, and so I've just embodied that as who I am. And it's just been, it's just been so nice.

Speaker 1: 37:34

So that's what I encourage everyone to do. I love that so much. Is there like a national or international website or a site that people can go to to get information on pandas?

Speaker 3: 37:48

Yeah, there's a few. So the Neuroimmune Foundation website is a great resource. I you know I work with their organization as well. There's also ASPIRE A-S-P-I-R-E Aspire Network. It's run by a woman who's a good friend of mine as well and she has. Her website is amazing. It's got all the information you would want to know about PANDAS and how to get diagnosed and what a treatment protocol looks like. And if your doctor is unfamiliar with this, first of all I would point them to these resources as well, and then I would. Is unfamiliar with this, first of all I would point them to these resources as well, and then I would seek out somebody who is knowledgeable and experienced in treating this in order to get a diagnosis quickly and get on your path to healing, because the longer you let this go unaddressed, the harder it is to climb out of that hole. So getting that diagnosis and treatment protocol soon is very important.

Speaker 1: 38:43

Oh, ethan, it has been such a pleasure to talk with you and I hope that we can follow each other on socials and stay in touch in the future. I'd love to hear more about you know the events that you're going to, and I love that you're building and adding to this community because, if there's anything I know, more building community is so important. There's no need to feel isolated, there's no need to feel alone. There's at least one other person in those you know 8 billion people, 9 billion people in the world that can relate and help you not feel like you're going through something by yourself. So please reach out. Please reach out to me anytime if you have any questions or want to be a guest on the podcast or want to reach out to any of my guests, and, as always, it's just such a wonderful time to get to know you and make this connection with you and now just so much to look forward to in the future.

Speaker 3: 39:51

Yeah, thank you so much, sarah.

Speaker 1: 39:53

Yeah, absolutely. We'll have to have you back on to do a homeschooling episode and talk about our our fun things that we put together for our kids. So thank you so much. We'll, we'll definitely be in touch.

Speaker 2: 40:25

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