I sought treatment at MBPC & was originally evaluated by a NP named Micah. It was casual and seemed unthorough but I had nothing to compare it to. Was diagnosed & told I needed injections. I have a background of panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, made this clear, & they said not to worry- the injections aren't that bad. I endured injections where they numbed my facet joints to confirm the problem. Awful anxiety-ridden experiences but his techs were a blessing that helped me through. Dr Watanabe then recommended radio-frequency ablation, something that patients are put under for the procedure. He expressed that because I was a nursing mother, I was not allowed to be sedated because of the medication. When I inquired about the medication it turned out to be the exact meds I was given during labor and delivery. I urged him to reconsider and explained my sound reasoning. I reminded his office that we were under a very strict timeline to get my procedure done, as we are a military family and our hard orders to move to Japan were drawing close (had already sold most of our home belongings and listed our home for sale for a couple months). Dr Watanabe was well aware of all of this (he swooned over the beauty of Japan and told me about the things he loved over there), and that the only hold up we were experiencing for medical approval that my back was treated as they didn't have those medical resources for me at our new overseas duty station. The morning of my appointment I received a phone call 15 minutes prior to my check-in time. His nurse was informing me that he had decided that he would not allow sedation during this painful and invasive procedure because of the nursing we had talked about prior. I begged them not to do this to me, explained how much this would effect my family's life, and said I could use pumped milk until the drugs (that, again, they give during LABOR & DELIVERY) were out of my system. When my husbands command got word a week later that my procedure date was extended, they cancelled our orders--which was 3 weeks before we should have shipped out. Since then, I have seen 2 different pain clinics in CA. Both clinics sedate their patients for any spinal injections as common practice. This was a huge relief for my anxiety. The doctor that did my radio frequency ablation, that Watanabe backed out on 15 minutes before my appointment, had no issues w/ me being a nursing mother. The procedure worked for a year (12-18 months is the normal timeframe until the effects wear off), so I got set up with a new doctor and a new consultation. As this Dr evaluated me I realized how different this evaluation was from the one performed by Micah the NP, nor any evaluation performed by Dr Watanabe. It was astounding realizing the difference in professional knowledge and diagnosis. By this time I had given birth to another child & was transparent about that fact. Again it was a non-issue. I received sedation for my numbing injections, and for my radio frequency ablation. As it turned out, these procedures were only necessary on one side of my spine, so in essence Dr Watanabe got paid to perform unnecessary procedures on my back. Fraud or ignorance? I will never know, as the character of this man has proven to demonstrate both as likely possibilities.
I suggest driving South for any pain clinic needs, rather than wasting your time on a mediocre specialist who has no interest in keeping his patients comfortable during invasive procedures. Or potentially having long-planned procedures cancelled unethically and unprofessionally.
It's really disgusting what a Dr will do, knowing how much it will effect his patient's life in such a drastic way. Being a military family and dealing with instability and deployments is hard enough without one man being responsible for changing our family's entire trajectory; and him doing so knowingly and purposefully has caused me significant PTSD within all medical settings now.
One star given for: lack of knowledge, nuance, ethics and compassionate care. Don't be a victim of him. read more
