Patel Neelakshi MD

I have been a patient of Dr. Patel’s since 2010. She is always very thorough and answers any question I have. I’m very grateful for her calm demeanor and gentle exams which are so important when you are in constant pain. I’ll also say, I never have to wait long before my appointments and have never felt rushed while she is with me.

The word terrible is too kind to describe this doctor. All I needed was a refill. She made me see her twice, and, to this date, never gave me the prescription. She is also very disorganized, and didn’t read my file before seeing me. But she was on the ball when it came to billing me. I called and told her assistant that she had a nerve to charge for nothing. I told her to think it over, and if she felt she deserved the money, I’d pay her, though I was never helped. She billed me again! Don’t waste your time and money. What a joke of a doctor!

My symptoms started a while ago, feeling sore, tired, but nothing that seemed necessary for a doctors visit. Then, my thumb started feeling «weird» — and happily ignored it. That was until my thumb would wake me up in the dead of night and it was bent in this «L» shape — and the pain was excruciating! What the ??? So I go to my regular MD and he tells me it’s trigger thumb. What on earth is trigger thumb? Oh, of course … nobody knows the exact cause. Lovely. I’m referred a hand specialist, and get a cortisone shot. Let me tell you, I’m like Lance Armstrong without the cycling and the lying. I LOVE steroids, and happy to admit it! The shot worked like a dream!!! Now the bad part is MORE fingers are acting weird, and my toes too! Really? I felt like I aged 25 years over the course of 5 months. Now I’m exhausted, my fingers are swelling. I can’t get out of bed, and I have no idea what’s wrong. The hand specialist told me NOTHING except I can do research online and see what I find. You. are. joking. Seriously? I want to be paid a boatload of money to tell people to «figure it out themselves» — that sounds like a sweet career! So now I’m looking stuff up and all my symptoms are pointing to rheumatoid arthritis. Geezuschristcriminycrapoop!
I go back to my regular doctor. I tell him something is terribly wrong. More tests. All signs are pointing to rheumatoid arthritis. After a bit of research, I find out this is an autoimmune disease. One of my fingers became so swollen I simply had to stop using it. My pain is 24 hours a day, I simply can’t take it anymore.
My GP referred me to Dr. Patel, and off I went to her office. Before my first appointment, a questionnaire was mailed to me to fill out before I arrived. Major bonus points since it was incredibly long and I had to call family members to find out what our health history was. It was great to fill this out weeks before instead of scrambling to figure this out in the doctors office. When I arrive for my appointment, the waiting room is large and clean, and you don’t feel paranoid not to touch anything. The staff was nice AND attentive, you’re not met with annoying stares or simply being ignored. I felt safe, it seems like an odd statement, but for the months of pain and fatigue I’ve endured — it was nice to feel safe somewhere.
Meeting Dr. Patel is a breath of fresh air. She is a soft spoken, very gentle woman — and she is just what I need in a doctor. She looked through my questionnaire, and followed up with more questions and tests. The facility has most everything on site, so I didn’t need to travel the globe for random tests. So I get my blood work and MRI’s done «in house». Dr. Patel asks a lot of questions, and makes sure I understand everything that she is explaining to me. Never have I felt rushed by her, and she and her entire staff make me feel comfortable with my treatment and explain everything in detail. She is located in a facility with a few more doctors, and there is a lot going on. I feel a sense of calm amongst the hustle and bustle within the medical center.
I’ve been in treatment for a couple of months now, and so far I feel as if I’m on the right track. The amount of pills I take now is exasperating, but it sure beats the pain and fatigue I was feeling a while back. The sad news is I’ll have to take medication for the rest of my life, but if I’m on the path to being back to my previous self ~ then count me in.
I’ve been debating on writing this, since I feel like I’m putting my personal life out there in the Unilocal world, and also selfish since I don’t want Dr. Patel to become so busy I can’t come in for my regular visits ~ or lose my Duchess title.