Just like the other reviews. My son was given a diagnosis of glaucoma... scared the living heck out of him and our family. Just as a preface, my son is a young and physically fit college student. He went in to see this doctor for a case of recurring pink eye. Instead it turned into a grim diagnosis of glaucoma. He was over medicated by this doctor with eye dilation medication that lasted for over 48 hours. We have since taken my son twice to a Glaucoma specialist who has told us that there is zero concern and that this was a complete wrong diagnosis and that my son's eyes are healthy. Also the office is super sketch. Avoid this doctor at all costs. read more

Horrible experience, unfortunately, eerily like of the other complaints here. Was given excessive expensive testing, told I was going blind with glaucoma & way overprescribed 3 different medications that hurt my eyes to the point of being down for days. It was depressing and upsetting. Only to see another opthamologist who said there were NO signs of glaucoma and those 3 meds wouldn't have been prescribed even if I did have it. I immediately stopped the meds, years later every eye exam with either optometrists or my current ophthalmologist I show no signs of glaucoma. I know 2 others in this neighborhood who were also wrongly diagnosed with glaucoma they never had by 'Dr.' Westerner. My current ophthalmologist said she just had a new patient tell her he's going to sue him for causing major eye damage. This so-called doctor is dangerous -- RUN AWAY! read more

I strongly do not recommend this doctor. I was subject to substandard care, misdiagnosis, and over prescribing. My first clue should have been no support staff in a shabby office. I immediately got a second opinion and was relieved that my eyes were perfectly healthy. Beware read more

RUN AWAY. I spent 2 hours here and he scared me to death my eyes were unhealthy. Told me my pressure was 29 and I had serious issues. Prescribed 3 Glaucoma drugs to be filled at CVS. I didn't take them and got a second opinion. Today at Shiley (very good place) they tell me my pressure is 11 and my eyes are totally healthy!!! VERY TRAMATiC EXPERIENCE. Said those drugs should not have been prescribed to me AT ALL! The whole thing felt wrong and I should have run out as soon as I entered the very sketchy office. No one there but us, and very run down. Asked me 3 times if I snorted cocaine. Would not stop asking me to read lines of letters that were too small for me to read. I am still heavily dilated from this office visit. Not standard care. Not professional. I am traumatized and upset I didn't read these reviews before going in. My eyes are healthy. Also the pharmacist at CVS was very upset dealing with this Dr. At first he wouldn't give me the drugs prescribed (that I didn't need turns out) because the Dr. Wasn't following "protocol". I felt very mislead to say the least. It was all very weird, and thank god I got a second opinion today. I'm A ok but I can't believe this happened to me. read more

My wife went to see this guy unfortunately for discomfort in her eyes. He proceeded to prescribe a handful of different medications that not only did not solve her problem, but caused several more. She suffered for 2 months before getting an appointment with a specialist who immediately took her off the medications and told her she didn't even have some of the conditions he diagnosed her with. She started improving the very next day. This guy is a monster that has no business treating living beings. He needs to be exposed and shut down. Avoid at all costs. 0 stars read more

Please do NOT use Dr. Westeren for your opthalmology needs. During a routine exam he caused a 3 mm tear in my cornea!!!! I came in for a second opinion on my dry eye condition and left with a painful injury. I am currently seeing a DIFFERENT opthalmologist EVERY DAY to ensure the care and healing of the injury I sustained in his practice. Dr. Westeren's response to my distress due to the injury being extremely painful was to say that tears during ocular pressure readings are common in patients with dry eyes. He didn't even have the decency to call me himself, but had his secretary send me an email. He knew I had dry eyes, as that was the reason for my visit. I've suffered from severe dry eyes for more than 3 years and in that time my ocular pressure has been measured at least 6 times with no issue. Dr. Westeren simply does not have the skill to do this properly. I wish I'd read these reviews before the visit. read more

Dr. Westeren really shows he is concerned about the individuals eye health. He explained in detail my issues and took the time in my appointment. Very thorough and an expert in his field. read more

NOT A SCRIPPS CLINIC DOCTOR. Having seen two well-regarded actual Scripps ophthalmologists, I realize this guy, Westeren, is as wackadoodle as the previous review reported; you spend hours as he obsessively makes you try and read illegible charts over and over and over, "Try it again, try harder..." He pushed the pressure meter into my cornea several times, saying my pressure was super high, my angles too narrow, and more. And then he diagnosed me with a VERY SERIOUS EYE DISEASE that I absolutely do not have! Good thing I didn't fill those five prescriptions-- which the pharmacist are never all used together-- and instead sought more professional advice. Westeren's sketchy office should have been a big red flag, but I sought help for such a simple eye irritation that I thought it sufficient to go to someone geographically convenient, whose web presence says he is with "Scripps." The actual, very fine doctors I saw said, "This is not the first time I've heard this story..." when I explained my traumatic experience with Westeren. He really scared me with this completely inaccurate diagnosis, causing real stress and upset-- and now I just wonder what is wrong with this guy??? IMO he is not mentally fit to practice. read more

Do not use this optometrist. I found him via my insurance website and sent my husband to his La Jolla office - which is shared with an acupuncturist. He charged for services without notifying before, did not give the correct prescription, and used so many dilation drops that it took 4 day for the eyes to return to normal. Absolutely horrible. read more

If you value your health, time, or money, please do not see this doctor. I needed a simple thing looked at on my eyelid and he ended up diagnosing me with severe glaucoma. He then proceeded to try to convince me to pursue multiple expensive tests and concluding that this would end with laser surgery. I've never had one issue with my eyes my entire life. He dilated my eyes so badly that I couldn't read for 8 hours. The next day, I went and saw a credible doctor who checked my eyes multiple times and found them to be completely normal. I should have known something was awry when I arrived at his office early and found the door locked. I called the number and instead of going to a receptionist or answering service, he answered the phone and let me know he was going to be late. After standing around for another 15 minutes, he finally arrived. All of the other reviews here are very accurate. Please heed this advice and find another doctor. read more

Great Doctor, very friendly!!! He can take a while to see you, but the teaching you receive in his care is better than any doctor, I have ever seen. read more

I almost didn't go because of the bad reviews and the fact that he shares his office with a holistic massage type place...BUT he was actually very thorough and really seemed to care about the issues I was having. Yes, he does seem to have some OCD and does things a certain way but in the end I was very happy that we found him. Don't let the reviews scare you away from him. He is legit, smart and thorough. read more

I found this Dr. online via my insurance website and thought it had to be good since it was in the LJ Village - a nice part of town. I needed to renew my contacts Rx which was the primary reason for the exam. I indicated this to the gentleman on the phone when I scheduled my appointment. After I arrived Dr. Westeren walked me back to an exam room which had stuff alllll over the desk in there, blinds closed and virtually no air circulation. There were framed pictures sitting on the ground leaning against the wall. I thought for sure they just moved, had unpacked, but hadn't had time to decorate. He proceeded to do a full eye exam. After I removed my contacts and was reading the lines of letters he continued to ask me to read letters that I couldn't read (the tiniest letters). I was VERY irritated explaining to him there was no point in my telling him what letters they are because I can't read them. He PERSISTED. I was seriously in this chair for over 2 hours with no air, sweating in my nice work clothes, irritated because he was asking me to read stuff repeatedly that I could not read, and in the end he refused to give me a script for my contacts. He put all these drops in my eyes and told me the drops would numb my eyes and would dilate my pupils but only for a short period of time. What he didn't tell me was that I would not be able to see anything up close for over 24 hours - only in the distance. I tried to put my contacts back in and they did nothing. I couldn't see anything. Everything was blurry. I could barely drive home. It was 6:30, sun was going down, it hurt my eyes to even look into the daylight. I couldn't read an upcoming street sign. It was horrible. Thank god I didn't have to drive on the freeway. He told me I needed to get other exams at Maricos Eye Center before I could receive a Rx from him for my contacts. I told him that was ridiculous and I was down to 2 weeks worth of contacts and could not wait for a script - and that was the whole purpose of my appointment. He would not budge. I also told him that next time a new patient comes in the person on the phone scheduling the appointment should inform the patient that 1st time, new patient exams take over 2 hours. I did not sign up for this. Not to get a crap exam, spend $70 and over 2 hours in a chair to walk out without an Rx and virtually no ability to see. Oh, and I looked like a freak with dilated pupils for well over 24 hours. He deserves to be out of business ASAP. I would never recommend such an idiotic doctor to anyone else. This place was horrible. Ive tried to call back to discuss it with him countless times and try to get a script from him at the very least since I spent the money. I never received a returned call. read more

I went to see Dr. Westeren to discuss possible Lasik surgery. I was early for my appointment at his La Jolla office. The office was horrible. Tiny and dirty. I don't think furniture had been dusted for 10 years. The floor was deplorable, tiles peeling off the floor and built-up dirt in the corners of the floor. He apparently shares this office with an acupuncturist, but none the less...hire a cleaning crew. I was handed a pile of paperwork to complete, it was unbelievable. The same questions were repeated multiple times on every piece of paper. Does he not know that computers exist and the rest of the world has electronic health records now? At this point, it was now 30 minutes past my appointment time. When I inquired how much longer it was going to be, his receptionist answers that he is running 45 minutes to 1 hour behind. I asked her at what point was she going to share that with me. She said that he always runs late and has a good amount of walk outs. She then said if I left, I'd be his 3rd walk-out that day. I told her that I couldn't wait an hour to see him. She asked if I wanted to re-schedule, I said that I had no intention of returning...ever. She then said that she didn't blame me. Don't waste your time or money on this guy. There are great doctors all over San Diego who respect your time and value you as a patient. read more

I read the negative reviews only after I had visited this ophthalmologist to realize the big mistake I made by not checking out these reviews first. My visit confirms all those noted bad practices. The 20 pages long of paperwork that continued with more obnoxious questions during the exam. The noisy and hot facility. The 1 hour waiting while the doctor was actually away from the clinic. The misleading receptionist who said "the doctor is ready for you". The 2 hours long examination. The rude and impatient attitude from the physician throughout the examination. The doctor's obsessive demands to keep guessing tiniest letters beyond the 20:20, which seriously strains the eyes. The incorrectly inflated prescription. The $59 additional out of the pocket charge for the eye vision exam with no advance notice. The heavily overdose of pupil dilating medicine that knocked me down for no less than 3.5 days with pain and blurry vision. What were you thinking doc., there is no reason to put 4 times the dose, go to hell you freak. I also experienced additional bad practices there. The old fashion tools that were repeatedly stuck into my eyes. The doctor's nervous requests for personal info such as my social security number, which is not needed for billing my insurance. The hidden fees of 25$ for getting the report. And so on. This guy is a horrible ophthalmologist and a crazy man. I cannot imagine that anyone would want to go to such a bad ophthalmologist whereas there are so many other excellent ophthalmologists in the San Diego area. I definitely won't visit this ophthalmologist ever again. If you are in a need for an ophthalmologist and come across his name - save your money, time, and especially your health - and go to a better ophthalmologist! read more

Wow! My husband, and i are still in shock from our experience at this practice a few hours ago! If there was an option for no stars, I would be pressing it! The first impression I we got was why are we being seen at 7pm for a surgical procedure. Then as we waited for my husband to be seen, both receptionist left so we were the only ones in the tiny lobby waiting. We waited an hour over our appt time to be seen. Once called back to the small dark room that was overwhelmingly crowded. My husband was there do to a foreign object lodged into his eye and needed it to be surgically removed. We were already very nervous to undergo such a critical procedure. Also nervous about the time off of work because he couldn't afford to miss work being it was his first day. We knew the procedure needed to be done, but we felt so uncomfortable. The doctor first did not answer any questions, he demanded my husband shut up and let him do his job. He said "I don't tell you how to weld at your job don't tell me how to do mine!" (My husband isnt a welder). My husband never once said anything besides questions on the healing time. He refused to answer any questions. I was on my phone texting our child and he made me put my phone away. I went to put it in my purse and he said no set it on my desk and silence it. I did as he said. While he asked my husband to read some letters standard, eye exam. We felt a little better until my husband said he could not read some of them and he insisted he did it anyway. Then my husband's eyes were already sensitive and the doctor scolded him for not being able to open them wide. After he finished the exam he wanted to go over options, risks, and if our questions were answered, and sign a consent to the procedure. My husband said you have not answered any of my questions and was told his questions were irrelevant, and he will get this procedure done. During this time my phone lit up on his cluttered desk he then stops scolding for a second, leans over my side and asks me what I am doing reads my phone and trys to grab it! My husband immediately stood up and said i am absolutely not consenting to you touch in me anymore than you have. We both stood up and the doctor almost sat him back down and said common you will get this procedure done. We literally ran out of that office as fast as we could. When we got outside he was watching us through the his window. He definitely seemed to be under the influence of some drug. He was very scary, rude, insensitive, and unprofessional! We are horrified from this experience. Don't waist your time on this mad man! He is a horrible doctor, and should lose his practicing license! read more

The best Opthalmologist I have seen yet. He is so patient, caring and very thorough with the eye exam. He took his time and answered any and all questions I had. Additionally, he took time to listen to my other health issues to try and connect everything to make sense of it all. It really makes a difference to see an Opthalmologist versus just an optometrist. And I especially like that he's an advocate of safety and preventive care to help his patients maintain healthy eyesight. I should also add that his receptionist, Yoko, is very kind and helpful and always gets back to me very quickly. Very accommodating. And should the patient ever have a question, it's very easy to call Dr. Westeren's office and have him answer concerns or questions directly. I have already referred my family and friends and will continue to do so. Thank you Dr. Westeren and Yoko for a great service! read more

I wouldn't even give this Dr. 1 star. My experience was very similar to everyone else's. I went in for a contact prescription and came out with "glaucoma". He ordered a laundry list of tests (which my insurance covered about half of). I got the first set of tests and then went to a general practitioner for a requested check up. That dr looked at the list and flat out told me that this Dr.'s requests were excessive and ridiculous. After that, I did not go back to this dr. and also found out that I don't have glaucoma nor am I symptomatic. So in the end I wasted time and money (about $500) because of this "Dr." not to mention I never even got the contact prescription I went in for originally. His office would also call at odd hours (10pm on weekdays and at night on weekends to try to schedule additional visits!) I called back once to canel my final follow up visit and it was somebody's cell phone!? Incredibly unproffesional and an overall horrible experience. I have reported him to the CA medical board and I encourage everyone else to do the same. He should not have a license. read more