Dear Doctor: Ana Kausel
The New York City-loving endocrinologist on healthy lifestyle, diets, and patient care.
Dr. Ana Kausel knew she wanted to become a doctor and follow in the footsteps her aunt, an endocrinologist back home in Colombia. Upon visiting New York in 2003, Dr. Kausel was immediately drawn to the diversity and excitement of the city. Five years later she moved here for her residency and then fellowship in endocrinology. Inspired by the city and its people, Dr. Kausel opened her own practice in Chelsea, Manhattan so she could give her patients the time and attention they need. Read on to get her take on the latest diet trends, what app she recommends for tracking your health, and how she solved a medical mystery that changed one of her patient’s lives.
“I’ve always been interested in people’s stories, so I knew I wanted to have a career where I could help people. I grew up in Colombia, which is where I went to medical school. My aunt is an endocrinologist back home and she’s one of the smartest people I know. Since I was young, I looked up to her and how she could so seamlessly and eloquently explain everything. She definitely inspired me to become a doctor. I love endocrinology because it’s like an investigation or solving a puzzle; if you know the mechanisms, you can find where things are breaking and fix them.”
Moving to New York and Starting A Private Practice
I first visited New York City in 2003, and I knew that I needed to live here. This city is filled with people from all over — it’s a city of the world. New York is a blend of old and new, history, technology, and culture. I just love it. There’s also a strong hispanic population here so I can practice my Spanish and connect with my roots. I’m also half German — so it’s incredible that in parts of New York I can feel like I’m in Europe and in other parts I can feel like I’m in Latin America. Here, I’ve never felt like a foreigner.
I started my own practice in Chelsea about a year ago. Before that, I spent three years in upstate New York practicing endocrinology. I came back because I really missed the city. I love that I can be my own boss, set my own schedule, and have my own space. If I need to see a patient for an hour, I can, and I will. My patients know that I really care because I take all the time I need and really listen to them. In Colombia, we don’t have the same blood and diagnostic tests that we have here in the States, so in medical school, I was taught to do extremely thorough medical exams and to not rely solely on tests. It’s an approach to care that I apply to all of my patients.
Anything that has to do with the endocrine is connected to lifestyle, how you’re dealing with your stress, diet, and exercise. I like to consider my patient’s life completely to see how their day to day habits and environment are affecting their disease.
No matter who comes into my office, I try to get them to do one thing that will help relieve their stress. I am a big believer in the power of movement, so I definitely encourage physical activity.
I see a lot of younger, millennial patients. It’s great because they’re so open to new technology and are very independent. However, they’re exposed to so much information all the time. They have to be careful, because there’s a lot out there that isn’t true. It can be challenging when someone comes in and has a diagnosis in their head that they read about online.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to share with my patients that their blood work has come back without any issues. They want to have something to blame their unhappiness, fatigue, or weight gain on. I really have to push some of them to dig deep and ask themselves some tough questions to figure out what are the true underlying causes of their symptoms. There are so many factors that impact one’s overall wellbeing: if they’re in the right job or relationship, if they’re anxious or depressed, or if they are exercising regularly. I understand that this is extremely difficult for some people to hear, but it’s my duty as a doctor to help them. I want them to be happy and successful. Sometimes tough love and honesty are what they need!
An Endocrinologist’s Take on the Latest Health Trends
In New York, it’s hard to eat healthy all the time. There are so many amazing restaurants and opportunities to be social. It’s important to be conscious of how you’re eating and how much. You have to find something that works for you long term. That could mean eating well during the week and then cheating on the weekends, it’s all about finding a balance. People are always looking for something new and trendy. Going on a Ketogenic diet for two months is completely unsustainable. It’s crazy how everyone’s so excited to be in Ketosis. If you’re in Ketosis, you should be in the hospital for at least 48 hours and be given nothing but fat. It’s something we do for people who are extremely sick and have neurological problems. No one should look forward to that. People may be losing a ton of weight quickly, but keeping it off will be extremely challenging, in my opinion, nearly impossible.
For my patients that want to lose weight and stay healthy, I suggest downloading the app MyFitnessPal, it’s my favorite health tracker.
When it comes to diet and eating, I like to give my patients this piece of advice: nothing short-term is going to work long-term. There is no miracle diet, you have to do the work.
On Changing Lives through Thorough Care
When you do something that really changes someone’s life and they’re thankful, it’s the best part about being a doctor. I had a patient who came to me for a thyroid problem. I kept asking her about other things like her shoe size, her dental work, and she didn’t understand why. I knew there was something off in the way she looked, I had a hunch. While some of things she was telling me could’ve been normal, I’d also knew it could be more. After hearing her complete story, how she’s seen different doctors over the years, and has had some drastic changes in her body overtime, I asked her if I could run a test to check her growth hormones.
The results came back and revealed that she had a large pituitary tumor that was secreting growth hormone, which is called Acromegaly (Gigantism). When you have excess growth hormone, your organs get bigger. As a result, this patient’s teeth were separating, hence the need for all her dental work. She also went from a shoe size of eight to eleven. With Acromegaly, your organs are expand, but it is not painful, yet it does make you more susceptible to diseases like cancer and heart failure. These changes are very subtle, which is why it’s so difficult to diagnose. If you looked at a photo of her from 20 years ago and now you’d see a difference.
Looking back on the last several years, everything makes sense to her now. She decided to get surgery to remove the tumor and was excited that one week post-op her rings fit again! To anyone, that may not seem like a big deal, but for her it was representative of something much greater — she finally found the missing piece of the puzzle. Acromegaly is a very rare disease, so I’m really proud that I was able to figure out what was going on and help this patient improve her lifestyle and health.
Lightning Round
Common misconception in endocrinology: gluten is the culprit of all our problems!
New Yorkers are unique because…they’re diverse and open-minded.
One thing I wish more people knew…how important movement is in your life.
Everybody needs some good food sometimes.
Favorites
Chelsea lunch spot: Mulberry and Vine.
Exercise: Love to do yoga.
Yoga studio: Kula or Park Slope Yoga, I follow my teacher everywhere she goes!
New York’s best kept secret: all the different cuisines from all over the world.
Restaurant: Nur, it’s so unique and delicious, flavors you’ve never had!
Coffee spot: Maison Kayser has good coffee (and good pastries).
Fun fact: I have a favorite tree in Central Park. I call the tree of thoughts. It faces the reservoir and it’s where I’ve made all the important decisions in my life. My husband actually proposed to me there! It’s a beautiful spot where you can see the whole city.
You can learn more about Dr. Ana Kausel here.
Know a great female doctor in NYC? We’d love to meet her, introduce us here!
