I pursued Naprotechnology care after I met with a traditional RE and didn't feel comfortable. Napro tries to find the underlying cause of infertility. This Dr [Dr. Brooke Jamelka] is based out of Houston, TX and I live in DFW. Once I had a month of chart per Napro standards I went to see her and she suspected endometriosis. I had a diagnostic lap a month later. Since I was a long distance patient they set me up to have follicle scans at a clinic that does napro standards closer to home.
[Caritas-Sugar Land] Strengths - clean nice hospital, easy parking, seems like the goal of finding the underlying issues and Napro is great. The diagnostic lap care was amazing even including the nurses. Weaknesses - Communication and up front honesty. If you can't see and help long distance patients. Don't have them come in for an expensive surgery and not tell them.
How was your experience with Brooke Jemelka at Caritas?
You can tell shes highly intelligent. While shes not a warm and fuzzy Dr bursting with hope - I'm okay with not giving me false hope but I think delivery is crucial. I only saw her for 2 visits - each time leading up I was so anxious I would sometimes forget my main questions. I would recommend her to a friend that lived in Houston and could see and communicate with her often. My family said she was very through and sweet after my diagnostic lap when I was in recovery and they asked her alot of questions. As a person and a Dr I thought she was great, but the communication was not good. I left feeling like I came in for a surgery and now I was another Dr's problem.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Brooke Jemelka at Caritas?
I hope you're local and make sure you get an understanding of what to expect next, and next after that, and next after that.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Brooke Jemelka at Caritas?
I pursued Naprotechnology care after I met with a traditional RE and didn't feel comfortable. Napro tries to find the underlying cause of infertility. This Dr is based out of Houston, TX and I live in DFW. Once I had a month of chart per Napro standards I went to see her and she suspected endometriosis. I had a diagnostic lap a month later. Since I was a long distance patient they set me up to have follicle scans at a clinic that does napro standards closer to home. During that I thought Caritas was communicating with the closer Dr but it took me 4 months to realize they were not and they no longer could help long distance patients. This is when I felt hurried in for surgery money and then left to figure the rest out for myself without a full communication of what was going on. I came in pursuit of Napro care - and they failed miserably. While in my visits with her she was very kind and knowledgeable - I don't understand where the breakdown went. The phone nurses are terrible - I don't even think they know what half the terminology is and unfortunately it reflects terribly on the clinic. I'm sure it would be different if I wasn't long distance - I just wish they would have been more up front and honest about that in the beginning.
Describe the protocols Brooke Jemelka used in your cycles at Caritas and their degree of success.
Based on my Creighton mehtod charting (I had brown bleeding before and after my period, painful sudden cramps, irregular cycles) I also had some day 3 test done with a previous dr with showed amh .11 fsh 18.3 (I'm only 29) She suggested a diagnostic lap first so she could go in and really see what was going on. We wanted to be aggressive so we were on board with surgery first because it seemed like alot would be checked off and we could find out alot of things. Also with the lap she did a uterine biopsy, HSG, checked out everything structural, and if there was endo she would remove it by excision (no ablation). She gave us a synopsis after surgery - wouldn't really give us what to do moving forward until we got post peak bloodwork at specified times in my cycle back. She recommended either taking a week off of work and doing a follicle scan at her clinic after I started my period. I had the option of doing the follicle scan with a Napro approved clinic closer to my hometown and chose this route. We did the first scan and I had an LUF - he recommended progesterone injections to diminish it and start next cycle with a follicle scan and post peak bloodwork. I confirmed with Jemelka's office and we went in to her for our follow up in April to go over my bloodwork. She said everything "didn't look terrible" put me on myo-inositol (4,000 mg per day) because I was "borderline" PCOS - I had SOME elevated androgen levels and irregular cycles. She told me to keep doing the follicle scans and recommended dosage for letrozole per Dr Jones (closer home clinic). There was no "come see me next month, come see me in two months, etc" after about 3 months of phone calls with only "refer to Dr Jones as he is over seeing your follicle scans" and no one looking at my chart I had been learning to do I finally asked if they could not help me long distance anymore and they said no.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Caritas.
Every time I called they could barely answer my questions. They would have to constantly refer back to the Dr. for a simple question about a follicle scan. I could also barely understand them on the phone.
Describe your experience with Caritas.
Strengths - clean nice hospital, easy parking, seems like the goal of finding the underlying issues and Napro is great. The diagnostic lap care was amazing even including the nurses.
Weaknesses - Communication and up front honesty. If you can't see and help long distance patients. Don't have them come in for an expensive surgery and not tell them.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Brooke Jemelka at Caritas.
The surgery had me meet my $5,000 deductible. Caritas cost was $2,700 of that. The hospital cost its self was the rest.
Describe Brooke Jemelka's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Caritas.
Naprotechnology does not perform IUI or IVF
What specific things went wrong at Caritas?
- Failed to send your chart to another clinic
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Caritas.
Failed to mention they would no longer be over seeing my case. Failed to mention they could not provide monthly care to long distance patients when that is what the perception was up front.