Worst appointment I have ever had in my life. Before I even arrived I had to call 3 times just to get my patient information correct in their system, which was just my name, email address, and date of birth. It was input incorrectly multiple times and I was therefore prevented from accessing the patient portal on their website so I could provide my medical history until I had spent the morning calling the office over and over to resolve the issue. When I arrived for my appointment the particular doctor I saw (Dr. Robert Gaines) had a horrendous attitude. He spoke to me as if I was an absolute idiot. The first words out of his mouth were sarcastic, "so you're dying, huh?". I asked him what he meant and he said that based on the information I had provided in the patient portal regarding the locations and severity of my pain I must be dying. I just said "I'm not dying, I'm just in a lot of pain". I had recent trauma to my back (I'm a horse trainer and was thrown) that has rendered me barely capable of walking and have a history of back problems prior to this, as well as family history of similar back issues. He didn't question me about my medical history at all, though I had included it in my notes I filled out in their patient portal online. He made the diagnosis that I was just "banged up"purely based on observation, without looking at x-rays I had done at urgent care when the accident had originally happened, without doing any diagnostic procedures (x-rays or an MRI, which had been recommended to me by urgent care if the condition worsened, which it had) other than observing me bending and walking. He did, however, suggest that I withdraw from my university and go home so my parents could take care of me until the pain subsides. I told him that sure as hell wasn't going to happen because I'm graduating in 3 weeks and am not about to withdraw from my university based on a diagnosis that I'm "banged up" without any substantiating diagnostics this close to graduation. I asked if there was anything we could do for treatment other than bed rest (stretches, physical therapy exercises, ANYTHING) and he just repeated that I should withdraw from my university and "soak in a hot tub" until I feel better. He wrote me a prescription for tylenol with codeine for pain (which apparently was incompletely written or had an error because even THAT was problematic. The pharmacy had to call their office because there was a problem with the prescription when I went to get it filled and had to wait an additional hour and a half for them to get it sorted out) and sent me home. Never have I had a worse experience with a doctor in my life. He was sarcastic, rude, and wholly unhelpful. I really wish I had been more clear headed during this appointment. I was on muscle relaxers that had been prescribed by urgent care and was therefore a bit unfocused and unable to call him out on his rude behavior. I just sat there completely dumbfounded and shocked by his attitude. What a jerk! I wouldn't go back to this place if my life depended on it.
UPDATE:
2+ years later I still have chronic sciatica and inflammation/pain in my SI joint, though I am able to do all my normal activities with nearly a full range of motion. Pain fluctuates from a 2 to 6 out of 10 depending on the day. After my horrible experience with this doctor I found another who was much more helpful. He got me into physical therapy and gave me a corticosteroid injection into my SI joint. I also saw a chiropractor for quite some time. I spent my last month of college doing my schoolwork from home and managed to graduate as I had planned. I'm trying to manage the chronic pain problems with stretching/PT exercises and chiropractors. Hopefully it will continue to improve over time :/ read more
