Dr Michael Williams

Being in the medical profession myself, I can certify that Dr. Williams is indeed a wonderful physician. He is very thorough, has a great bedside manner, and is very knowledgeable professionally. He took great care of my mother. His nursing staff (Stephanie) is wonderful and helpful. Highly recommend.

I just adore Dr. Michael Williams — he’s an absolute sweetheart and a great doctor as well. I was referred to Dr. Williams by my internist for a much-​dreaded and long delayed date with a colonoscopy. My Mom is a colon cancer survivor, so I knew I should do it… but had heard all the horror stories and delayed it… but as usual, Mom won out in the end.
In our preliminary appointment, Dr. Williams took a thorough history and took the time to reassure me that the procedure would be relatively simple and that the infamous «preps» had come a long way since my Mom had her battle with this distinctly unglamorous disease. He’s easy to talk to about this stuff, which, let’s face it — we rarely speak of to anyone but our spouses.
He was right about the prep. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the gastrointestinal distress I have suffered during and after visits to third world countries… and it was all over really quickly. On the big day, Dr. Williams talked to me reassuringly before the procedure and told me that I’d be having a nice afternoon nap while everything was done. I liked that he remembered some of our conversation and that I didn’t feel like a number to him. He saw me afterwards to let me know that I was clean — which was an enormous relief to both Mom and me. I ended up having the procedure on her birthday, told her it was my gift to her and she was overjoyed that I am healthy.
So if you have to make a date for a long delayed and much-​dreaded adventure in gastroenterology, do yourself a favor and consider Mike Williams to make it as pleasant as possible.

Let’s face it. No one likes dealing with GI issues. Ever. My tummy troubles got to a point where I was referred to Dr. Williams. I’m so glad I got referred to him, as I think he’s the bee’s knees.
No one likes talking to the doctor about the grossness that’s going on in your life, but hey, that’s all a part of his job. He must like talking about it too since that was his chosen specialty! Long of the short of it, I felt super comfortable talking to him, and it helps he’s got a great personality too.
He takes the time to listen to all your questions as well as give you feed back as to what you can do to improve the situation. Dr. Williams also does his «homework» and reads up on your files and remembers conversations that you’ve had in the past. In this day and age, it’s hard to find a doctor like him.
A+ doctor all around!

I have had digestive issues for the better part of my life, and have had many doctors question my issues, and say things like, «Oh, you’re a woman, you don’t know how to handle your stress,» or «this may all just be in your head.» Well, I can assure you, none of it is in my head. I have Crohn’s disease, and have had multiple bowel resections proving that none of it is in my head. Unfortunately, in this case, I had to get second opinions after seeing Dr. Williams at Northwestern one time. Once. After seeing him, and then having digestive issues that were new to me within a few weeks after my only visit, he recommended I see a psychotherapist for my problems and call him in a few months. Instead, because the symptoms were getting worse, I went in to see my primary internist, who looked into my mouth and found esophageal thrush with one look. It was confirmed after I demanded an endoscopy, following a CT. The pictures clearly showed the scar tissue and what was left of the thrush, after being treated for almost two weeks by meds that my internist had prescribed. The worst part — Dr. Williams still refused to admit that I indeed had the thrush or admit that he’d missed it or made the mistake.
Before the endoscopy, when the symptoms were at their worst, he asked me if I wanted to just have a CT scan, as if this were all in my head, and maybe that would shut me up. No one wants to have a CT. But since I didn’t know what was causing the symptoms, I went ahead with it. Unfortunately, he never bothered to let me know what the results were. I checked in with my internist and found that my intestines were tethered to my abdominal wall. How could the doctor who ordered the CT not bother to let me know the results? Once again, he did not want to admit that he had misdiagnosed something, or failed to recognize that I was in such pain or that my symptoms were real. He did however, give me the name/​number for a therapist — again.
I cannot say strongly enough how dismissive he was, and how poorly I was treated by him. I immediately left Northwestern after having several negative experiences with many of their GI physicians, and went to Rush, where they were able to help me immediately, and not dismiss my symptoms or me. I still see my internist at NW, and he is great, but I will never see a GI at NW ever again, especially Michael Williams. Ever.

Gastroenterologists didn’t win the jackpot in the glamor competition organized every year in medical schools. Heart surgeons? Neurologists? They surely took it all. Why bother about tripes and guts when you have much more noble things to think about?
Well — because they hurt too, my friends.
In my case, they have been hurting pretty much my whole life and I arrived at a point where I was just thinking that being in pain — or, at the very best, in discomfort — was simply a part of life. Hello, my name is Aurore, I am 5’5″, I have green eyes and an insufferable digestive system. Besides I really didn’t want to start talking «dirt» with anyone, and had pretty much decided to just live with it the best I could.
And then, Dr Williams entered into my life.
Into my husband’s actually, who had been suffering from a mysterious condition that had puzzled many specialists for 17 years. The last flare up this spring was also the longest one, and he was consuming away without respite in sight when he saw Dr Williams. He came to him with a reputation, and medical records long enough to stretch to the moon and back. Dr Williams prepared for his appointment the night before, and spent 4 hours reading his file and trying to understand his case. 4 HOURS. He was convinced that his problem was not GI related, but determined to do everything he could to help him out and bring him some relief. And, amazingly enough, with determination and numerous consultations with his colleagues who were also treating Reuben, he did.
Bless his heart, or something — since I am not religious.
I finally decided to make the trek to see him myself.
I didn’t have to wait at all for my appointment. Punctuality: check.
As a believer of holistic medicine, I really appreciated the detailed questionnaire that I had to fill out. He’s not solely interested in your bowels but in your bodily machine as a whole. And he discussed everything with me. He listened patiently, asked sensible questions, didn’t dismiss anything I said and told me that he could definitely help me. He mentioned that he had ideas on what could afflict me, but didn’t share them with me — which is actually a plus in my books. What’s the need for speculation when you don’t know for sure what’s going on? He explained why he was scheduling some exams, and what they would consist of and was overall very useful but I loved the fact that he reserved his opinion until he actually knows more. Smiling all the while, joking around and extremely pleasant to boot.
The best part? He directly emailed my pharmacy with my prescription so that I could pick it up as soon as possible.
FLAW-​LESS.
When he learned that I was Reuben’s wife, he couldn’t stop talking about him and I could see how genuinely interested and concerned he had been/​was for him. Quote of the day: «Learning that he’s doing so much better really made my day». That’s how you want your doctors to be.