Irwin Dudow, OD

This guy is an idiot and should not be trusted. He try’s to push products on you and he should retired already.

I guess I should have read the previous reviews before seeing Dr. Dudow for a regular eye checkup. I seem to have had an identical experience with another patient who posted a review back in may. How can it be a coincidence. I’ve also been wearing glasses since I was 7 or 8yrs old, switched to contact lens at 15 and been wearing contacts for over 15 years now. My prescription had not changed in a good 8 plus years going thru regular checkups with several different doctors and offices. I was running low on contacts a month ago, and decided to go thru my vsp insurance, found dr. dudow’s listing nearest to where I live and booked the appt. The exam was also very unfamiliar to me as the Dr ensured this is a newer type of examination… and may I say, the most frustrating checkup Ive EVER experienced. I could not make out the letters, kept switching from one eye to the next. Dr kept asking me to guess the letter, just try to guess. Are you kidding me ?? How does guessing help any optometrist evaluate proper vision. A good 45 min into this, he concluded that I’m far sighted with astigmatism. EXCUSE ME… come again? Ive NEVER been diagnosed as farsighted nor with astigmatism. Been nearsighted my whole life. Oops… Also, he forgot that I was wearing my contact lens during the eval. So he switched me over to contact lens evaluation after that process. Another hour was spent here. At this point furious, however I kept my composure as I’m thinking im dealing with a «professional». And not to mention, the whole time during the first eval, he kept trying to talk me into changing contact lens brands and got into pricing BEFORE he had even finished his checkup. I’ve been in financial sales over 13 years and you are sitting here, as a medical optometric professional, trying to SELL me a type of contact lens, giving me pricing BEFORE YOU ARE finshed with the evaluation? which you eval’d incorrectly ??? Wow. I expressed my comfort level with acuvue brand for all these years. The doctor was anti acuvue, and said there are better brands and types out there. Ok, I said I’m open to trying. Now he kept trying to sell me an annual membership service, that it includes cases, and containers, and re-​checkups, etc. Not even happy with this initial service, let alone to continue with his services. I declined the membership several times. Tried a set of contacts for few days, his recommendation. NOT comfortable at all. Then we switched to more practically priced and every 2 week type of contacts, He unsanitarily gives me a pair of out of container contacts to try out… Out of its container, out of its plastic, in the round plastic reusable containers we fiill after we’ve opened the package… Umm, weird, ok I’m running out of patience, but I tried them like an idiot, I shouldve refused. This pair felt a little better, I’m out of contacts by now, advised the receptionist Susan, who has been very helpful herself. No complaints with her… advised her to place the order. Order comes in 2 weeks later (longest timeframe I’ve waited for contacts), I open the package, try the first pair, and this DOES NOT FEEL like the ones he gave me to try (the open container, contacts, which I didn’t even see the # nor brand on). Called in very frustrated. That there seems to be a mistake. And dimensions fairly different from my previous prescription which hadn’t changed in years. Now they try to upcharge me an additional sum to revisit and redo the checkup. NEVER AGAIN will I go to this Dr. I would beware before you see this doctor. This is my FIRST ever review I have placed on a medical professional and very unfortunate that I had to express my concern here.

I have had glasses since about 5^th grade or so, and contacts for almost as long, so needless to say, I have gone through quite a few eye exams and been to my old eye doctor’s office numerous times (I’m 26 now). After I moved, I decided on this place for an eye exam so I could get new contacts since I had run out of my old ones. The exam was unfamiliar to me, and multiple times when I was asked to read the letters and couldn’t make out some of them, Dr. Dudow would get frustrated with me and kept telling me to just guess. He also kept product pushing, which I absolutely detest. From the start, I had said that I was very happy with my old contact brand and even though I knew my eyesight had probably changed, I still wanted the same brand because they were very comfortable for me. After the exam, however, he recommended I get some very expensive contacts that I did not want because they were too expensive and also, as I said, I had wanted my brand that I had been using. He explained that if I used my old brand, I would not be able to see perfectly (²⁰⁄₂₀ I suppose) because my astigmatism was bad. I told him multiple times I did not care if my vision was perfect, I’m not like an airline pilot, or lifeguard, or have some other job where I need to see 20/​20, I basically only need to see well enough to drive and… that’s it. At first I refused the expensive contacts politely, but by the 4^th or 5^th time I was saying outright «No, thank you,» and still had to end up getting a different brand than what I wanted because he would not sell me my old brand. It has been months now, and I HATE the contacts I bought from him. Thank god I used most of them up so that I could move on to another brand. I was not even able to go through all of them because I could not stand them and finally I gave up and decided to go get new contacts (at a different doctor of course). Wasteful, I know, but I could not stand them any longer. They did not stay in one place and constantly moved around when I blinked no matter how lubricated my eyes were. They did not even help my astigmatism at all so they were dangerous also (for driving, especially at night). They scratched my eyes and made them red so I could not even wear them for as long as I normally wore my old contacts. This was the most unpleasant and stressful eye doctor experience for me ever.
I have since gone to that new doctor, who was nice enough to prescribe me the contact brand that I had originally been using and wanted and what do you know, my eyes have gotten SO much better. After only the first week my eyes looked so much better and were not even red anymore. After the first day even I could already tell the difference in comfort and fit. I can SEE now. My astigmatism does not even affect me with these contacts and I can see things that are far away fine now. I don’t know what he was talking about or what he was thinking. I am back to loving my contacts. Hopefully in the future he will listen to his patients.

I came in with my insurance and tried to charge me extra for «training to put in contacts» which is already covered by my insurance. It seems he gets away with this often with people who don’t know better. I questioned him and really got no clear answer. His secretary stared at him when he gave his answers. She seemed to be confused with him as was I. She said that things did not add up in the bill. I took note. He seems unethical applying extra charges and could not answer my questions. I am reporting him to the BBB and my insurance, just in case he is being a criminal. I paid my co-​pay which is my obligation. As a consumer I will not pay for what has not been made clear to me in advance. If you go with this guy make sure he spells it all out before hand or look out for the bill.

I am so happy I came to this place. I brought my kids here to get their eyes examined, then dr Dudow, thoroughly examines them through each test and explains it as he goes, an appointment here does not feel like an appointment he defenitely takes his time for you. When its time to get your glasses, your glasses arrive in a week and a half! Thats fast, not only that when you come in the Dr wants to be there to perfectly fit those glasses in to my kids as it was a genuine piece of art. Dr is also friendly, I love this place I wish all Doctors were this way, we would have healthier people.

Great eye doctor but a stupid business man. I went to him for years and then he charged me $ 5.00 for a screw for my eyeglasses.