Aurora

This clinic is small which has benefits and drawbacks. Your care is individualized and they really get to know you. However, at times there is a lot of waiting to make appointments since it is a small practice. Once you get started with your protocol it’s fine however getting started takes some time.

Dr Stanti was knowledgeable of my case. She gave me a protocol based on diagnosis and changed it when it needed to be.

I love the nursing staff! They are all very friendly and knowledgeable. They have called with good news and bad news and have been fantastic in both situations. They always provide clear information and instructions to move forward especially if there is a change in protocol.

She is very knowledgeable. She is a fact based doctor. At times she is blunt in her delivery of facts, which I appreciate. She is great at explaining procedures and why they are being done. If anything in my protocol was changed she explained why.

Ask questions. Sometimes Dr Shanti would explain things and it would go over my head as I am not a medical professional. Whenever I asked questions she was more than willing to go back and answer them.

For my egg retrieval, Dr Shanti put me on Lupron, Gonal-F, and Menopur. I was started on a low dose, but my medication had to be increased since I was not responding to the lower dose. I used a HCG trigger shot before the retrieval. We were successful in retrieving 15 eggs. For my FET, I was on Lupron, injectable estrogen, and progesterone in oil. Right before the transfer I was also prescribed an antibiotic, a steroid, and vaginal progesterone. This transfer was successful, however it ended in a chemical pregnancy at 5 weeks.

Monitoring appointments were very easy to get. I needed to schedule them as early as possible due to my job. Most of the time I was able to get the first or second appointment of the day. I barely had to miss any work for my monitoring appointments.

IVF package $13,500 PGS testing $2000 Medication for egg retrieval $8,000 Medication for FET $1,000

Dr Shanti recommended transferring one embryo. We agreed on this decision and were not interested in transferring multiple embryos.

I don't have another clinic to compare it to, but I feel like they are well organized, friendly and compassionate. I do wish you were assigned one specific nurse everytime to gain rapport and comfort ability.

Dr. Shanti is to the point, in that way you can feel a little like a number, but I found her bluntness and direct manner helpful in getting whatever needed to be done accomplished.

The nursing staff overall was very pleasant and compassionate. I had one nurse I didn't really care for, she barely spoke a word to me while she was doing blood draws or ultrasounds, it just made me feel uncomfortable.

Dr. Shanti is very talented and she knows what she is doing, I feel confident with my care in her hands. Her personality is very direct and to the point, knowing that going into her office, don't expect any warm fuzzy feelings. She is confident in her skills and makes you feel like she will do anything to help you.

Go in with your questions written down. Go in knowing she is very direct.

After using medications like clomid and Femara without success with ovulation she knew we needed to use injectable medications, she adjusted my medication as the cycle went on for a planned IUI. Unfortunately with those medications it was challenging for my follicles to reapond appropriately and my cycle got cancelled. She has explained in detail, extensively on what my body was doing and she had a plan for future cycles.

For a consultation it was in the 300-400$ range. For my cancelled IUI cycle it cost about 2500.

Clinics strengths include a private area/waiting room for only fertility patients. The receptionist is always very friendly and knowledgeable. They were easy to contact and you were not left on hold. Weaknesses include poor billing department. They did not give me all my options and I ended up paying much more out of pocket than I should have. They do not give options for outside monitoring versus monitoring treatment in their clinic for distant patients.

I felt they did treat me like a human. The receptionist knew my name when I came in. The nurses remembered my situation each time.

This clinic does not assign a specific nurse so at times you talk to a nurse that you've never met. There were a few very good, knowledgeable, compassionate nurses. There is no way to email them which is inconvenient for the busy person. You must call and receive a call back. They do most of the IUIs and ultrasounds. I got the feeling they were making many of the decisions as opposed to the doctor reviewed results and changing treatments or giving instructions.

Dr. Wittmaack was very nice. I did not feel like he explained the process thoroughly or the "why" for treatments/medications. I felt rushed anytime he was present. He has a hard time comforting the upset patient making awkward jokes as opposed to putting things in perspective. I feel his work up was not complete prior to starting treatments. I did not like that he did not preform all of my IUIs and I did not like that nurses do the IUIs and ultrasounds.

Be your own advocate. Ask many questions.

Letrozole + trigger + IUI

There are no options for the patient that is traveling from a distant location. Either you pay the package deal and have everything done at that clinic or you pay very high costs for individual services. You must pay for every consult every time meeting with the doctor

They're really willing to try and schedule things that work best for you. We had to drive an hour to get to appointments and they were very courteous of that. They were also amazing when it came to setting up payments that worked for us.

The Dr. was really nice. Whenever I called the receptionists were kind. The nurses became family to me.

I can't say enough about the nursing staff here!! Brooke in particular was very understanding as she was also a patient not just a nurse. All the nurses there were so kind, patient, warm, understanding, compassionate, and really became like a family.

From the very beginning Dr. Wittmaack was ready and willing to help. After advising my husband and I that IVF was probably our best route he never pressured us for an answer immediately. We took 7-8 months and when we were ready to try he was there and excited to help us. He would call me himself when something didn't turn out right or for test results. Communication was amazing and much appreciated.

Be ready for one hell of a journey. Dr. Wittmaack will have your back the whole way. But be ready to not always get the answers you want or expect.

I went through 2 egg retrievals. The protocol was different each time. The first one was pretty basic and we got 12 eggs. We opted for genetic testing so at the end we had 1 female egg that sadly didn't take. For the next retrieval he had me take DHA and CoQ10 for 3 months beforehand. We got 22 eggs second time around! Again we did genetic testing and ended up with 4 female eggs to work with. Each one of my transfers were a little different too. Just little things were tweaked like amount and times I took my progesterone injections. And in between there were tests he had me take and do as well to figure out why my transfers weren't working. I can't remember what the test is called where they insert saline solution, I've had done a couple times. And I've also had the test done that's like a mock transfer. I take all the meds and get my body ready for a transfer but instead of transfer he removed a piece of uterine lining to see if when we were doing the transfer was the right time.

We did 2 retrievals and 5 transfers. I don't remember specific prices for specific procedures but I know in totally we paid well over $25,000

For me because of my age we only transferred 1 embryo. We never really discussed more because my husband was terrified of multiples haha!

The clinic environment is pleasant and professional, though more difficult to get to due to hospital construction. Be sure to know costs up front as they add up quickly. Once your cycle fails be prepared for not a lot of follow up.

Dr. Wittmaack always took the time to answer our questions and seemed genuinely hopeful and optimistic of our success. With the exception of two of our IUI.s which were performed by nurses I always say Dr. Wittmack for my appointments.

The nurses were always friendly and upbeat. They all knew us by name. I would have liked a more open channel of communication beside the phone during regular business hours for questions though (such as e-mail). I was able to text the donor coordinator once our cycle began and that was appreciated.

I feel that Dr. Wittmaack is a compassionate and caring doctor who always had our best interests at heart. He was honest and forthcoming with what was not always good news. Unfortunately he is an employee of a corporation and I feel that this affected how the outcome of our unique situation was handled.

Do not rush into anything and ask lots of questions. If you are signing anything, make sure to read it thoroughly, ask for copies and make sure that you understand the risks of the treatment you are undertaking.

After 3 failed IUIs we were scheduled to start IVF with our own eggs, however the cycle we were to start my FSH had risen significantly and we decided mutually to go right to donor eggs. From there we encountered numerous setbacks. The first proven donor we we selected from the clinic's donor pool ended up not being available (the donor files had not been updated). Our second choice tested positive as a carrier for alpha thalassemia so we had to see a genetic counselor and my husband had to be tested. We decided to proceed as we had already invested a great deal of money on her FDA testing and psych evaluation. I was put on birth control pills then Lupronef. Our donor was not responding well to stims so we had to pay for additional meds with no notice. Then at my last ultrasound before retrieval we discovered I had a follicle and subsequent blood work showed I was ovulating despite being on Lupron. We had to then freeze for FET. Then disaster happened!!! Our donor went to retrieval. 14 eggs were retrieved; 8 mature, 2 post mature and the rest, according to the embryologist "were just bad eggs." All 8 fertilized with ICSI but by day 3 we had 5 poor and 3 fair. All were highly fragmented. By day 5 we had NO embryos to freeze. Dr. said it was 100% an egg quality issue. This is exactly the outcome we were attempting to avoid by using a donor in the first place! We then had to wait an entire month for a follow up and when I called to schedule it I was told there were no appointments available for over 3 weeks!!! I had to settle for a phone appointment. Dr Wittmaack seemed genuinely devastated for us and agreed to speak to the clinic administrator to see of they would help us out financially by discounting a new cycle or waiving or discounting our current bill (in addition to the 10k plus we had already spent we currently have an outstanding bill of over 10k!). It is not looking good as the financial coordinator said the "we signed and dated the consent forms and we knew the risks." We felt we were rushed through the consent signing and we were not given copies. We were NEVER told of the risk of this outcome. On the contrary we were constantly told how successful their donor cycles are!

Costs added up quickly! There was an unexpected price increase at the last minute with our donor cycle. We paid around 10k for our donor's FDA testing, genetic testing, psychological evaluation and medications beyond our donor cycle fee. We have over well over 20k invested in our donor cycle (including the pending bill) and we never even got to transfer.

I would trust this clinic for any of my fertility needs. I would never look elsewhere for treatment. I cannot think of one single weakness. Even if I received bad news, I always had a positive experience with the clinic.

Everyone knew my name and remembered details about my personal life at each visit. Everyone was incredibly friendly and made me feel like family. I felt like if my cycles failed, they were hurting with me- and if the cycle was a success that they were celebrating with me. I have nothing but great things to say about every staff member that we had the pleasure of working with.

The nursing staff we incredibly compassionate and caring. The communication was always prompt and informative. They felt like family.

Dr. Wittmaack is a gentle, intelligent and caring man. He took as much time as necessary to make sure I understood and was comfortable with the next step. He never pushed us toward a certain method of treatment, always explaining all the options and allowing us to make an informed decision on our own with his assistance. I felt 100% confident in his diagnosis, prognosis and treatment methods and never once doubted his practice- even if the cycle turned out to be negative. I am currently 7 months pregnant with my incredible IVF miracle that Dr. Wiittmaack helped my husband and I to conceive. He and his staff even have plans to come visit the three of us after delivery. I will most definitely be recommending Dr. W. to everyone and anyone who is looking. We are so lucky that he practices near our home.

Relax. He and his staff know exactly what they're doing and they will never let you feel like you aren't important. They will help you make all of the tough decisions and will care for you with world class efficiency. Do not be afraid or nervous. Trust.

After 3 cycles of IUI with letrozole (1 cancelled) that all failed, we decided to move forward with IVF. I have Diminished Ovarian Reserve and damaged fallopian tubes, so we all decided that IVF was the best option moving forward. Birth control pills for 6 weeks 10 units of Lupron for 10 days 8 days of: 225 units of Gonal-F 75 units of menopur 5 units of lupron Following egg retrieval: 2 estrace tablets 2 units of progesterone in oil 11 eggs retrieved 11 mature 10 fertilized 4 made it to embryo stage 2 transferred fresh 2 frozen 1 beautiful baby boy at 7 months gestation

The cost for IVF (one fresh cycle) was $12000 The cost of IUI was about $3000 per cycle

The clinic's strengths is that they are organized and coordinated. They provide a lot of support and consult on your case well. They even had the lab director sit with us in a meeting to go into more detail about our case and what his suggestions are from his perspective. They were able to help us work out a payment plan for our treatment and they communicated well with us. We felt heard and supported overall.

Overall, she did not sugar-coat our prognosis or challenges. She appeared very vigilant about our case, making recommendations and changes along the way to optimize our chances. She was blunt, which we needed, but sometimes it lacked warmth. She seemed to be uncomfortable with my emotions, which invalidated the emotional roller-coaster of IVF at times. However, she still heard my needs and appeared to do her best to meet them. She always answered my questions and provided a lot of hope for us when other doctors didn't. Above all, the hope she instilled in our case was powerful.

The nurses and staff were so wonderful! They were so invested in our case, appeared genuinely happy to see us for each appointment and provided a lot of emotional support. We truly felt welcomed and supported by the staff. They always took the time to explain things to us and check in on how we are doing.

Overall, I liked my experience with Dr. Shanti. She provided a lot of detail to us about our case along the way. She made adjustments to the treatment as things arose. She heard our needs and concerns and sat down to address them. She was blunt in her communication, which was a double edged sword as we needed to be realistic about our chances and progress, but when we displayed or expressed emotion, we sometimes felt invalidated as she appeared uncomfortable with our emotions. She provided us with a lot of hope when other doctors had not. Her hope appeared to be founded in reality and we trusted her. We did get pregnant, but lost it right away. Although the loss was devastating, we did get pregnant under her care and this silver lining supported the hope she instilled within us. Additionally, she encouraged our seeking support of alternative care to supplement our treatment with her (i.e., acupuncture, abdominal massage, etc.), while other doctors seemed either indifferent or didn't support this.

Ask lots of questions. Don't feel like you are burdening the doctors, even if they make you feel that way. It is your right to know everything you can about your case, treatment protocol, results, and what to expect.

We did an IVF cycle before we met with Dr. Shanti. That first cycle with the other doctor failed. However, I responded fairly well to my stimulation, so Dr. Shanti made a few tweaks to optimize those results, but kept most of it the same (I do not remember the details). Our case is male factor infertility, and so she decided to have my husband do a testicular biopsy to get testicular sperm in addition to fresh samples on the morning of egg retrieval (which our previous IVF doctor cancelled his surgery due to finding sperm in his sample on the morning of). She wanted us to get both ejaculated sperm and testicular sperm and do ICSI with both sperm sources on my eggs. However, the biopsy was not successful (no sperm found) and we did not have enough fresh sperm to fertilize my eggs. She decided to freeze the remaining 9 eggs and place my husband on a different protocol with supplements for 4 months before attempting a second round of fertilization. We had good results the second time we fertilized and ended with a strong 5 day blastocyst. She found fluid in my uterus and decided to freeze the embryo and do a FET a few months later after the fluid cleared up. I got pregnant, but lost it within a week. We did not do genetic testing, but she suspects that there may have been a chromosomal issue with the embryo. She highly recommended we do PGS testing the next time we do IVF. She explained her rationale along the way and we trusted all her decisions. In the end, her decisions and tweaks along the way did get me pregnant, which provided me even more hope that I can get pregnant (and hopefully have a baby) in the future. She was very cautious and vigilant with our case and we felt she truly cared about our results. We did not feel like just a number.

IVF was about 10,500, ICSI was an additional 1,500-2,000. Our FET was about 4,600 (in addition to the IVF cost).

She did have strong opinions about the number of embryos transferred. Had we had more than one healthy embryo, she strongly suggested we only transfer one at a time as our case was male-factor infertility and I was young (26 at the time). She felt the risks of multiple pregnancy were too high. However, we only had one healthy embryo to transfer and so we did not have to challenge her protocol. Had we had multiple embryos, we would have wanted to transfer more than one, and would have pushed on this issue with her. However, we did not have multiple embryos and cannot speak to how that communication would have evolved.

I don't have any complaints about Aurora BayCare Medical Center. I think it is an excellent facility with quality providers.

I was truly surprised at the care we received from Dr. Wittmaack and his staff. They must see hundreds of patients every day, but they always treated us like people and not just another number. Everyone from the receptionist to the nurses and Dr. Wittmaack always acted like they truly cared.

The nurses were amazing. They were always very caring and compassionate. All of them were exceptionally knowledgeable and helpful as well. Struggling with infertility was a pretty dark time in my life, but the nurses always made me feel better. I feel as though they are like family now.

Dr. Wittmaack is so kind and truly wants to help each of his patients. He's very skilled and I trust him completely. He was always very encouraging and optimistic. He always took adequate time with us to answer all of our questions.

Be sure to ask questions to thoroughly understand your course of treatment. Make sure you understand all of the costs involved. Also, try to relax and trust in Dr. Wittmaack and his staff.

We did three IUIs with Letrozole and injectibles during the summer of 2014. This course of treatment was chosen for unexplained infertility. We conceived our daughter on our third IUI in August 2014 and are currently starting this process again (June 2017).

The cost of an IUI cycle is about $2,000.

The clinic is strong in having success, and that's most important. The doctor and nurses are fantastic and compassionate. Sometimes there isn't a lot of flexibility with timing, but that is truly the only weakness I can think of.

I felt like a human, because he was well aware of what was going on in my treatment at all times and remembered our conversations. He genuinely cared about my success.

The nurses are excellent, truly care about your success, and care about you as a person, too. They are available to answer questions. It feels like they become your friends, and you need friends who understand when you're doing IVF.

Dr. Wittmaack was able to make possible our impossible dream of having a baby. I had an excellent first IVF cycle, got pregnant, but sadly miscarried the baby. Due to my age, I wanted to do another egg retrieval cycle rather than FET my other two embryos. I had yet another successful cycle, and our daughter is two months old. I had labs coming back with bad results repeatedly. The results didn't make sense, and Dr. Wittmaack stayed on the case until discovering I had antibodies thar were reacting with the lab assay itself. He is some sort of reproductive endocrinology genius.

It can take awhile to get started, but it goes fast once you are.

My doctor would let me transfer one or two, recommending two due to my age and that my embryos were untested.

They do everything in the clinic and it is welcoming. They should have more weekend hours for when someones cycle starts on the weekend or a Friday. Otherwise they are closed on the weekend.

It just seemed like I was being treated like every other patient. when everyone has different circumstances and outcomes.

They were very good at calling back in a timely manner. But they sometimes got their info confused with a cancelled cycle and which doctor changed things.

Ellen Hayes was very descriptive about what she wanted to do and achieve. But she also made it sound like certain things worked for other patients so it should work for me. I felt to compared to everyone else. She did however confirm my suspicions that my egg quality was not the greatest.

Make sure that you are taking the right dose of medications for your cycle. Make sure she understands your worries.

I don't remember the exact protocol but i was on 450iu of Gonal-g and 150 of Menopur. I was also on Omnitrope and triggered with HCG. The results were still poor egg quality even though on Omnitrope. The embryos that did make it to day 5 were not graded the best so they would not transfer them even though i wanted to.

The costs were pretty standard. The one thing i liked was that they offered a payment plan for those who were paying out of pocket .

I did not transfer any but she aimed more towards a single transfer to help with the risk of multiples.

The clinic is excellent. Early morning hours, clean.

Dr. Shanti and her staff were supportive of every step of the process. My husband and I did IVF with donated embryos, which was not one of the choices earlier. They helped us from contacting signing to IVF cycles.

The nursing staff at Dr. Shanti's office is excellent. Diana K was our primary RN and she was terrific. She returned every phone call, answered every question. She was kind, compassionate and empathetic.

Dr. Shanti constantly adjusted my protocol. We had two canceled transfers due to poor uterine preparation. She then planned a hysteroscopy as a day surgery procedure to better understand why I wasn't responding as expected. She showed great empathy toward my husband and I with each set back. She was realistic about the setbacks and I feel she prepared us in general for what was next.

Ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask about what is next or what to expect. I was under prepared for setbacks. I was prepared to not get pregnant but all the various struggles in between came as a surprise,

Birth control, menstrual cycle, ultrasound on day 5 of menses, lupron, vaginal estrogen, IM estrogen and progesterone with ultrasounds. FET. IM and vaginal protesterone through week 11 of pregnancy

I remember our FET was $3500 We had two cycles canceled prior to the FET and we were charged 1/2.

I was originally referred to Dr. Hayes but she was not taking new clients so we made an appointment with Dr. Shanti. We didn't know anything about her and she was not specifically recommended, so we were already disappointed going into the experience. The nursing staff was very kind and gracious. They did a great job communicating and showing compassion. However, Dr. Shanti did not have a good bedside manner and it was all business with her. We did a lot of testing and never got any answers.

She was cold and didn't answer my questions

Extremely kind and good communicators.

Dr. Shanti definitely knew what she was talking about, but she didn't do a great job explaining test results or answering my questions. I stopped seeing her due to communication issues and thought I could find another specialist who could explain things better. We did lots of testing with her but never got any answers.

Make sure you are clear about what information you need and speak up if you don't understand.

We did fertility testing with her which took a pretty long time. She said my husbands numbers were low but didn't explain what was wrong. Besides blood testing, she ordered a pelvic ultrasound and an HSSG, both of which were normal. We didn't get any answers from testing, but she recommended starting IUI right away. We were only in our first year of dealing with infertility and weren't ready for that yet. We ended up going to someone else and didn't pursue any treatment with her.

I don't remember

We never dealt with this.

The clinic was private, secure, and very clean. The office staff have some major gaps in their policies and procedures that had a negative impact on my experience. I would encourage any patient to stay on top of billing/insurance and don’t wait for the staff to keep you informed.

Dr. Shanti was in high demand but always greeted me with enthusiasm and knowledge about me and our infertility journey. She made me feel like her only patient and gave me great confidence in everything she said and did.

There seemed to be high turnover, but everyone was compassionate and helpful

I was warned in advance by a friend that Dr. Shanti was very blunt and that I might not like her, but from our very first consultation I appreciated everything about her. She is knowledgeable and won’t waste your time. When you get to the point of needing fertility treatment, you don’t want to wait another minute for a baby, so when we hit the ground running it was comforting. She was very thorough and told us everything she was doing and why.

Get ready because things are going to happen quickly and she’ll help you achieve your dreams of starting a family!

Incompetent, inappropriate, and horrible.

Communication with the office was very difficult and it felt like we were dictated to never consulted with.

Incompetence is rampant with the entire care team. They don't communicate with each other, or the doctor.

The doctor was very inappropriate and made several comments to us that we completely out of line. Including but not limited to we should try things the old fashioned way, as well as telling my wife she could now really see my inner beauty while pointing to an ultrasound screen and preforming a vaginal ultrasound.

Stay far far far away.

We never got to protocols. After the initial baseline ultrasound where inappropriate comments were made I never went back.

Clean, organized and not crowded.

The nursing staff at Dr. Hayes office is amazing. All the ladies there are so kind, friendly and approachable.

Dr. Hayes has been very kind, straightforward, and understanding. She is knowledgeable and makes sure that all questions are answered.

Be pro-active. If something doesn't seem or feel right, speak up.

About $1,300 for an IUI. Includes ultrasounds and washing the semen. Does not include the price for medication. Fermara- $13.00 and Trigger Shot and Progesterone: $130.00

Everyone in this office was friendly and professional. My care was always great. They remembered me when I called or came in and addressed me in a personal way.

Seems very knowledgable and intelligent. Dr. Wittmaack was friendly and honest about my treatment. Always very encouraging. Dr. Wittmaack and his staff are always upbeat and positive which was encouraging. His staff recognized me on the phone and in person. I felt like a friend and not just a patient. Although my journey hasn't ended how I'd hoped, I still feel like I made the right choice with Dr. Wittmaack.

Costs add up fast. Do research and be prepared with questions to best understand the treatments.

She is kind and her staff know you, and show empathy during every interaction.

They make this clinic what it is. They are knowledgable, kind, compassionate, detailed and available and timely. I cannot say enough about them! They have held me while in tears!

She is not overly talkative but is kind and gives all details necessary. She has a way of explaining in detail what you need to know, but not over doing it.

Come to every appointment with your list of questions and they will get answered.

Seemed too busy to help. Didn't explain that she found endometriosis.

Ask for copies of your files. She at forget to tell you something important

50 chlomid for cycle 1 100 of chlomid with iui cycle 2 75iu follistim with trigger and iui cycle 3 Same cycle 4,5.

I've not heard of more expensive than this $5000 for iui