We had decided to do the chromosome test to increase our odds of the transfer working and he [Dr Robins] bluntly told us, "unless you want twins, I would only transfer one embryo." That was good to hear that he had a lot of confidence in our transfer working, and that he wasn't trying to crank out as many babies as possible! Truthfully, he seems like he knows what the heck he's doing, so I didn't care what his bedside manner was like....I just wanted to get pregnant. The fact that he has a great staff also makes his bedside manner less important to me. I would definitely recommend people go to Dr. Robins. I personally know about 5 couples who have had success with him as their doc! (I live in Montana where we don't have a lot of other options, but luckily, he seems to make it happen!)
Unfortunately the clinic [Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Fertility] is three hours from where I live so that makes things a bit tricky. However, with Dr. Robins being one of the only fertility docs near my area I just made it work. They specifically help you through the process being long distance (I remember going through a powerpoint report of the process with Karen,) and she was available to answer my questions during that presentation. They also work closely with our local hospital to get the correct lab results they need. They have the process down pat accommodating for the distance.
How was your experience with Edwin Robins at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane?
During our first meeting, Dr. Robins spoke for a long time to my husband and I about the process and the odds of a pregnancy happening. This was by far the most time I ever spent with him and in hindsight I am impressed at how long we were able to talk to him. He was always very calm and kind, but you could kind of tell he could do his job with his eyes closed, which isn't a bad thing in my opinion! His bedside manner isn't terrific (he isn't much of a hand holder,) but he gives you straight answers and I think is realistic about your chances. We had decided to do the chromosome test to increase our odds of the transfer working and he bluntly told us, "unless you want twins, I would only transfer one embryo." That was good to hear that he had a lot of confidence in our transfer working, and that he wasn't trying to crank out as many babies as possible! Truthfully, he seems like he knows what the heck he's doing, so I didn't care what his bedside manner was like....I just wanted to get pregnant. The fact that he has a great staff also makes his bedside manner less important to me. I would definitely recommend people go to Dr. Robins. I personally know about 5 couples who have had success with him as their doc! (I live in Montana where we don't have a lot of other options, but luckily, he seems to make it happen!)
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Edwin Robins at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane?
As someone else said, if you want hand holding and a very gentle bedside manner he probably isn't the doc for you. But if you can handle the facts of your situation and want to get pregnant then he's great.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Edwin Robins at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane?
You have to be realistic in knowing that Dr. Robins' goal is to get as many women pregnant as possible so it's kind of a well oiled machine. With that said, I think they definitely have adequate staff to make sure you are greeted with a smile, and your questions are answered in a timely fashion. When you go to morning clinic it is not the time to ask questions, so there is kind of a "herd" environment, but they absolutely prep you for this. As I said, they also give you a dedicated nurse who dialogues with you throughout the whole process.
Describe the protocols Edwin Robins used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane and their degree of success.
I originally started with two rounds of IUI (no hormones for me,) which were unsuccessful. Robins said our problem was simply the fertilization of the egg since I seemed fine and my husband had enough healthy sperm. The ICSI process eliminated that problem and we ended up with 6 embryos. We chose to do the chromosome test which delayed the transfer about two months and resulted in us using a frozen embryo for the transfer. The chromosome test showed 5/6 embryos were normal, and all were girls except one! Very fun to be able to know the gender, in my opinion. Because we knew the quality of the embryos Robins recommended one embryo for transfer to avoid having twins. It was a success and our baby was born in 2015. I still have four embryos stored with the clinic and will be going back for round two in early 2017. I have absolutely no concerns about going through the process again with his clinic.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane. (Assigned nurse: Christina and Karen)
The whole staff is great. They are very responsive to my questions, whether about money, drugs, or just the process. As was their on call nurse, who I used several times while administering the drugs to myself. I am the kind of person who really likes to know exactly what is happening and they were very patient with all of my questions. I'm not sure how many patients each nurse is assigned, but I never felt like I was being rushed off the phone, or that my questions were bothersome. It is a great nursing staff, for sure.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Health Spokane.
Unfortunately the clinic is three hours from where I live so that makes things a bit tricky. However, with Dr. Robins being one of the only fertility docs near my area I just made it work. They specifically help you through the process being long distance (I remember going through a powerpoint report of the process with Karen,) and she was available to answer my questions during that presentation. They also work closely with our local hospital to get the correct lab results they need. They have the process down pat accommodating for the distance.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane.
Monitoring was a well oiled machine. They tried to help with the long distance by having you do labs and some monitoring at your local hospital which was very helpful.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Edwin Robins at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane.
Amazingly my company insurance paid for one round of IVF in our benefits. We did pay for the chromosome test, which was about $3k. I don't remember what total costs were but for baby #2 they have already given me an estimate on the embryo transfer costs and I'm anticipating between $4-5,000.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane?
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Center for Reproductive Health Spokane.
The clinic had sent a letter to my OB detailing the status of my embryos and they had the wrong number of embryos listed on the letter (they listed less than I knew I had.) This wasn't a huge deal, but was something I wanted corrected for my file. They sent an updated letter.
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Clinic
Center for Reproductive Health Spokane
Spokane