Family Medicine practitioners - Eureka, CA

"He has poor patient relationship skills and wrong diagnosis most of the time, will not go back"

"The office was great, her nurse outstanding. But Dr. Ladika herself is not the kind of person I want for my healthcare team, someone I can trust to have my best interest as the driving force for the care given. I am a fat man; I know this, I have had bariatric surgery and lost over 200 pounds from my highest weight. I have been to see Dr. Ladika 3 times. At my first visit, I provided her with 5 pages of medical history: medications, surgeries, diagnoses, etc. She didn't even bother to look at it but had me give her the answers orally. Problem with that is that I have so many medications, and it's been long enough since my surgeries that the paperwork was more accurate and in fact, several times I told her, "That's on the paperwork I gave you because I am not sure of it without referring to it." I give this paperwork (updated whenever there is a change) to ALL of my new doctors, to the ER if I have a chance to print it out, and so on...simply to avoid that time-killing discussion of what I take, and was I ever hospitalized. And I wouldn't have minded so much but I could see the screen she was typing on and everything I told her went into the record as "morbid obesity". She's almost too thin and it's obvious that she works out diligently. But her obsession with her own weight should have nothing to do with my care. It is also pertinent to this review to tell you that I have torn tendons in both ankles, as well as a congenital problem with both kneecaps (they ride on the outside of the bone ends they are supposed to protect and I have been forbidden by the orthopedic doctor who diagnosed it from running for more than 1/4 of a mile, ever in my life). So when I told Dr. Ladika that I needed refills for my Celebrex, which I take for the pain in my knees and ankles, her response was "You need to exercise more." What part of "torn tendons", let alone the kneecaps, did you not pay attention to, Doctor? Her manner was dismissive of everything I tried to tell her; I had to repeat myself several times because it was obvious that she was not really listening. She did not do any simple diagnostic procedures, such as listen to my heart and breathing or take my pulse. Granted, the nurse had taken my vitals, but most doctors at least do that much. You might even think that she was avoiding touching me...like the fat might somehow get on her. She ordered standard blood work, including diabetes screening--but still managed to complain about my blood pressure--which has come down almost 40 points since my last doctor's visit, about 8 months prior (no insurance to go between these two visits). At my next visit, when she reviewed those tests, she was amazed to see that my blood sugar is not only NOT diabetic or pre-diabetic, it is low enough that I will never have diabetes, something I had already been told by my previous physician. She was very concerned about why I am taking "such expensive medications". How about because they work when nothing else will? I have severe acid dumping (sort of like reflux, but into the small intestine instead of going up the esophagus) and can only take one particular anti-acid medication; I have gone through the hoops of trying all the others before finally being put back on that one every time I change insurance. My anti-acid med and Celebrex are both expensive, but that's not my fault (it's called "Big Pharma") and I need them to have any quality of life. I have very idiosyncratic responses to medication, so when I find one that works, I prefer to stay with it. When I try the other ones and they interfere with my mood, that becomes dangerous because I have mental illness that is specifically emotional in basis--so messing with my moods de-stabilizes my mental health. Not good. Dr. Ladika gave every indication that she was doing this because I was on MediCal (Medicaid), not because she cared about my health. She dismissed my input about my own health and tried to establish herself as the supreme authority about what I would take and what I should do--without any idea of whether those things would actually work or just cause more problems. She was abrupt in speech and manner to the point of rudeness. She didn't make eye contact, didn't even try to make that necessary human connection. Cold and aloof, obviously prejudiced because of my weight not meeting her expectations and being the root cause for all of my problems (which it is not; if I were the right weight for my height, I would have the heart of a long distance runner. Try putting 200 pounds on your shoulders and getting through a day, even without trying to run. Getting out of a chair is a weight lift for me). I would not choose her as my primary care physician now, knowing these things and am, in fact, working to move to another office with a better doctor. My health is just that, MY health. I am a very interested participant in the processes of maintaining and treating my health and I view myself as the center point for the healthcare team, the doctors I see for my problems and the support I expect from them. Dr. Ladika is NOT a team player. I will tell you that her nurse Penelope is amazingly awesome and once I reached the point where I was dealing almost exclusively with her, managed to get things done as far as new scripts or refills. As near as I can tell, Penelope did the work, then just had the doctor sign her name. It works when it has to be done that way, but is not a long term strategy for consistent and caring treatment. I would NOT recommend Dr. Ladika to my worst enemy."