HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

GI Doctor in the Chicago area???

Support Forums
>
Crohn's Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 10/15/2008 3:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

I remember seeing a post about this a while back, but couldn't find it through search.

Can anyone recommend a good GI doc in the Chicago area, preferably closer to the North Side (though I am willing to travel a bit)?

I've liked mine so far and he's SO close to my campus, but now I feel he's being TOO aggressive--which I know is usually a good thing with this illness. But overall, I've fortunately had very mild Crohn's, with only bleeding and extra-intestinal symptoms. After a little little bit of blood from BMs over the past week (and it has seemed to stop!) he wanted me to go on 20 mg of prednisone and Humira right away! He could be completely right and I could end up in a horrible flare soon, but I think I know my body better.

Anyway, I'm looking for a second opinion and perhaps a different approach. I asked for another colonoscopy to confirm the Crohn's, but he said that won't be necessary for several years! I'm primarily concerned with getting my energy back to where it should be. Perhaps all my achiness/flu-like symptoms are signaling a flare, but I want to explore all possibilities, and my current GI doesn't seem interested in that.
Posted 10/15/2008 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Mkl, I live in the western suburbs Geneva, Batavia, St.Charles area dont know if I can help out let me know...My GI dr is great.......
Posted 10/15/2008 2:29 PM (GMT 0)
I absolutely LOVE Dr. Scott Berger in Naperville. Not the easiest trek for you, but he takes the time to listen and work with you even if it means staying late.
Posted 10/15/2008 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
I live in Crestwood and I see Dr. Ali Keshavarzian at Rush hospital on Harrison in Chicago.  I absoltuley love him and he came highly recommended.  He also has an office in Skokie.  I cannot say enough good things about him.  If you want more info or have any questions, feel free to ask away.  Look him up on the internet also.  There is a lot of info out there about him, he does a lot of research too. 
Posted 10/15/2008 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
I see Dr. Hanauer at the University of Chicago. He's one of the leading experts in the country, if not the world, on Crohn's. Anyone from his group would be a good choice, I think.
Posted 10/16/2008 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Undoubtedly, Dr. Hanauer at the University of Chicago is the leading expert in Crohn's, but my insurance would not cover U of C.

My Doc is Dr Robert Craig of Northwestern. He was head of Gastro for many many years at Northwestern and works with the top surgeon in the midwest (Dr Steven Stryker) on many of his cases.

I have found Dr Craig to be extremely caring and compassionate. He calls his patients personally with test results and he is ALWAYS available for random calls.

Finally, it has been my experience that he is always out ahead of the curve in terms of crohn's treatment. He knows all of the latest in research and will educate his patients on their options. He is always looking for the best long term solution to your symptoms....He avoids quick fixes that may lead to long term problems.

Dr Craig is amazing and I am already dreading the day he retires :-)

Good luck in your search - keep us posted
Posted 10/17/2008 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
Oh yeah - I forgot to mention...in all of my years of being treated by him, he has never put me on prednisone. He says that he is trying to avoid it on me and so far he has been successful. I am so grateful for that, as I know whata a bittersweet med pred is to us crohnies.
Posted 2/21/2014 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
Does anyone know how to contact mlk11? I read a post that she was looking for a Chicago GI on the Northside and she is a student also, so I was trying to see if I could find out whom she might be seeing and relay that to my daughter, who may be in the same area.
Thank you.
Posted 2/24/2014 3:18 AM (GMT 0)
Just wanted to say that I'll be following this thread closely...recently moved to the Chicago area, and I'm shocked that U of Chicago, Rush, and UIC all have IBD centers. (Where I lived before, there was ONE IBD center at a university two hours away).

Previously, I had a wonderful private practice GI who had been treating Crohn's for 30 years, and participated in clinical trials. And of course, he retired in December, so I really should find a new doc sooner rather than later. I tell myself that I'm not sick enough to justify being treated at an IBD center, particularly since my disease is being well-managed on Humira presently. But it sounds like most people's experiences with private practice GIs aren't that great, and I do worry about running out of treatment options (I had a horrible reaction to 6MP). It also looks like several of the University IBD centers in Chicago also incorporate nutrition and mental health support- does anyone have any experience with these? I tell myself that between Crohn's and grad school, it would be weird if I *weren't* depressed and anxious all the time, but I'm realizing that doesn't mean I don't need help managing my mental health!
Posted 2/24/2014 3:26 AM (GMT 0)
I strongly believe that going to an "academic" related facility is always a better option, at least in my case. It is where I have known about the latest treatment, the latest studies, the most up to date doctors.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply