Dr. Thomas listened to our story, understood our fears, and explained that she would do everything she could to ensure that we achieved our goal of having a family. She conducted fertility testing on both my husband and I and found out that I had a low number of eggs for my age and possibly poor egg quality...Dr. Thomas was elated and reminded us that it's also about quality and that we produced 2 beautiful embryos...We are currently at 14 weeks and Dr. Thomas is still checking in on us
[CARE Fertility] was amazing! The entire staff seemed to remember every client and they all were so compassionate...I felt that they were invested in my journey and wanted to see us succeed. I even remember being told by my primary care nurse, Natasha, that when my HCG results doubled they all cheered...The nursing staff at care fertility were amazing! From the front desk person remembering who I was, to the always kind and said hi lab tech who always withdrew my blood, to my primary care nurse who was compassionate and answered every question or concern.
How was your experience with Semara Thomas at CARE Fertility California?
Dr. Thomas was everything my husband and I needed and more!
I had experienced a miscarriage at 7 weeks (Feb. 2019) and a loss at 20 weeks (Feb. 2020). We had done all types of testing prior to meeting with Dr. Thomas to determine if I or my husband had fertility issues, but everything came back normal. We were told to keep trying, but after 10 months of ttc after the loss of our daughter, we felt that IVF may be our best option. We were uncertain if a doctor would see us because we technically hadn't been diagnosed as infertile, but Dr. Thomas listened to our story, understood our fears, and explained that she would do everything she could to ensure that we achieved our goal of having a family.
She conducted fertility testing on both my husband and I and found out that I had a low number of eggs for my age and possibly poor egg quality. We started the first cycle for egg retrieval in Feb. 2021. However, I grew a cyst in my ovary from the medication and needed to cancel that cycle. I was devastated, but Dr. Thomas was compassionate and ensured that the journey wasn't over and that we needed to change the protocol.
We started our second cycle in March, 2021, and Dr. Thomas changed the protocol to a more gradual approach. Throughout the monitoring period my eggs were growing, but not quickly enough. Because of that, Dr. Thomas made additional changes and added medications to ensure that we were able to retrieve quality eggs at the end of this cycle. Fortunately, we were able to do a retrieval and get 6 eggs, 3 matured, and from there 2 embryos were formed.
Initially, my husband and I were a little disappointed with only retrieving 6 eggs because we've heard retrieving was about getting as many eggs as possible. However, Dr. Thomas was elated and reminded us that it's also about quality and that we produced 2 beautiful embryos.
In May, 2021, we decided to transfer 1 embryo and it was such a special experience. Dr. Thomas and her staff made it such a calm and enjoyable moment for my husband and I. We watched as Dr. Thomas transferred our embroyo and she held my hand when I stated to cry from joy.
Those days following the transfer were stressful, but Dr. Thomas and her staff were attentive and answered all of our questions. It felt that they were just as invested in ensuring a positive pregnancy test as we were. Fortunately, we had a positive test and my hcg numbers continued to double throughout the week!
At 7 weeks we went in for our last appointment with Dr. Thomas and it was probably one of the saddest visits because my husband and I didn't want to leave Dr. Thomas. She treated us like family and the thought of continuing this journey without her and her staff was hard. But again, Dr. Thomas ensured us that this is a good thing! That we were pregnant and that her job was done. It was time for us to move on and watch this embryo grow.
We are currently at 14 weeks and Dr. Thomas is still checking in on us.:) She is an amazing doctor and there are no words to express how much we appreciate her.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Semara Thomas at CARE Fertility California?
As fearful and stressful as this process is, trust Dr. Thomas because she will do everything she can to get you pregnant and having that dream family.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Semara Thomas at CARE Fertility California?
Every time I went to the clinic they knew my name and greeted me as someone they were genuinely happy to help. With regards to Dr. Thomas, she made sure to explain, in detail, the journey we were embarking on without overwhelming us. Whenever I did get overwhelmed or anxious, she would calm my spirits and ensure me that we're doing great and doing everything we can to have a baby.
Describe the protocols Semara Thomas used in your cycles at CARE Fertility California and their degree of success.
I went through 2 cycles before being able to retrieve.
The first cycle was a more aggressive approach because we wanted to ensure that I produced quality eggs. The protocol was, Gonal F (225 units), Menopur (150 units), Dexamethasone (1 pill), Omnitrope-growth hormone (0.25 mL), Provera (10 units), HCG (10 units). Sadly, at 5 days in to the cycle I developed a cyst in my left ovary and we canceled the cycle.
My second cycle we initially planned to be a fresh transfer, but changed into a frozen transfer. We started with Gonal F (225 units), Menopur (150 units) and HCG (10 units). Dr. Thomas later added Omnitrope-growth hormone (0.25 mL) because my eggs were not growing quickly enough. Once we added the Omnitrope my eggs grew and we were able to do a retrieval.
I must note, that my left ovary was quiet/did not produce any eggs this cycle. We retrieved 6 eggs just from my right ovary, 3 were fertilized and 2 embryos formed.
We chose not to do any pre-screening or testing on the embryos and transferred 1 embroyo in May, 2021. We're currently 14 weeks pregnant.
Describe your experience with your nurse at CARE Fertility California. (Assigned nurse: Natasha )
The nursing staff at care fertility were amazing! From the front desk person remembering who I was, to the always kind and said hi lab tech who always withdrew my blood, to my primary care nurse who was compassionate and answered every question or concern. I felt that they were invested in my journey and wanted to see us succeed.
I even remember being told by my primary care nurse, Natasha, that when my HCG results doubled they all cheered!
I could not imagine this journey going so smoothly without the staff at care fertility!
Describe your experience with CARE Fertility California.
The clinic was amazing! The entire staff seemed to remember every client and they all were so compassionate. A major strength for me, during Covid, is that they required everyone to wear a mask in the clinic, they did temperature checks for everyone who entered, and even required me to take a Covid test before retrieval.
My safety and the safety of everyone who entered was their number 1 concern and I greatly appreciated that!
Describe the costs associated with your care under Semara Thomas at CARE Fertility California.
Dr. Thomas and Care fertility were in our insurance plan. However, we did have certain co-pays for tests, visits, ultra-sounds and medications not covered by our insurance. When we started, our insurance estimated out-of-pocket expenses to be $5000. We ended up needing to $4000 out-of-pocket, which we're currently on. payment plan for.
Describe Semara Thomas's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at CARE Fertility California.
Dr. Thomas did not have a strong preference and left that up to us. We discussed with her my age, prior pregnancy history and the risk factors for transferring multiple, but in the end my husband and I decided on 1 embroyo.
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Clinic
CARE Fertility California
Glendale