Looking for people who had surgery at University of Chicago

If you had surgery at University of Chicago (especially the DS) can you share your experience with me?

I had my DS done there in '06 by Dr. Prachand. What do you want to know?

What was your experience like from beginning to end. How far did you travel to get to the facility. Was Dr. Prachand personable? Anything you are willing to share would be helpful.
Another separate question: how much do you spend on vitamins a month for the DS?

e-mail me and I'll send you my ph#.  [email protected].

 

Just sent you a message (will come from [email protected])

Hello!  I had DS with Dr. Prachand 1/29/10 and it was the best decision I have ever made.  The doctor was understanding and reasonable.  I felt as if he was honest with me that DS was really my only option because I had over 100lbs to lose.  If I was going to be successful then I needed to go with DS.  I will say the appointments were an all day event so I had to take a whole day off from work for any visit to the office.  That part was a pain because I was never seen at my scheduled time.  But once I saw him I would feel better because I never felt rushed by him.  By the way I lived in the Chicago area so I only traveled a hour to the hospital.

The experience at the hospital post surgery was awful, but I think that was because I had surgery on a Friday then I had the weekend staff who seemed to know nothing about bariatrics.  I actually filed a formal complaint about the level of service I received while I was in the hospital.   With that being said.... I would do all over again and twice on Sunday because my life has been WONDERFUL since 1/29/10.  I'm not in the best shape of my life and working out with a trainer.  I have lost 120 lbs.  I was in a size 24/26 and now I wear 8 and 10.

Vitamins can be different for each person.  I order mine in bulk to last me for a few months.  I order form VitaLady and Puritan Pride. 

I have since moved to another state for follow up care is not as easy as I expected it to be.  For example, I called to see if I could get them to review my labs.  The nurse told me that I have to come and get my labs done with them in order for them to review them.  I think that is unreasonable for me to fly back to Chicago to get my labs done.  I was very disappointed with that response.  I'm thinking about trying to contact the dr directly because I'm sure there are many other patients who live out of state.  How are they accommodating those patients??

I hope this is helpful...Good luck!

Good point about travel and labs. I will be asking them if I can get my follow up care with my primary care physician, especially labs. I can't drive 4+ hours to Chicago every time I need a follow up, especially since I would have to stay over night.

Is it cheaper at a university?? I'm self pay and willing to consider all options at this point :)

I am not sure about the difference in cost. That is an interesting question.

I'm scheduled for the DS on 1/17.  I can't answer a lot of your ?'s  but I will comment about Dr. Prachand.  Thus far, I have found him to be incredibly personable.  I h