Left-handed People Prone to Illness and Genius?

(Parts taken directly from "The Left-Handed Advantage" as printed on ABCNews.com)

I was driving in my car a few months ago, pondering my poor health and what I could do about it, when a very interesting segment of NPR's The Infinite Mind came on the radio. It's subject was left-handedness. Given the fact I'm a leftie, my interest was immediately piqued. I became even more intrigued when the announcer stated that left-handed people are more prone to having health problems than right-handed people. Having been plagued with poor health over the last few years (and some might say over my whole life) I decided to listen to the entire program.

According to the announcer, statistics show left-handed people are more likely to be schizophrenic, alcoholic, delinquent, dyslexic, and have Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as mental disabilities. They're also more likely to die young and get into accidents.

Supposedly, evidence has shown a link between trauma during gestation or during birth, as well as in the age of the mother and so-called pathological left-handedness. Evidence shows that 50% of left-handedness is caused by gestational trauma and that mothers who are over 40 at the time of their child's birth are 128 percent more likely to have a left-handed baby than a woman in her 20s.

It could be that this early trauma is also the trigger behind health problems linked to left-handedness. Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush may be seen as evidence. Both had histories of birth stress and have health issues from Clinton's severe allergies to Bush's Graves' disease.

On the other hand, being left-handed can also offer intellectual prowess. Tests conducted by Alan Searleman from St Lawrence University in New York found there were more left-handed people with IQs over 140 than right-handed people. Famous left-handed thinkers in history from Albert Einstein to Isaac Newton to Benjamin Franklin seem to underline the point.

If the information on The Infinite Mind is correct, it may be that left-handed people occupy the extremes when it comes to health and ability. Having dealt with painful shoulder and reproductive problems for the last five years, if I had the opportunity to choose between being extremely smart and sick or being of average intelligence and healthy, I think I would choose good health.

No Endometriosis Found During Second Surgery

I just met with Dr. Goldman for my two-week post-op appointment. I was elated that he had found no new endometriosis since my previous surgery in August 2006, but was curious as to why that might be. Since the discovery of another endometrioma (cyst) on my right ovary back in February 2007 and the accompanying pain, I had assumed that more endometriosis was accumulating, as well.

I asked Dr. Goldman if the birth control pill I went on in March could be the reason why I was endometriosis free, or if the healthier eating habits or reduction of stress might have helped.

Dr. Goldman told me that sometimes surgery or other invasive treatments such as biopsy can stimulate a patient's immune system. Essentially, the body detects the presence of the surgical instruments and starts to work to protect itself. The newly-charged immune system starts to do its job better than it did before, cleaning out any future endometriosis that may occur.

Generally, every woman is said to have retrograde bleeding whcih can contribute to endometriosis, but most women's bodies work to rid the endometriosis from the pelvic cavity. Women with endometrosis are said to have compromised immune systems because their bodies do not clean out the retrograde bleeding. It is possible that as a result of the foreign bodies introduced into my pelvic cavity during my first surgery in 2006, that my body's immune system kicked into action to begin to clean away the endometriosis that it used to let accumulate.

Dr. Goldman also added that although the birth control pill works to slow down the spread of endometriosis, it will not make existing endometriosis disappear, so he doubts that the birth control pill had anything to do with it.

Finaly, he agreed that healthier eating and reducing stress can be helpful to strengthen the immune system. Perhaps it was a combination of better nutrition, lower stress and the previous surgery that helped me be endometriosis-free over the past months. I only hope that my immune system continues to be strong and to stop any future endometriosis!

Some of the Best Doctors & Healthcare Providers in New York City

As almost everyone knows, there is nothing worse than being sick or hurt - except, perhaps, being sick or hurt when no body can figure out why. Decidedly worse, is being sick or hurt when no one can figure out why AND they won't admit to not being able to figure it out, AND they are not nice, AND they are impatient, AND they don't take the time to listen to you.

As a result of having visited so many of the "top" doctors in NYC over the years with very mixed results, I have come to the conclusion that what makes a "top" doctor a great doctor is not what school they went to, how many awards they have won or how arrogant they are. Experience has taught me that a great doctor possesses the following qualities:

• INTELLIGENCE
  
• KINDNESS & PATIENCE
  
• LISTENS and VALIDATES


• GIVES more than 10 minutes of their time


• ADMITS when they do not know the answer
  
• THINKS outside of the box

Unfortunately, the great health care providers I've met almost never accept insurance (and of course, they are expensive). In fact, there seems to be an overwhelming negative correlation between greatness and insurance acceptance, which is fodder for another article to be written at another time.

My List of Great Doctors and Health Care Providers in NYC:

• Dr. Leo Galland, MD - http://www.mdheal.org/ - 212-717-6792 - Upper East Side. (Does not accept insurance). Doctor Galland is the godfather of integrated medicine. He takes a nutritional approach to preventing and reversing illnesses and is very thorough in researching and diagnosing his patients' health problems.


• Tonya Juge, PT - http://www.hdphysicaltherapy.com/ - 212-988-2501 - Upper East Side. H&D Physical Therapy is perhaps the best place to go for physical therapy in New York City. Tonya is my physical therapist and I think she's great.


• Jeffrey Morrison, MD, CNS - http://www.themorrisioncenter.com/ - 212-989-9828 - Flat Iron District. (Does not accept insurance). Doctor Morrison also takes a nutritional approach to preventing and reversing illnesses. He also has a very nice staff. Very punctual.


• Gary Goldman, OBGYN - 212-535-6100 - Upper East Side. (Does not accept insurance). Dr. Goldman was referred to me as being one of the best OB-GYNs and endocrinologists in NYC. He listens to his patients, is sensitive and kind. Up until meeting him I had always opted for a female OB-GYN.


• Keith Pyne - Sports Medicine, Chiropractor - 212-989-9828 - Flat Iron District. (Does not accept insurance). Dr. Pyne travels the world every two weeks bringing his healing touch to athletes and laymen alike. He doesn't have a Website or even business cards, but he doesn't need them; word of mouth keeps him booked solid. He practices out of Dr. Morrison's office every other Thursday, so book ahead. First consultation lasts an hour; each visit after that is a half hour. Very punctual.


• Mitchell Gaynor, MD - Oncologist, Internist & Hematologist - http://www.gaynoroncology.com/ - 212- Upper East Side. (Does not accept insurance but his staff will fill out the paperwork for you to submit). I was told that Dr. Gaynor is one of the leading oncologists in NYC. Having met him, this is not hard to believe. He has a very holistic approach to wellness and is a firm believer in utilizing antioxidants, supplements and meditation to achieve physical and psychological well-being. He has written several books and articles and leads a meditation session once a month for his patients.


• Benjamin Asher, MD, PC - Ears, Nose & Throat - http://www.restorativeent.com/ - 212-223-4225 - Upper East Side. (Does not accept insurance but his staff will fill out the paperwork and submit for you). Dr. Asher is very nice and very smart. He takes an integrative approach to solving ear, nose and throat problems, incorporating traditional and alternative medicines into his practice. He prides himself in truly listening to his patients and leaving no stone unturned. Also, Dr. Asher's assistant, Harriet, is probably the nicest medical administrative assistant I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Punctual.


• Rudy A. Segna, MD, FACOG - http://www.themedicalgroupforwomen.com/ - 212-888-8439 - Upper East Side. (Accepts some insurance). Dr. Segna works with Dr. Peter Dottino at the Group for Women on Fifth Avenue. Dr. Dottino was highly recommended to me for a second opinion on a surgery, but as he was on vacation, I saw Dr. Segna instead. He was great. Very professional, knowledgeable, friendly and punctual. I have since seen him several times for my endometriosis-related issues and like him more and more with each visit.


• Jean Shum - Acupuncture & allergies - 917-836-5035 - Upper West Side. (Does not accept insurance). Jean is not a doctor and yet she has greatly helped me with my shoulder pain and has helped other friends I have sent her way with pain and allergies. She works on people with all types of problems, including cancer, chronic pain and allergies and is well known and respected by many of the doctors on this list. A one hour visit with Jean is a very interesting, enlightening and relaxing experience. She is hard to get in to see as she is very busy. Very punctual.


• Jennifer Green, PT, MS, CFMT - http://www.physioarts.com/ - 212-997-7490 - Times Square. (Does not accept insurance). Jenn is one of the 7 physical therapists who work for PhysioArts, an employee-owned physical therapy office that incorporates traditional and alternative therapies in helping its patients recover. Although I have not used Jenn, I have been told by another physical therapist whom I respect that she is top-notch. In fact, she is so popular, that it's pretty much impossible to become one of her clients. Pickychick tip: PhysioArts only allows 30-minute appointments with its therapists. Although this is common practice in New York City (it allows physical therapy companies to make more money), it generally allow enough therapy time for rapid improvement in a patient's condition. For great physical therapists and one-hour one-on-one time with therapists, I recommend H&D Physical Therapy (see above).

Why Do I Get to Pick My Surgeon But Not My Anesthesiologist?

I am about to have a three-hour laparoscopy and am under a certain amount of stress. I have never had surgery before, the diagnosis of my condition is uncertain AND on top of all this, everyone in my family who has ever had surgery has ended up being stuck in the hospital for days due to uncontrollable vomiting and nausea brought on by anesthesia. Motion sickness is very common in my family and this, I am told, tends to make post-operative nausea and vomiting worse. In truth, I am less frightened by the thought of being cut open then I am of vomiting my guts out for three days after the procedure.

Given my apprehension and my desire to do whatever possible to make my post-operative suffering as minimal as possible, I have asked to meet my anesthesiologist before the actual day of surgery to ask questions and to help put my mind at ease, but I’ve been told by my doctor that the anesthesiologist is not assigned until the day of the surgery, and therefore there is no one I can speak with until that morning.

Why is it that I have the right to choose my surgeon but not my anesthesiologist? I wouldn't buy a car without taking it for a test drive; I wouldn't hire an employee without interviewing him/her first. Somehow it seems grossly wrong that I am not allowed to choose (little to say meet and speak with beforehand) the person who will be such an important part of my surgery.

I guess hospitals believe that they should have the sole say in choosing anesthesiologists for their patients. I'm sure it simplifies things for the adiministration to not have patients involved in selecting the players. But just like everything else in life, some people are better at what they do than others, and some people are grossly incompetent and yet still have their jobs anyway.

Not only do I think that patients should be able to choose their anesthesiologists, I believe that there should be a rating system for all healthcare providers by current and previous patients, the results of which could be viewed by prospective patients. This way, healthcare providers would strive to better please their patients, and patients could make educated decisions about the best healthcare provider for them.

Emily Garrett Yoga

I have a shoulder injury, so it's very difficult for me to do many activities involving my arm. Having heard that yoga can be therapeutic, I tried to take some beginning group lessons, but found that many of the positions done in class ended up exacerbating my injury. Somewhat frustrated, I decided to try a private lesson. I found Emily Garrett's website while surfing the web for a yoga instructor in Burlington Vermont. Within a week we had our first appointment and I've been seeing her ever since.

Emily is a Kripalu-trained yoga instructor who teaches group and private classes in Burlington and abroad (she'll be teaching a retreat in Costa Rica in February 2007). Emily's approach to private classes is centered around a student's healing themselves. She considers the student’s personal history, physical ability, breath capacity, and emotional patterns when creating therapeutic sessions. Her goal is to help her students gain balance and a deeper understanding of themselves.

I am so happy that I found Emily. She has created a yoga routine for me that works around my injury and leaves me feeling empowered, not frustrated. Her patience and guidance are helping me to look differently at myself and my body. Over the last months, through gentle yoga, I feel myself getting stronger, more flexible and more optimistic.

Emily teaches group classes weekly at Burlington Yoga and Yoga Vermont.

Emily Garrett Yoga - www.emilygarrettyoga.com - Burlington, Vermont - 802.862.3591.

Cynthia Almonte - Physical Therapist in Northern Vermont

Cynthia Almonte is an extraordinary physical therapist who works for Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont, and also has her own physical therapy and personal training practice in St. Albans. Before moving to Vermont in 2004, she worked for several years at the Beth Israel Spine Institute in New York City, and continues to expand on her physical therapy skills through continuing education classes.

Cindy practices "functional mobilization," which seeks to cure injuries by addressing structural, neuromuscular, and motor control dysfunctions. She is very smart and intuitive, having done more to help the nerve damage in my shoulder in the last few months than any of the doctors, specialists and physical therapists that I have seen over the last three years. Instead of just focusing on my diagnosis, Cindy looked at my injury holistically and carefully examined all of the areas surrounding my shoulder to figure out what other factors were contributing to my problem. It turns out tightness and misalignment in other parts of my body were not allowing my shoulder to heal. By working on those areas, I've been slowly recovering and feeling significantly less pain.

If you live in the Burlington Vermont area and are in need of a physical therapist, I strongly recommend contacting Cindy.

Cynthia Almonte - cynthia.almonte@vtmednet.org - Fletcher Allen Health Care - 1775 Williston Road, South Burlington, Vermont 05403 - 802-847-6185.

Lavender and Tea Tree Oil May Elevate Estrogen Levels

The New England Journal of Medicine published an article in January 2007 suggesting that the repeated use of lavender and tea tree oil products can cause breast growth in boys. It appears that lavender and tea tree oil mimic the effects of estrogen and inhibit the effects of androgen.

If this occurs in boys, there is reason to believe that these oils can also affect the estrogen levels in women, especially estrogen sensitive women such as those with endometriosis. I used tea tree oil shampoo almost every day for seven years before stopping about one month ago. Shortly after I stopped, my endometrioma (cyst) and a growth in my uterus both decreased in size. I am not sure if there is a connection, but I do know that I have been tested to have higher-than-average estrogen levels in the second phase of my menstrual cycle and I do not want to use any product that has been shown to increase estrogen levels, even if the tests have only be done on boys.

It might be a good idea for women who have endometriosis, especially those who have tested to be estrogen dominant to discontinue the use of products with lavender and tea tree oil. Be aware that many products contain lavender as a fragrance but do not list lavender in the ingredients, instead listing the catch-all of "fragrance".

Seromucinous Cystdenofibroma?!?!?!

I had my second surgery a week ago today. The goal was to remove another endometrioma (cyst) from my right ovary and a polyp or some sort of growth from my uterus. This surgery is the second I've had in less than 10 months. I had hoped to never have another surgery again.

The good news is my surgeon (Dr. Gary Goldman) found no endometriosis during the procedure! The bad news is that besides the endometrioma and the growth in my uterus (which was actually nothing more than a thickening of the uteral lining) he found an unexpected mass on my right ovary that had not shown up in the many sonograms I have had. He said that he initially thought that the mass was malignant so had a freeze-biopsy done immediately. The preliminary biopsy came back negative and, luckily, so did the final biopsy. The mass was a seromucinous cystdenofibroma. Yikes. Although Dr. Goldman says that I have nothing to worry about, I find it worrisome that:

1. He initially thought it malignant;
2. I have so many damn growths going on down there. With the thickening of the uterus, the second endometrioma (which i think was caused by some leftover endometrioma tissue from my last surgery, and now this mystery fibroma, I believe my reproductive organs, especially my right ovary, have just been way too busy lately with strange growths.

I'm wondering if my ovary should be removed to avoid future problems.

On another possibly positive note, about three weeks before my surgery, sonograms showed that both my endometrioma and my uteral growth were about 20% smaller. Since I've been on Yaz non-stop for the last three months I doubt this had anything to do with hormonal fluctuations. I am wondering if this could have been caused by:

1. My new diet (low hormone, low pesticide, low sugar, low gluten);
2. The Yaz (higher-progesterone birth control pill);
3. The fact that I started avoiding tea tree oil and lavender products about six weeks ago. I recently discovered that tea tree oil and lavender have been shown to mimic the effects of estrogen in boys (they have caused boys to grow breasts) and since I've been using tea tree oil shampoo for at least the last seven years, I decided to stop immediately.
4. I have also been trying to cut out phytoestrogens as much as possible in my life, such as househould cleaners/products with petroleum-based ingredients or otherwise potentially harmful ingredients, beauty products with parabens and other potentially harmful ingredients, etc.
5. Perhaps most importantly, I am trying to relax and cut down on stress and turmoil in my life.

So, am not sure what I've been doing right to have made the endometriosis completely disappear. I do know that I've felt a positive change physicaly since I started avoiding sugars (I'm hypoglycemic). Also, I feel better not eating wheat products and instead trying to eat non-glutenous grains as much as possible. Finally, taking a multi-vitamin B supplement, also helps me feel more relaxed (people with hypoglycemia can benefit from vitamin B).

At any rate, my main worry now is trying to avoid the recurrence of any more cysts and growths down there. And of course, I hope to avoid any future endometriosis. I would like to get off the pill completely, but I must admit that it helped halt any major pain from my endometrioma. Before I got on Yaz the pain could be unbearable, although just once a month or so before my period for about 20 minutes, so it wasn't as if I was experiencing terrible pain all the time.