CCRM New York

Working with Dr. Choi was great. We did a bit of research on Fertility IQ before choosing a clinic & doctor and were not disappointed by our choice. Knowing time is extremely important we didn't want to waste time in not-a-great-experience. We wanted a doctor with a solid reputation and results. Right from the first consultation we were pleased by the amount of time Dr. Choi spent with us, including detailed explanations of all required testing, fertility treatment options including risk factors and percentage chance of success, and any limitations. Again we had done a bit of research on infertility before any appointments so we were able to jump right into conversation with her. She heard our concerns and addressed them. She was very factual and speaks quickly, so we always needed to be paying close attention. I brought my notes from home and my recent cycle dates on paper and she appreciated it. Two times, after testing results were received, we would send detailed questions/concerns into the Facility's nurses inbox and Dr. Choi called directly in reply. She allayed concerns, not with any pretense of guaranteed results, but reminding us there was likely not any one factor that would determine full success or full failure. We appreciated the personal touch. Dr Choi's protocol selection for me was spot on. The research we did on our own shows it was slightly aggressive but had it not been we would have not likely gotten the same results. The egg retrieval experience was good as well. She also always called with results (with any thing more than normal monitoring instructions). Dr Choi and her staff also worked with us patiently as we changed our minds a couple times regarding how we wanted the IVF cycle to proceed (fresh vs frozen transfer; PGS testing or not). She said, "I'll do what you guys want to do," so it made us feel heard. Ultimately we went with her recommendation; and we feel we got the best results we could have.

Do your own research and homework outside of your treatment recommendations, more for your own understanding. Come to the table with some knowledge of fertility/infertility. I could imagine not knowing anything someone might feel overwhelmed (in general). She explains well, but you'll maximize the depth of her knowledge better. She's extremely smart and good at what she does. Come to her with your own thoughts, questions. Dr. Choi speaks quickly, pay attention to her answers (take notes if possible).

I was diagnosed with a slightly lower egg supply (diminished ovarian reserve), with high FSH. My AMH is considered normal/age appropriate... somewhat of a conundrum. So designing a treatment protocol that would wake up enough eggs but not make me overstimulate was important. The protocal included... Estrogen priming, Menopur, Follistim, later added in Ganirellix, and 2 trigger shots. I didn't overstimulate and was pleased with the number of eggs retrieved.

The IVF cycle costed around $16K. This does not include the initial consultation and testing, medication, anesthesiology, or final frozen embryo transfer.

Dr. Choi was willing to do no more than a 2 embryo fresh transfer. She warned against the risks of a multiple embryo transfer to both mom and baby. Ultimately we opted for PGS testing tho.

His strength is looking at you like a person. He takes into account all aspects of your life as they relate to fertility. Not just "you are infertile!" -- as I had heard at other providers. He is compassionate, but not coddling. He is direct, which I appreciate on a daily basis. Just tell me what I need to know and what the plan is! He was available for questions in the appointment, via email and via phone. (he is busy though, so it is hard to catch him at the office!) He actively listened and gave an informed, detailed medical opinion based on knowledge, science and anecdotal experiences. He doesn't rush you either. It may take a while to get an appointment with him, but know that he will spend a lot of time with you! I always feel confident in our plan when leaving the appointments with Dr Levine.

Bring any and all questions you have! He will answer them with insight and thoughtfulness. Nothing is off limits, too personal or too medical. He is also great to just chat about life and how things are with you, so don't be afraid to be personal. He really does want to get to know you as a human being. Don't feel the need to rush the meeting because you think he needs to go! He will take his time with you unless some emergency comes up. (has only happened once in a year!) When you leave and forget to ask something, just email him. He will respond within a few days.

Our first two protocols were letrozole + Ovidrel trigger followed by specifically timed intercourse. With diminished ovarian reserve due to age, this rationale was to get the best egg response and time my cycle. We also added luteal support with progesterone inserts and estrogen patches. Unfortunately, we didn't conceive. Dr Levine then suggested trying an IUI which would increase our chances slightly, but get the sperm at least closer to the egg -- if that was the conception issue. We did the same medication protocol with letrozole (great response from my body), ovidrel trigger followed by a specifically timed IUI. We used a fresh sperm sample the day of the IUI with no male factor issues. Unfortunately, this didn't lead to conception either. Dr Levine has no adjusted course which my husband and I really appreciate. He didn't push us one way or the other actually -- he simply informed us of our options. We decided to skip another IUI and move into IVF due to my age, ovarian response and success rates with IVF. We started with a month of estrogen priming followed by a cycle of menopur + cetrotide + clomid + dexamethasone + gonal f + and will trigger with lupron + novarel when the time comes for retrieval.

I would recommend you ask for the billing costs. They sent a complete list of all procedures, codes for insurance if you have it, and the costs associated with each item. Costs for timed intercourse cycles were low -- medications were under $5. Trigger shots were closer to $200. IUI procedures were around $1K. And IVF is around $23K including PGS testing, biopsy, ICSI and assisted hatching. Medications we shopped around for the best prices at local and other pharmacies.

We haven't gotten to the FET stage as of yet, but I believe the clinic prefers FET over fresh embryo transfers. I also believe that eSET is the preferred method, but would suggest you chat with Dr Levine about your questions and concerns.

This is a hard review to write because there were so many aspects of our care under Dr Knopman that we felt positive about, but in the end we could not recommend her. The positives. She will respond to your emails/calls and you will actually see her and get to know her as your doctor. She absolutely knew us as people and as patients. She is approachable, intelligent and was quick to admit when our case went beyond her comfort zone at which point she referred us out to a consulting specialist. The downsides: She felt very rushed, careless and not as thorough as we would have liked. She contradicted herself on multiple occasions. On one occasion, she performed the wrong kind of sonogram on me. The nail in the coffin was the fact that she failed to make note of the medications that the specialist (who she referred me to) prescribed. As a result, she prescribed me two medications that I was already taking. When our case became complicated, she justified proposed treatments with anecdotal stories instead of studies. This made us feel like she wasn't willing to dig deep for answers and was instead relying on whatever evidence jumped to mind. Ironically, we felt that she was at her best when she called to give us bad news (failed IUIs, IVF cycles and chemical pregnancies). At these moments, she slowed down and provided us with thoughtful unhurried responses to our questions. We did not get pregnant with Dr. Knopman and I don't know if that is the result of her care. If I'm honest with myself, I don't necessarily think it is. What I do know is that in the end neither my husband nor I had confidence in her attention to detail and the stakes were too high to risk having a detail fall through the cracks. We've since moved to another clinic and feel much more confident that we are getting the level of attention we should be. Even if we don't ultimately get the outcome we want, we feel better about the process than we did with Dr. Knopman.

Be prepared to speak up and advocate for yourself. I think Dr Knopman genuinely wants the best for all of her patients, but I suspect she is just super busy. Don't be the patient who gets shortchanged and demand the time/answers you need.

We spent approximately 50,000 on 2 egg retrievals and 3 transfers at CCRM excluding meds.

Brian Levine is a good communicator and great Doctor who encourages us to try for IVF despite my low ovarian reserve. He calls you personally on the weekend to give your results. He answers any questions you have through email and listens to your concerns. Really, he wants all his patients to be successful and we are glad he's our Doctor.

Understand that CCRM is a community that he is running. Brian might not be there for every ultrasound but the other Doctors will be and they are all great.

He changed clomid to lupron during my second cycle and I'm on estrogen pills with lupron, menopur, and gonal this cycle- our third. First cycle only had one egg- cancelled, second cycle 5 follicles, 2 eggs retrieved. We are hoping for better results third time around.

An efficient well run machine. No waiting, compassionate Doctors. I loved the team at CCRM so if Dr. Levine was not available it was always great to see the other Doctors- they are all good. Dr Knopman is so kind, Dr. Talebian encouraging, Dr Choi matter of fact but in a good way.

I had my insurance through Progyny

Dr. Choi is a warm compassionate person who understands that you are a person. As a "doctor" having empathy is a no-no but she understands the vulnerability of why you're at the office. She explains everything from start to finish and if there are any set-backs (in my case, there were), SHE will discuss it with you. Not anyone else that doesn't know your situation. She has a good personality and can definitely say something funny at times to make light of a situation. The only bad thing is she can not be everywhere at all times, you will see other doctors if she's away or conducting procedures.

When she says it's a process, IT IS A PROCESS! I am the least patient person and i had to learn that this takes time and it is a HUGE commitment. Trust the process.

Well first, you have to go through a process of elimination. She asked what procedures did i do before going to CCRM NY, which was only using Clomid and did some cycles of IUI's. One which resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Prior to starting my IVF cycle, i did plentiful of blood work, i was on medication for an elevated pituarty. I did blood genetic testing, hormonal testing, I checked to see if i had blockage of my fallopian tubes. Then for my 1st cycle (I wound up having 2). I was taking 2 vials of Menopur in the am & 300 units of Follistem at night, Lupron. Followed by Cetrotide in the morning. Right before the retrieval i had to take a HSG shot. I initially had 15 eggs withdrawn and ultimately they were all unusable. For my second cycle, the meds were pretty much the same, instead of using Cetrotide, i used Ganirelix. We did the genetic testing again and this time we sent my husband's sperm to be analyzed (The company was SCSA) and they were able to use sift out the stronger sperm from the weaker ones. My second retrieval resulted in 15 eggs, and 2 survived. I had one sucessful implantation and the other is frozen. For the transfer I was on Estrogen patches and I had to inject myself with Progesterone Oil as well as take suppositories. Immediately after the transfer I did acupuncture. My son now is 7 1/2 months old and I'm grateful everyday that he is here.

I was fortunate to have everything, from blood work to ultrasounds sounds early in the morning. I'm a 9 - 5 woman so sometimes I was able to get a 7:30am appointment. Never any lines, I occasionally waited in the hallway, not more than 3 mins.

The state of NY doesn't cover IVF expenses. CCRM NY's costs are very itemized. It costs more to add genetic testing, which i highly recommend.

For the state of NY, they always tell you to transfer 1 embryo. In my case out of 2 cycles, i only had embryos. Dr. Choi strongly suggested that i transfer one embryo at a time and I agreed that was ultimately best.

Dr. Knopman was absolutely fantastic. Going into fertility treatment my husband and I were not sure what to expect but she was aways honest and open, direct and encouraging. Dr. Knopman was innovative and willing to try new paths if a cycle did not work out the way we had hoped, she never repeated the same cycle twice without first considering alternatives or other avenues. She gave us tough news in the kindest way possible and was also our biggest cheerleader when we took steps forward. Dr. Knopman changed our lives and we are so grateful to have had her each step of the way.

Be open to the process and be realistic about the treatment. A lot of working through infertility is figuring out what works for your specific situation and Dr. Knopman will be a fantastic ally in that journey.

Early on we tried two IUIs with letrozole and a trigger shot, which was a very comfortable first step for us in the early process. Then we moved to our first egg retrieval and did one medicated transfer (using progesterone, patches, supplements, etc.) and one "natural" transfer (using just the patches and suppositories). Our first transfer resulted in a negative pregnancy test and our second resulted in a chemical pregnancy. We did a second retrieval and for our third transfer we did a "natural" transfer with two embryos and supported by supplemental IVIG treatments provided by Dr. Jonathan Scher, which was ultimately successful.

We were very fortunate to have fertility insurance through Progyny. Out of pocket costs were for procedures co-pays and for medications.

None.

I would recommend dr. Talebian to all my friends. I am still going through the IVF process but regardless of the outcome she has my full trust. I know I am in good hands with her. She is smart, dedicated, caring and kind. She makes me feel like I am not alone in this journey and is as vested as I am.

Describe your situation and history with details and Dr. Talebian will make sure to adjust the protocol accordingly.

I have done two cycles so far with Dr. Talebian. Based on my history, we did the lupron protocol combined with Menopur and Gonal F. I responded well the first time, less the second time. We suspect that it’s because the first time I was prep’d with estrogen patches, and with the contraceptive pill the second time. For my third cycle we will start w the patches, the Gonal F and Menopur combined with Clomid. I will be triggered w lupron and HCG.

Wait time was minimal and process very smooth.

Each retrieval cycle cost about $16k + injections paid separately. That does not include the embryo transfer.

Dr. Talebian suggested we may have to consider transferring two embryos when the time comes given my success so far.

Dr. Knopman is a communicative, intelligent, caring doctor who will give you the best treatment every step of the way. She is willing to take each case as an individual situation and think outside the box to get you to your end goal. She is candid and casual and I felt like I had known her for years after meeting her for the first time. However, she is also blunt and to-the-point. If you are somebody who wants things delivered delicately and know the you prioritize hand-holding, she may not be the doctor for you. I would recommend Dr. Knopman to anyone who is seeking fertility treatment and would be confident that they were in the best medical hands.

Have all of your questions ready because she is fast; she is in and out of the room when you go in for scans and you should be prepared with everything you want to discuss. I would also say never hesitate to email her, she will always get back to you.

After two failed rounds on IVF at another clinic (where many embryos were made but few made it to PGS testing and none were "good") she added micro dose lupron to my protocol and it worked. While I still only had one embryo sent to PGS testing it was one more than we had the last two rounds and it came back "good" and we are now 8 weeks pregnant.

I honestly forget the details but a cycle was around 20k?

Warm, thoughtful, an expert communicator who can synthesize complex medical terms into examples and language that were uniquely applicable to my personal situation. I've been singing Dr. T's praises all summer/fall and would refer her to ANYONE (friend or stranger) considering working with CCRM.

To come prepared with questions and thoughts because Dr. T will hold the space to answer EVERYTHING that comes across your mind.

N/A, unable to recall full specifics. I experienced a very straightforward egg retrieval.

SEAMLESS, I was able to arrive for my scheduled time, sit in a beautiful lobby with snacks, drinks, magazines and was always seen for my appointment within 5 minutes of arriving (even if I was early).

I cannot remember as much was covered by my employer.

N/A

Dr. Knopman was definitely sincere and caring. She is a quick talker and super knowledgeable, so be prepared to take notes or records your session. She is also very observant around her patient's emotional state and is very easy to talk to. And post retrieval surgery she personally calls you with any and all results and next steps.

Take questions and ask as many questions as you can. She's very insightful - so you can learn a lot.

I began with birth control. Went in for blood work and then began my Lupron shot that evening. The next day continued the Lupron shots in the am/pm and a Dexamethasone pill in the am. Then on day 3, I continued the Lupron and Dexamethasone pill and added menopur and Gonal F. My partner also started his antibiotic. I continued on this course of treatment, without alterations, until my retrieval surgery on 2 weeks and 1 day later.

We had to pay $18,640.00 upfront. They offer access to CapexMed loans and other financing options.

We haven't done any transfers yet, but the CCRM clinic believes in a single embryo transfer approach. Less likely to conceive twins and less risky since I'm older.

I feel that she was very honest and compassionate about our case. We are on the older side, and she has been honest about when we should continue down a particular road, or when she thinks it's time to change course. She has been willing to talk me through tough choices on the phone and been available on weekends, which has been tremendously helpful through this process.

The team at CCRM and Dr Talabian are great. That said, the patient still really needs to be on top of her own meds, as well as be very clear with the insurance company. There are so many hoops that you have to go through. Be in charge of your meds, be in touch with the clinic, ask a lot of questions, and you will get the help you need. But you the patient need to be primarily responsible for the drugs, and there are a lot of them!

I did an estradiol patch post ovulation, then 2 weeks of dexathemsome tablets, menapur injectables, and Lupron. In the evening I injected Gonal F and Lupron. Then we did the egg retrieval. The first round gave 2 blasts but neither were successfull. We will try one more round of egg retrieval.

$18,000 injectables and retrieval. $10,000 freezing and transfer $400 in house blood work for ovulation test

We eSET. I feel the eSET makes a lot of sense, though I know that not all clinics feel that way. Dr Talabian explained the benefits of eSET and my partner and I agreed that it was the best option for us.

I am so happy to be in the care of Dr. Knopman. She is very positive without overpromising results. She clearly set cautious expectations and was 100% correct in her prediction every step of the way throughout the stimulation and retrieval process. Dr. Knopman had to break the news to us about my Diminished Ovarian Reserve (my AMH is incredibly low for a 33 yr old) and was aggressive and direct about her recommended course of treatment. While overwhelming at first, I am glad she pushed us to act quickly. We will be working towards "banking" embryos now so there will hopefully be the possibility to have a child now as well as another a few years in the future. Without this aggressive action, I don't think we would be able to have children in a few years since my egg reserve will only get worse.

Go see Dr. Knopman! Come prepared with a list of questions and be ready to ask them all!

Standard Antagonist protocol. When I was slow to respond to Gonal-F and Menopur, she added Clomid which seemed to kick start things a bit.

Each retrieval round is around $20,000 and then medication costs are on top of that. Due to my Diminished Ovarian Reserve, I needed higher doses of the stimulation drugs for a longer than average period of time, driving up the cost even more.

Committed to eSET.

I am not someone that usually writes reviews, but Dr. Talebian was so amazing in our journey that I felt compelled to share my experience. I believe that Dr. Talebian was instrumental in our success and we would not be where we are today without her. From day one she looked at me as a person that she could help have success and she never wavered from that belief; even when I myself did. She never gave up on my case. She was reassuring and took time to explain things in person, on email, and on the phone every time I reached out and needed reassurance, encouragement or an explanation. She was beyond patient. Advice- don’t be afraid to ask questions and do that over googling. The internet is scary and often times wrong. Trust her and believe in her. She knows what she’s doing. She will tell your her POV and guide you- let her.

Trust in her and don't be afraid to ask questions or for an explanation of how things work. She is super knowledgeable and knowing the facts will help reassure you.

We started with letrozole and then moved to an IUI before doing IVF.

She and the entire clinic tends to only do single embryo transfer

From the moment we met Dr. Brian Levine my husband & I knew right from the start we made a great choice. We discussed my hard road with endometriosis my previous surgery & he was very compassionate & a great listener. He was also extremely intelligent & new everything about this disease & reassured me their were options to be taken. It was comforting & gave me hope back that I was afraid I was losing before our first visit with Dr. Levine.

If you have any questions Dr. Levine always provides great answers & makes sure you understand. If you forget any questions during a visit you can always reach out by email and he will get back to you promptly.

We first did an IUI unfortunately did not work on the first try. Since I have done previous IUI's at a different clinic my husband & I agreed to go through IVF. My eggs were retrieved & were frozen. Prior to the retrieval I was on Menopur, Gonal F, & Cetrocide. I was on two months of Lupron (induced menopause) pror to my egg transfer recommended by Dr. Levine since I had severe endometriosis. After egg transfer I had progesterone oil shots, estrogen patches, &progesterone suppositories. After this cycle I am happy to say I am currently eight weeks pregnant.

Had a frozen embryo transfer, genetic testing, medications, & icsi rounding up to a total of approximately 35k including visits, testing, bloodwork, my insurance unfortunately does not cover ivf.

Due to having a history of stage 4 endometriosis and having a great egg quality, Dr. Levine recommended to have one embryo transferred as opposed to two which might put me at a higher risk.

Dr. Knopman is positive and direct. She greets me every appointment with a caring question and tells me what she’s seeing as she goes. She personally called me when the one embryo which was created came back normal from genetic testing and was genuinely thrilled. She has stated she loves the OR and Ultrasound and her enthusiasm comes through.

Dr. Knopman runs monitoring appointments on Tuesday mornings. On other mornings her fellow Drs will see you and are all great. Dr. Knopman will answer all your questions and refer you specialists to gain more incite to your health. I really appreciated her point of view and partnership in finding new solutions for my fertility journey.

After reviewing our disappointment in the 3 rounds done at a previous clinic, Dr Knopman immediately started asking questions and coming up with new ideas. Number 1: mirror my first cycle by starting a 2 week round of birth control Number 2: noting the PCOS, begin taking Metformin, Shot protocol: 175 Follistim, add menopur and ganerelix after 6 days. Trigger was both HCG and Lupron but split into am and pm doses. We got 19 eggs, only 1 made it to blast on day 6 and was genetically tested. Test came back normal!

CCRM only accepts one type of insurance, so everything is out of pocket. The pricing seemed in line to what I have seen and read from other practices in NYC. The first consult has a charge of a few hundred dollars but it covers the consult, BW and US.

We came to see Dr. Talebian after completing 3 failed cycles with another clinic. I wasn't sure if we would get turned away since we had some failures but instead she was pleasantly positive. She did not give false hope, just stated facts and let us know we aren't at the end of the road yet- which is what we were hoping to hear. She was relatable and empathized with all the life style changes we have had to make in the past year. She understood the need to keep life as normal as possible and gave the OK on things we had previously cut out because of IVF. I never felt rushed or that any question was silly.

Come with questions- she will answer all of them.

estrogren priming (about 1 week) oral steriod Clomid 10 days Menupor 150 Gonal 300 Centrotide HCG 10,000 iu trigger

CCRM was very detailed with billing. They shared a lined item list of each step of the cycle and cost. There was a list of extra services as well that you could add to the cost. Total IVF cost was 24k not including medication.

Dr. Choi is incredibly empathetic and compassionate. She listens to my concerns and questions. She’s also been willing to adjust my course of treatment to try to better maximize the outcome. After three egg retrievals, I had only one day-5 blastocyst. Given this, she adjusted the transfer cycle to perform additional testing typical only undertaken after a failed embryo transfer. Rather than risk my one embryo, I appreciated the proactive approach to do the extra testing beforehand.

Be armed with questions before appointments. The office appointments are the best time to be able to discuss with her directly so it’s important to be prepared.

First retrieval: traditional cycle with menopur and gonal, and cetrotide added halfway through. Lupron trigger at the end. This yielded 4 eggs and one pgs normal blastocyst. Second retrieval: Lupron protocol to try to increase egg count. This resulted in greatest drop off between number of eggs (5) and number mature/fertilized (2). No blastocysts. Third retrieval: back to the original menopur, gonal and cetrotide protocol though the amounts of menopur and gonal were slightly different. This yielded 6 eggs (5 mature), 4 fertilized but no blastocysts.

Complete cycle was around $22,000 with meds an additional $6,000-$8,000.

N/A

Let me start by saying I think all the doctors at CCRM are really the best out there. I decided to see Dr. Choi because I really liked her manner and tone. She had a very calming air about her and seemed to be very sensitive to my needs. I went to an information session put on by the doctors and then followed up with a consultation with Dr. Choi and after both I knew I made the right decision with the practice and the doctor I decided to see. She was so thorough and really took the time to get to know me and explain the process fully. She made me feel totally at ease with my decision to freeze eggs. She was compassionate but also very straight forward which I really admire. I had a wonderful experience with her.

Don’t look at any other practice, go to CCRM and see Dr. Choi.

Dr. Choi came up with my hormone treatment based on my blood work and initial ultrasound and adjust as she felt she needed to as I continued to go for blood work and ultrasounds throughout the process. I never questioned the decisions she was making along the way.

I would say the cost are about average for treatment. The medications cost me $2,564.00 after insurance and the procedure was $10,090.00.

As I mentioned previously, we did not feel like a number with CCRM. Compared to a few other clinics, the Dr-patient interaction is amazing. Being diagnosed with Premature ovarian failure we knew our chances of a successful IVF round were low. At each failed cycle she was able to express her sympathy, while also guide us towards positive next steps to move forward. For a brief period (due to insurance coverage) we left CCRM and after a few months with a new dr, I had to return back to Dr. Talebian's care.

Give her all the details and be open and honest with your treatment expectations. She may not always say what you'd like to hear but you feel validated that she has reviewed your information and is giving you the best options to a possible new approach

Although odds were slim for me to have a successful IVF round using my own eggs she was willing to try two different attempts. Along the way we had multiple touch points and conversations regarding possible donor eggs - never a push - just a gentle suggestion for whenever we were ready to go down that path.

Have not had an embryo transfer, although she was pretty straightforward in her belief to transfer single

Before I say anything, if you're reading this, you're probably worried about where to go. Let's just point out that the staff, embryologists and lab at CCRM NY are perhaps the best in the world. Its so new that everything is latest and state of the art (not to mention it FEELS this way when you are there), unlike lots of other places. Also -- I'm a success story of Knopman's. A 2 year old (5day frozen) and pregnant with #2 --also frozen. Ok let's start with Knopman's staff. Many doctors are really difficult to their staff-- but with Dr Knopman, you can actually FEEL how happy her nurses and admin staff are! (dont you want to go to a place where everyone is happy and taken care of??) Let's talk about the care and attention. Knopman is aware of every piece of research and development in this field and uses this with her patients and practice. When she is dealing with you, it is with a really unusual and great balance of empathetic but also informative. The time and energy she puts into every patient is pretty incredible. Dr Knopman is a smart, savvy, kind, compassionate woman -- and mom herself, which I swear makes a difference. She also donates a ton of her time to providing care for women that can't afford fertility --because lets be honest, it's a big issue.

Tell her as much as you can -- every piece of information can help! and they want to know!

Knopman educated me on all the pros and cons of each step along the way... This field is actually still new with developments every few months and they seem on top of all of that. If something doesn't feel right, ask questions...

As a female doctor, she was able to deeply connect with me as a single mum patient. Jamie totally understood my infertility issues and was connected to my gynecologist to ensure she fully understood my case. I felt like Jamie always had the right level of empathy alongside being authoritarian and "commanded" the situation which you want your doctor to do. Also, Jamie is supported by an incredible team, a lot of credit goes to the nurses and other staff.

Trust the information the nursing team and Jamie give you, don't waste time - or cloud your brain - looking at blogs on the internet. If you ever have a question, just call CCRM and they will go over and above to support. Know that you're seeing one of the best of the best, and just trust the process.

First egg retrieval was very soon after my initial consultation, with the intention of getting my eggs out for freezing ASAP. I wasn't 100% sure yet if I wanted to try to conceive via donor, but having eggs frozen meant I was getting them out as young as possible. Then, 5/6 months later when I was ready to begin creating embryos and I had selected donor sperm, we attempted to create embryos however all 9 frozen eggs did not create viable embryos. Therefore, we had to do another egg retrieval, but because I had the donor sperm we could create embryos from fresh eggs. This was more successful and resulted in 5 embryos. The first attempt was a fairly grueling routine of medication to "trick" my body into thinking it was pregnant, approx a 10 week preparation. Unfortunately, it was not successful and was quite surprising to Dr Knopman. So, to change things up (and knowing there were 4 more embryos) we decided to do a more natural process and do a transfer alongside one of my cycles. It was perhaps a little bit of a "hail Mary" attempt, and we had discussed the likelihood of it being successful and the likely next steps of further surgery. However, this second attempt did work and I was lucky that it resulted in a pregnancy then birth of a healthy - beautiful! - baby.

I was covered under insurance (Progyny) so it cost me a lot less than the average patient - without the insurance, I would not have been able to afford it.

As a single mum to be I did not want multiples, and was reassured that it was not necessary to do a multiple transfer, and was probably not the best option for me given my medical status.

Dr Levine is exactly what you want in a fertility doctor - patient, empathetic and explains all of the details - or as much as you want to here. He is very focused on continuing to have a game plan which is important when you are going through infertility. You need a next step and hope! He was always available via email and gave his personal cell. He even made himself available to us on weekends. Dr Levine did all of my procedures - 3 IUI, 1 egg retrieval with PICSI and genetic screening of embryos and FET that led to a pregnancy and the birth of our beautiful daughter. We have 1 frozen genetically screened embryo from the initial egg retrieval.

Trust the process. It may not always work the first try. We had 3 failed IUI, but Dr Levine’s plan worked and I was pregnant within 9 months of my first visit to CCRM NY.

3 IUI - all medicated - none worked Egg retrieval with medication and PICSI (14 eggs retrieved, 4 made it to day 5 embryos, 2 genetically screened ok - one of which is our daughter and one frozen embryo).

I was lucky that insurance reimbursed for a lot of the medicine. I believe the IUIs were $1500-2000 each and the egg retrieval was around $15k - $20k and the FET was around $5k. This does not include the medicine which was an additional cost but insurance mostly covered.

Dr Levine encouraged us to transfer one embryo due to the quality of the embryo and fact I had not been pregnant before - this approach was worth it as it worked.

There isn't one weakness to mention of Dr. Brian Levine. Dr. Levine is an ABSOLUTE miracle worker. I came to him after 2 unsuccessful IUIs, 2 horrendous retrievals, and 2 negative transfers in my home state of Florida. He took the time to uncover a diagnosis and treated me for endometriosis. I wasn't an easy case but he always made me feel comfortable and I was confident I was with the right Doctor the minute I met with him. He performed all my procedures and was extremely supportive throughout my experience as a patient with him. No one should think twice if given the option to work with Dr. Levine, It truly is a honor to have a doctor so caring and accessible as he is/was.

Trust in his plan for you as he is the absolute best.

24,000

We only elected for one as he stated that was the safest route for me to go and I had a strong embryo to transfer so he felt that was the most important part to the puzzle.