Dr. Al Robert Franco, MD

Dr. Franco, in my opinion, is one of the most brilliant men that you'll ever have the opportunity to meet. I had received a lupus diagnosis some years ago (aprox. 2014-2015) from two different physicians and had begun to lose hope that I would ever feel better when I found Dr. Franco. One of the previous doctors told me that it was just my lot in life and I needed to accept it, but I refused to stop searching for solutions to thriving. Dr. Franco treats you from a completely different angle and approach than most doctors and after being well now for some time, I wanted to come back and leave a review because I owe him my life. I wasn't functioning at the level I wanted to function and I now am hiking, traveling, thriving again! I truly truly truly think he is the most brilliant doctor I have ever met and will be forever grateful to him and his staff. I hope someday he teaches other physicians his mindset and belief system because the world needs more doctors like this! Thank you!

I have been a patient of Dr. Franco's for 12 years. I put up with his gross tardiness of seeing me for my appointment many times; up to and over two hours late, sometimes asking me to go out and have lunch for a couple of hours as soon as I arrive because he's running late, being kept there until all after closing because of his lateness, all without complaint. For 12 years I fought with Workers' Comp to cover my rheumatoid arthritis that was caused by a covered bacterial infection. Finally this year they accepted my condition of rheumatoid arthritis of multiple sites. And now Dr. Franco has refused me treatment, his office says they won't take any more Workers' Comp cases. They bill Workers' Comp but even though I have been a regular patient for 12 years they refuse to take mine. So here I suffer from severe rheumatoid arthritis and I am completely without treatment. The medications that I have been taking for 4 years are no longer effective and I am suffering greatly, when in… fact I should be getting the best treatment available because it's all covered now. I have written him a letter imploring him for treatment and he still refuses, allowing me to suffer with this horrible disease untreated instead. You'd be hard pressed to find worse cruelty from a doctor, avoid seeing him at all costs.

Sadly I’m currently one of doctor Franco’s patient(currently looking for another doctor), a friend of mine recommended him based on his and his wife’s experience. Besides him trying to over sell you some supplements and not trying to fix the main issue, his staff is terrible, his assistant will never call you back even if you need some refills on your medication. They booked so many appointments and in my personal experience he has cancel or re schedule me a few times due to his more important events. They even made a interesting mistake trying to double bill a different insurance and when trying to get explanations they won’t provide or even answer your calls. He seemed very professional at the begging but sadly everything was just a lie. I usually don’t write reviews for anyone but I just want to prevent people from making the same mistake I did. His fees are decent but extremely impossible to get an appointment or even a follow up visit. I just want to prevent people from the… same mistake and bad experience.

I came to Dr Franco for knee osteoarthritis. I had not heard of Hyalgin. It is a natural substance injected into the knee joint to confront inflammation. I finally scheduled my knee replacement after 8 years on Hyalgin. Fortunately for me, I now have 20 more years without knee replacement. If I had the knee replacement when I met Dr Franco, I would only have 12 years left. Dr. Franco has a wonderful sense of humor and a great staff assisting him.

Dr. Franco is an excellent doctor who has helped me recover from severe Scheloderma and provides me with excellent care and follow up. He is genuinely concerned about me as a patient and I owe him a mountain of gratitude. While he is unique in his style and uncoventional in taking huge amounts of time in office visits, it serves me greatly as his patient.

Dr Franco and Staff are WONDERFUL made me feel like family not a patient and Dr Franco is helping me with my auto immune. THANK YOU THANK YOU a BILLION times Hugs love you all Dr Franco is my angel on earth.

Two and a half years ago, I started seeing Dr. Franco for autoimmune disease which involves hardening of muscle, skin tissue, and Sjogrens. I had to wait two months for my appointment, but I was seen for three hours each day on two subsequent days, and for a minimum of two hours during the following visits. These appointments were thurough and productive. I have found his staff to be friendly and helpful. He listens attentively, and the specific nature of his questions reveals his mastery of his specialty. His assessment of my condition and the diagnosis he made have been proven to be accurate. Because my body was so compromised by the disease, he prescribed a large amount of supplements which enabled my depleted body to fight the disease, along with a single precription medication. If I failed to take any of them, the deficiency was revealed in my bi-monthly blood labs. Other doctors do not treat this disease this way. This the only treatment I have had. My family and I are… very satisfied with the successful restoration of my health and the eradication of my symptoms. While not a 'cure' this is a wonderful outcome for a disease I was once told was 'untreatable.' This doctor has genuine compassion for his patients, and celebrates ever increment of recovery with you. I recommend Dr. Franco without reservations.

I travel from Louisiana to California to see Dr.Franco--it is difficult, but the best medical decision that I ever made in my life. I did not want to take dangerous immunosuppressing drug, but that is all that most rhuematologists know--they usually don't try, and don't listen. Dr. Franco works so very hard to help. I probably won't be cured, but I have a far better life than I did before going to Dr. Franco. His staff is just like him --always kind and compassionate. I have never called with a question or problem that I was not called back, and having been through a medical nightmare, I consider that miraculous in itself. Other doctors and their staffs have made my life harder, but Dr. Franco and his team have helped to make my life softer, and that is a first for me who has sought help for over twenty years.

I personally have had an exceptional experience with Dr. Franco. When I first went to him I couldn't stand longer than 10 minutes at a time. Today I can walk Disneyland all day long. If you want a Doctor who truly cares, one who will give you the time you need to explain details, and one who will truly help your situation without immediately throwing drugs like Enbrel, Remicade, etc then you couldn't find a more capable, caring Doctor.I drive 150 miles to him because he's the best choice for me.

Dr. Franco's idea of helping me with Fibromyalgia was getting me to purchase as many supplements as possible each month. These supplements are not covered by any insurance. One of the supplements caused me more harm. His service did nothing for me except drain my bank account. Also, each visit I had to wait over 2 hours for my appt.