Dr. Sangita Joyce Agarwal, MD

I have never been more disrespected and disregarded by a doctor than I was by Dr. Agarwal. She was my primary care from about ages 14-21. When I was 14, I had an issue with anxiety-related vomiting. When I saw Dr. Agarwal about it, she asked me numerous times if I could be pregnant and didn’t believe me. She continually implied I was lying when I was there trying to get help for an entirely separate issue. When I did eventually pursue a prescription for hormonal birth control at age 16, she gave me a speech about “getting more respect if I waited to have sex” — completely inappropriate, archaic, and counterintuitive to providing a young person in her care with tools to keep themselves safe and healthy. Throughout high school, she harassed me about my weight and fatshamed me, focusing only on a number as opposed to my overall health. When I was in college and could not make it back to my hometown area 2.5 hours away to come in on a weekday, she withheld my birth control prescription,… which affected my health a great deal. I feel that I was very harmed by Dr. Agarwal and that my experience with her as an adolescent led to my hesitation to seek medical care as an adult. I would not recommend Dr. Agarwal. She lacks compassion, did not treat me as a whole person, and judged me instead of providing me with necessary healthcare.

I saw Dr. Agarwal when I was a preteen and into my teenage years. She continuously pressured me to lose weight at appointments where, looking back, that was not the matter at hand. When I wanted to go on birth control pills at age 16 for multiple reasons, including regulating my menstrual cycle, she insisted that it was her job to tell me that I'd "get more respect if I waited" (to have sex), which I find to be incredibly patronizing and also inappropriate. Then, when I ended up in the office for an anxiety issue that was causing me nausea and vomiting, she asked me over and over if I was pregnant, and when I continuously (and honestly) said no, she then told me they would have to run a pregnancy test on the blood they took anyway and expressed her skepticism that I was being honest, which felt terrible since I was there trying to get help for a problem that was affecting my every day quality of life. When I had a knee injury at age 19 and had to return to my family's practice to… address it, I found myself incredibly relieved to make an appointment with a different member of staff, and only then did I realize how much of an effect her attitude and callous dismissal of my thoughts and feelings as a patient had had on me. Basically, my experience with her has been dismal, and though I certainly don't think that causing me distress was her goal, I would absolutely not put my health in her hands again, as I found that she did not take me seriously, shamed me for my weight (particularly at a formative age), and patronized me.