Childhood trauma causes adult illness

I think the part about emotional abuse being linked to irritable bowel, uterine fibroids and chronic fatigue is interesting. I wonder what constitutes emotional abuse. I know people who grew up with an alcoholic parents and they do have some of these illnesses.

FROM NBC: Children subjected to physical and emotional abuse may grow up to suffer from migraines and other painful conditions.

In a new study from the University of Toledo medical center, physical abuse was found to be associated with a higher incidence of arthritis. Emotional abuse was linked to more reports of irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue. Women who'd suffered childhood abuse were more likely to develop endometriosis and uterine fibroids.

The findings are based on surveys of more than 13-hundred patients diagnosed with migraines.
Researchers "recruited a cross-sectional survey of headache clinic patients with physician-diagnosed migraine at 11 outpatient headache centers.

Childhood maltreatment was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CT.), a 28-item self-reported quantitative measure of childhood abuse (physical, sexual, and emotional) and neglect (physical and emotional). Self-reported physician-diagnosed history of comorbid pain conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), interstitial cystitis (IC), and arthritis was recorded on the survey.

A total of 1,348 patients diagnosed with migraine completed the surveys. Researchers found migraineurs who reported childhood emotional abuse or physical neglect had a significantly higher incidence of comorbid pain conditions compared with those without a history of maltreatment."

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Women and Hair Loss

Every morning after my shower I brush through my hair and end up with gobs of it in my hands. I know it's normal to lose some hair after pregnancy, but I really must say I don't like it! Is it a sign that I will have thinning hair when I am older? Is there anything that I can do if that happens? Yikes! I was just thinking all these things this morning and today I found this story on the news wires. I hope it's not a sign! I have never even heard of a scalp prosthesis. It sounds painful!

FROM CNN: Losing one's hair can be devastating to a woman's self-esteem. As Susan Hendricks reports in today's health minute, getting to the 'root' of the problem is essential when deciding on a treatment plan. As a real estate broker, Judy Harper believes her appearance is critical. but 15 years ago Harper, who was in her early 40s, started losing her hair. Her doctor recommended medications to slow down the loss.

But when those didn't work she turned to something else. It had progressed to the point to where I felt that I needed to have a scalp prothesis. Many women experience some hair thinning or hair loss before menopause but excessive hair loss is medically known as alopecia (prono: aloe-pee-sha). What might be very acceptable to men- not acceptable to women. Even a slight amount of loss is, is not acceptable. Dr. Edmond Griffin says hair thinning has many causes- often, genetics- but there can be other reasons.

Whether it's a thyroid problem or anemia problem, or medications, or an auto-immune. and each one of those problems is a different approach to their treatment. Griffin says a blood test or biopsy may be needed to make the diagnosis. In order to grow more hair, many women use topical creams, oral medication, even surgery to replace hair follicles. Judy plans to continue treating her condition with both topical and oral medication, as she's now seeing some regrowth along her hairline.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Autism Clusters

FROM NBC: Researchers at UC Davis have identified ten locations in California where the incidence of autism is higher in than surrounding areas. The research project aimed to find environmental triggers associated with autism. What they found were clusters of autism cases in areas with white, highly-educated parents.

Many cases were also found near major autism treatment centers -- suggesting that improved access to healthcare led to those clusters. Researchers say the search for environmental triggers will continue, and that potential causes could be more widespread. For example -- researchers will begin to examine dust samples from homes to look for common chemicals that might play a role. Autism affects as many as one in 110 U.S. children.

I was so hopeful until I read the line about the autism treatment centers....

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Children Taking Anti-psychotics

FROM NBC: More and more young children are being given anti-psychotic prescription medications for autism and other developmental disorders.

Researchers from Columbia Psychiatry and Rutgers compared children treated in 2000 to those treated in 2007 -- and found the rate of anti-psychotic medicine use doubled among 2- to 5-year olds. Children in 2007 were more likely to receive a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which includes autism and asperger's. Risperidone was the most commonly prescribed anti psychotic -- often used to treat irritability associated with autism. While prescriptions went up, very few children received other mental health treatments, or were given a mental health assessment.

Most people I know who have children on the autism spectrum have their kids in speech, developmental and/or occupational therapy. The kids are seen by medical professionals more than most. I find it hard to believe that a parent would put their child on an anti-psychotic and not have him/her seen by a doctor on a regular basis. I feel like there must be more to this study.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Cleaning Invisalign Braces

I have been wearing Invisalign braces for the past 6-8 months(I can't remember how long. My brain is shot.) I have been searching on-line for how to clean them and every suggestion DID NOT work! It has been so aggravating. I finally tried a little bleach water the other day. It works great! I mean unbelievably great! I just had to spread the word to anyone who is searching this topic. I wasted so much time trying Efferdent, hydrogen peroxide and several other things.

My son says he wants Invisalign when he gets older instead of regular braces. They are not offered yet for kids, but my dentist, Dr. Michael Bentley, says he wants to do the trial Invisalign for kids in the next few years. So I will keep you all posted.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Taking Milk to School

A few weeks ago, a local mom and I discussed how long you can keep milk in a thermos before it goes bad. Her son wanted a different percentage of milk than what his school offered. She did some research and found most thermoses will keep things cool for 4-5 hours. So her son is now taking a thermos of milk with him to school. I know not all schools offer whole milk or fat free milk, so I thought some of you might need this information as well!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Not sure what to get your loved ones? Give a Skin Dimensions gift card! Surprise your loved ones with the choice of massages, facials, bareMinerals makeup, manicures, pedicures or let them choose products from a selection of over 25 national and international brands of skincare. Gift cards available in any denomination. Purchase at Skin Dimensions Day Spa, Skin Dimensions Boutique or online.

Delivering a baby by yourself

I understand the concept of having a home birth and why some women prefer it to the hospital. I do not understand why someone would have a home birth without a medical professional there. I was born at home. The doctor came to my parent's house. Everything went smoothly. I probably would have considered doing the same thing if I knew a doctor who delivered babies at home and if I could have talked my husband into it!

However, I had my kids at a hospital. I had an internal hematoma with the first child and almost bled to death. I had preterm labor and had to be put on magnesium sulfate to stop the second baby from coming early. The third birth was an emergency c-section and the baby needed oxygen right after he was born. I am healthy, average weight, with no known health concerns-like diabetes. Maybe I am just unlucky, but I needed medical help with all of my births.

FROM NBC: Jennifer Margulis thinks birth should be a private party — no doctors or midwives invited. So when her daughter Leone Francesca was born at home last month, only Margulis and her husband, James, were in attendance.

“My husband and I were the only ones there when she was conceived,” says the 40-year-old writer from Ashland, Ore. “I thought we should be the only ones there when she was born.”

Margulis is part of a very small but growing number of women who are choosing to deliver their babies at home without the presence of health professionals. Some choose to have a husband or another family member help, while others opt to deliver their babies completely on their own.

The number of home births unattended by either a doctor or a midwife jumped by nearly 10 percent between 2004 and 2006, climbing from 7,607 unassisted births to 8,347 births, according to most recent figures from the National Center for Health Statistics. About 60 percent of the nearly 25,000 home births logged in 2006 were attended by midwives, a figure that experts expect will also rise.

While do-it-yourself deliveries are still uncommon, many doctors and midwives consider them dangerous. Risks can range from hemorrhage in the mother to problems with the baby’s oxygen supply during delivery.

“Most births are not complicated but when something goes wrong, everything happens very quickly and things can go downhill very fast,” says Donna Strobino, a professor and deputy chair in the department of maternal and child health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

“If you look at data from developing countries where unattended births are more common, you see a higher rate of infant and maternal mortality with unattended births than with hospital births.”

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Gender Issues with Kids

I know this is a strange topic. It is hard enough being a parent. I can't imagine if the doctor had said, "You choose. Is this child a girl or a boy?" Then every time the child did something that was stereotypically like a boy or like a girl you would be questioning your decision. How awful! That would be very challenging. I had no idea these surgeries and hormonal therapy were taking place. It is amazing what goes on as we live in our own little worlds.

FROM ABC: A procedure that some are mistakenly calling a sex change treatment for children has been drawn into the spotlight in recent days -- although it has been going on for many years.

In an interview with National Public Radio broadcast earlier this month, Dr. Norman Spack, a pediatric endocrinologist at Children's Hospital in Boston, revealed that he has at least 10 pediatric transgendered patients to whom he has been giving a hormone-blocking treatment to delay puberty.

Citing recent unwanted media attention, Spack declined, through a spokesman, to be interviewed for this article. But other doctors say that while Spack may be the first to go public about what he is doing, he is not the first to help children delay their puberty so they can reach maturity before deciding if they would like to transition to the opposite sex..

Milton Diamond, a sexual development researcher and the director of the Pacific Center for Sex and Society at the University of Hawaii, says he knows of doctors who have done this before, "but people don't generally advertise it," he says. He pointed to the Netherlands, where hormone-blocking therapy has been administered to transgendered youths for more than 20 years.

But Diamond says that the hormone-blocking therapy itself is not sex reassignment."It's a delaying tactic to allow the individual to come to terms with the direction he or she wants to go," he says. "What you're doing is allowing the individual more time to make a decision."

Is It Safe?

Jamie Newton, a spokesman for Children's Hospital, confirmed that the treatments are done in accordance with the Harry Benjamin guidelines (generally accepted clinical guidelines for treating transsexual patients), which call for fully reversible treatments for prepubescent children.

The therapy entails an injection of either luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) or medroxyprogesterone, which block estrogen or testosterone to delay the onset of puberty. The regimen is typically given to children (mostly girls) who reach puberty very early, when the parents and physician opt to delay the process a few years to aid with normal development.

Medroxyprogesterone is known commercially as Provera, a drug injected once every three months as a birth control medication. "LHRH has been used for 20 years, medroxyprogesterone probably that long, if not longer, so we know they're safe and effective," says Alan Rogol, a clinical professor of pediatrics at Riley Hospital of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Virginia.

Also, he says, a child will undergo normal puberty following the hormone-blocking treatment, and it is fully reversible should a transgendered child choose not to undergo sex reassignment or transition once they reach adulthood. "There is no question that it's reversible, and I'm unequivocal about that," says Rogol.

In addition to delaying the onset of puberty, the hormone-blocking process does help patients avoid unwanted bodily features if they do decide to undergo a sex change upon reaching adulthood. It is the changes of puberty that often cause the most distress for transgendered children.

"We're talking about things that have a profound, significant influence on the child's life," says Diamond. Male transsexuals can avoid going through menstruation, while female patients can avoid growing body hair or developing a deep voice if they begin sex reassignment once their childhood hormone-blocking regimen ends.

Transitions and Follow-Ups

Although the treatment is reversible, Diamond says that most who reach that point will go on to transition."Almost all those who have gender identity disorder continue on to surgery, or at least continue on to transitions," says Diamond.

In his interview with NPR, Spack confirmed that assessment. "My confidence comes partly because I've yet to see one change their mind and partly because we're using the psychological testing methods the Dutch have perfected, and they've yet to see one person change their mind," he says.

While the procedure allows children to more easily undergo sex reassignment upon reaching adulthood, sex reassignment surgery is controversial. First performed in the first half of the 20th century, sex reassignment surgery gained prominence when former soldier George Jorgenson underwent the operations in Europe and became a media sensation as Christine Jorgenson.

In 1966, the Johns Hopkins Hospital announced that it was performing sex reassignment surgery through its Gender Identity Clinic. Those procedures were halted in 1979, when a study by Dr. Jon Meyer, a follow-up on patients who had undergone the operations, did not show any improvement in their wellbeing.

Dr. Paul McHugh, then the head of the psychiatry department at Hopkins, made the decision to halt the procedures, saying they destroyed healthy organs and that physicians needed to focus on healing transgendered persons' minds, rather than altering their bodies.

Many transgendered persons continue to undergo sex reassignment surgery, although a great number of them do so abroad. Because of a lack of reporting, exact numbers are hard or impossible to come by.

Since Johns Hopkins closed its clinic, no other hospital of that stature has made a public announcement of resuming the surgeries.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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