Selena Ellis, MD

I’ve been inexplicably ill for some time and have been unable to find a doctor to help diagnose my symptoms. Dr. Ellis has been very responsive and proactive in her treatment. I feel fortunate to have found someone that cares enough to try to diagnose the myriad of symptoms I have without judgement (oftentimes doctors judge chronic pain patients inappropriately.) Dr. Ellis is professional in her approach, but caring in her delivery. She’s already discovered more about my condition in a hand full of visits than medical professionals that I’ve been seeing for years! Not sure what I’ll ultimately discover, but I’m more optimistic than I have been in a long time.

Really one of the best doctors I have ever seen and unfortunately I have seen a lot.
Dr. Ellis is extremely intelligent and yet knows how to make it all understandable, and treats her patients as intelligent too. She is willing to investigate in order to find the cause of a problem and yet doesn’t go overboard with unnecessary tests or procedures. But most importantly, she is incredibly compassionate. It’s amazing how much it helps to just have a physician listen without interruption. That alone is worth five stars! But truly, I trust her implicitly, and I’m so grateful to have her as my doctor.

I LOVE Dr. Ellis !!! She is the most compassionate and understanding doctor I have EVER had in my young 30 years of life. I would highly recommend her. Her whole staff is amazing too. I am truly blessed to have her as my doctor.

Started seeing her this year when I felt I needed an EMG for chronic back issues. Wow I had no idea that a doctor would spend over 40 – 45 minutes with you! She is receiving 5 stars from me though because she has been the most resourceful doctor I have ever met with (and I have met with at least 30 over the years), she referred me to this and that and although it has been pretty time and financially consuming it is certainly getting me on the path to better health. I have seen her four times now. Joy, her front office, is also why she is 5 stars.

I was diagnosed by Dr. Ellis in Sept. 2013 as having ALS.
Throughout all the tests she had to go through with me, she couldn’t have been
more caring or more understanding to my needs. She explained everything to me
in terms I could understand and she was so patient in answering all the questions I had. Dr. Ellis even called me at home to clarify yet another question I had. I see her every three months and I look forward to every visit. Equally important to me is Joy, Dr. Ellis’s assistant. She is super cool, so helpful, has a great sense of humor and she always makes my visits a joy! Joy makes all the other stuff that goes along with this diagnoses so much easier!

I highly recommend Dr. Ellis. She is a very intelligent, caring professional. She spent a long time with me, listening and helping to figure out what could be wrong. Her recommendations were excellent. One drawback? She is popular, so it might take a while to get an appointment. However, the staff can put you on a wait list and get you in sooner – that worked for me.

This is what her website says: «Dr. Ellis believes that good medicine begins with listening carefully to what you have to say. She considers both the traditional and the not-​so-​obvious explanations in arriving at an accurate diagnosis and the best possible treatment plan for your condition.» and with two 5 star Unilocal reviews, I thought she would be a great person to see for the really bad migraines I had been having.
If I based this review purely on the single appointment that I got with her, I would give it a four or five. She was very attentive and listened carefully to what I had to say. She also respected my desire to not be prescribed medication as the only and first line of treatment for my migraines. Being a neurologist, she was very knowledgeable on the matter and I had waited two months to see her since her availability is very limited, so I figure she must be great. I felt really good after my office visit, she gave me herbal supplements to take that would prevent migraines, and helped me come up with a health plan (changing my diet and birth control). I felt that I was leading the visit since I had a migraine app to track my symptoms and diet. So she really didn’t come up with the diagnosis herself. I also had to wait 45 minutes to see her after my scheduled appointment, and she has a $ 75 cancellation fee. I wish doctors would pay me the fee when they cancel last minute or are ridiculously late to see me. However, she did conduct a pretty thorough physical exam and send me out for an MRI to check for any brain tumors/​abnormalities. I was also scheduled after my visit for a follow up another two months out.
Now comes the reason for why I would give her a 0 on follow through and after care. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I kind of expect that my doctor, would let me know the results of my test whether good or bad. I was sent home with a CD of over 200 images of my brain scan and with my limited knowledge of brain trauma, I could at least tell there was no tumor. I gave it a week in case she was busy and emailed through this new online patient portal that her office was raving about. She responded quickly, but that she has been busy and hasn’t had a chance to look at the results but was told it was normal. As a doctor, wouldn’t you confirm? Anyway, fast forward three more weeks and no news, with still the migraines, I got in touch with the office again and received a call from one of the front desk people telling me they couldn’t tell me that information over email or phone. I wasn’t really sure to what they were referring because I’m pretty sure I am allowed to be told my own medical information. That”s what the portal is for, secure and confidential communication of medical information. I was again told she has been very busy and has not had time to look at my results. Then I told them that I expect a doctor to have responsibility for his/​her patient and communicate clearly their results. So I asked them if my appt was another two months out, was she only going to look at it during our appt? How thorough can you be if you do that because it also cuts into patient care time. If you are so busy that you can’t look at results, then don’t take on new patients. Anyway, then the person told me oh she has looked at it and signed it off as normal and they can mail me a copy of the report. When I got the report in the mail, it was the interpretation from the radiologist at the facility that I had the MRI. Dr. Ellis did NOT look at it, or if she did, I didn’t see any notes. So for that, I’m cancelling my appointment for the end of this month and looking elsewhere.

I was injured and in incredible pain from a herniated disc, bone spur and a pinched nerve. At the time I didn’t know where the pain came from except that it had crippled my lifestyle and was physically debilitating. I found mention of Dr. Ellis on the Berkeley Parents Network– knowing that BPN is a tough crowd I took their advice. I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Ellis. For starters she is highly attentive, warm and down to earth. Her kind demeanor makes it easy to thoroughly relay your symptoms and concerns — in addition she was very inquisitive and able to discover the root of my problem. I had multiple appointments with her and it is clear that she loves the science of her work and the people she is helping. She made an effort to move my care along quickly and did not hesitate to do all the necessary testing to be sure of her diagnosis were correct. In order to get a test completed for my neurosurgeon appointment –she adjusted her schedule (and that of her staff) and came in early the day before leaving on vacation just so I wouldn’t have to wait and be in pain longer or risk further damage to my nerve. She made adjustments to her schedule like this twice. Her discussions with me have been complete and she relays everything honestly and in layman’s terms so that you can fully comprehend her diagnosis. She has followed my care along and called me after my surgery just to check up on me and to discuss my progress. I wish there were more people like Dr. Ellis in the world. She is a wonderful person and a great doctor– you will be in good hands with her.