Can't Make This Up... >_<

My dermatologist of 20 years relocated to the West Side a few years back, and after hearing great things about Dr. Fitzgerald, I was excited to see someone actually in my neighborhood instead of an hour away.

For context, I'm a seasoned veteran of Botox, Dysport, dermatology grade IPL, laser resurfacing, and radiowave microneedling. I'm also a high-masking autistic (which is relevant, I promise).

After a few consults with Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. Fincher to plan out my goals and procedures (during which I communicated I'm autistic when I apologized after info-dumping my medical and anesthetic history each time), I excitedly showed up for my first dysport treatment.

Instead I got some weird pushback about what I wanted (and have gotten for decades), and discovered that I did not have enough details about my existing dysport regiment.

The pushback was low grade judgement about what *she* thought looked good or natural, or was necessary, vs what *I* preferred and my focus on evolving preventative treatments. It felt like every few sentences she was interrupting and derailing me, before ultimately rushing off to another patient.

Feeling a bit blindsided but determined to make it work, I dismissed/rationalized the pushback as NT/ND communication differences, and hopped on the phone with my dermatologist's office. A few minutes later I had written down my most recent dysport dosage broken down by area (pic: said note), and had downloaded my patient notes on MyCSLink that documented 16 years of aesthetic precedures. Including my evolving dysport dosage history.

When Dr. Fitzgerald returned, she initially seemed satisfied with the note and began prepping for a moment... But then stopped and questioned my dosage. And suggested that instead of targeting bunny lines, crow lines, brow and forehead as I had been for decades, that I let her dump the cumulative dose into just my brow.

Horrified, I pushed back on this suggestion, and asked her to look at my chart from my other dermatologist. She dismissed that request. Not just once, but a few times through the course of the conversation.

Instead she went on about why I should just stick with my old doctor, why she didn't understand why I was coming to her, why she wasn't "comfortable" providing the treatment I had been getting for decades...

At one point she even tried to make analogy about *my* line of work. Suggesting that I wouldn't change the way I did things for my clients. Which not only do I do...but, come on. The whole field of aesthetic dermatology wouldn't exist if doctors weren't trying to meet the client's preferences, right???

All in all, it was just all very dismissive, condescending and...honestly...humiliating. But hey, it was all in a pleasant tone, at least. At the end, she offered a spa treatment or product in exchange for my time. I asked for a refund on my consultation fee instead, which she quickly (and somewhat jubilantly agreed to).

On her way out of the room she reached out for a handshake, and to be polite I acquiesced. She then stopped and chidded for not looking her in the eyes. And demanded that I do it again with eye contact so she wouldn't feel like I was angry. I replied that I'm autistic and eye contact is hard for me. She insisted, and I left feeling beyond mortified by the whole experience.

Of course, not before her receptionists, who clearly weren't told I didn't get treatment, tried to keep me from leaving before I paid.

Greater insult to injury...

If Dr. Fitzgerald had actually bothered to look at my history chart as I had asked multiple times... She would have seen that my old dermatologist had explicitly made a note that he documented my dysport units in botox equivalent units.

But now having revisited other negative reviews, l think the universe was looking out for me.