Dr. William N Hagen, DO

The memorable part of this visit was when he told me I had to have one of the following items, potentially a mixture: gastric bypass, lap band or lifetime weight loss medication with severe side effects to the internal organs. By the way I was recently diagnosed with Hypothyroidism which runs in my family. He didn't want to hear anything regarding my family or lifestyle beyond a basic sentence. I use myfitnesspal.com to monitor my nutrition and exercise, which he didn't want to see. He also kept saying that I had a diagnosis which is inconsistent with my current blood work and other tests done over the years. He couldn't locate my thyroid gland and did the bare minimum to get out of the appointment. Overall I found him a complete fraud for claiming to be a specialist in endocrinology, when he wouldn't even discuss the topic of the hypothyroidism beyond a net-book sized diagram by one of the drug companies. I cannot tell from my interaction with him if he is biased against people that are obese or if he is getting paid extra from the drug companies for each additional patient he sends their way. I am sorry for my opinion being a bit harsh, but pushing invasive surgery or drastic pills on a patient when they just started a new medication for thyroid issues is negligent and immoral. I exercise 5-6 days a week with over 300 minutes logged, which is what the national health offices advise. Hypothyroidism is known for creating weight gain and preventing weight loss by essentially destroying the metabolism. I've been on levithyroxine for 2 weeks now and have lost 5 lbs in the last week. What about this screams that surgery is needed? This doctor is not even remotely going to be helping people if he doesn't listen to their history and activity levels first. A suggestion would be to let the hormone therapy to actually work long enough before deciding it wasn't going to do a thing. The amount this doctor judged made me feel terribly insignificant and completely useless for a moment. I won't be returning and I am telling as many people as I can to avoid this doctor. I am a hard patient for most doctors as I ask questions and I look into the diagnosis, which makes it more difficult for a specialist should I need to see one; this also makes me less a target for malpractice as I educate myself as to the basics. I am by no means a doctor, but doctors are human and susceptible to error. I suggest others to do the same. If you do visit this doctor, don't sign up for any surgeries or lifetime weight control medications without looking into your original diagnosis and what the traditional treatment is for the ailment. If you feel you want such drastic measures, then by all means, this doctor will push you toward this and it should prove quite easy to get the procedure. Just be careful of potential malpractice and watch for ethical behavior.



Read more: http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_William_Zaks/reviews#ixzz2Roo99bxb