Greg Pauxtis, MD

This guy is the worst physician I have ever met, and possibly worst human. First time I met him he was very nice, then when I came back for follow up, he completely turned on me. He totally flipped out when he thought he might be pulled into a workers comp case, which he was absolutely not. He just got a medical record request. Which then ignited him into a tail spin of anger, superiority complex and accusations about me.
I was trying to figure out where my headaches were coming from. He ordered an MRI of the brain and it didn’t show anything. Apparently, according to him, that is all you need in order to find anything wrong. Since there was nothing on the report, he said it was in my head, and all the other pain problems I had. A team of other doctors and I strongly disagree, but regardless, if there’s something you can’t find the first time, especially from test, I wouldn’t tell a patient there is nothing wrong and it’s in your head. He was so insensitive and plain mean. I practically begged him to just let me finish the appointment to help diagnose or refer me elsewhere, but he was literally trying to kick me out! «Get out, I can’t help you,» he says. What kind of doctor does or says that?
On top of all that, he thought I wasn’t «believing» him that I had nothing wrong because I went to Stanford for college and needed a Stanford doctor because they were the only kind of doctor I’d believe. Are you kidding me?! I don’t care where, for the most part, the doctor went to med school (but obviously he does). I only care if they are nice, empathetic and knowledgeable. Talk about insecurity complex.
He’s obviously got good reviews on Unilocal,but if he doesn’t like you, or if you make him feel inferior merely by the fact you went to a good school, be careful if/​when he turns on you.

4 years later and I continue to stand by review that this man is a mentally ill nutcase that will come off amazingly caring and intelligent and then throw you to the wolves and leave you hanging when you need him the most. Money hungry, money driven, and in no capacity whatsoever concerned about his patients or their true recovery. I wish you nothing but bad fortune with your practice, dr. pauxtis. You deserve it and things always come out in the wash… Your leopard spots will show themselves to anyone with half a brain and a sound intuition.

Great doctor, I’d say one of the best. Unfortunately very very difficult to get a timely referral post-​appointment. Requires (in my experience) about a dozen follow-​up phone calls. Sucks when you’re in pain.

What other doctor on the planet sits down with you for an hour and a half on a Friday afternoon, when everyone else is racing to escape their offices? Dr. Pauxtis is truly one of a kind – sensitive, intuitive, offbeat, funny, and full of good ideas. I have been in his care for 14 years and am full of gratitude for this incredible man!

Dr. Pauxtis knows his stuff, but the experience is like talking to the most logical and programmed engineer that doesn’t participate in normal social friendly interaction. He didn’t have an answer for my chronic back pain, but at least gave me a suggestion for something else to try instead.

Dr. Pauxtis took the time to listen to my concerns, explained things in a level of detail that I needed and wanted. Sometimes treatments for conditions are a compromise, and he took the time to get to know me and find out what might be best for me. This resulted in a change of drugs that has been extremely beneficial.
I think his bedside manner is great — very caring and quite funny.
So its not good if you have to see a neurologist, but this is the one you want to see.

Dr. Pauxtis is by far the best doctor I have seen since I was a little kid, and let me tell you I have seen allot of doctors. He is caring, trustworthy, extremely knowledgeable in both his practice area and general medical and health. Perfect bedside manner, both nice and funny.
When I was out on disability and really broke, he even paid my copayments for me so I could continue seeing him. Now I’m doing better then ever and I owe it all to him. if I could I would give him 10 stars.

Dr. Pauxtis is just about the best doctor I’ve ever had. He’s easygoing, funny, and I’ve never not left his office with a smile. Beyond that, he’s an excellent doc — he always talks through his thought process, engaging you in the decisionmaking. Most recently, I saw Dr. Pauxtis for an exercise headache condition that I assumed would be chronic and difficult to treat. 2 weeks later, it was gone.
High marks for Dr. Pauxtis.

I had a great experience here! I was referred by an overly cautious primary care physician who was worried about my history of migraines. Dr. Pauxtis spent a lot of time with me, despite the fact that my visit was not as urgent or serious as other patients that he sees. He fully explained the research on migraines, discussed my personal life and potential headache triggers, and was just generally knowledgable and friendly!
I will admit that it can be hard to get in to see him. After my initial call explaining my doctor’s concerns, Lenny said he doubted if the doctor would see me because they only take new patients who are referred by their doctors. Luckily Dr. Pauxtis understood my original doctor’s concerns and was willing to see me, but for a while I was trapped negotiating between two doctors, which wasn’t fun!
Overall: great doctor, really friendly, very knowledgeable

After experienced a number of unaccountable falls along along with strange failures in cognition, I was referred to Dr. Pauxtis by my primary care physician. Dr. Pauxtis was fantastic, a great listener, as my wife, daughter and I described my condition. He performed a standard neurological physical exam along with a cognition test and scheduled an MRI. On this occasion and on subsequent others he carefully explained his findings and how they related too my condition in a friendly, relaxed, intelligent manner leavened with an easy going good humor.
A few days before the scheduled MRI, my wife noticed a significant decline in my abilities and called Dr. Pauxtis and asked for advice. He said that with such a change, I should be taken to the ER. We did so and the ER after examination sent me to the MRI and within a few hours I had a craniotomy to drain a subdural hematoma and by the next morning I was feeling like my old self.
My follow-​up visits were very unlike previous visits with medical specialists who seem to be mostly about how quickly they can get to the next patient,
Dr. Pauxtis is never rushed. He is focused on being thorough and takes pains to see that you understand all aspects of the condition. His detailed explanation of the state of my brain after the follow-​up MRI was impressive. He displayed many views, identified the elements of the brain and pointed out areas that had been affected by the hematoma and how they were recovering.
I would highly recommend his services to anyone in need of a patient oriented Neurologist

Dr. Pauxtis is a very patient, kind and considerate man. He is very thorough, direct, knowledgeable and trustworthy. Besides that he has a great sense of humor. I am always greeted with a friendly smile and a handshake, and feel welcome every time I have an appointment. I always leave his office with a sense of hope, and feeling that my ails have been taken care of, or are in the process of being taken care of.

Greg is a great guy and a hero — he had the courage and the thoroughness and the experience, all combined, to see a solution for my medical condition and to recommend neurosurgery where others chickened out and prescribed meds instead. Today I am free of meds and have a healthy active life thanks to the ethical integrity and courage of Dr Pauxtis.

Avoid at all cost.

Dr. Pauxtis diagnosed me correctly-​figuring out my issue during our first appointment. He was kind, professional, and put me at ease about my prognosis. I have since fully recovered and would recommend him to anyone.

Dr. Pauxtis is a kind gentle soul. He is thorough in explaining and making sure one understands their care protocol. He’s great!

Dr. Pauxtis is awesome!
I knew based on the reviews here that I would either love him or hate him (to be honest reading the reviews almost made me cancel my appointment) but my PCP recommended him so I figured he must be good. Well it turns out he is one of the best neurologists I have ever been to. I have seen all of the big names in SF, who will remain unnamed (but I’m sure who can figure out who), and did not have great experiences with any of them. Dr. Pauxtis however is *hilarious*, I don’t think I have ever laughed that much at a Dr. appt, ever. He was funny and conversational and spent a lot of time talking to me about my migraines and how we can go about treating them. What I loved was that his first recommendation was not a medication but a supplement. It is so nice to see a DR, who isn’t going to just push more drugs on you. I left with a thick packet of information and felt better about everything. He seems very dedicated to Neurology and perhaps thats what makes him a bit quirky/​peculiar? I don’t know, I just know that I really liked the guy and I am a tough customer.
The appointment scheduling was easy and I found his scheduler to be not only accommodating but super nice as well (so I don’t quite understand the negative references to him). I will update if things change but I feel pretty confident in this doctor.

I was suffering from unexplained tension headaches for a year and had tried several approaches including acupuncture, diet changes and so on. It was getting to the point that I couldn’t even focus due to the unexplained pain.
I tried to get into the UCSF Headache Clinic and was told that there was a 6 month to year waiting list to get in. I went to a ear, noise and throat doctor who didn’t seem to care (she was way more concerned about her pregnancy than my head) and she recommended that I to go to a neurologist. I found a doctor in the East Bay who could get me in the same day (usually a bad sign) and she was a total disaster. I could barely understand her (very poor English) and she was rushed and kept looking in her drug book to find something and I quote «to try on me». After several failed meds I felt like all I was to her was an experiment. Get this, frustrated with me and my lack of progress– at one point, she asked ME what drug I would like to take! She even offered me up a bunch of strong pain meds but said– «if I give you these you better be a good boy with them». WTF? After that, I decided it was time to move on once again and try to find a doctor that specialized in treating headaches (which BTW is not an easy task).
I finally found out about Dr Pauxtis after a recommendation from my primary care doctor (Dr Charles Moser). After the first visit, I had a good feeling about him and was hoping that he could help rid me of the daily pain in my head. His office is very zen and he takes his time with you. Best of all, he actually seemed to care about trying to prevent my headaches and wanted to try the best approach possible.
I’m happy to say that after putting me on Atenolol my headaches are now a thing of this past. I was surprised to see that some here have had negative experiences with him. Remember, every doctor works differently with each patient and you need to find the right one that you feel comfortable with. What I also like about Dr Pauxtis is he will provide you with his e-​mail address so you can e-​mail him if you have any questions. I’ve never known a doc to do that before…
His assistant Lenny is friendly and although I’ve only spoken to him via phone, he is very professional and is easy to schedule appointments with.
My advice is to give Dr Pauxtis a try and after the first appointment if he’s not for you then go find someone else. He’s been a good doctor for me who truly cares about finding the root cause of the problem.
Oh, and in regards to the comment about an arbitration agreement… Hello??? Every doctor that I’ve been at recently has one in the new patient paperwork. I think doctors have to do it these days because if liability reasons.

To judge from the other reviews, you either love this guy or hate him. Personally, the visit I had with him was one of the best I’ve had with any doctor. These days, you often feel rushed – they have patients scheduled every 20 minutes. I don’t think this doctor does that, as I was with him for about an hour.
I had a seizure in August and another in September. I was referred to another neurologist, with an outcome that was lacking. Wanting a second opinion, I got a referral to Dr. Pauxtis from my GP.
Dr. Pauxtis showed me my MRI on his Mac, giving me a mini anatomy lesson about the brain.
I asked «What’s that?» a lot and he was not impatient or annoyed by this. He explained everything:
«That’s where the carotid artery enters the brain.»
«Areas that don’t contain much water (teeth, bone) show up dark on the MRI.»
Then he explained about the area of the brain seizures are located in and why this MRI looked good – «You have a fine brain.» :-). So the MRI was fine, it was the EEG that was problematic. He listened to what I said, not cutting me off as other doctors have, or dismissing my concerns or questions.
He answered every question I came in there with – then at the end asked if I had any questions. I had, but he’d answered them all.
Regarding the seizures, he told me about what all my options were as far as medicines went and what benefits and drawbacks of each one were.
I have other medical conditions, and medications I have to take for those. He spent a good deal of time discussing those medications, which anti-​convulsants would be most beneficial, considering the other medications I was taking.
In short, he was was cordial, thorough, knowledgeable, and kind.

When I went for my first visit with this doctor, he handed me a bunch of documents including an arbitration agreement.
An arbitration agreement — really ?
In my opinion, any doctor that hands you this before treating you could have a history of legal trouble. Why would you knowingly sign away your rights if a medical error is made?
My referring doctor was horrified by this «doctors» business practices and I was told that he will not be sending any new patients his way.
You might want to read up on what the term «arbitration» means before going forward.

I have been seeing Dr. Pauxtis for my chronic migraines. I was having at least two migraines a week before I started seeing him.
I have now been seeing him for over 6 months now and haven’t had one migraine! He is extremely friendly and knowledgeable as well. He doesn’t just prescribe you medicine, he explains your options and how the medication will work for you.
Every time I have a question I email him and he always responds right away.
I would definitely recommend him to anyone who is in need of a neurologist.