Paying out of pocket for a gastroscopy?

Can anyone point me toward where I can get a private gastroscopy done in Chicago, specifically one where they put you under with sedation?
Thanks in advance..🙏

We’ve actually touched on this right here on the forum before—I believe it was in the thread regarding gastritis and H. pylori...
If you have a moment, maybe take a little scroll through those old posts.

Send me a DM and I will get back to you with my recommendations; the meeting took place just yesterday.

I'm in urgent need of a gastroscopy. Does anyone have a recommendation for a private clinic? I’d also appreciate a rough idea of what the pricing looks like...

I recently went to Bates for a gastroscopy under general anesthesia, and the cost was $633. If you're doing it without the sedation, I'd guess it's closer to $250.

Wait, you guys are actually getting gastroscopies done under general anesthesia? 😲

I went through mine at a private clinic, and honestly, I wasn't even mentally prepared for it. They basically just guided me to the table, didn't even bother spraying my throat, had me lie on my side, open my mouth, and boom— 😁
done in about a minute. The nurse was incredibly sweet, and the doctor kept coaching me on how to breathe. I did have a bit of a gag reflex at first, but once the tube settled a little deeper, it passed... $67 btw, it wasn't anything scary. My eyes watered a tiny bit, but that was probably just from the nerves. 😁
I would never go through the hassle of being put under for something so minor, let alone paying a premium for it.

Ronald Jackson6 said:Wait, you guys are actually getting gastroscopies done under general anesthesia? 😲

I went through mine at a private clinic, and honestly, I wasn't even mentally prepared for it. They basically just guided me to the table, didn't even bother spraying my throat, had me lie on my side, open my mouth, and boom— 😁
done in about a minute. The nurse was incredibly sweet, and the doctor kept coaching me on how to breathe. I did have a bit of a gag reflex at first, but once the tube settled a little deeper, it passed... $67 btw, it wasn't anything scary. My eyes watered a tiny bit, but that was probably just from the nerves. 😁
I would never go through the hassle of being put under for something so minor, let alone paying a premium for it.

😲 That is an absolute steal

Somewhere in the ballpark of 300-$133 is a reasonable price, but 1900? 😲Absolutely ridiculous...

David Sullivan61 said:Can anyone point me toward where I can get a private gastroscopy done in Chicago, specifically one where they put you under with sedation?
Thanks in advance..🙏

Honestly, there’s really no need for anesthesia. I was over at Mercury Hospital about a month ago for my own gastroscopy, and if you have supplemental insurance, it doesn't cost you a dime. The staff there were actually quite pleasant—very kind, everything was spotless and orderly. The whole procedure takes maybe two or three minutes. It doesn't hurt, though you might feel a momentary wave of nausea—which is a bit of a joke since you haven't eaten for at least 12 hours anyway—but it passes in seconds. They just spray a local anesthetic on your throat so you don't feel a thing. All in all, you're in and out in five minutes, heading home without any drama, like it never even happened.

Ronald Jackson6 said:Wait, you guys are actually getting gastroscopies done under general anesthesia? 😲

I went through mine at a private clinic, and honestly, I wasn't even mentally prepared for it. They basically just guided me to the table, didn't even bother spraying my throat, had me lie on my side, open my mouth, and boom— 😁
done in about a minute. The nurse was incredibly sweet, and the doctor kept coaching me on how to breathe. I did have a bit of a gag reflex at first, but once the tube settled a little deeper, it passed... $67 btw, it wasn't anything scary. My eyes watered a tiny bit, but that was probably just from the nerves. 😁
I would never go through the hassle of being put under for something so minor, let alone paying a premium for it.

Some of us have medical reasons why we can't handle a gastroscopy without being put under 🙄. Besides, when it comes to health, I'll pay whatever it takes. I'm not so cheap that I'd skimp on something I physically can't undergo without sedation. Honestly, some people would rather die than spend a few bucks on a necessary exam...🙄

Another thing to consider is when your health basically forces your hand, leaving you with absolutely no choice but to go under anesthesia.
I honestly thought you were a total wimp just like me 😁😳

Anyway, the gastroscopy was $67, plus they did an endoscopy $67 and an ultrasound $67, so everything kind of piled up at once.

So, I headed over to the clinic in Germany today and paid $217 (including the biopsy). Honestly, after hearing all the horror stories floating around, I thought I was braced for the worst, but I still secretly hoped it wouldn't be such a big deal. Turns out, it was actually great! They numbed my throat so well that I barely even felt them sliding the tube in. I remember thinking, "Wait, is that really it? It can't get any easier than this!" 🙂 No gagging, no nausea, nothing. It was like it never even happened. The whole thing lasted just a few minutes, and I spent the entire time staring at my internal organs on the monitor 👍

If I can give one piece of advice, it’s just: don't freak out. Just focus on breathing deeply and relaxing your body—especially your neck area. There was this one split second where the tube was down there and I felt this sudden urge to just reject it, but I forced myself to refocus on my breathing and relax, and everything smoothed right out. I mean, we all deal with way bigger stressors in our daily lives and push through them without making a scene, so there's really no reason to make a mountain out of a molehill over this little procedure 😉

My mother had several gastroscopies years ago at a major public hospital in Chicago, and she always said they were absolutely grueling. It actually terrified her so much that she refused to go back, even when her ulcers became life-threatening. Once the pain finally reached a breaking point, she decided to seek private care at the Keymaker Popijač clinic (near the Red Cross in downtown Chicago) to get a gastroscopy and a Helicobacter test. She paid about $167 for the whole thing, and she couldn't stop telling us how different it was from that previous ordeal at the public hospital. Now, I wouldn't say it was "comfortable"—nothing quite is—but it was incomparably less painful and far less irritating than what she endured before.