I will go into some detail here, but I have nothing that conflicts with what others are saying. I am a neuroscientist with chronic back pain for over half of my life. I am allergic to all NSAIDs and have previously had 7 spinal injections and 1 nerve ablation done at the Cleveland Clinic following my back surgery when I was 17. It is not just Dr. Yang, but the ENTIRE staff (from office staff to medical assistants to nurse practitioners) that are completely incompetent. I also agree with the person who said "Bressi was the best I've seen and he has sexual assault charges, so what does that say about these doctors?" Bressi was ALSO the best I had ever seen. It is very sad that pain management, which requires doctors to have more empathy than perhaps any other field of medicine, seems to have the least understanding and, in most cases, the least capable doctors. When I began, I was told to give saliva so that an enzyme test could be performed to see how my body metabolism different… pain medications. I was SO excited! FINALLY! Where has this place been all my life!? They are actually using science to further their understanding of patient's needs, focusing on the fact that everyone has a different biochemistry and metabolism. Months went by and I heard nothing about my test, but my medications were working decently, so I assumed they had received it and everything was just "normal". Then, I was switched to a different long-acting pain medication which was not working. After (literally) 6-7 months of going into the office 1-3x a month crying and begging for them to change it, I demanded to see my enzyme results. While leaving the office, I overheard the medical assistant on the phone with the company as they had never received the test (or had lost it) and needed another copy. This was now ONE year after that test was done. My next appointment, I was not offered the test, but asked about it AGAIN (probably the 4th time). Well, surprise surprise! On the front page had the name of the medication I was currently on, circled, with the words "DO NOT PRESCRIBE" written by it. As it turns out, my body breaks it down into the configuration which provides NO analgesia but CAN contribute to toxicity. I threw a fit! Dr. Yang told me it "wasn't a big deal" and that if I was that concerned, I should find another pain management doctor. You are NOT a person there, not even a patient - just a paycheck and a number. He has also told me that the constant cracking in my spine is my "muscles" and has tried to prescribe me medications I'm highly allergic to on ALMOST every visit. Furthermore, if you go in for an "emergency visit" (which is what they tell you to do of course), you will most likely not be able to see your regular provider. Due to this fact, they will NOT DO ANYTHING about your medications but will still charge you and refuse to offer a refund. I have had fights with the office manager on more than one occasion due to situations like this (which happen much more often than it even sounds like as I'm describing this). I've seen Laura, Sandra, and Abby. All are incredibly condescending, talking to me like I'm a worthless drug addict. Furthermore, they consistently push spinal cord simulators and spinal injections. When I told Sandra I had already had 7 injections that did not help (and cost approximately $4K each), her response was that "Well, they weren't HERE. We have different techniques". Right, I'm quite sure that the "techniques" they use are above those of the Cleveland Clinic, who innovated the majority of them. Do NOT waste your time here. ALSO, now that Dr. Bressi is gone, Dr. Yang is the only actual doctor who sees patients in the office. There must be at least 300 patients there but my guess is closer to 500. While this part is NOT his fault, he has NO IDEA who you are, what your allergies are, or what your background medical history is! If you do decide to have a spinal procedure done, this will be done by Dr. Geiger, who you will only meet SECONDS before your procedure. I hope other patients have the intelligence to realize this is not how these situations should go and make the proper choice for their own health care.
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