Reviews
Recommend
Trust
Listening
Dr Alan Hakim
2016-07-15
Person
5
5
0
15th July 2016
After 51 years of being dismissed/ misdiagnosed by many previous medics who ignored my life long hypermobility issues, frequent bouts of physical fatigue, multiple allergies, 18 years of anaphylaxis and recent gastro intestinal symptoms as clinically relevant, I remain extremely grateful for Dr Hakim's acceptance of my self referral for his expert opinion. Dr Hakim provided a prompt, genuinely caring and expert assessment of my recent gastro intestinal problems and chronic fatigue. He was able to immediately diagnose my recent problems as most likely due to allergic gastritis, linked to my previously undiagnosed Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility Type. He provided immediate self management advice on medication changes and sent follow up confirmation letters to my local Gastric surgeon and GP, which enabled them to provide appropriate treatments to assist my continuing self management of my life long symptoms and flare ups.
I feel extremely fortunate to have been recently diagnosed as having been born with hereditary EDS, as this helps my own and my children's understanding of our varying but similar symptoms. This knowledge will continue to guide all our current and future NHS medical care needs. Sadly, I know that most EDS patients and families will remain undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed throughout their lives, so far too many will remain unable to help self manage their symptoms, due to inappropriate medical advice/ interventions and a learned mistrust of some medical professionals.
I recommend Dr Hakim's gentle, caring and expert approach to improving everyone's understanding of hereditary connective tissue disorders.
Dr Alan Hakim
2016-07-14
Person
5
5
0
14th July 2016
I have noticed a few statements below that imply the only treatment Dr Hakim can provide for Elhers-Danlos syndrome patients is physiotherapy and braces. I would like to clear this up and to reassure other readers that this is, happily, not the case.
Dr Hakim can provide many different types of therapy for people who suffer with JHS/EDS including braces and physiotherapy. However in refractory cases where these implements are not enough Dr Hakim will employ the use of specialised braces and custom physiotherapy. He also spends many hundreds of hours per day when he is not in the office going over patient cases to ensure clinical excellence.
There are now, hardly any Ehlers-Danlos specialists working for the NHS and we regularly have patients who have taken years and sometimes decades to get to a diagnosis. Alan is the self proclaimed 'god of hyper-mobility' and for good reason. He works tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of each and every patient. For a mere £300/hour you are guarantied the best care in all aspects of rheumatic health.
It is a pleasure working with Dr. Hakim he has a kind, caring and loving temperament and is an amazingly empathetic medical personality. If you have the money, Alan will help you. I hope by reading this review you will be able to see that this is as good as it gets when it comes to Rheumatology.
Too add, Dr. Hakim also has links to top specialists in all other areas of medicine and will not hesitate to refer you to them and regularly consult with them if he feels more avenues need to be explored to ensure excellence in your specific care plan.
20th July 2016
Response from Dr Alan Hakim
Dear Reviewer, thank you for your kind words and support of my service. There are a couple of points for other readers that I should like to make in response to your comments, though I sense your comments are made in good faith. First, I would not want anyone (patient or colleague) to think I believe for one moment that I am the 'God of hypermobility' or indeed that I have ever self-proclaimed anything. : ) I have the pleasure of working nationally and internationally with an amazing team of experts and only see myself as one of that team. Second, I do not charge £300/hr. I charge up to £300 for a consultation up to 1 hour in length. The fee for service includes a detailed report, often a follow up contact re. test results or response to any further questions from the first consultation, and room and admin fees. I think it is important this is understood as £300 is a lot of money for someone to find and I'd like readers to understand they are not paying £300/hour. Faithfully, Alan Hakim
Dr Alan Hakim
2016-07-14
Person
5
5
0
14th July 2016
I have noticed a few statements below that imply the only treatment Dr Hakim can provide for Elhers-Danlos syndrome patients is physiotherapy and braces. I would like to clear this up and to reassure other readers that this is, happily, not the case.
Dr Hakim can provide many different types of therapy for people who suffer with JHS/EDS including braces and physiotherapy. However in refractory cases where these implements are not enough Dr Hakim will employ the use of specialised braces and custom physiotherapy. He also spends many hundreds of hours per day when he is not in the office going over patient cases to ensure clinical excellence.
There are now, hardly any Ehlers-Danlos specialists working for the NHS and we regularly have patients who have taken years and sometimes decades to get to a diagnosis. Alan is the self proclaimed 'god of hyper-mobility' and for good reason. He works tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of each and every patient. For a mere £300/hour you are guarantied the best care in all aspects of rheumatic health.
It is a pleasure working with Dr. Hakim he has a kind, caring and loving temperament and is an amazingly empathetic medical personality. If you have the money, Alan will help you. I hope by reading this review you will be able to see that this is as good as it gets when it comes to Rheumatology.
Too add, Dr. Hakim also has links to top specialists in all other areas of medicine and will not hesitate to refer you to them and regularly consult with them if he feels more avenues need to be explored to ensure excellence in your specific care plan.
Dr Alan Hakim
2016-07-07
Person
5
5
0
7th July 2016
A couple of recent reviews have suggested that Dr Hakim can only offer physiotherapy and that treatment has not worked. We know from the many comments that patients share with out-patient staff and his office that they value the fact Dr Hakim has a very broad and detailed knowledge of many areas of medicine as well as a thorough knowledge of rheumatology. He has been able to help people with many complex problems. He can arrange the majority of tests that might be needed. Physiotherapy treatment is just one of the things he is directly able to help with. He also has close links with specialists in lots of other areas of medicine and surgery and knows what to ask for, and who to go to for further help if needs be.
Dr Hakim does have a very busy clinic and we know that it is difficult to get to see him. But he does follow up a lot of patients if they need more help, and particularly if things are not going to plan. He does a lot of follow up by email, by phone, and by Skype. He does this outside of the usual clinic times, often in his office admin hours, but also evenings and weekends if it happens to be an easier time for his patients. Patients find this very helpful as he is quick to respond to them, sends out follow up update letters to their doctors if needs be, and patients then do not have to travel to see him. Patients come from all over the UK and other countries, so this option of a call is often preferred.
Any one looking for someone who can take a wide-angle look at everything that is going on, and also consider all the treatment options available, offer those treatments, or if necessary point you in the right direction, should be reassured that Dr Hakim does this for his patients all the time.
Dr Alan Hakim
2016-06-27
Person
3
5
0
27th June 2016
I saw Dr. Hakim around 8 months back and finally after many painful years felt I was being taken seriously. He listened to me, did not rush me and assumed an holistic natured consultation.
After explaining my many symptoms that where regarded as unrelated before I finally received a diagnosis of EDS3 (I strongly suspected this was the case). He, reassured me and said that I had a "Very good" prognosis. He explained that with physiotherapy the symptoms in my joints should go from a 3/10 to a 7/10 in the first 6 months (dramatic improvement) and that after that initial 6 months the improvement would then be slower but would steadily improve with time.
Here I am 8 months on, following physiotherapy 'religiously' and NO improvement has been made, I mean, nothing. I do not blame Dr. Hakim for this however I have contacted him asking him for advice and I have to say in my case there is almost nothing to be done. As far as I am aware if physiotherapy does not improve your condition your prognosis is not "very good".
So the reason I am giving a low scoring review is because I came out of his office feeling more optimistic than I had in years but in my case due to 'false hope'. I do not think there was any way of him knowing that my prognosis was "very good" and I have gone through the usual depression and anxiety because of this. I am now at an utter dead end and have no idea what to do.
Now I'm not saying don't go and see Dr. Hakim, he will listen to everything you have to say where other Dr's do not and has the ability to diagnose conditions that other people can't. What I am saying is that in my experience: A diagnosis is the reason to see Dr. Hakim and treatment for joint pain is limited to physiotherapy and/or braces.
3rd July 2016
Response from Dr Alan Hakim
I am grateful for all feedback. I am sorry if I gave the wrong impression regarding the degree of recovery. Patients who have seen me will recognize in the description of the 3/10 to 7/10 above. In clinic I will draw a 'typical' recovery chart to demonstrate the pattern of improvement over time. This is to emphasize that improvements are not linear or quick. I never draw this to explain what I expect of an individuals' recovery. It is only by way of example. I recognize the scenario being described. I will often start at, say 3/10 on a 'well being' score, and then plot a curve to 7/10 well etc. I am truly sorry that on this occasion it has given the wrong impression of a personal, individual expectation of recovery. I will reflect on this and consider how I present this visual aid in the future, albeit this is the first time it appears to have led to the concerns raised. From a survey in 2012 of 420 patients with JHS / EDS-hypermobility type we know (and I have published this in the HMSA Journal) that around 15-20% of people get worse, and about 25% stay the same despite all the things we do to help. For some the 'remain the same' is still for them a good place as they were deteriorating before that point. I always reflect on this survey when talking to my patients. And, I always reflect on the type of concerns each individual has before considering their likely response to treatment. I must disagree with the feedback that physiotherapy and braces is the only treatment. I am not sure that the person that wrote this has contacted me again to discuss the lack of response, but a number of my patients do contact me again and we then work though why things have not improved and what else we might do. If things are not getting better there may be other things we can do to help. However, I am also the first to say when appropriate that there is no more we can do. Alan Hakim
Specialises in
- Internal (General) Medicine
- Rheumatology
Profile
London-based Consultant Rheumatologist.
Associate Professor in Medicine, College of Medicine, PennState University USA
Chief Medical Officer, The Ehlers-Danlos Society
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