Zuzana R Gellner, OD

Dr. Gellner was my optometrist when I was a kid, so when I moved back to Humboldt 1.5 years ago, it seemed natural that I would go back to her. Unfortunately, my experience with her as an adult hasn’t been that great.
The first time I saw her was for a routine exam, and that went fine. Routine. Uneventful. No complaints.
So when I developed an eye problem — redness within 2 hours every time I put my contacts in — I called and made an appt with her. Right off the bat she told me, «Most people treat this issue with steroid eye drops, but that goes against my philosophy.» She recommended resting my eyes (refraining from contact use) for a few days and letting it clear up on its own. I tried that. No improvement. So a week later, I called back and asked about the steroid eye drops. I was again told to rest them… for 3 – 6 months! I repeatedly called and tried to get her to write a prescription for the drops, and every time she refused. Now, 6 months later, I finally (and reluctantly) went back into her office for an exam, and again was told to rest my eyes, take fish oil, and use eye drops, but that «probably your eyes are too dry to wear contacts ever again.» Gee, thanks for not even really trying and throwing in the towel on me. Super.
It is obvious to me that she lets her own personal philosophy get in the way of serving her patients. (Or at least this patient.) If she doesn’t want heavy-​duty medical intervention for herself, then fine. But if a patient wants to take a viable option and she refuses… I’m sorry, but I think that’s bad practice.
Okay, then, if that’s not enough, this last time I went to see her, she was VERY rude to my daughters!!! Look, I get that it’s easier to work without kids there, but this is the real world. I went straight from work, to pick-​ups, to my appt. If I’d had the time/​option to take them home, I would’ve, but I didn’t. Furthermore, my girls were being really good! Her policy is no phones in the room. My phone was on vibrate, but I let them use it to play games to amuse themselves during my exam. They picked a game that made ONE vibrating/​buzzing noise, and she whipped around in her chair and started yelling at them about her no phone policy! Then, a little while later, she got up to turn the light on, so my 7 year old walked over to give me a hug, thinking my appt was over. She snapped at her and told her to sit back down on the bench! She snapped at a 7 year old CHILD for, of all «bad behaviors,» hugging their mom!!! My daughter wasn’t being loud or disruptive or anything — she just wanted to hug me — and she got yelled at for it! I couldn’t quite believe it, I honestly didn’t even know how to react, and my poor daughter looked pretty upset by it. Even my 11 year old told me later on that it made her uncomfortable.
If you don’t like kids, fine. But you do NOT get to treat mine like that!!! Especially when they did NOTHING wrong!!! They followed your rules, and they were quiet and good! I’m sorry their mere presence was, apparently, a horrible inconvenience, but again, you don’t get to treat my children — or anyone else’s, for that matter — like that! They’re CHILDREN! Lighten up!
Needless to say, I’m taking my business elsewhere, where hopefully my children will be respected, and my own wishes for my own health are taken into consideration!

I’ve been attending optometrists my entire life, and I absolutely LOVE Zuzana Gellner. She’s so friendly and knowledgeable. I also don’t feel dumb or incompetent when talking to her about symptoms or concerns (unlike many other doctors I’ve been to). The reception staff are also so informative and patient. I would recommend Zuzana Gellner to EVERYONE.

First thing I should mention is that Dr Gellner does accept MediCal, which I found out isn’t always the case with optometrists in Humboldt. I used to get my eye exams at Costco, but when I called them in mid July they said the resident optometrist no longer worked there, so I had to find somewhere new. When I called Dr Gellner’s office I was told I would need to show up in person to make an appointment so they could see my insurance card, so I did, and after some paperwork I was booked for an appointment a week later.
The morning of my appointment I was caught in traffic that caused me to be 4 minutes late, but I called Dr Gellner’s office from the road and while they weren’t real pleased that I was going to be late, they still honored my appointment (with the warning that if I was more than 5 minutes late, I could lose my appointment, which was fair).
I would definitely recommend Dr Gellner to others. My exam wasn’t the most thorough that I’ve ever had, but Dr Gellner was very professional and everything she said was clear, succinct and easy to understand. The appointment took less than 30 minutes which I think is pretty good because I’m not an easy patient since I have a hard time keeping my eyes open during eye exams. Dr Gellner had to hold my eyes open manually.
Oh, and I believe they also sell glasses as well, but I didn’t purchase glasses from them so I don’t know the price range of their frames.

Dr. Gellner has been my daughters & my OD. for around 10 years, she and her whole staff are amazing. When i first moved to Eka. from southern Cali i had to find all new Dr.‘s and i am so glad i found her. She is AWESOME!

I had to find a new eye doc as mine was retiring. Dr. Gellner was amazing. She was skilled and got my prescription accurately. She gave me sound advice regarding my contact lens options and was kind and professional. The office staff is nice and was able to fit me into their schedule the next day. They were not into a sales pitch and truly seemed to be looking out for my best. I also brought my 8 year old daughter and Dr. Gellner got down the 3d model of the eye and explained it to her :) Overall, it was a great experience!

One of the best optometrists that i’ve been to and I’ve been going to eye doctors for 17 years.
The office and equipment is extremely clean. My exam was extremely thorough. Also — this was the first time I could tell a clear difference between the 1 and 2 lens questions! She will most likely want to dialate your eyes. Dr. Gellner uses eye drops for
I am done with contacts because my eyes are so dry. She suggested taking Omega supplements and preservative free eye drops to help the irritation. I also asked her about macular degenerative disorder and how to prevent it.
She was very friendly and helpful. There are only a few options for glasses in her office. She does not try to sell you on getting glasses there.
If you’re going to buy glasses online — make sure to ask her to measure your pupillary distance.
The exam was expensive ($ 95), but well worth it. I left feeling well taken care of and that my RX will be correct.

This place is great. I was having severe eye pain and needed help fast. They got me in within a ½ hour, examined me, determined the problem and then sent me to another office to have something removed from my eye. The other place said that they couldn’t do it for hours and she insisted they take me right away, which they did. I went to the other place and they took an object out of my eye within 20 minutes. After all this, Dr. Gellner did not even charge me! Go here for you eye care, the staff is great, the Dr. is great, and the service is amazing.

I was having eye strain problems and Dr. Gellner got me in the same day to make sure I didn’t have any major problems that could be time sensitive. I went back to a follow-​up appointment the next week and was very pleased by the professional caring demeanor of Dr. Gellner and the staff. I never felt rushed or like a number to be processed (as I often do at my regular doctor).