Dr. Muhammad Raghib Iqbal, MD

I want to state that the front desk staff are helpful and kind. I can't in good conscience give any review besides a 1 star. I was placed with doctor Muhammad R Iqbal and had a terrible visit. I am new to LA so when I got my new insurance I was given a doctor. I don't know any doctors so I was fine to try the one they gave me, after no phone calls back and no ways to reach that doctor I called to ask for another doctor. They gave me a new doctor [who turned out to be at the same clinic]. I finally got ahold of someone to make an appointment for an intake exam and first visit. When I arrived they had made that appointment with a different doctor [fingers crossed my insurance works for a random doctor] The doctor they gave me was Muhammad R Iqbal. The service and help and bedside manner were Abhorrent. I had to demand that he make time for my questions as he was trying to leave very fast. When he finally addressed me as a human all his answers were very short and terse and… made me feel like an idiot. The thing is that I am very educated and have a lot of knowledge about the questions I was asking. I have been working with high cholesterol for 3 years and acid reflux for even longer, so I have tried a LOT of methods to work on these. His answers were SO fast just to tell me to take the first drug he could think of and be done. The thing about just throwing medication at a problem is that then the patient is reliant on those drugs for their life rather than fixing any of the underlying causes or waiting to hear that I have actually tried those medications. When I tried to say that I understood those medications and have a working knowledge of the anatomy and physiology surrounding the problems and potential solutions he got frustrated at me and made up a problem that clearly wasn't real. He said it was my fault for being overweight and that my weight was pulling on my esophagus and my stomach sphincter. When I asked for more information about how that worked in the body he explained to me what a sphincter was and thought that would be enough to make me believe his diagnosis. Sadly I do know what that is AND that there aren't any ropes from the gut to the sphincter that will keep it open. Sure there are some parallels between weight and acid reflux and cholesterol but those are mostly to do with diet and exercise, not belly strings pulling your stomach open. He went on to suggest other medications which I also know to be short fixes and not problemsolvers AND suggested that I sleep propped up, which again is a way to mitigate the symptoms and fix none of the problems.  He was rude. He did not present as a knowledgeable practitioner of medicine.  I am sorry that others have to have him as their doctor.  I am fortunate enough to have enough working knowledge to advocate for myself. If I didn't know more I would have come out of that meeting on medication for life and no greater information on myself or ways to be better.  Medication with a lot of side effects that can't be stopped.  I am sorry for anyone that will hare life-altering encounters with this man.  I do not trust him and I no longer trust an establishment that will have him as a staff member.