NORTHEAST ALABAMA DERMATOLOGY

I really love Dr. Musik and the nurse practitioner, Neil. They both have fantastic bedside manners and are incredibly knowledgeable. Both also seem genuinely interested in helping me as a patient with my health issues, which is difficult to come by. There are two missing stars because their admin staff is either unavailable or rude. I completely understand being inundated with work, and when I leave a voicemail, they respond in the next few days. But there's no excuse to be rude. Just now, the phone was slammed on the other end I assume to make the ringing stop. I feel the more appropriate way of handling it is answer and write my request on a sticky note for tomorrow, or better yet, let it go to voicemail.

Saw Dr. Musick at my very first visit. She knew almost instantly what was going on and got me on a regimen that really helped. My skin improved a lot in a short period of time. Since then I've been following up with Neil, CRNP and he's been helping me manage the issue. Very pleased with the office. Sometimes the wait is a tad long, but when that happens I'm just thankful that I'm not the one in the exam room with a serious condition that warrants the practitioner's the extra time. I would recommend this practice to family and friends. - Update; I have gotten Botox from Dr. Hesterman several times now and I’ve been very happy with the results! She does a great job!

Dr. Melinda Musick: A wonderful dermatologist who provides a safe clinic for people with asthma and fragrance allergies. Dr. Melinda Musick at Northeast Alabama Dermatology is a wonderful dermatologist who goes above and beyond for her patients. She is especially thoughtful of those with asthma and fragrance allergies by banning perfumes and air fresheners in her clinic. This means that patients can feel comfortable and safe in her clinic, knowing that they won't be exposed to triggers that could cause their symptoms to flare up. Dr. Musick is also a highly skilled and experienced dermatologist. If you're looking for a dermatologist who is both skilled and compassionate, I highly recommend Dr. Melinda Musick.

Don't go here... the first time I went in December 2015, I had an several sores on my nose that would not go away. They were embarrassing. I'd had the sores for 5 months. I thought it might be a complication for rosacea because I had been diagnosed with a mild case of it years ago. I went to Elliot Emergency Care in NH (don't go there either because they said just wash your nose and get plenty of fresh air -- when I balked he said it might be impetigo but I still did not get any medicine for it) and I went to Derry Dermatology twice: the 1st doctor there said I had herpes simplex and the 2nd one said demodex. All they did was prescribe cortisone cream. Fast forward 5 months and saw my 4th doctor. I went to Dr Musick who at least took a little flashlight and examined my nose. She did not put on gloves and do a closer exam. She prescribed ivermectin, which is used to treat dog worms. She must have thought, like the 3rd doctor I saw, that I had demodex. She preformed no tests. She gave me a sample and told me to come back in two weeks. When I went back in 2 weeks, she had her office manager throw me out of the office because I told her staff that unless she did a skin scraping, a culture, a biopsy or some sort of test to determine if I had a bacterial, fungal or parasites on my nose, I was not going to pay for the appointment . I guess that was too much to ask for a test! The office manager said Dr Musick said I should go to Birmingham. I was astonished and asked if this office could not do a test. She was squirming around and I just left, disgusted... I keep doing research (as I had been for 6 month) and finally diagnosed myself. The skin on my nose was similar to impetigo but different. It was similar to rosacea (rhinophyma) but different. It was similar to cellulitis but different. Similar to lupus pernio but different.... I kept searching and searching. FINALLY, I found it. I had erysipelas... a skin infection, not of the deep layers (dermal layer) but of the layer under the epidermis. It matched perfectly. The cure? 7 - 10 days of amoxicillin or penicilln, 500 to 1000 mgs, 3 X a day. I now dreaded going to yet a FIFTH doctor but thought maybe my GP would prescribe the medicine. My nose had been infected for SEVEN MONTHS!!! I had been to four doctors! If the 5th doctor gave me a hard time, i thought I'd go insane. My social life had been impacted for months because of my nose. I was depressed due to having sores on my nose for 7 months. So after researching some more, I found amoxicillin and penicillin for fish are human grade consumable. I had a bottle of 100 fish amoxicillin at 500 mg overnighted to me. Within 24 hours my nose greatly improved. I am sure this is the problem. It's unbelievable... FOUR doctors and I self diagnosed and bought fish penicillin... really??? Is this what the medical community has come to?? I understand people make mistakes but out of the four doctors I saw (with three of them being SKIN SPECIALISTS), not one of those doctors thought enough of my situation to do a skin scraping to analyze what was wrong. Not one doctor. As a matter of fact, when I insisted on a test at Northeast Alabama Dermatologists, I was thrown out of their office. I don't know what's going on... maybe dermatologists today just want to give botox shots or do other cosmetic procedures. It amazed me when I was searching for dermatologist how I had to week out the ones that specialized in cosmetic procedures. Thankfully, I kept researching and thank goodness fish systems cannot tolerate impurities and their antibiotics are exactly the same as human antibiotics. In the future, I am going to try to cut doctors out of my life because like Musick, they're stupid, they don't examine patients close enough and they don't take tests... Doctors also compartmentalize everything but that's a different complaint. Dr Musick, the money my insurance company & I spent at your office was wasted. You wasted my time... I'm grateful you threw me out because I cured myself. You should retire!

Very good first experience. Dr. Hesterman was very engaged. I have a full body scan in 3 months and depending on that visit, I may give 5 stars.