Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago

Dr. Sherbahn never did a retrieval or transfer for me. Depends on what doctor is on when. However, I had confidence in the other doctors as well. Seems they have high success rates, though for me, not sure if they are as motivated to deal with my DOR issues and try new approaches. They donated some meds to me one cycle, which was really nice.

The staff seemed to genuinely care about my well-being and success. In my first IVF failure recap with Dr. Sherbhan, he did not recall a ton of info about my case, so I do feel like I would have preferred more custom attention at that stage.

I generally had a primary nurse for communication though throughout the cycle had different nurses for monitoring or calls. Deena and Ashley both were great as were all the nurses.

We are out of town patients for Dr. Sherbahn. First of all, he gave me my diagnosis of DOR and talked about my chances of success. My prior RE said things looked fine enough and took me down the standard IUI path. He is blunt and down to business, but I am ok with that. I just had my second failed cycle and soon will have my recap meeting with him, so will be able to comment more then on his creativity to go outside the box. The change from failed cylcle 1 to 2 was not drastic. Still high same stims but this time with testosterone priming.

Be ready for a candid approach.

1st IVF - no priming or BC. High dose follistim, HGH/Omnitrope, low does HCG, Ganirelex, triggered with HCG. 2nd IVF - testosterone/androgel priming, estrogen to suppress, slightly higher dose (550) follistim, no HGH, low does HCG, Ganirelex, triggered with HCG. Both cycles had 8-12 follicles, 5 eggs retrieved each time and only 1 mature egg each time. Still not clear what the egg maturity issue is due to. Both eggs fertilized and made it to day 3 transfers. IVF 1 = early chemical pregnancy. IVF 2 = BFN.

We did a $20k package deal that included 2 retrievals/fresh transfers and 2 frozen. Did not qualify for refund program due to DOR. Never got more than 1 egg during the retrievals so was unable to use my 2 frozen transfers.

NA - didn't ever have more than 1

Their strength is the knowledge they all posses. They are very informative. The weakness is when a patient, such as I, call alot with questions and you can start to hear and feel a slight aggravation in their tone or response. I know dealing with woman trying to get pregnant can be stressful cause it is for the woman trying, but we are fragile and sensitive during this time and only want answers. Just keep in mind that everyone is trying to help during the process and don't give up. Have patience. ♥️🙏😊

Like a number because it was in and out and when I had questions I felt scared to ask cause I felt like I was bugging the nurses. Like a human cause Dr Jones did clarify what my best option was and that was IVF. But we chose IUI because it was affordable.

I didn't really see my primary nurse too much. I mainly talked to her on the phone when I had questions and she was very educated with all the questions I had. The team of nurses were great. My only issue was the struggle getting my uterus open when it was time for the IUI.

Dr Gary Jones was very compassionate to mine and my husbands needs. When we couldn't afford medication since our insurance didn't cover it, he donated it. That was a true blessing to us. Dr Jones made it clear that IVF was our best option but for my husband and I, it was very financially stressful. We'd love to do IVF now and would most certainly continue with Dr Jones if it became affordable.

Ask all the questions you have and don't be afraid. He is a great listener and only wants to help others have a family. ♥️

We took follistim injections for about a week every night at 6 pm, I got monitored every 3 days, then triggered when my follicles were of good size and came back in for IUI. During my IUI it was painful and the nurses had a hard time opening my uterus since it is retroverted. But they managed after several attempts both times.

Our IUIs were covered by our insurance but we did have 20% out of pocket costs and we had to pay for the medications as well.

Their lab is great, just look at the success rates on SART and their donor egg program success rates. It is a smaller clinic that allows for more personalized care. You won’t see the doctor every time but you get to know the nurses and other staff well. Email communication is returned promptly, sometimes it is harder to reach someone on the phone.

Dr Sherbahn is a busy man but he always knew the particulars of our case and had a plan for how to proceed. The nurses and clinic staff were amazing and always remembered my name and were very personable.

All of the nurses and staff I worked with were amazing! Sue was my primary nurse and was so helpful and compassionate. I also worked with nurse Cathy several times and she was also very helpful, knowledgeable, and caring.

Dr Sherbahn is very smart and always has a plan. He is also very open to questions and hearing your thoughts and opinions. That being said, he can be very business-like and blunt at times. He is not the most compassionate doctor I have been to but I do believe he does care about his patients and their success. The best interaction I had with Dr Sherbahn was the phone consultation I had with him after my failed IVF cycle. He spent 40 minutes with me and answered all of my long page of questions. He also had a specific plan for going forward that did end up working.

Do your own research and be prepared to ask a lot of questions to get the most out of your appointments. He can be blunt but knows what he is doing and will answer questions thoughtfully.

My first IVF cycle was antagonist protocol with gonal-f, low dose HCG, ganirelix, and human growth hormone. I also did three weeks of birth control prior to starting. The results were not good at all for such an aggressive cycle, 2 eggs retrieved, both transferred on day 3 but were poor quality with only 4 cells each on day 3. Negative pregnancy test. For my second IVF that resulted in success, I primed with testosterone and estrogen the month prior to the cycle. Then I was on micro dose lupron, gonal-f, and low dose HCG. Much better results, 6 eggs retrieved, 1 day 5 blast transferred and resulting in our baby boy, 4 blasts frozen for future use.

I never waited for longer than 15 minutes for monitoring. There was a window of when to come but the nurses would ask you for a specific time so they could plan for the expected volume. It always seemed efficient to me and never ruined my day.

I was lucky to have fertility insurance. My insurance was billed $50k for my two IVF cycles. We paid $9-10k out of pocket between insurance deductibles and medication not covered by insurance.

Dr Sherbahn educates on the risks of multiple embryo transfers but does not seem to mind doing them if that is what the patient wants. He recommended transferring two embryos on my first cycle but I only had two embryos and they were poor quality on day 3 and resulted in a negative. On my second cycle, when I had multiple blastocysts, I was given the option to transfer one or two. I chose to transfer only one but would have been supported in my decision either way.

the nursing staff is great! They all seem very knowledgeable, always answer any questions you may have to the best of there ability, and all made me feel very comfortable during each ultrasound, and iui procedure. if you're going with Dr.C don't plan on seeing her or communicating with her at all.

Our first initial appointment with Dr. C was good. She explained everything thoroughly, answered all of our questions, and gave us a step by step of what procedures we would be doing and how long we would try them. That was the ONLY time I've ever seen her. Everything IUI procedure was done by a different nurse, the nurses would be the ones to contact me and tell me my next steps. She didn't exceed in the patient care in my eyes.

the nursing staff is awesome. Each nurse I had was very knowledgeable and showed compassion each and every time.

I never saw Dr. Catenacci besides our very firs consultation appointment. She had me under go 3 rounds of IUI and each one came back negative. After my 3rd failed IUI, she then had the nurse call me (per usual) and tell me that the doctor thinks we should check to see if my tubes are open if we want to move forward with another IUI. I feel, that should have been done my very FIRST appointment, because if they are blocked.. I just wasted a lot of time and a lot of our hard earned money. That's when I left and got a 2nd opinion.

Make sure you are knowledgeable about treatments and what needs to be done before hand.

I was on Femara/Clomid each cycle.. 3 pills for 5 days. Ultrasound to check follicles, trigger point shot when ovulating, husband would collect sperm and the IUI would be done an hour later.

Each IUI cost me about 1600

n/a

AFCC def has a lot of strengths and I think their success rates prove that. I'm thrilled that over 98% of their staff truly show compassion and care towards the patient and truly want the end result - a child - for everyone. Our surrogacy coordinator didn't show a ton of compassion and could be rude at times, but overall, I love AFCC.

Dr. Catenacci was always there for me through EVERYTHING we have been through. When we had a miscarriage, she would call me personally to check on me. If we ever had any questions or concerns, she genuinely took the time with us to answer them.

Ashley in the Crystal Lake office was incredible. She answered any and all questions or concerns we had via phone or email almost instantly. The nursing staff in general at AFCC are extremely compassionate and I'm forever thankful for how I was treated by them. Def as a patient and not a number.

Dr. Catenacci is very knowledgeable and truly cares for her patients and wants the best for them. I was never afraid to contact her directly and she always got back to me in a timely manner. If my husband and I saw something different or intriguing in treatment on the Internet, she was always open to listening and suggesting her thoughts and new ways to see what would work.

I wouldn't say this with just Dr. Catenacci, but to RE's in general, I wish they would better accept the fact that sometimes there are immune issues that are working against the patient to carry a pregnancy. I would always say you need to be your own advocate. You know your body more than anyone.

Each cycle was pretty much the same. We did five egg retrievals and all of them were about the same dosage of Follistem/Gonal F (300iu-450iu). I'd stim for about 10-11 days with retrieval on days 12 or 13. She paid close attention to my estrogen levels and was very careful to avoid OHSS - which I greatly appreciated. The clinic uses the patients weight when prescribing PIO so I was usually on 2.4cc of PIO. I was on 2-3 pills a day of Estradiol and also baby aspirin.

I was actually happy with them doing their monitoring appointments in the early mornings. It meant that we would have results sooner. The only frustrating thing was that monitoring was done in their Gurnee office, which was a lot farther for me on the weekends.

I had insurance coverage for 85% of our treatments, so it is hard to say. But for our surrogate cycle, we paid $4000 for our frozen transfer and $800 for each time we froze embryos.

Very easy to work with especially with schedules and appointments. Always have someone ready to treat you or check you when you come in, never wait long. They are always on top of calling you in the afternoon with results from that day. Only one time did I have to call myself, but that was the lab that failed to get back to me.

She and her staff are super into you and your needs they don’t schedule so many people at one time so you feel like a person and not a number. Previous clinic I did feel like a number and it was disheartening.

Any of Dr Catenacci’s staff that I have dealt with are always super nice and very helpful and very compassionate.

Dr Catenacci has a great personality, she is fun to talk to and she will give it to you straight. She is my second doctor and what a difference she is compared to my first doctor! She told me things that I was diagnosed with that the other clinic had me guessing, never told me outright, so then she set up a plan for us and we’re working on it. She has great bedside manner and makes you feel comfortable even when there are times you wouldn’t. I don’t know what else to say, except that she’s amazing!

Ask all questions. She will have answers for you.

I don’t remember super specifics, but the strategies and protocols are right in line with what I hear from others. She helps with your specific needs and strategizes accordingly. She is very helpful and makes sure you are at your best health before proceeding.

It’s hard to tell because I have insurance and deductibles to meet for procedures and meds.

All approaches from my doctor have been on point.

Strengths - receptionist was always kind, my nurse coordinator was awesome. My meds always arrived on time. I honestly don't have any weaknesses aside from the one nurse blaming me for lab results not getting there on time.

I was assigned a single nurse, Sue. She was my main contact point and was very easy to reach via e-mail and to answer all my questions. The only complaint I had at all was with a different nurse who was angry with and scolded me because my lab results did not come in one time at one occurrence, and told me I would need to start traveling to their own clinic (which is 3 hours from me) for simple blood tests. There was a mix-up in my lab and I got the results over as quickly as possible, but her demeanor was upsetting to me.

Sue was wonderful. I live about 3 hours from the clinic so I was concerned about coordinating the bloodwork/monitoring. This did make things a little more difficult, and we had a few mix-ups when other nurses were sending my orders in, but nothing major. I had a few extra ultrasounds/bloodwork due to mix ups, but my insurance covered everything (as I already hit my out of pocket), so it wasn't a big deal. Sue called very promptly once my beta results were in, and also called very quickly with my updates on number of fertilized eggs, embryos, etc. and genuinely seemed happy when all my results were positive!

He was very helpful and informative at our initial consult. You do need to bring the questions you have, because that will lead the conversation. A large portion of the beginning consult is him discussing success rates, risk of multiples, etc. I am 28 years old with high AMH, so I do think he knew we would be an "easier" case.... but either way, I came out of our first meeting feeling very positive that we would have a good chance to get pregnant. He also gave us personally calculated success rates based on my age, AMH, antra-follicle count, etc. which I thought was a nice touch.

Come to your first meeting with all of the questions you have! I saw him at the initial consult, and the next time I saw him was at the egg transfer (a different doctor did our retrieval), so make sure you are prepared.

We did a month of BC, then for the stims we did gonal-f and low dose HCG. We used the Lupron for trigger because of my PCOS leading to a high risk of OHSS (which I had with my prior doctor for my IUI's). I had so much less pain/hyperstimulation when we did the Lupron trigger, which was an extremely pleasant surprise. I thought IVF would be worse than IUI, and it wasn't - at least for this aspect!

My costs were mostly covered under insurance. He does provide discounted plans for cash payers, which I felt were very reasonable. I know my insurance billing was high, but it didn't directly affect me. Also, monitoring and meds are not covered under his plans, and I know those can add up!

He was very persuasive in us doing a single transfer. He said that there was such a high risk of multiples. I had every intention of transferring 2 embryos when we went to our first meeting with him, and wasn't even sure once we got to transfer day what we were going to do, but we decided on the single transfer as he continued to explain the high risk while I was laying on the table. I am so happy we only did one!

The building interior is a bit dated. They don’t spend money on updates and making it look like a flashy expensive place. This was more than fine with me! However, I found it interesting that my husband said the room he had to leave his sperm sample was VERY dated with no technology for porn or other images to help a man leave a sample. I was very surprised by this, luckily I think today most men carry a smart phone. The rooms are pretty small and nothing fancy either. Overall, I didn’t care about this because the updates and decor of the facility are the least of my concerns. The waiting room for procedures was very small and crammed. On a few occasions we had to stand and wait for a bit because they were so busy.

He was very blunt in our consultation, which I actually didn’t mind. The thing he lacks is feeling any compassion as to the reason that brought you to a fertility clinic. He’s obsessed with showing his data and his numbers. He answers questions relative to all his data, not necessarily you as a patient.

Cathy was amazing. I think she pretty much runs the place and responds to all emails on behalf of sherbahn. She was always very timely in responding to questions or messages I had left her. She had so much compassion and understanding for how emotional this journey is.

He definitely knows what he is doing and I firmly believe he will give his patients the best chance at conceiving. He will tell it to you straight, exactly how it is. He doesn’t beat around the bush with things and will bluntly be honest about what he sees and finds. He did not communicate the best with us, but his nurses were wonderful.

Don’t go in expecting to get a warm fuzzy feeling from him. He is very knowledgeable and he will analyze your collected data and tell you your chances straight up.

We did a standard schedule for IVF. He recommended we do a fresh transfer first and frozen after if we were unsuccessful and had any embryos to freeze. Our first transfer we transferred two day 5 embryos as a fresh transfer. This resulted in a miscarriage. The second round was using the one frozen embryo we had left. He prescribed estrogen patches and progesterone injections in oil. To prep for both transfers.

We had fertility insurance coverage, but with our coverage I believe our first round with egg retrieval and fresh transfer was $17,500 total.

He was open to transferring two embryos because of it increasing the chances for success. We did two embryos for the first transfer and only one for the second because that’s all we had left. If we had more, we would have transferred two again.

The clinic has multiple locations, is clean and all of the staff (even technicians) are super friendly and inviting. The doctors are extremely knowledgeable. The weakness is lack of direct communication with the doctors (it is my understanding that all of the doctors are like this).

I appreciated that she personally called me when my eggs did not make it to Day 2; however that was my only interaction with her. All other interactions was with her nurse which was frustrating. I would have liked her to at least check in with me during the cycles

Cathy was absolutely amazing. She was beyond supportive and would spend as much time with me as I needed. There is literally nothing negative I could say about her. I would recommend her to anyone!

Dr. Catenacci is great to meet in person; however, the only time I spoke with her was our initial consultation, another consultation that I specifically requested and when she called to tell me that my embryos did not make it. It is very disappointing that she never calls me to discuss next steps or even to check-in as this is a very expensive, stressful process. I honestly thought about leaving her office after my first failed IVF but I stayed because of her nurses. It is disheartening that everything is run by the staff and not Dr. Catenacci.

Don't expect to hear from Dr. Catenacci except for initial meeting and failed IVF embryos.

My first round of IVF was a typical IVF however it didn't produce enough eggs so it was converted. After that, we became very aggressive and did the Microdose Lupron flare. This produced 11 eggs but only two were retrieved. Additionally, I took Coq10 and DHEA on a daily basis.

My insurance covered a lot of the expenses - we ended up paying out of pocket around $15,000

For my case, she recommended that I transfer 2 embryos (assuming there were 2 embryos) due to my low quality

They made me feel so comfortable. Everyone was great. It was clean and easy to get to. They were usually on time. The ultrasound techs were great and they try to keep you with the same few people so you get to know them. One person sucked at getting blood but other then that they were really good about it, as they should be bc man you give a ton of blood going through IVF. I would tell anyone I know to skip other clinics and go straight to dr. Sherbahn for fertility issues. I got pulled along for so long trying different things and wasted an entire year before finding them.

He gave it to me straight which I wanted and he doesn’t mess around. Met him in February and was pregnant by May.

She always called when she said she would and even left messages with my results so I could read them at work.

He was great. Very professional and doesn’t sugar coat things but gave me a very clear idea of what could happen. I was hoping to hear IVF would 100% work but he gave us our odds. Our first round did end up working. The clinic works around your work schedule so I would often go in before work, they also do weekends.

He will give you real stats, I wanted him to tell me 100% it would work and he won’t do that. He will give you the option to put in two embryos which a lot of places won’t do so that’s nice.

I had ultrasounds during second day of my cycle. That night I started stims which included low dose HCG and something that started with a ganarilox or something like that. I then went in for more ultrasounds once it was close to egg dropping time I started another med to keep me from ovulating. I went for egg retrieval and they got 17 eggs. My husband provided his sample while I was out getting my eggs taken. He also provided a back up sample a few weeks prior. 13 embryos fertilized so we did a 5 day transfer of one. They do not update you bc they don’t mess with the embryos until transfer day. They gave me a pic and plopped the little guy in. 9 days later I went in for a blood test. It was positive- I had three blood tests and then an ultrasound at 6w6d. I was not on birth control for the cycle. We have two more frozen embryos at his clinic. I started progesterone IM injections the day after transfer and stayed on them till 9 weeks. I was on low dose aspirin until my ultrasound at 6w6d.

We paid roughly 5,000 out of pocket.

He suggested we transfer one bc of my age and because I had one previous successful pregnancy that gave me my 9 year old son but left the decision up to us. He would have let me transfer two. We did not pgs test any of our embryos.

Everyone is very communicative and appointments are easy to get. Usually get you in quickly, though sometimes it can be backed up depending on the morning. Though this is rare. The Chicago office is closed on the weekends so if you have weekend monitoring you need to drive to the Gurnee office, about 50 minutes away. This can be a pain, but the staff is very nice.

Dr. Sherbhan's staff is very responsive. They don't act like you're asking silly questions. I have my main nurse contact, Diane, who is responsive and they have worked very hard to get me my medications quickly when running low/need to start a cycle right away. Even with all of this, it would be nice to feel more comfortable being able to contact the doctor with questions during my cycle.

Diane was very on top of communication. She worked tirelessly to get my medications when they were needed at the last minute - working with Braun Pharmacy in Chicago (also a great pharmacy). She was very timely with communications as well. She often seems rushed, but it's mostly b/c she's doing a lot at once. She's not making you feel like she doesn't have the time, so just has a lot on her plate.

I went to Dr. Sherbahn because he is seen as a no-nonsense doctor who gets good results. After my first retrieval, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. Dr. Sherbhan quickly reconfigured my treatment and we started again. From the research I have done, I think Dr. Sherbhan is well educated in the current best practices in fertility, which is what you want. He did debrief us after my retrieval and we spoke to him after my negative pregnancy test to discuss next steps. It would be nice to feel more comfortable reaching out to him in-between or during cycles. It was noticed by my nurse that I do have fluid in my uterus during cycle day 10 and on. This is not something I would have known unless my nurse told me and it doesn't seem to be a concern of Dr. Sherbhan's, but it is a concern to me and I've gone for acupuncture treatment. I would like to talk to the doctor about the fluid and how it may be contributing to my fertility issues.

He's on top of the fertility game, so trust his judgment. Go in for the facts, not for a shoulder to cry on.

IUI: I chose to use injectables for two IUI cycle. IVF: Prepared for IVF twice, one cycle was canceled and we did IUI instead. For the first IVF cycle I took CoQ10, DHEA, baby aspirin, omnitrope, Follistim (up to 550 units), Ganirelix, dexamethasone, and probably a few other things I can't remember. IVF 2: Same as above, but started by month in-between by taking estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. This cycle was canceled and the nurse asked if we wanted to do IUI and we said yes.

Our fertility treatment was covered by insurance after a deductible. The omnitrope and testosterone were not covered by insurance.

At AFC, if you do genetic testing, they will only transfer one embryo, b/c they have a 65% success rate. B/c we only got two eggs, and both fertilized, it was suggested that we transfer on day 3 b/c it would be our best chance, rather than waiting for day 5. we have decided that b/c we only got two eggs we were not going to do genetic testing.

I was drawn to AFCC due to their transparency in pricing and success rates on their website. I also found their success rates to be very good. As previously mentioned, I didn't like the communication style of all communication through nurses, even for important decisions like cancelling cycles and negative pregnancy test results.

Dr. Catenachi is personable, friendly and easy to talk to. However AFCC uses their nursing staff to do all the communication, even for big decisions like cancelling a cycle or calling with a negative pregnancy test result. While the nurses were kind, I would have appreciate more communication from the doctor directly. I believe they see alot of patients, so the communication style did make me feel like a number.

Nurses were all friendly and usually pretty prompt in responding to calls and emails. They do seem to have a high caseload and be extremely busy.

Dr. Catenacci was always nice, but I didn't interact with her that much. I decided to change clinics after my first cycle was cancelled and my second one only resulted in 1 embryo. I do have lower reserve, but i was given a 40% chance of success based on my AFC during the initial consult. I decided to change doctors because I didn't feel she was that invested in achieving success for me.

Expect the communication to be only through the nurses unless she is the doctor performing procedures the day of your procedures or if you schedule a meeting with her.

While my AMH and AFC are somewhat lower for my age, they never expected for the cycles to go as badly as they did. My first cycle was birth control and then antagonist. It was cancelled due to poor response and converted to IUI. Given my lower reserve, I don't think we should have ever tried birth control suppression. The second cycle we did estrogen priming with microdose lupron and HGH. Results were somewhat better, but we only retrieved 2 eggs and got 1 embryo. I know the doctors can't be blamed for poor response, but on my third IVF (at a different clinic), I was able to get 12 eggs (8 mature) from an estrogen priming and antagonist protocol with max stims. So the protocol and the administration of the cycle (doses, triggering, etc) can make all the difference.

I have some insurance up to a lifetime max, so things were covered once we hit deductible and OOP max.

The clinic is quite busy and not overly fancy or roomy. I often waited anxiously for lab results or return phone calls which didn't come until sometimes late in the afternoon. Regardless it is comfortable and sufficient.

Because I did my monitoring at a clinic closer to home I only actually saw Dr. Sherbahn for our initial consultation, hysteroscopy and embryo transfer. Because of this, and the fact that we achieved success so quickly I did not particularly establish a repoire with the doctor or any particular staff member. Regardless, the few times we did see Dr. Sherbahn we felt we had his full attention and that he was truly invested in our success.

Because I did remote monitoring my interaction with the nursing staff at this clinic was fairly limited but when I did talk to them on the phone, or via email they were always friendly and accommodating.

Dr. Sherbahn is a genius! After a disastrous year with another RE it was just over three months from our initial consultation to our positive beta. We went to Dr. Sherbahn with a clear goal, knowing that we were going to use donor eggs. This made our treatment path clear from the start. Regardless, Dr. Sherbahn took the time to explain the process (though we had been through it before) and help us decide between using fresh or frozen donor eggs (the latter not being an option at our previous clinic). He was considerate, confident and had a great sense of humor. This put me at ease for our embryo transfer at which I was comfortable and relaxed.

Go with an open mind. Dr. Sherbahn's success rates speak for themselves. When he reviews his statistics, his confidence could be interpreted by some as arrogance. I however, did not get that impression. I went in with a positive attitude. I just "knew" we would be successful!

Having had a failed donor cycle at a previous clinic (we never even got to transfer) we knew our plan before we even went to see Dr. Sherbahn. This made out treatment plan easy and it went smoothly from start to finish. Our only decision was whether to use fresh or frozen donor eggs. Because we are from out of town logistically it made more sense to use frozen donor eggs, even though their use is fairly new and success rates are slightly lower. We were given a username and password to access the donor profiles and photos and once we selected our donor I was suppressed with bcp then Lupron. I started taking low dose aspirin daily. I then started estrogen and then IM progesterone starting the day before thaw and fertilization. Husband had been to the clinic previously and had his sperm cryopreserved so we didn't have to travel to the clinic until transfer. My monitoring was done at a clinic closer to home. I was also on medrol for several days prior to transfer.

We paid 27,000 for shared risk which would have given us up to six transfers to have a live birth. We got pregnant on the first transfer. Lab and ultrasounds would have been included in this but because I did these off site they were additional. These however were mostly covered by our insurance under the diagnostic benefit (as was my hysteroscopy and husbands semen analysis--though we had to pay $150 oop for sperm cryopreservation)

We were given the option of transferring one or two embryos. We discussed this with Dr. Sherbahn prior to transfer. He gave us likely percentages of success with either option (if we transferred two we had about a 60% chance of a singleton and 20% chance of twins). We transferred two and I am currently 21 weeks pregnant with a singleton.

I did not feel like a number here, the clinic seems very patient driven. The care felt very personal. They have a few locations which make it easily accessible for those who are not very close to the city. They open early (I believe 6) and are able to get you in before work to monitor you. The clinics are very clean, decorated nicely and appealing. They are very up to date on technology, procedures with a quality lab and technicians.

The care and attention I received was personal. The plan he created was fit for me and my situation/diagnosis. The staff remembers your name, they are always friendly and responsive. We were never talked down to and we were explained everything in a way we could easily understand. We never felt like our care or time was rushed.

Diane is amazing. She is good and knowledgeable at what she does, on top of things, very organized, quick to respond if you call or email and made sure everything was taken care of. She is truly a valuable asset to their team. The whole AFCC staff is wonderful. I do not have anything negative to say about any of the team. They are all very friendly, helpful and good at what they do.

Dr. Sherbahn is extremely knowledgeable in his field. Before choosing him I saw an OBGYN who "specialized in infertility" but I did not feel confident in her ability re: infertility, or trust her plan she laid out for me. Then, we had a consult with a reproductive endocrinologist and knew immediately she did not have our best interest in mind. Finally, we had our consult with Dr. Sherbahn we knew immediately he was the doctor for us. Our first meeting he laid out all of the facts, all of the options, all of the data and made our situation very clear and easy to understand. Whenever we met with him we never felt rushed or talked down to how some doctors can make you feel. We never left feeling confused. I have no bad experiences to speak of in regards to Dr. Sherbahn.

He is very honest. I read another review that said "He isn't the warmest fuzziest doctor but I do think he cares a lot". This is true that he may not seem very "warm and fuzzy" but if you have a consult with him, try not to let that immediately affect your decision of him. He is extremely intelligent and talented in his field. My husband and I were seeking successful treatment by a knowledgeable doctor, not to make best friends with the doctor.

No suppression, fresh transfer. High doses of FSH, Human Growth Hormone (HGH), Low-dose HCG and Ganirelix. I had a low follicle count, fairly low AMH and higher FSH. The HGH and HCG are to help with the egg quality as it develops.

My IVF cycle was covered by insurance.

They are so busy, you do sometimes feel like they're just rotating you in. I like that they are matter of fact about your chances, just wish they were more genuine in person-to-person patient care.

While he was very blunt and matter of fact, relying and touting his success rates, he did seem to genuinely want to help us get pregnant and wanted us to know our chances.

She was informative, typically responsive (via email was the usual method), thorough when confirming procedures and medications). I had to ask forbid my results, though; otherwise they never told me.

I like the nurses; it's clear they do this a lot and are happy to answer questions so you feel informed. The compassion is slightly lacking compared to the other clinic I went to. I also get a feeling that money talks. They want to help but they also really want your money.

Come prepared to ask questions. He turns it over to you, basically, to steer the conversation and ask the questions. You may also have to ateee him back to your specific situation. He told a lot of stories illustrating successes but they weeenr necessarily women in my situation.

He thought t was ludicrous that my previous doctor put me on BCP before an IVF cycle given I have a low antrall follicle count and lower AMH. But then my lead follicle developed way faster and we had to cancel that cycle. Next cycle we did do BCP and I developed more, went to transfer but still only got 3 follicles out of the 7 they predicted. I was on 450iu follistim/gonal f, 1/2ml of omnitrope, 10iu low dose HCG and a pill (methyl-?) that was supposed to improve things.

Expensive. $10,500 for single cycle plus cost for any blood work ($75 each test), plus cost of any ultrasounds. We are now looking at donor egg IVF and a frozen cycle is $15,500 + med + local monitoring + $150 to freeze sperm + cost if we would need to freeze any embryos.

The clinic has high success rates which is why we came to them. They are very rigorous and are constantly updating protocols to be more efficient. I heard with the donors they use they require them to come to the clinic to ensure they're taking their meds properly. This is beyond what other clinics normally do.

Dr. Sherbahn was interested in us as people and every time we met with him or talked on the phone, he seemed unhurried and asked questions about our lives. He remembered details about us and often joked with us in appropriate ways that made us feel we were on the same team. The nurses were overwhelmingly caring and responsive.

The nursing staff overall were amazing! Super compassionate and emotive which I love. Very friendly and never seemed frustrated even if I did frustrating things. Tina was great, on the whole. But I do think she was slightly less expressive of compassion than the other nurses. She was more businesslike. But she got the job done.

He is very straightforward in his discussions, very honest about your situation and what he thinks he can do. He is honest and open about his clinic's strengths and weaknesses. He is flexible in his treatment and approach. At least three different times he bent rules listed on his website for the program we were using (a prepaid multicycle IVF program with guaranteed money back if no live birth). We had faith we would either have a successful pregnancy with his clinic or feel we had done everything possible to get pregnant and could move on, that's how much we trusted their abilities. Sherbahn always asked if we had questions and never seemed frustrated by anything we asked even though I'm sure he's answered the same questions a million times. We got the sense it was personally important to him to serve his patients as best he could. I also like that he was informed about new procedures and was updating clinic protocols even over the few months we were there. That shows me a willingness to adapt for greatest chance of success.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. He isn't the warmest fuzziest doctor but I do think he cares a lot.

Frozen egg donor cycles: suppression of own ovulation with bcp, later just with estrogen, then HCG trigger and progesterone injections 5-6 days before transfer. Progesterone continues if successful pregnancy through week 13.

We got a multicycle guarantee plan which entailed a single payment up front and all care and visits were covered under that payment.

The value of an IVF clinic is heavily in the lab quality, technicians and protocols. Dr. Sherbahn's clinic has this down. The clinic is not aesthetically amazing but has the top of the line technology (3D USG for all procedures, volumetrics of growing follicles) and gets the job done. They are open at 6 am and get you in/out quickly for monitoring. Also in a pinch during stim cycle they would just give you extra medicine they had lying around (extra ganerelix, etc).

He tailored the process to my opinions, wishes and expectations. He was very honest with me (which some patients may not like). He is not the warmest and fuzziest but he is honest, thoughtful and gets the job done.

Fantastic staff, Sue, Cathy, Tina, Dina among others. They would communicate by phone or email and get back to me SO quickly with very detailed instructions or answers to my questions. I remember after my 1st consultation I sent Sue an email with 20 questions (LITERALLY) and she answered each one patiently, correctly. They have 24/7 coverage too.

He runs the clinic and processes in a very rigorous way which is good at producing results. He is based on data, evidence and shows you graphs/charts to explain risks, benefits, etc. He is frank and kind, thoughtful. He can perhaps be blunt at times, but the truth was what needed to be discussed. I appreciate that with good communication between us he was able to tailor treatments and plans to what I wanted and what was best for me/my family.

Listen to him, and don't be afraid to question or discuss things/plans.

Lupron trigger for each. Nightly injections only. Follistim, ganerelix, steroids, low-dose estrogen. Every cycle I produced about 10-14 eggs. He does use IM progesterone for first 10 weeks of pregnancy in most IVF cases

Very efficient. Starts very early. Gets you in/out quickly. First come first serve but that was never a problem and I"m a busy MD trying to get out of there. Most visits were 15 mins total including USG and blood draw. Privacy always preserved.

Insurance coverage was good. I paid about 1/3 of the total amount.

This clinic is on the smaller side and I felt that allowed for more individualized care instead of big clinics with hundreds of patients. I saw a nurse during each monitoring appointment instead of a phlebotomist and ultrasound tech. They also offered a 6:30 AM monitoring appointment which made it easy to get to work on time.

Doctor Sherbahn handled my care directly and did not pass off medical decisions to a nurse or another doctor on staff. He seemed genuinely excited for my husband and I when we had success.

Kathy was outstanding and was very prompt in responding to my emails and phone calls. No question was "too crazy" and she checked in on my when I was in office for monitoring appointments. She always made sure I had all my medications and that I clearly understood instructions.

Doctor Sherbahn doesn't have the warmest bedside manner, but I completely trusted his opinion and recommended course of treatment. He analyzed my file from previous cycles/clinics and discussed options with me. He helped me become fully informed before starting my cycle and gave me realistic expectations prior to beginning. During my IVF cycle, he adjusted my medications as needed and was careful to make sure my body was responding appropriately. He also preformed all procedures himself.

Ask questions and take notes! Doctor Sherbahn is very smart and stays up to date on recent studies to give you the best treatment possible.

I have PCOS and overstimming is possible, I was started on a conservative dose of stims and I was immediately increased when the desired response was not seen. Ganiralex was started on day 7 and I was triggered on day 12 of my cycle. On the day of my trigger shot, Doctor Sherbahn had me do another boost of stims to make sure the follicles were the appropriate size. I also triggered with Lupron in addition to HCG to make sure I didn't overstimulate and could proceed to a fresh transfer. Doctor Sherbah's lab is outstanding and of the 18 mature eggs retrieved, 17 fertilized,-and 12 made it to blast. These results were outstanding compared to the cycle I had done previously with another clinic. I transferred two day 5 embryos and both took. My twins are 6 months old currently.

My insurance covered my appointments and procedures. I paid a $30 copay for each visit as they were billed as specialist visits (even for monitoring). I also paid a copay for medications depending on the medication.

It is a very clean, modern/ updated, caring, compassionate, knowledgeable, empathetic, and kind clinic. It was bittersweet to leave their care. They have the best success rates in my region and a very informative website (more than any other clinic I’ve seen). They call when they say they’ll call, they make themselves available to you when you need them, and they are a wealth of knowledge in the field.

He was very talkative, willing to answer all questions, and really never rushed through anything. He always gave great explanations.

I really got to know the staff quite well over the course of three cycles/ pregnancies. They were all amazing. The only issue I ever had was with Aminty being disorganized and dropping the ball on my final transfer. It was very unlike the first two experiences I had with her so I’m not sure what was going on with her. Everything worked out in the end, though, and all our cycles were successful.

He was very full of himself and his successes, however, I felt he had good reason to be. His success rates speak for themselves. I always felt I was in the best care there, and really trusted his expertise.

Go in not being afraid to ask hard questions.

I used fresh donor eggs for my first cycle, with estrogen & progesterone therapy. My first cycle resulted in a single birth with no viable frozen embryos. My second cycle used a new-to-me donor, but a donor with high success rates. We followed the same drug protocol and had twins (transferred two embryos). We had 17 frozen embryos. My third cycled used a single frozen embryo and followed the same drug protocol. We had a single birth.

Our first cycle was 80% refundable if not successful. It was near $40,000. The second cycle we paid a regular fee of around $8,000. Our frozen embryo cycle was around $4,000.

We were well educated on both options. We did not feel pressured to make a choice one way or the other.

The only drawback when we started was the location (far north suburbs) and the sometimes how long it took to get into see Dr Sherbahn - how far in advance you had to make the appointment. But he has added locations and more doctors since, he even asked our advice about locations since we drove from so far to see him. I love that he does everything in house and has control of the whole process from start to finish, it really put my mind at ease. (Our first clinic used a research facility to do the ICSI and handle the embryos, I do not trust that they had our best interests at heart and I do not trust that they actually made all of our embryos available to us). Dr Sherbahn, his staff and his lab are all top notch and I would not hesitate recommending anyone to them.

Each time I went in I was greeted by name, the nurses all knew my story and were very warm. There were never a large group in the waiting room all there to be cycled through the same procedures. Even though they did batch retrievals and transfers, it still all felt warm and personalized. The staff and doctor did a great job getting to know the patients.

The nursing staff were amazing! Very helpful, very warm, very compassionate. They made me feel comfortable with every procedure and visit. I can’t say enough good things about them, especially Aminty.

He definitely does not have the warmest bedside manner and is a bit arrogant, but it is because he knows his stuff and is very good at what he does. He is a control freak and does everything in house, which is great, he does absolutely everything he can to ensure success. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved him and am thrilled he is the doctor we chose. We have also referred people to him and they have been happy with him, as well.

Don’t be put off by his straight to the point talk and arrogance, he is so good at what he does he has earned that arrogance.

My blood tests all showed that I should have had no issues with my eggs, our perceived problem was my husband’s sperm. Because of the sperm we went straight to IVF with ICSI. I used injections for stimulation and it was very successful. After a fresh transfer with miscarriage, a frozen transfer with miscarriage and two spontaneous pregnancies with miscarriages, we consulted with Dr Sherbahn and my husband and I decided to pursue donor eggs. They had an excellent pool of donors to choose from and were very helpful in understanding the process and keeping all identities of all involved anonymous. We had a successful 5 day transfer of two embryos, which resulted in healthy twins being born 9 mos later. We still have 4 embryos frozen with Dr Sherbahn (and one embryo with my egg). We are considering another FET.

It was surprisingly at the lower end of the spectrum considering his success rates and compared to other clinics.

No thoughts

Great clinic. Very professional. Like i mentioned before is the only weakness is that they call you in the afternoon around 3-4 pm, making it a very long day, especially if you are waiting for hcg results.

While nurses were highly efficient they lacked simpathy and often rushed thru the process trying to avoid questions about labs

Staff is really efficient and gets their job done well. The only complaint I have is that they wait until 4 pm to call you back, making you worry all day long. They also are not very willing to share lab results

Dr. Sherban is a very knowledgeable doctor who delivers results. He managed my care very closely and exchibitd compassion and care. For example, he was reviewing my monitoring results while on vacation and making necessary adjustments. He was easy to talked to and very personable during procedures. He also spent over an hour with us during our initiale consultation and reviews my files very closely. Thanks to his high standard, he discovers two health conditions contributing to infertility, missed previously by another clinic.

Trust your doctor

He did a a regular protocol with birthcontrol, adjusted the fsh dose based on my labs. Very close monitoring

Ivf about 10,000 plus screening labs and early pregnancy care costs Frozen 4,000 plus prescreening labs and early pregnancy monitoring costs

I had decreased quality embryos and the doctor recommend two embryos instead of one. I also had a failed Ivf before this cycle

The clinic seems to be pretty organized. We were shocked at the decline of our eggs from day to day after retrieval and that's a sign of the clinic. But I'm unsure how much of that is an egg / sperm quality issue.

Dr. Sherbahn and his staff always knew the details of my case and customized my protocol based on my labs and needs.

The nurses here are truly the fuel of the clinic. My nurse, Sue was so caring and compassionate. Every nurse that we came in contact with was excellent.

Dr. Sherbahn knows his stuff. I was won over by his confidence, intelligence and no-nonsense attitude. I trusted all of his decisions and believe in his plan for us. Dr. Sherbahn did my mock embryo transfer and will soon be doing my FET. He was unable to do my retrieval due to a schedule issue.

Do your research and ask questions. He takes the time to answer all of your questions during the consult and this is the most face to face time you will have with him so take advantage of it!

For stimulation I was on BC and follistim. Triggered with Lupron and HCG. For FET: BC and estrogen patches followed by PIO injections.

We had insurance that we enrolled in specifically for the purpose of being able to cover fertility treatments at AFCC. So we were responsible for our annual out of pocket max (6000) plus any other fees that were not covered by insurance (PGS 4500, remaining balances, etc) I would estimate we've spent about 12k so far.

We are waiting to discuss further- I believe he bases it on age and prognosis of patient. Since we elected to do PGS testing- we were told that he may not allow us to transfer more than one PGS normal blast.

AFCC has excellent success ratings and they are open seven days a week. This was amazing to have the clinic and procedures available when my body was ready for it instead of hoping for the best as most clinics don’t have weekend hours.

He gave me the facts in a straightforward manner and let me make all decisions. My care was personalized specifically for my husband and I. Dr. Jones brought a sense of humor that I appreciated as well.

Deena talked to me on a nearly daily basis. If she wasn’t available there were a few other nurses I saw regularly as well. They were all understanding and compassionate.

Dr. Jones communicated well with me. He was around to ask questions if need be. I loved his honesty and up front approach. He didn’t pressure me into any decisions and made me feel comfortable with my choices.

Be prepared to make your own informed decisions. This is your journey.

For my IVF cycle we used injectables and a lupron trigger to avoid OHSS from me having PCOS. I was closely monitored, coming in for blood and ultrasounds daily and adjusting the doses as needed.

My monitoring appointments went smoothly. I very rarely had to wait, and if I did it was less than 15 minutes.

My insurance covered a portion, I paid a copay at each visit. Anything above that they would let me know so I was prepared to pay.

I chose to transfer two embryos and had to sign a waiver the day of the transfer. I was informed of the risk for multiples.

Several locations was great. And a large staff meant they could always fit me in, but I never felt like a number.

The staff were all so patient to answer all questions and provide any support I needed. Dr C sees so many women and always remembered my case specifically.

They were amazing, spent a lot of time on the phone with me answering questions. I also loved being able to email with my nurse.

She took the time to understand my history and go over detailed results from testing of my past loss and all the tests I had done on myself and my partner. She is so knowledgable about all of this and I learned so much from her. When I saw her for bigger procedures she always remembered me. I felt I was in the best hands!

She is wonderful!

Every medicated cycle was closely monitored and customized along the way on Dr C's direction after reviewing ultrasound and bloodwork results. We did several cycles with clomid and IUI with no success, and decided to move onto IVF which had much higher chances. The next step was always my call, she never pressured me to get more aggressive with the treatment.

Cash IUI cycles were around 1400 (?) incl all the monitoring required. They had seperate prices for those paying out of pocket. Also a risk-sharing package that included a few cycles guaranteeing a pregnancy or your money back

The clinic runs very well. They have great hours for labs/ultrasounds/testing, even on weekends. The consultation is very well organized. The cycles are very well coordinated.

I only saw him very few times, the nurses managed most of my care. The nurses were fantastic. I am medically minded and was okay with only having him contacted when necessary

The nursing staff is fantastic. They are prompt with email responses, they make tourbtreatment plan very easy to follow. They genuinely rooted for me and you can tell they enjoy their jobs.

Doctor sherbahn is a numbers guy. He treats a lot of patients, but he really wants good success numbers. He is in and out of appointments, notba lot of interaction. He is notbwarm and fuzzy at all, he goes a good job. He did not refuse to let me try with my own eggs.

Don't expect to be coddled. He gives you the facts, which is valued when wanting to know which direction to go.

For IVF with my own eggs, he used a HUman growth hormone protocol, it was pretty expensive for the HGH. There are studies on this use to grow follicles in patients with DOR. Also follistim. Only one follicle grew to size, I was cancelled and did IuI.

His prices are very openly displayed on his website which is a huge plus! Our donor round cost approx $30k, including meds.

He gave us literature to read about success rates and safety goals with number of embryos transferred. He supported our choice.