Carolinas Medical Center

I liked Dr. Matthews as a person and I felt like I connected with her as a woman. I was optimistic (we had to switch to clinics due to insurance coverage). If I hadn't gone through this process with a different Dr years before and had a successful outcome (2.5 year old daughter) I may have felt differently about Dr. Matthews. Up through the egg retrieval, I knew what to expect and it was very black and white. Once the FET process started, things got a little less cohesive. The overall process was not explained well and I was left asking a lot of questions about medications and visits. Once the embryo transfer occurred, it went downhill. I don't blame Dr. Matthews for my resulting miscarriage but from the time of the transfer I felt like I was on my own. When i started spotting/bleeding at 6 weeks, i was told it was normal and not to worry (didn't happen with first pregnancy). I had to request additional bloodwork 2x. After beta that showed HCG dropped and miscarriage occurred, I was not given any information on what to expect next, how to heal/recover from miscarriage, and no follow-up care. I was no longer considered a patient and I felt like they didn't care that it happened. it felt negligent and I wasn't heard.

Expect to be treated like a # and not to have any specific emotional or empathetic experience.

I don't remember exact strategy or dosage. I was basically put on the same plan I had been on at previous clinic. My AMH level was super low (.4) and i remember thinking the medication dosage didn't seem high.

We had insurance coverage but we still paid close to $6k out of pocket

I only had 1 viable embryo to transfer

She was very kind. She did tend to stay "inside the box" meaning she recommends pretty much the same stimulation protocol & doses for every patient. It didn't seem tailored to each patient's needs. Also, she did not recommend taking any supplements (ie: CoQ10). Anything outside of the norm wasn't really welcomed (ie: Omnitrope). She also didn't explain that embryos could not be transferred if they came back as abnormal - I'm guessing she assumed we knew this, but it would have changed our decision to have the embryo genetically tested. We only had 1 embryo make it to day 6 and it came back as abnormal. Now we have an embryo that cannot be transferred. Had we known this we would not have done PGS testing. If we had a lot of embryos to test that would have been different, but with only one we would have taken the risk to transfer it given my age.

Make sure you do your own research beforehand so that you can ask a lot of questions. For example, thought on supplements, what are the different protocols out there, any experimental drugs that have shown success, PGS testing pros & cons, etc. If you don't know about any of these topics you can't go back once you've already gone through the process and paid out a lot of money.

She used a very basic protocol for me - prior to starting the stim cycle I primed with birth control pills. Once my stim cycle started I used microdose Lupron, Gonal-F, Menopur and then triggered with Ovidrel. I later learned this is the standard protocol for every patient and that the nurse types up and sends out the protocol. The first retrieval produced 4 eggs with 1 one abnormal embryo. The second retrieval produced 8 eggs with none resulting in embryos.

One of the reasons we chose this clinic was because insurance covered a large chunk of the costs. We paid <$3,000 out-of-pocket. I believe out-of-pocket was around the $20K-$25K range (depending on medications & PGS testing).

Dr. Matthews is a strong proponent of a single embryo transfer as she feels the body isn't meant to handle multiple embryos/babies. It can put a lot of stress on the body/babies.

While he was very compassionate in clear in the first appt, the follow through was tough and confusing. He seemed aggravated with my follow up questions and pushing on key areas. He has yet to check in on me. He put me on meds for high TSH but didnt explain it at all - risks, etc. I asked him what to be mindful of when my #s dropped significantly, he said he didnt know.

Document the plan and follow up/through.

Birth control to trigger a period, letrozole for ovulation with one try naturally and then letrozole with IUI.

With insurance from my employer... $300 per visit with doctor, $380 per ultrasound, $580 per bloodwork, $250 for male IUI piece (waiting on bill for female IUI piece)

Not sure what this is

She's smart and I do believe she knows her stuff. But she (or maybe it's her practice) is not innovative, not flexible and not willing to work with patients that don't fit inside the box of their standards. I wish I knew then what I know now about this process - I would have wasted far less valuable time working with a doctor that didn't believe in me.

Get alternate opinions! That's good advice regardless, though. Ask a lot of questions. Push and advocate for yourself.

The first group (4 or 5) of IUIs were medicated by Clomid. The amount varied - too much caused my lining to thin and not enough didn't cause a strong response. She did optimize based on that. After those failed, we moved on to Gonal-F to produce more follicles and a better response. She didn't provide nearly enough information about it in advance, though, and we were shocked by the cost. Dosage of Gonal-F varied as well - often it was high one day, low the next. I've told other doctor's that protocol and it didn't make sense to them but what do I know.

The costs were fine. My insurance covered a good chunk of the actual procedures.

The couple times we met, I enjoyed our interaction. My biggest complaint is how little I've interacted with her since my initial visits. I have a friend at the same clinic and she seems to be way better informed with the overall process than I am.

Go to a couple clinics/doctors before making a decision.

Although you don’t see Dr. Usadi at every visit, she always remembers you. She makes sure you fully understand everything going on and is happy to answer questions. Dr. Usadi is the only reason we keep going back. The staff is a different story.

$800 for IUI ~$18K IVF

Dr. Usadi will only transfer one embryo

Dr. Usadi was very informative and kind. She took the time to explain all our options and what to expect. We only met with her during the consultation and haven’t seen her since which is disappointing.

Ask questions!

I took clomid with a trigger shot prior to IUI.