Iqbal Ahmad, MD

I had the exact same experience as the other one-​star reviewer. I am fairly young (41) and in great shape (marathon runner). Went to Dr. Ahmad because that’s where my lousy insurance sent me. He didn’t listen to my story at all. Took one look at my fingers, had me move my neck/​arms around, had my swing my legs, etc., and declared «You’re arthritic.» But, I went there for KNEE pain specifically due to a running injury. He tells me I’ve got arthritis «all over your body» though I have no pain or symptoms. I asked him to explain how he knows this. He said, «I’ve been doing this a long time and I can tell.» I pressed the question. He said, «I can’t teach you medicine.» What the??? I had to practically force him to even bother reading the MRI report. He finally did and then I gave him the CD with the images. He came back 10 minutes later and said his computers can’t read the format. I was able to read them at my home PC but the dr.‘s office can’t, in their standard format from the hospital? I had a bad impression as soon as I got to his office — it was run down and stuff. Never go to this doctor, he’s clueless. (Very nice staff though, also as the other reviewer said.”) What’s really scary is he used almost the exact same words to me as the other person posted. I told him that «I am a runner» means the sport is my life, it’s who I am, and I want my knee pain treated. He said «stop running». I’m 41, not 81! Does he expect me to stop living and being active? What a quack.

Eight weeks ago, I fell down a few stairs in a very comical fashion. Unfortunately, I tore the Labrum in my left shoulder doing so. This tear has been confirmed by my PCP, my chiropractor, my physical trainer, AND an MRI. Two weeks after I fell and realized I was loosing some strength during one of my HIIT classes, I stopped using my left arm during physical activity until I could confirm through that MRI that there was a tear. Obviously, I didn’t want to make it worse.
So, I’ve literally been waiting 8 weeks to see an Orthopedic doctor to find out what I can do to help my shoulder heal, and so I can return to my normal training schedule. I’ve done plenty of research on torn labrum’s, and I already dismissed the idea of surgery. Not to mention, I’m not in constant, horrible pain, so I don’t really think surgery is necessary. So TODAY, I drove 30 minutes to Dr. Ahmad’s office in Edison, NJ, to finally found out what treatment plan I can do to get back to my training schedule. The office staff is great, they are very helpful, but Dr. Ahmad is a crackpot. (I feel bad for the women who work there. They’re great at their jobs, stuck working for a «doctor» who clearly doesn’t know what it means to be a doctor.)
Upon coming into the exam room, he has me lift my arms up and down, and then turn my head side to side. That’s it. That’s the only examination he gives. And upon that, he then says, «You’re arthritic.» He proceeds to tell me that I have arthritis everywhere. I tell him that I have no arthritic pain, he says, «That’s your opinion.» (No, that’s my experience. I know my body. If I were in pain, I wouldn’t be so active.) I ask him where’s your empirical evidence that I have full blown arthritis? He has no answer. I tell him that I have X-​Rays from a spinal surgeon and in his report it says that I have NO arthritis in my C, T, or L vertebras. Dr. Ahmed says that’s the Dr.‘s opinion. No, he’s a spinal surgeon and he based his findings off of empirical evidence called X-​Rays. I have X-​Rays from chiropractors that show no signs of arthritis, but again, he says that’s their opinion. I ask him if he’s viewed the MRI images of the Labrum tear, he said no.
So then he goes and supposedly views the CD of images. He comes back and says that he couldn’t see the X-​Rays on their computer (probably because the X-​Rays prove that I don’t have arthritis), and that the tear is from arthritis. COMMON SENSE: Arthritis is joint inflammation. It doesn’t cause tears in a Labrum. LOGIC: There was no tear in my shoulder before that silly fall down the stairs. Then there was one. Therefore, the fall caused the tear.
Dr. Ahmad automatically tells me that other doctors will give me differing opinions, and not to have surgery, because it will only make it worse. Is he afraid that other doctors will give me empirical evidence that he’s an idiot and most likely not a legitimate doctor in this country? I think so. Now, I don’t want surgery, but if a doctor told me that surgery would fix the tear, then I would at least consider it. Maybe get a second opinion, but still I would «consider it». I find it interesting that this doctor was so adamantly opposed to surgery. I asked him, regarding the tear in my Labrum, what could I do to help it heal, and if there was anything I shouldn’t do that would make the tear worse (training wise). Dr. Ahmad literally told me that there is no treatment, and that nothing I do will matter because «it» will only get worse. So he literally gave me a diagnosis of doom. He gave me NO treatment ideas, no options, nothing. He literally said, it will just get worse.
If he’s a real doctor, didn’t he take the famous oath to DO NO HARM?
Even IF I did have arthritis, there are still plenty of treatment plans out there along with pain management. But that’s the thing, I don’t have any arthritic pain.
I’m still very young, with no family history of arthritis. Though I retired from MMA in March of this year, I’m still very active. I work out 4 days a week, jogging, still doing some light kickboxing, and training for the 2016 Tough Mudder. The pain in my neck is from lingering car accident injuries that my chiropractor and massage therapist help to reduce. I also have Tourette Syndrome, which causes muscle spasms in my neck and back. None of that is arthritic based. If It were, I would’ve been told that years ago, and placed on a treatment plan!
If he does actually have a license to practice medicine of any kind, he’s simply a doctor to those who can’t afford great health insurance, so he doesn’t care whether he helps someone or not. Because hey, we don’t have any money, so what does it matter to him if we get better or not. And yes, I said this to his face.
If you’re looking for an Orthopedic doctor, and even if you have crap insurance like I do, do NOT waste your time going to Dr. Iqbal Ahmad at 629 Amboy Ave., Edison, NJ. He will not offer you any real help. Shame on him and «his opinions»!