Discover how families living with PANS/PANDAS can find support, reduce shame, and nurture healing with guidance from Dr. Paula Kruppstadt.
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In this final episode of our three-part PANS/PANDAS series, Dr. Paula Kruppstadt and host Lauren Peters explore what life looks like for families navigating these conditions—and how to find real hope in the process. They discuss the importance of reframing symptoms as brain inflammation rather than misbehavior, the impact of shame on children, and practical strategies for parents to care for themselves without guilt.
Dr. K explains the biological underpinnings of OCD, anxiety, and compulsions in PANS/PANDAS, and shares tools to help during symptom flares, including supplements and anti-inflammatory supports. The conversation also covers advocating for children in schools, using resources like Aspire.care, understanding genetic vulnerabilities, and recognizing that remission is possible.
Filled with encouragement, practical advice, and reminders that families are not alone, this episode brings the series to a close with a strong message of hope, healing, and community. Life with PANS or PANDAS affects the entire family, but hope is possible. In the final episode of this series, Dr. Paula Kruppstadt shares why it is vital to reframe symptoms not as misbehavior but as brain inflammation. She provides strategies for supporting children at home and school, discusses the importance of reducing shame, and emphasizes self-care for parents. This conversation also highlights community resources, genetic insights, and practical tools that can help children move into remission. Families will leave encouraged, equipped, and reminded that they are not alone.
Dr. Paula Kruppstadt, MD, IFMCP, is a board-certified pediatrician and Certified Practitioner of Functional Medicine through The Institute for Functional Medicine. As the founder of Hope for Healing, she has dedicated her career to helping children and adults uncover the root causes of complex health challenges. One of the few pediatricians worldwide to hold IFMCP certification, Dr. Kruppstadt is also an expert in PANS/PANDAS and was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to the state’s Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Advisory Council, where she advises on research, diagnosis, treatment, and education for these conditions.
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