Aufdemberg Michael, MD

Dr. Aufdemberg is the best! I wish I found him from day 1 with my first born but it was not until my eldest turned 3 that Dr. Mike became our family’s pediatrician. He now sees all 3 of my kids. The best thing about Dr. Mike is that he takes time to listen to you and offers solid well thought-​out advice! There is never a feeling that he is rushing through an appointment. He even makes after hour calls and is just plain wonderful all around. He’s a great fit for our family and our views. I would highly recommend him to those that are not blind believers in medicine and can appreciate a holistic approach to medicine.

I absolutely LOVE Dr. Aufdemberg ! My son calls him Dr. Mike, as many other children do. He has been seeing my son since he was a newborn. My son is currently 2 ½ and can be a handful. Dr. Mike always shows patience with him, all the while making it a fun experience for my son. Dr. Mike has a great balance of all the key components of an amazing doctor. His bedside manner is wonderful, and he never makes me feel crazy for all the questions I have for him. Let me tell you, being a first time parent, I have some pretty crazy ones. He is very hands on in his office, which you rarely see now a day. I have always been able to get my son in same day when he is sick. He gives me the choice of what I want to do with my child, all the while still giving medical advice. Best doctor ever! I have always loved his front office staff also ! If I’m blessed to have more children, he will definitely continue to be my doctor!

Love Dr. Mike. He is a great doctor who lets you feel comfortable. He allows you to ask questions and doesn’t make you feel dumb for questioning today’s medical guidelines. He treats the cause of the problem and does not just treat the symptoms.
Both of my children are patients of his and the two and a half year old constantly talks about Dr. Mike. (My two week old can’t quite talk about him yet.) He is very good with the kids and really easy to talk to. Highly recommend him!

Dr. Mike has been our pediatrician for both of our children since they were born. We really appreciate his years of experience and personal care that we receive every time we visit. He truly takes each child’s health care seriously on an individualized, case by case basis rather than just treating all kids the same regardless of family medical history or specific symptoms. I am so thankful that we found a doctor who actually cares about the well being of our precious babies rather than most pediatricians who just get them in and out with the one size fits all treatment and happily bill our insurance for countless well baby visits.

We love this doctor. He’s friendly, gentle, and spends a lot of time with my kids. We never wait for our appointment, which is a bonus! A few things…
I ALWAYS get the office manager when I call during business hours. When I call during lunch, I leave a message and get a prompt reply. Twice, I’ve left messages with the call center during the evening, and Dr. Mike always gets back quickly.
He’s contracted with a few private insurances. We have Medi-​Share, and have to front all our expenses (we get a cash discount), but in the long run, we pay probably half since traditional health care is so stupidly expensive. (I love Medi-​Share!)
What I’ve learned about Dr. Mike, is that he doesn’t major on the minors, but still listens and will test or investigate to be cautious without demeaning me. I value this because, recently he made a big deal about an issue with my youngest daughter. I knew he meant business.
I also appreciate that he doesn’t push drugs. He’s recommended probiotics, garlic mullein for ears, etc. Even my husband asked for an antibiotic for one of my kids, and he said, that it was a virus, not a bacterial infection, so he won’t recommend it.
Last, I need to know WHY I’m doing something for my child. Like, why do I need to give my kids vitamin D? I’ve even pushed back on him a few times, and he graciously engaged in some good conversations, which made me realize that he wants to do his job well!

I called this doctor as I had a referral from one of his patient.
The person answering the phone at the dr’s office said that my insurance could not be accepted.
I have a Gold Plan Blue Shield that is accepted everywhere and my daughter has seen all kinds of doctors with no problem.
This girl answering the phone, obviously, does not know how insurances work.
First she said because it is an individual plan they could not accept it. First time in 12 years of having an individual plan I heard something like this!
Then she said it is through Covered California: this does not work! I insisted it is not through Covered California, I purchased this insurance before Covered California went into effect!
So I gave her the insurance phone number to verify and call me back.
She never did.
Bad experience. I suggest the doctor to find someone more qualified to answer the phone.
He is losing potential new patients. For sure he lost me!
I will go to another doctor.

Dr. Mike is amazing! I love his office and his staff! It is always easy to get in to see him. And the few times I have had to call him through the exchange he has always called back right away.
I love his approach to everything. He is very thorough in exams and likes to do a lot of tests to get to the root of the problem. He promotes a very healthy way to live. He suggests probiotics and is concerned with what is going on in the gut. Since 70% of the immune system is there.
I am very happy with him and trust him 100% with the health of my 8 year old daughter and 5 month old daughter!
I am very hands on with both of my daughters health and if I want specific tests to be done he will do them. He will educate me extensively on the results.
He’s fun and funny! I would suggest him to anyone who has the insurance he accepts.
I love him so much I will only buy insurance that he takes. If mine or my husbands plan is different I will I buy separate for the girls.
I love him!

I don’t recommend!!!
I went to his office twice and after the second visit I immediately looked for another pediatrician. My daughter had a skin rash and he told me that it was because of some fruit she was eating and asked me to verify it giving one kind of fruit per day to see which one could be causing the rash. He prescribed an ointment and asked me to return with her in two weeks. When we arrived at the office for the second visit he asked me what I was doing there again. Didn’t he read my daughter records before the visit? I told him again everything about her rash and what he asked me to do. He asked me if it was better. My daughter was in front of him and he didn’t even looked at her. He told me that the rash skin was not due to fruits and I shouldn’t have worried about it, like «you lost your time». After that he simply left the room and I waited for a long time. As he didn’t returned I looked for someone in the office and the secretary told me that the visit was over and I could go. Couldn’t he have said it? He also game my daughter a vitamin for brain development. But she is healthy!!! The new pediatrician told me that this vitamin is given only for kids who have brain maldevelopment.
I really don’t recommend!!!

We just recently switched to Dr. Mike and absolutely love him. My kids had many issues our other doctor knew about but never took the time to find out the root causes. Dr. Mike has been interested in getting my kids tested to help fix these problems. He is knowledgable and concerned for their well being. I never feel rushed and he always takes his time with us.

Our 4-​year old loves him, has no problems going there and even the vaccination visits are incredibly smooth, the trust that we have in Dr. Aufdemberg far outweighs all the downsides of having small staff. The best pediatrician in OC.

Dr Mike is one of the best pediatricians out there. He has amazing bed side manner and is willing to spend the time with you to get to know you the parents personally and your baby/​child. His practice is VERY busy so make sure you book your well baby appointments when your their in the office so you can have prime choice in dates.
Dr Mike is very knowledgable about a wide variety of subjects and is willing to talk about a multitude of items such as water purification systems, going organic, when to introduce certain foods.

Dr. Mike is amazing! I first I interviewed him when I was pregnant with my son and knew right away that he was on the same page as me. From day 1 he has been my sons doctor and let me tell you we have seen him A LOT! My son is one of those kids that always gets what everyone else has… so we have visited the doctor quit often. Dr Mike has always made time to see us… if I call that day I always get in to see him the same day… I have never been told no. He takes his time with us and never rushes us out and let’s me asks all my crazy questions. IF I call someone always calls me back the same day which I think is important.
I love Dr. Mike’s practice. It’s small and feels like family and my son loves it too. He truly cares about you and your child (ren). I highly recommend him!!!

Dr. Aufdemberg may be a terrific doctor, BUT HIS PHONES ROUTINELY DON’T WORK!!! I’ve been trying to contact the office for over two months, most recently to follow up on an ER visit, and the office phone is out. Again. When the phones work, and I’ve left no fewer than FIVE messages, the calls were never returned.
Communication is paramount. There is no alternate number to contact, no email, no website, nothing. I can’t wait around for the office staff to figure out the phone situation while my child is ill. This is utterly unacceptable.

This is such a difficult review to write being that I actually loved this doctor, but his office personnel is the worst I have ever encountered. First I was told that my ppo insurance wouldn’t cover my daughters well baby and vaccines and I was asked to pay hundreds of dollars cash. Later on I found out they contacted my insurance to request payment and they received payment in full. So, they actually committed insurance fraud because now, they do not want to refund me the money I paid. I would normally just let it go, but they way they have been ignoring my calls and making up stories just makes me sick to my stomach. I will obviously not return to this office and would definitely not recommend anyone to attend his office. I originally went to them because I wanted a slower vaccine schedule, but it seams that because there are not many in the area, they take your business for granted and the office treat you horribly. The doctor is great though. Unless you are willing to be treated horribly I would for sure not recommend this office. I already made a report through the better business bureau, but could not find their business there, but made a report nonetheless. If no refund, I will have to take them to court, but will wait a few days.

My favorite! My kids love Dr. Mike and he is so understanding with all my questions. He NEVER over medicates my kids and we talk thru every treatment option.

BEST DOCTOR IN THE WORLD! I’ve been going to michael since the day I was born, and he has done EVERY kind of medical treatment I’ve needed, I dont go anywhere else! from the flu, to MASSIVE hip problems, he goes above and beyond any other doctor! His brother is my dentist too! You couldnt put your child in better hands!

Dr. A was my 2 daughters’ doctor for over 10 years, they were generally flexible seeing my kids when they were sick and we were happy just enough to keep him as our doctor.
However, they failed to keep the record of my daughters. My daughter needed the record/​history twice, she was around 17 and didn’t go to see him for 2 years max, they put her record to archive and was not able to retrieve.
Same thing happened, now she is 21 and needed her immunization record to submit for nursing school… I knew it would be very hard but not only they were not able find it, they made my daughter wait for a few weeks just to find out that they could not locate it. They were not prompt in checking, returning call as they promised, my daughter wasted time and she ended up getting more shots. I wish she did not have to do that and kids’ shots record IS very important.
I am quite disappointed.
If you’re taking your kids to Dr. A, make sure to keep your own record separately, DO NOT assume they will keep yours.

My son is a pretty new patient of Dr. Aufdemberg (we’ve been going almost 1 year) and my husband and I both love him. My son likes him too. First of all, we are always able to get an appointment and we never have to wait more than a few minutes to be seen. He is extremely patient and takes his time with you during the visit. He is so calm and non-​intimidating. He makes suggestions without being pushy and he is respectful of parental preferences. He is not quick to write a prescription and he often has recommended natural remedies. We will be coming back to him for a long time. As a mom, I couldn’t be happier with our choice of pediatrician.

We interviewed several pediatricians (including the famous Dr. Bob Sears) looking for someone pro breastfeeding, pro large families, familiar with gluten free, AP, trustworthy, down to earth, and most critically to his profession allow us to defer vaccines.
We choose Dr. Michael Aufdemberg (I found him off the Sear’s website) …
He has a wonderful bedside manner and is very knowledgeable. He has 6 children of his own. He told us after 3 children we should just have 12. (Which DH loved since that’s how many he wants. God willing) Dr. Mike is good about returning phone calls and advising over the phone. The morning appointments & just after lunch appts go to infants so they are not in the waiting room with sick children. The downside to the morning appointments is sometimes he is dealing with his rounds or emergencies at HOAG and can be a little late but he is well worth the wait. He has been very informative with baby led weaning/​starting solids and what foods to not give/​be careful of ex. baby rice cereal due to arsenic contamination. (Good thing he told me because I might have started that from the beginning.)
Quick story: We knew that I was strep positive and would be on penicillin during labor. So he gave me a recommendation to start taking probiotics prior to giving birth and to start LO on them right away. Since I went into labor a week early I wasn’t prepared with the ones he told me to get. DS was colicky and fussy the first week. Dr. A told us to start another one from Mother’s right away. Once we gave him the probiotic he slept, and ever since he has been an angel baby!
I recommend him to all of my friends who ask! And to some who don’t! ;)

I am surprised to not find any reviews for Dr. Aufdemberg. He is everything a thinking mother needs in a pediatrician. He trusts my instincts, he is the first dr to ask me how I feel about something and then advises we go with my gut. He gets his office to call me because *he* wants to see how my daughter is doing. He enjoys sharing his knowledge, gets into details and speaks his mind. He works very hard and its easy to tell he loves taking care of his little people. Icing on the cake, he welcomes parents who don’t want to vaccinate, prefer natural meds and he is up to date on all new developments, at least the ones that have concerned my daughter. The only downside is the wait in the office but I don’t mind that, I know when my turn comes he will give me the extra time I might need. Also Lupe and Kathy at his office are super nice.