it can be a frustrating journey to arrive at a proper diagnosis and then subsequent treatment that works ideally for you- he has kindly walked me through the process over the last few years

Submitted April 9, 2024

He walked in the room handed me a paper and diagnosed me with a sleep disorder. Sleep Dr says my sleep is perfectly fine. He did not look ant anny lab results annd misquoted me having a negative aANA which was false it was positive. All my labs and symptoms were dismissed and he refuses to conduct anymore tests or see me anymore. For your mental health I suggest going somewhere else. He is hyper focused on sleep disorders and not autoimmune.

Submitted Jan. 22, 2024

The negative reviews below are the exact opposite of my experience. Dr Russell took the time needed, and is very pleasant and attentive. Remember when seeing a specialist that your GP referred you to him BECAUSE your symptoms were already pointing in a certain direction. Why are you surprised when is it is quickly confirmed? The amount of time and experience necessary to be able to do this is huge. I am confident that Dr Russell reviewed my file BEFORE I got to the office, because he views my time to be as important as his.

Dr Russell put me on Prednisone, a drug with a lot of cautions, and he has been monitoring my progress bi-weekly via blood tests and phone calls. I could not ask for more.

Submitted Aug. 10, 2023

What an absolute waste of time! From looking at an x-ray of my hand, he knew everything! Insisted that I should have knee replacement even though 3 orthopedic surgeons said, "NO, you are not a good candidate with your health issues". Didn't ask about any of my health issues like celiac disease, primary biliary cirrohsis, thyroid disease, etc. His diagnosis was: soak your hand in hot water! This is an incompetent and dangerous doctor!

Submitted July 26, 2023

A waste of time. Honestly just ask for a new referral now. Wasted 3 years and got no where with him.

Submitted March 30, 2023

His staff were wonderful, very polite, very kind. The doctor however should retire. Because I wanted no medication he told me he couldn’t help me. If you have no knowledge of something other then reading it online or in a text book you should pass people off to another doctor. Floors me how he can prescribe medication but can’t help find a diagnosis for something he’s prescribing meds for. Please see a different doctor, don’t waste your time.

Submitted May 9, 2022

Dr. Russell quickly diagnosed me with a serious and rare autoimmune disease last fall. His quick response to my GP's referral saved me from becoming very ill and possibly saved my life. Other specialists have told me that I'm very fortunate to have had my rare disease diagnosed and treated so quickly. I don't understand the poor reviews here. He's friendly enough with me. I'm sure he's very busy so I make sure to keep my questions and details precise and short. He actually returns phone calls same day! How many specialists do this? I dread the day he retires.

Submitted April 22, 2022

My Aunt has been in terrible pain for some time and went to see Anthony Russell. He quickly diagnosed her problem as lack of sleep. She has just been to see a real rheumatologist and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. How can the University of Alberta hospital continue to allow him to see patients? He has no idea what he’s doing. It’s lucky my Aunt persisted or she would still be in terrible pain. By the way I suspect his favourable recent reviews are written by him. They are almost identical.

Submitted April 10, 2022

I hope this horrible person revisits why he became a doctor. I wont write a novel but here is my recent experience with this joke of a doctor. Mar 26 /22. Was admitted to hospital and without talking to me or assessing me discharged me back gome when i was on dilauded and coukd not walk. Set up a visit to drive from ponoka to edmonton. Must gave been a miscommunication and as i said i was on my was to edmonton he raised his voice. Put me at the bottom if the wIting list told me to rebook and hung up tbe phone like a perulant child. Let me tell you i never even met this man . Lets just say i wont be rebooking. I would rather know now he is a rude imature angry tempermental man than now then only be mistreated by someone who took sm oath to heal his patients. You wouldnt talk or treat anyone that way never mind a so called professional doctor. I gove hom a zero out of ten. Trust me these doctors are a dime a dozen. As arthritis suffers with multiple issues and chronic pain the last thing you eant is a new pain in your buttocks. If your into being mistreated and yelled at , and consider yourself a person needing some tlc after living with chronic pain and issues avoid this man like the plague. I wouldnt go to this person if he was the last rheumie in alberta
1. Rude
2. Was put on a wIting list from nov to june (meanwhile i csmt even walk) multiple calls from my doctors and myself to expedite his outrageous wating list.

Submitted March 26, 2022

“Diagnosed” me with fibromyalgia over the phone and refused to see me in person. He ignored my family history and other symptoms that don’t fit into a fibro diagnosis. He asked me leading questions about my sleep habits and basically forced me to say that I woke up feeling fatigued, even though I kept telling him that wasn’t the case. He recommended meditation and self hypnosis and got very agitated when I told him that I had already been in therapy for years for depression and anxiety and used to do yoga every day before my pain worsened.
I get the feeling he does this song and dance with most of his patients. Easy $$$ to diagnose dozens of people a day with fibromyalgia and tell them to learn how to breathe better.
If you get referred to this guy, don’t believe a word he says and ask your doctor to see someone else.
I have to believe there is hope out there for my chronic pain but I know it’s not coming from this quack.

Submitted Jan. 21, 2022