Siegel Michael, MD

I have been a patient of Dr. Siegel since 2004 and I think he is the best neurologist I have ever seen and I’ve seen a few, I have Multiple Sclerosis. I have referred my sister in law and my mother among others and every one of us just love Dr. Siegel! I have always found him very kind and compassionate. He takes lots of notes and asks lots of questions during appts. When I brought my mother in to be dx’d with dementia he was very kind to her and she just adored him and always wanted to see him. When my mother passed away he sent me a hand written letter 3 days after saying how sorry he was and what a sweet lady she was.
I’m sorry for the people that had a bad time with Dr. Siegel they are missing out on a great doctor!

I’ll admit, I’m flabbergasted by the people who have given this doctor a one star review. My husband was referred to Dr. Siegel, as he has been having memory problems. My husband has spent the last year battling lung cancer, in which he had been successful against, or so we thought! Dr. Siegel took great care to test my husband and ordered an MRI, where a brain tumor was discovered.
Dr. Siegel has made sure that my husband got right in with testing that needed to be done and just did a spinal tap on my husband today. That man is a rock star when it comes to spinal taps. My husband had very minimal pain and has had very little discomfort since the procedure. Every step of the way, Dr. Siegel took the time to explain exactly what he was going to do.
I find that a lot of times if you treat your physician with care and kindness, and perhaps a little humor, that your rewards are at least triple in the care that you receive! Dr. Siegel has been everything that is kind to my spouse and I and has never been abrupt or dismissive of any questions we might have. He spends the time we need with us and never ever cuts us short. His front desk is very nice, if you’re nice to them. That’s all it takes folks. Be nice and cheerful when you see these people. They work hard also and deal with a lot of stuff. A smile goes a long way and you will find the rewards incredible!

I rarely bother to post reviews but had to do this one in hopes of helping someone else.
I suffered from severe migraines for many years. After seeing top migraine specialist in SF Bay area I was referred to Dr Seigal by my cousin.
He is the only doctor that was able to help me control and eliminate my migraines. He has gone out of his way for me as a doctor, and even advocated to have certain treatments approved by insurance.
I am really surprised to see negative reviews about him. Maybe people mistake his quite demeanor as arrogant .
Dr Seigal, is extremely knowledgable in his field and ahead on research.
I recommend him highly, and take this from someone who is very picky and used to seeing only top doctors in the field.

I see that Dr. Siegel has a range of reviews and that they are either great or horrible. I’ll just put in my experience, which has been great.
I first saw Dr. Siegel around 2003, and he diagnosed me with migraines for the first time ever, and prescribed Imitrex, which was life-​changing for me. Before, if I got a bad headache, I would be stuck in bed for two or three days. When I mentioned the occasional headache that persisted through the Imitrex, he gave me further steps to take (injectable Imitrex, dexamethasone as a last resort). Now, I follow the steps he prescribed, and I can be OK again in an hour or three.
When my girlfriend went to see him, she had a similar great experience. Later, her migraines got more frequent, possibly due to some other health problems, and he tried several different drugs, but wasn’t able to come up with any great improvement, but it was still way better than before she began treatment, and no other doctor since has been able to do better either.
He’s always been on time for my appointments, and I’ve never felt rushed when meeting with him. He actively listens, and then fully explains himself. His office staff has always been courteous, even helpful.
P. S. To address a point someone else raised, if you haven’t seen a particular doctor in more than a year, they generally can’t/won’t prescribe drugs for you. (I think the DEA threatens their prescribing license.) You can always go to urgent care, explain the situation, and generally get Imitrex or other basic migraine drugs. If you are truly in distress, go to the ER. There is a decent urgent care clinic just down the street from Dr. Siegel’s, at 60 N. El Camino, that I have used for just such a situation. (I forget the name, but it might be just «Urgent Care.»)

My first appointment with Dr. Siegel was informative and thorough. It’s nice to have a doctor take the time and really care about your concerns. His staff is lovely. En

i can finally scratch this off my ‘to do’ list — i have been meaning to write this review for Dr Siegel for some time.
the three areas i feel are so important in a doctor-​patient relationship are: approachability, skill and knowledge and humility.
approachability — he quietly listens to everything i say and asks questions about what i’ve said, so i know he’s paying attention :). he’s open, honest, articulate and readily explains anything i might not understand. i’ve never felt hesitant about sharing anything with dr siegel, i can be totally honest.
skill and knowledge — he knows his ‘stuff’ and hasn’t given up on me, even when Stanford’s Headache Clinic let me fall through the cracks.
humility — he draws on his skill and knowledge to help you heal. but when the condition warrants, he’s honest enough to recommend you to someone/​somewhere else, to see if they can do more.
he’s the best.

Dr. Siegel is the best… he is kind and understanding and has helped me control my Parkinson’s Disease symptoms for over 5 years now. I had been misdiagnosed for almost two years before I went to see him. When he came out to call me from the waiting area, he ushered me into his office and said «You have Parkinson’s, I could tell from looking at you in the waiting room…». Well, he was right on and has been ever since that day… frank and clear in his observations and most understanding of my needs as this disease progresses. His prescriptions and advice for the management of those medications has enabled me to minimize side effects and maximize function.
He is simply the best…

Rude. Condescending. Unprofessional. Disrespectful.
No, ‘doctor’, you can’t get away with being disrespectful by prefacing your insults with «with respect».
My wife was reduced to tears after visiting Dr Siegel. Seriously bad doctor.
Had to select one star, would have chosen zero if that was an option.

I first met this arrogant, condescending jerk 2 years ago when my mother at age 89 took a bad fall. His attitude was just unbelievable towards the family. I had heard he was a good and professional doctor so we listened and ignored his rudeness. That fall put my mother on the road to several visits and increasing dementia. The home she is in wanted a current reevaluation of her recently so they could determine whether to allow her to stay or make her move to another facility. They do not have dementia or alzheimer’s care where she is. Two hours before her appointment time my daughter received a call from Siegel’s office canceling her appointment. They said he «refused to see her due to her abusive mouth from her last visit. My mother had also told him she never wanted to see him again». This is the desease of dementia. He of all people should know and understand the symptoms. Are you in for the money only doctor? Are people not important to you? First Do No Harm. In ending all I can say is Good Luck if you see him. I hope your problems are few. Miserable human being and a worse doctor.

Doctors are a hit and miss for me, but I am writing this one after my first visit because Dr. Siegel was very patient with me and through with me. I am not going to get into personal medical stuff on the internet, but Dr Siegel checked a lot of things and answered all my questions. I have had a few doctor experiences in the past where the doctor thinks he’s got you all figured out after 5 minutes, but Dr. Siegel was not like that. He covered all the bases and the educated me along the way– exactly what I expect good doctors to do. If you want a doctor who spends a couple of minutes and says take two pills and call me in the morning, Dr. Siegel might not be for you. ;)

Doctors are supposed to help us — regular mortal people — right? Not in this case… Now, I never posted negative reviews, but I’ve never felt so neglected by a doctor that I just can’t help it. Sorry, Mr. Siegel. Thank you for all the physical pain you could have prevented me from.
I have severe migraines, they usually last 2 – 3 days, and leave me pretty much non-​functional. In August of 2007 I got a referral to Mr. Siegel, the neurologist from a regular MD. Mr. Siegel saw me and prescribed me Imitrex, which works great, my migraine goes away within hours, or a day at the longest. This medicine is prescription only, and so far is the ONLY medicine that helped me. I was able to enjoy my life much more in the last 2 years.
On Tues ⁵⁄₂₆ I called my pharmacy for a refill. When they stil did not have it ready on Friday 5/​29, I found out that my request for the refill was denied by the doctor. Reason — I need to be seen. Ok… the doctor could have let me know that, does he have to use a pharmacy to relay the message?
Fine, I call the doctor’s office, and ask them why I need to come in. Why — because it has been over 2 years, they tell me. Well, not quite, I say, still 3 more months till August of 2009. Ok, then it’s been over 1.5 years, they tell me, you still need to be seen. Any more words you going to go back on? But anyway, ok, sure.
When should I come in? Oh, the doctor is booked today, and is leaving for 2 weeks vacation tomorrow, I can see him when he gets back. All is dandy, but… I have no medicine left. And also, I am going away for 2 months in 2 weeks. I explain that to the lady at the office, and ask her if I can walk in, or wait for after hours visit, or whether he can talk to me on the phone. Does he really need to see me? Nothing changed… At least give me one more refill so I am good until he gets back from his vacation. Or is someone taking care of his patients while the doctor is away? No, not really. I have to wait.
She thinks about all this for a moment, and asks to have my pharmacy fax her another refill request. Which I request, and at 4:10 pm they fax it. I call at 4:30 to confirm they received the request, talk to the lady again, and explain the urgency of the situation. She takes all my phone numbers, and says «let me see what I can do». I call again at 4:54 only to find out that the doctor is still with the patient, but even though they close at 5 pm, they will call me no matter what. NO PHONE CALL.
At 5:22 I get a call from my pharmacy that refill request is denied again. No promised phone call from the doctor’s office, and of course, they are not at the office anymore. Once again, the doctor chose to have have my pharmacy relay the message. And now he’s off on his vacation, and I am left to suffer, which could have been easily prevented.
For what it’s worth… Doctors are supposed to help us live our lives better, take personal care of us, their patients. Isn’t that a part of the oath they take? If it’s not, then it should be at least in every doctor’s moral code. It’s just not in this doctor’s moral code.

Strictly as a physician, he is very good. He knows his specialty well and does find an accurate diagnosis. He also knows his treatment plans well. The down side is that he does not have much of a personality and is very arrogant. At first he starts out kind, but I noticed as time progresses he becomes quite rude and seems almost bothered to have to do the follow-​up appointments. Which you would think that he shouldn’t be since he is the one who tells you to come back in a certain time line!
I do appreciate his care and the fact that after 2 previous doctors I had seen, only he found the accurate diagnosis. So you have to weigh out your options if you are thinking of visiting him.
As a side note, they charge you if you cancel/​re-​schedule your appointment under 24 hours notice.