I was a patient of Dr Barzaga’s for about. year give or take. I was referred by Dr Gilbert Greene. One day Dr Barzaga declined to to see me citing that she was closing her practice and had to cut down on the number of patients.
This was coincidentally, the day I reported to her that my right sided leg pain had stopped and oddly my left leg was hurting in very similar way. I want to point out that some visits prior to this, upon getting out of my car, all of the sudden I had severe pain in both knees, and could only get inside the office with great pain. Dr Barzaga offered to give injections in my knees of a lubricant but said make sure you want it because it is very expensive. I told her I thought I should wait and see since the pain came out of no where and of a sudden. The knee pain in the left leg went away entirely that day. The right knee pain lingered and in fact still has not gone away but remains intermittent.
Later when I reported to her the pain moved from my right to left leg, she discharged me as a patient with her claim that she was closing her practice.
When she did, she left me on Modified Work Status and would mot release me. I went back to Dr Gilbert Greene who told me he doesn’t see pain patients. So my employer would not allow me to work and no one would release me including my PCP because Dr Barzaga had placed me on MWS.
I had to get an attorney and file a work comp claim (which I did not want to do). Since that time, I have been off work and in fact am disabled. I am pending spinal fusion and only did not have the surgery in 2016 due to a wide disparity in the surgeons recommendation. The administrators dr said fuse L-3/4, L4/5 & L5/S1. UCSF said I only needed to do L5/S1. So I did nothing. However I now can go to UCSF and have a evaluation set for March to determine what they can do to fix my back.
I have been in moderate and sometimes severe pain, and my sleep has been interfered with ever since I was injured in 2013.
I think Dr Barzaga is a bery compassionate physician however. I question her treatment of me when I reported truthfully that my right leg pain had inexplicably stopped and the left leg began to hurt.
I had right knee arthroscopy for that right knee pain before I was told by an orthopedic surgeon from Alpine Ortho, that the pain was coming from my back, not my knee.
I feel Dr Barzaga apparently lacks clinical experience in that she apparently thinks pain from the spine should remain fixed and if it doesn’t, her patient is lying to her. It does not matter how many years she has been practicing. She should know that pain from the back can manifest in myriad ways and places and can change from minute to minute. This is what I have experienced since I was injured in a fall 8 years ago.

Submitted Feb. 19, 2022

I have been Dr. Barzaga's patient for the past 2 years. I have found her to be very conscientious in her practice and very helpful. For someone who suffers from chronic pain, Dr. Barzaga's compassionate nature and kind attention to my medical needs have helped me a great deal with my attitude and outlook about my condition. She helps educates me about my condition so I am able to better understand what is going on with me, and thereby practice more tolerance and patience with my discomfort and pain. I respect Dr. Barzaga very highly and am thankful to have her as my physician.

Submitted Aug. 11, 2014

Run from this dr she is crazy, if you value your health you will find somebody else

Submitted Nov. 12, 2011