The following review may seem harsh, however my experience with him after all was said and done WAS harsh. I went to see him specifically for chronic insomnia and some GI discomfort. After spending almost $10,000 out of pocket with him over a one year contract where I experienced even more anxiety, insomnia, and stress due to his protocols, I ended up having to go to other doctors to solve my illnesses. Here's the Reader's Digest version of my maddening year.
1. His office goes through employees as quickly as most people change their underwear.
2. He claims he will treat you like an individual, because "all people respond differently to medications/supplements/protocols." However, he treated me like he treats all of his other patients. He prescribed me ridiculous amounts of supplements and antibiotics. Yes, mass quantities of antibiotics (5 mega doses within about 6 months), and supplements that he sells you at his "special rate" (which can be found elsewhere for less) that you CANNOT return if they cause harm or negative reactions. His supplements can sometimes be expired (I'm not the only patient that received those) and actually cause harm. My expired supplements that he supplied me with caused health issues and didn't protect me from getting a very concerning bacterial infection due to his extreme use of antibiotics. The supplements he gave me in standard doses caused horrible reactions in me. His response, "I have all my patients take this and they were just fine." Really? What happened to "individualized treatment!?!??!"
3. His protocols are confusing and at times, incorrect. This could cause a patient to possibly take the incorrect medications/supplements at the incorrect times. Wouldn't you think those kinds of "standard protocols he uses with all his patients" would be well documented?
4. On many occasions his "after hours emergency number" wouldn't work, causing delays in response. When you're going through medical issues and you can't speak to anyone at your doctor's office, that can be quite alarming.
5. His own co-worker (Dr. Howe, who seems to not be working there any more), said to me, "You really shouldn't be taking all these antibiotics. We need to get you off these." Hmmm...I wonder why he doesn't work there any more?
6. He makes false claims that "if you follow these protocols your food allergies/intolerances will be gone, because it's all the toxins and bacteria that are causing them."
7. After all the antibiotics and bad experiences, he actually told me his tests showed I still had H Pylori. Then he said, "You really should treat it with me. You've been doing a marathon and this is the last mile. Just a little more and we will completely eradicate the bacteria. We just need you to take more antibiotics (and of course more supplements, plus signing up for an additional amount of time) and that will be the end. I refused that treatment and went to other doctors. All of those doctors were actually shocked and appalled that a "functional medicine doctor" would put me on "so many antibiotics." They said, "Normally, those kinds of doctors use alternative medicine to try and cure you." In addition, I was tested many times by other MD's only to be told I do NOT have H Pylori.
I will say, in the beginning it seemed as though Dr. Mote was extremely caring and at times I was feeling better. However, the "feeling better" had more to do with the changes I made. For most of the past year I was actually feeling worse; which had more to do with his overprescribing of antibiotics and at times harmful supplements, not to mention the additional stress and anxiety his protocols caused. I think the only thing he truly cared about was selling his supplements and making money off any sucker he could find.
If you have chronic insomnia and don't want to take medications, PLEASE, save your hard earned money and go see a person that specializes in CBT-I. If you have GI issues, go find a more qualified functional medicine doctor who doesn't believe in treating you like all his other patients and prescribing you tons of antibiotics and supplements that he makes a shit ton of money from. read more