After relocating to the MD area, I went to Dr. Nicolas to help me better understand my lower back pain. I have experienced these lower back aches and pains for over a decade, to the point that I may have “normalized” what my body has been feeling. My appointment was at 5:45pm (a typical time for their office to see new patients), and on my own accord I arrived 15 minutes early to ensure I was able to fill out any new patient paperwork and Dr. Nicolas would be able to take me promptly at 5:45pm. The paperwork was rather easy, with checkboxes and a 1”x1” diagram of the human body where I could circle where I was experiencing discomfort …while I completed the paperwork, I still wanted to talk to Dr. Nicolas about how I was feeling. I was escorted to the patient room at 5:45pm, and waited for Dr. Nicolas to arrive … which was not until 20 mins later at 6:05pm. When Dr. Nicolas arrived, he acknowledged that he was late (to which I appreciated). He reviewed the paperwork that I filled out and asked me what I pain was I feeling … I was excited that he wanted to talk about it, because I did not know if my pain was normal (because I had been feeling it since my growing pains of teenage years) or genuinely a misalignment of my body. I eagerly start the conversation with “Great! I really want to talk this out …” As I start to describe to Dr. Nicolas my symptoms, he says “While I am listening to you, I am going to mute you.” … I was instantly taken aback as I have never been so dismissed in my life, it was hurtful. After he “mute” me (aka, told me to stop talking)… he made it clear to provide direct answers to his questions, no details. And to better make it his point of “mute me” … he said “are you wearing sneakers?” to which I responded “yes.” And then said “are you wearing a Georgetown shirt?” and again, I said “yes.” And he said those are the kind of answers he was expecting. So 3 minutes into our experience together …. He dismissed and insulted my intelligence. As we continued the conversation, I quickly became insecure about my responses as I did not want to be offended again with an idiot lesson, and gave one worded answers to his questions and did not give any details (at his request). Dr. Nicolas noticed my demeanor changed but took me into a different room where he began to perform adjustments … he tried to make small talk, but it is very hard to receive someone well when they have already dismissed/insulted you. After the adjustments … he asked me if I felt better, to which I kind of shrugged as I did not know how to respond anymore with words. He said “you probably do not feel different … as I cannot treat you easily, because I don’t know what you were feeling initially.” To which I looked and said “yea” because he did not know what I was feeling because he dismissed when I was trying to initially explain. I was the last patient in the office, so Dr. Nicolas walked me to the front to process my copay and said “you look disappointed” … and I said “I am, but not from the adjustments or treatments … it is just hard to receive someone well when the literally told you that they are going to “mute” you.” Dr. Nicolas acknowledge his wrong doing and said that he needs to talk to his Business Manager to better understand how to speak to people … and apologized several times. While he did apologize, I did not accept it or make light of the situation by saying “it is ok” … because it wasn’t. He continued to apologize as I stared at him and politely said goodbye and left. Overall, I imagine Dr. Nicolas could be are great chiropractor … however he lacks bedside manners, and being in an industry which is directly people related, his skills need to improve. I do not believe you need a Business Manager to coach you on being nice, it is nature … not nurtured, and a poor excuse for him dismissing/insulting me.

What a difference a session makes. Absolutely look forward to my appointments here. It has made such a difference with my back pain.