The Pain Center - Gilbert - Pain Management in Gilbert, Arizona

“I am sharing a review on behalf of my son, who is a patient of Dr. Narain. I am extremely disappointed with the treatment he has received after his sacral fusion procedure. Our experience with the clinic has been subpar overall. They do not provide a proper medication management plan to help him manage his pain. Instead, they quickly resorted to procedures for a young man under 30, which will have a permanent impact on his life. Additionally, the decision to fuse only one side of his SI joint without considering his individual needs was concerning. It seems that the clinic prescribes the same medication for all patients, regardless of their specific requirements. My son had to visit the ER for medication management less than 48 hours after the operation. Despite the ER doctor's instructions to take more of the prescribed medication and contact the prescribing physician for further assistance, we were met with resistance and were ultimately denied. As a result, my son is now at home less than a week post-operation from a spinal fusion without adequate pain medication because his surgeon believes in a one-size-fits-all approach. I am planning to report Dr. Narain to the board of medicine for his lack of care for my son, his patient.”

— Melonee

“On 07/09 I saw Jason Genko to address my 4th potential treatment for debilitating Cervical Radiculopathy. In spite of being low functioning due to pain from collapsed/bulging disks, and extreme stenosis. PT was ordered before an MRI. WENT TO PT THE NEXT DAY and it was determined that I could not participate in this PT at this time due to the extreme nature of my condition. This report was sent to PA Genko on 07/12. In the mean time I'm getting slow and indignant responses from my attempt to use their messaging system for appointments. This is a joke. They bounce you back and forth to some redundant "scheduler " that asks if you are a new patient, press1 or 2, are you scheduling a procedure press 1or 2, have you received confirmation to schedule this procedure? Press 1 or 2. This is after having texted directly with a person who already had all of this info and offered a slot. By the time they get back to me that slot is no longer available. This is frustrating at best. When my MRI was ordered a week later it was not ordered stat and no PT report was attached so 14 days later I get a denial requesting 6 weeks of PT. Insurance says the PT report nor his opinion attached to the MRI request. Now it's been three more weeks of agonizing pain. I get a call from the Pain center telling me the MRI denied and I need to schedule to discuss how to move forward. So I schedule for yesterday. I get there. They have no clue why I'm actually there. Jason Genko informs me he has no PT report nor does he have an xray of my hand which was also ordered for potential metatarsal tarsal injections. I tell him it was sent and confirmed and I would probably leave his office only to find out late that I'm right. It was in fact sent and confirmed sent by "Sp*****" PT ON 07/12. In the context of me asking him why they weren't received and reviewed by him he turned to me and bowed up and said, and I quote, "I don't sit by a fax machine all day just waiting for a fax". This response aggravated me as well as his poise and bedside manner. I said "young man, I never suggested that was the case but why would it not be there. Can we look again? Perhaps somewhere else? He raise both hands palms towards me in passive-aggressive and bemused manner and fixed his gaze and said "I don't know". At this point I went off and demanded to be seen by someone else even if it meant scheduling again. I expressed my anger for his exasperating dismissal of me and my situation and that I felt every step of the process was confusing and not aided by discussion or explanation by him and that I didn't appreciate his bold and disrespectful response. He said he was leaving the room and I could leave the practice. Beyond appalled my trigger was pulled. I told him how frustrating this all was and that I would report him and take my business elsewhere. He said "GOOD, GOOD and pointed me to the door. As I was leaving the Medical assistant, standing listening in her office doorway also pointed me out the door with a sweep of her hand. I was absolutely aghast and as angry as I have probably ever been. How dare a wet behind the ears middle of the road practitioner treat me and my situation with such disregard and to bow up on me was just all that. Really? How dare you. I'll point out that in all of the frustrating and humiliating bureaucracy they seem to have their billing down to a science, They were paid within a day or two in every case. Isn't that just a hoot?”

— Arlo Henley

“I give 2 stars as this practice used to be sooo much better and I have been with them over 15 years, but seeing decline over last 5 years in a lot of great long- term doctors and PAs leaving. This review is in regards to my most recent appointment in June 2024 for a radio frequency, ablation procedure . Waiting 2.5 hours to get to the point ( taken back to get IV started) and then another wait for getting actual procedure done is unacceptable.If a doctor has a valid reason for that, I would like to hear it, apparently this delay was happening all morning so a call should have been made advising patients to arrive later or re- schedule. Not enough seats in waiting room for all the people waiting ( 25 to 30) Patients plus drivers. If this was an over- booking scenario, even more unacceptable. Can't eat or drink and one person was diabetic, I had to pay my riding service more money and my driver had to re- schedule one of her appointments. Doctor should respect that their actions or practices have a domino effect. No one poking around in spinal cords, administering medications should be rushed. My procedure and after care felt rushed in the staffs attempt to herd people through. Unacceptable, I am going to start looking at other pain management practices. My last few prescription refills have been a mess and the 2nd time an insurance pre-authorization was messed up. Seen quite a few doctors and experienced PAs leave this practice and this may be a huge red flag. No one wants huge waits and feel like a spinal procedure is being rushed with no concern after the procedure for increased pain and nausea. Very disappointing process and many people in that waiting room felt the same and heard at least 4 say time to look for another doctor. I also have nausea with anesthesia and they always give me Zofran during procedure into IV and give me a little more in recovery if needed. I felt more pain after this procedure than I ever had with RFA and was nauseous and they offered me crackers. No concern. They used to prescribe me nausea medicine to have on hand at home but their PA not the doctor decided to stop refilling that medication. I asked the nurse to have the doctor contact me regarding that and I never heard a word. I couldn't figure out why I felt so bad after this procedure and then realized upon looking at my discharge paperwork ( next day) that I got absolutely no Zofran as part of this procedure and they refused to give it to me in recovery because they were so busy rushing everybody out because they were so far behind on their appointment. This is so unacceptable. This is not how you build peoples confidence People as patience. As noted I have been 15+ years and may have to consider other arrangements”

— MJ L

“I am going to have to agree with Sam's review. Dr Narain did the same thing to me & I believe every negative review of Dr Narain, he's a joke. If I could give him negative zero stars I would. I felt discriminated against the minute he walked through the door. I was seeing Dr Curletta for quite a few years before he retired (I don't blame him for retiring from this pathetic place. He lasted a whole 5-6 months & I can see why) & I ended up having to see Dr Narain. WORST Dr that I have ever encountered in my life!!! He would not listen to anything that I had to say regarding my back pain & keep in mind that I have been going to pain centers/clinics for the last 30 years & have had every procedure done that can be done to my back, multiple times. The Drs have all come to the conclusion that it is most likely pain from failed back syndrome & also extreme inflammation from my Hashimotos & that they would just keep me on my pain medication protocol that I have been on which is Tramadol, have been on forever (30 years) & it helps a lot. Some pain Drs laugh because that drug shouldn't even be considered a controlled drug, which it wasn't when I started on it. It doesn't make you high. And because I took a Xanax while having a heart attack, which was legally prescribed to me as well, ( I showed him the bottles) he had a conniption fit & came at me like the Tazmanian Devil. Mind you, I was on Xanax & tramadol for about 20 years before I even came here. My cardiologist said that the Xanax is probably what saved my life & they also prescribed it to me in the hospital while I was there along with my tramadol. Because I continued to take it periodically because of high stress & I didn't want to have another heart attack which Dr Curletta completely understood, Dr Narian dropped me from the pain management part of the practice but not the procedure part. All he does is push procedures whether you have had them or not and if you don't agree with him he refers you to get help for drug abuse & dismisses you by writing HIGH OPIOID USAGE across your papers. He wrote that because my Xanax script was older & that no one was watching me. Trust me, if I was going to die from it, I would have died years ago. I only take .25mg of it when I do take it but am prescribed 1.50mg per day. Big deal. He left me in the room crying, with no care in the world to listen to what I had to say. I sat there for 25 minutes so I got up & left. I told the girl at the front desk that Dr Narian was causing me a lot of distress (which is why I was put on Xanax to begin with. I have PTSD & other things & he was triggering them) so I was leaving & if they wanted to send me anything then they could. 2 weeks later I receive dismissal paperwork. I am here to tell you that us pain patients are already fragile enough from dealing with pain 24/7 & there is no reason to be treated that way by a so called professional. I have done everything & anything that any pain Dr has asked of me to do with no problems at all & now Dr Narian wants to start at the top AGAIN with procedures just to make money. You mean zero to him if you are just on a maintenance plan to get refills. This was my first appointment with him. I also paid to get my medical records from him & he has lies in them. I would RUN as fast & as far away from Dr Narain as you can & this Pain Center. No joke,I would rather throw my money out the car window than ever giving it to him. After 30 years of pain centers/clinics I am done with them all. They were fine up until about 7 years ago with the exception of Dr. Curletta, he truly cared & it has been a constant fight since. I have since found my own meds & they are not from a pain center. Screw Dr Narain!!! & this Center but don't forget their motto: "At The Pain Center, it's our mission to develop strong patient-provider relationships before recommending therapies for pain. Once we've administered a thorough evaluation, we use a number of pain management techniques to tackle your pain head-on. Simply put, your needs are always made a top priority" Bull Sh*t!!!”

— Lisa J.