Dr. Nirmala Gonsalves, MD

I have multiple diagnoses, one of them is EOE. I scheduled an EGD with her and when in conversation with the anesthesiologist ahead of the procedure, because I admitted to being depressed ( hello, I'm chronically ill and it's not fun) she nearly refused to do the procedure as a result. While in fast and post prep, alone and already scared about the procedure, I had to justify getting the procedure without my patient advocate and convince her that I lived in a supportive environment and would not harm myself. None of which is her specialty and likely any of her business. She seemed to not care at all what my experience of that was and seemed annoyed that I wanted to continue with the procedure. At the end of testing she recommended PPIs whereas now the care team I work with recommends supporting my proton pump. Her bedside manner is trash and I honestly don't care if she is the expert on this disease. I am too if I've lived with it for 20 years. I don't want to see her again.

At my first ever endoscopy I was nervous. There, I admit it. I had been choking on food for months and had no idea why . Turned out I have EOE. she told me to “relax and get myself a phychiatrist…” bc it took a lot of meds to get me sedated. Uh, thanks ?! So bizarre. She prob knows her craft, but dont docs go to med school to help people ??

Very, very condescending, invalidating, unreachable…awful bedside manner. Sole focus is on research and not on patient care.

This review is tricky. The only reason why I've given her a two instead of a one is because she did in-fact treat my EOE. As far as looking into the rest of my problems as my symptoms either came back or never subsided, this is the problem. Her bedside manners are nonexistent and she is not willing to go to lengths of testing for those who have chronic GI pain. She seems pretty content with diagnosing one problem and not looking further into the other possible issue(s). If you have any type of mental health history or just look nervous, she will push antidepressants/antianxiety on you immediately. Unfortunately, like other reviews here, she is extremely unreliable to get ahold of and her staff isn't any better. If you're looking for someone to treat your EGID problem, she's perfect, but any other issue, look for someone else who is willing to spend the time and actually listen to you. Remember, you're the one dealing with this pain everyday, they are not.

Agreed to see me even though I was late, then used my tardiness as an excuse to rush through the appointment, make me feel guilty, and ultimately waste my time when she decided at the end of the appointment that she didn't want me as a patient. Must be nice to live such a privileged life. I never asked to see her when I showed up late, this was her decision. If she cannot act professionally under a time crunch, then don't squeeze people in. She clearly could not set aside whatever personal issues she was dealing with and conduct proper bedside manner. She was condescending and mean, then had me ordered out by her nurse muscle after leaving me with no info on where to turn to next. I won't be seeing her again and I won't be returning to NMH for any GI work. The office she works in is a pharma lab where they pump people full of PPI's and study the results. They don't care about fixing your issues and they will talk down to you like its your fault you have these issues.

I did meet Dr.Gonsalves 5 years a go,I was really sick. I was seeing drs at uic and was not getting any better.i remember first time I saw Dr. Gonsalves she talked to me over 2 hours she told me ossama everything going to be ok and things only going get better and sure it’s now. You can not find better dr then her and her team.i have EoE and that not easy. But with the help and care from Dr. Gonsalves I’m sure only going to get better and better I trust her on my life. You the best Dr ever

I think she is a competent doctor, but her office is very disorganized and it's extremely difficult to get in touch with her. If you are experiencing a problem that needs rather immediate attention, you are often at the mercy of her nurse, and it usually takes (at best) a few days or (at worst) a couple weeks to get back to you. Patient care doesn't seem to be a top priority for Dr. Gonsalves.