When I was in a state of anxiety and trying to see as many doctors as possible to get different…read moreopinions, I found Dr. Melikian at DISC. I had generally good experiences with doctors I had seen there in the past.
He is more of a spine specialist, focusing on the neck and back. When I came in, I was having issues with both my neck and shoulders.
After looking at my neck X-rays and MRIs, he noted that my shoulders were likely the bigger issue at the time. I could move my neck up and down without too much trouble, but my shoulders had difficulty rotating.
Despite that, he was able to refer me to another DISC doctor, Dr. Shore. More importantly, I never felt like I was being rushed out the door, unlike many doctors who seem to just want to get patients in and out for a paycheck.
In fact, toward the end of my appointment, he made sure I did not have any more questions before we parted. To me, that is a sign of a doctor who actually cares, which feels surprisingly rare given the number of doctors I have seen over the last several years.
While he was great, I also have to give a special shoutout to his assistant, Joanna. She might be one of the best doctor's assistants I have seen. The assistants I have known generally get a good idea of what is going on and log your symptoms so the doctor can look at you more efficiently, but Joanna went above and beyond.
She did more than a typical assistant would by checking the multiple issues I was having, including rotator tests, hand-grip strength, shoulder rotation, and various sensitive points.
Similar to Dr. Melikian, I felt like she genuinely cared about what was going on and wanted to make sure I was receiving the right treatment. She was the first person to make me realize that I needed to focus more on my shoulder. Of course, she still told the doctor about everything just in case, but it says something when an assistant does more thorough checks than some actual MDs I have seen.
It also says something that, even though I did not receive treatment from Dr. Melikian and he ultimately referred me elsewhere, he was one of the few doctors who was very assertive about making sure I scheduled a follow-up appointment. Even when I was in a rush to leave, his assistant reached out and emailed me to schedule an appointment, making sure I was okay with it. That is the sign of a doctor who really cares.
Overall, in a weird way, I am kind of sad that my issues were not more related to my neck, since both Dr. Melikian and his assistant, Joanna, were great. Based on the reviews I have seen on Yelp and Google, many people seem to have had similarly positive experiences. If your issues are more related to your neck or back, I would consider getting an opinion from Dr. Melikian.