Dr. David Richard Freiheit, MD

This doctor completely, unmistakably gaslighted me. I’m used to a certain amount of gaslighting from doctors because it’s incredibly common, but this was on a whole other level. He clearly loathed me for even being in the ER, despite the fact my GP explicitly told me to go to the ER, which he didn’t allow me to mention because he bulldozed over me, clearly in a rush because the ER was busy. Additionally, I am sure his loathing partially stemmed from the fact that I was coming from Kaiser. The reason for this is I had been told Washington had connections with UCSF, which has an excellent neurology department, and I’d found Kaiser to be a bit negligent. If his goal was to make sure I would never come back to Washington hospital he very much achieved that, so good for him I guess. That does not excuse his treatment of me. I understand ER doctors are often brusque and it normally doesn’t bother me because I know they’re in a high stress job. The way this man talked to me was borderline… malicious. I explained I’d been having neurological issues. I know this because I’ve been referred to a neurologist, and also because I’m not an idiot. He asked me multiple times if I was experiencing anxiety or depression, which I haven’t been for over a month. He was clearly trying to blame my symptoms on some kind of mental issue, like my mental state was causing me to imagine symptoms. No such luck. The nail in the coffin was when he asked me if, when I had nearly fainted, I had stumbled. I, not seeing where he was going with this, confirmed that I had and had caught myself. He proceeded to say that maybe I had sprained my ankle or something, causing me to limp, and then did not even check to see if I had a sprain. This confirmed to me that he clearly thought I was over exaggerating, imagining, or lying. To be clear, I have been limping for a month, and my mobility issues have only gotten worse in the past week, to the point that I have difficulty navigating my own home and require a medical cane. I am not faking this. My GP even said to me that I might have brain damage. Clearly something is wrong. Anyway, I am going to file a formal complaint. Ideally I would like David Freiheit to either get penalized or, even better, fired from his job. Like pedophiles who become teachers and coaches, he clearly shouldn’t have it. He is dangerous in the position of power he’s in and given his other 2 1 star reviews, I am not an isolated incident. Had he taken me seriously and then simply shrugged saying there wasn’t much he could do, I would’ve been a bit put out but I also would’ve understood, and I wouldn’t be writing this review or calling for the paperwork to file a formal complaint. Oh, well. It’s worth the time for me.