Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota
Available Resources
Genetic counseling
Acupuncture
Mental health counseling
Nutrition counseling
Administration of shots
Coordinating at-home nursing
Selling medication
Providing backup medication
Chaska
111 Hundertmark Rd., Suite 200
Chaska, MN 55318
952-442-2137
Duluth
1000 E. First Street Suite N305
Duluth, MN 55805
218-249-4700
Minneapolis
2828 Chicago Ave. S. Suite #400
Minneapolis, MN 55407
(612) 863-5390
St. Paul
991 Sibley Memorial Highway, Suite #100
St. Paul, MN 55118
651-379-3110
Show all branches
Show fewer branches
141 assessments
10
10
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
1 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor, PCOS
10
10
Dr. Lebovic was very responsive and his responses showed that he truly cared and knew what we had been through...he would respond to emails in an hour or two. We trusted him completely with our treatment plan. He also was extremely cautious with our egg retrieval, due to the risk of OHSS. We were going to do a fresh transfer, but postponed due to the number of eggs that retrieved...was very factual and straight to the point- we really needed this.
The cost of IVF [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota] (required prior to the procedure) was $12,730 and this included ICSI. This did not include our frozen transfer- we needed to pay approximately $2000 extra for this...had IVF seminars every month. This was extremely valuable and I am so glad that we went. I really enjoyed all of the techs as well, and thought they were very pleasant. Even when I went to the blood draws, I enjoyed talking to the techs.
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor, PCOS
10
10
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
When we first saw Dr. Lebovic, he told us that our best shot was to do IVF. He was very honest, and at the time I don't believe we were ready to accept that. We let that news sink in, tried some various other courses of treatment, but ultimately we did proceed with IVF this year. Well, he was right and I wish we would have just done IVF right away. Dr. Lebovic was very attentive to our needs- he would respond to emails in an hour or two. We trusted him completely with our treatment plan. He also was extremely cautious with our egg retrieval, due to the risk of OHSS. We were going to do a fresh transfer, but postponed due to the number of eggs that retrieved. Although we were sad at the time, I am so glad that we did this. This was a very emotional process for us, and Dr. Lebovic was very factual and straight to the point- we really needed this.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Be prepared to be open minded. We had an idea of what our treatment plan probably would be, and we were totally wrong.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Lebovic was very responsive and his responses showed that he truly cared and knew what we had been through.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We had severe male infertility, and therefore Dr. Lebovic recommended IVF right away. For our hormones leading up to the treatment, we used Menopur and Follistim, and then added Ganirelix a week after starting the injections. Due to my PCOS, we decreased the Follistim right away. In preparation for OHSS, Dr. Lebovic prescribed Cabergoline before and after the transfer, and I also added Letrozole after the transfer as well. This helped to prevent severe OHSS. We opted for a frozen transfer rather than fresh, and leading up to that we started Progesterone in oil and estradiol. After the transfer, I have continued with PIO injections daily, and estradiol three times/day.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
For strengths, I always received a call back within the day when I left a message for the nursing staff. Even when I had a concern about one of my shots on the weekend, they called me right away to talk me through my concern. I felt like when I received a call back, they were knowledgeable about my treatment plan. For opportunities, I suppose it would have been nice to have a lead nurse assigned to me so I could get used to them and develop a comfort level.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I liked how our clinic had IVF seminars every month. This was extremely valuable and I am so glad that we went. I really enjoyed all of the techs as well, and thought they were very pleasant. Even when I went to the blood draws, I enjoyed talking to the techs. For weaknesses, I felt like the front desk staff at times was not the most friendly. I think when we first went there in 2018, I felt like I was a number. But, through IVF this year I realize that they need to do this to stay organized where everyone is at with their cycle. Filling out a paper first thing when you get there to confirm why you are being seen, calling and leaving messages on the nurse line, etc.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The cost of IVF (required prior to the procedure) was $12,730 and this included ICSI. This did not include our frozen transfer- we needed to pay approximately $2000 extra for this. I do believe there were some additional costs for medications (about $1500).
Describe Dan Lebovic's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
He strongly recommended 1 embryo transfer, and provided a great deal of educational material to support this.
- Read less
4
7
Age
34 - 35
Treated
2016 - 2017
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
3 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
4
7
Our interactions with Dr. Lebovic were very limited. He provided us with a good amount of information upfront, but after that I felt very in the dark as to my treatment plan...He seemed rushed and too busy...He clearly knows the medical science well and has his basic protocols for different diagnoses well practiced. Weaknesses: Bedside manner is awkward at best, cold at worst. I had a miscarriage in my second cycle and am still shocked how cold he was—it felt like suddenly I was outside his purview and there was nothing he could do or say.
CRM is a machine and the nursing staff are hit or miss as a result. I can recall one or two good ones, a few bad ones, and many more just ok. My biggest complaint is that the communication between doctors, nurses, and admin staff was extremely spotty, which led to having to explain things over and over that should have been in my chart. The most egregious example was when I suspected I was having a miscarriage the day of my 6 week appointment to check for a heartbeat. I called the clinic to tell them this, yet it was never conveyed to any of the staff who dealt with me that day, so I had to explain to three different people what was happening.
Age
34 - 35
Treated
2016 - 2017
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
4
7
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Strengths: He clearly knows the medical science well and has his basic protocols for different diagnoses well practiced. Weaknesses: Bedside manner is awkward at best, cold at worst. I had a miscarriage in my second cycle and am still shocked how cold he was—it felt like suddenly I was outside his purview and there was nothing he could do or say. I felt that he was not as interested in me because my diagnosis was unexplained and therefore not a problem that could be solved. He seemed rushed and too busy.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Give him a shot In the initial consultation and if he’s not for you, switch doctors. Or, lower your expectations with regard to bedside manner and compassion.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Our interactions with Dr. Lebovic were very limited. He provided us with a good amount of information upfront, but after that I felt very in the dark as to my treatment plan.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
3 medicated (letrozole and trigger shot) and monitored IUIs.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
CRM is a machine and the nursing staff are hit or miss as a result. I can recall one or two good ones, a few bad ones, and many more just ok. My biggest complaint is that the communication between doctors, nurses, and admin staff was extremely spotty, which led to having to explain things over and over that should have been in my chart. The most egregious example was when I suspected I was having a miscarriage the day of my 6 week appointment to check for a heartbeat. I called the clinic to tell them this, yet it was never conveyed to any of the staff who dealt with me that day, so I had to explain to three different people what was happening.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Strengths: they are big, well resourced, and seem to be successful. Space is nice and welcoming. They are really the gold standard in town. Weaknesses: admin and scheduling staff were frequently rude and seemed to be bothered by doing their jobs. Since it is big, it can feel like you are a widget in a machine.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
About $8000 all said and done
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call with results
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Read less
5
4
Age
30 - 31
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
3 IUI, Donor Sperm
Diagnosis
—
5
4
I enjoyed my initial consult meeting with her [Dr. Colleen Casey]. She was straight to the point and not phased that we were a same sex couple. But I never saw her again. I was shuffled around between nurses and techs. If I called with a question or the nurses were on a fence if we should go forward on a cycle, the nurses would reach out to her and then get back to me...She’s very knowledgeable and thoroughly explained how we would proceed with IUI. I just wish she was more hands on with patients who aren’t doing IVF.
I was shuffled around between nurses and techs [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota]...The clinic is very IVF focused, and I would trust them if we needed to go that route. Just be prepared to be treated like a second class citizen if you’re doing other treatments...The first time I went in for the vaginal ultrasound, the tech did the inspection and the nurse came it to give me the prescription for Ovidrel and letrozole. I asked her what they saw on the ultrasound and she seemed annoyed that she had to stop and explain something. The other nurses were great and optimistic. I just wish they explained more. For example never told me how many follicles or what size unless I asked.
Age
30 - 31
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European, Black or African-American
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Teacher
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 IUI, Donor Sperm
Diagnosis
—
5
4
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I was impressed with my one actual interaction with her. She’s very knowledgeable and thoroughly explained how we would proceed with IUI. I just wish she was more hands on with patients who aren’t doing IVF.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Be prepared to never see her beyond your consult
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I enjoyed my initial consult meeting with her. She was straight to the point and not phased that we were a same sex couple. But I never saw her again. I was shuffled around between nurses and techs. If I called with a question or the nurses were on a fence if we should go forward on a cycle, the nurses would reach out to her and then get back to me. The clinic is very IVF focused, and I would trust them if we needed to go that route. Just be prepared to be treated like a second class citizen if you’re doing other treatments.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
I chose the medicated IUI route because of the higher odds. I appreciated being able to choose. We used letrozole CD 3-5 and Ovidrel when instructed after the second ultrasound.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The first time I went in for the vaginal ultrasound, the tech did the inspection and the nurse came it to give me the prescription for Ovidrel and letrozole. I asked her what they saw on the ultrasound and she seemed annoyed that she had to stop and explain something. The other nurses were great and optimistic. I just wish they explained more. For example never told me how many follicles or what size unless I asked.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The front office staff has no personality and is short with everyone in line. I appreciate the the signs in the lobby asking that patients don’t bring children. Everything is clean and professional. I appreciate the free garage parking. The andrology lab down the hall is incredibly organized, professional, and has a lovely staff.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I thankfully have some limited fertility coverage, so I only had to pay up to my deductible and all the costs associated with sperm. I think each cycle of actual treatment (minus sperm) was billed around $1200.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Provided conflicting information
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
10
10
Age
33 - 34
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
4 IUI
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
10
10
We really respect Damario’s approach. ... As having a recurrent miscarriage diagnosis Damario was proactive on getting a full panel blood work done. ... He tells it like it is and explores all possibilities. Any and all prior research on my end was supported by Damario. He does not take a one size fits all approach which is exactly what we were looking for. He isn’t warm and fuzzy but I appreciate his logical thinking.
Strengths [of CRMM]: Regular appointments are mostly on time. Nurses are wonderful. Damario is a knowledgeable doctor. Do not follow a one size fits all approach. Phlebotomist is really great at her job. Weaknesses: Front staff isn’t always as warm and compassionate. They can be frustrating to work with at times. Appointments with the doctor seem to always run late.
Age
33 - 34
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Business Executive
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
4 IUI
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
10
10
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
We really respect Damario’s approach. He tells it like it is and explores all possibilities. Any and all prior research on my end was supported by Damario. He does not take a one size fits all approach which is exactly what we were looking for. He isn’t warm and fuzzy but I appreciate his logical thinking.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Express what you want and if you have any questions ask!
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I really love the staff at CRM. They really get to know you and are warm and caring. Dr. Damario is not as connected but has been very quick to be informed of our case. We understand he sees a lot of patients and his time with us is minimal, we’re good with that.
Describe the protocols Mark Damario used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
As having a recurrent miscarriage diagnosis Damario was proactive on getting a full panel blood work done. After the results came back, we discussed and decided to do medicated IUI. I took Fermara cycle day 2-6 and went in for a follicle count day 10. Once my follicle (less than 4) and lining (9mm) checked out I took an injectable, Ovidral, that evening. This triggers ovulation. Intercourse is scheduled that evening and then IUI day 12. The IUI is administered by the nurses. After the send is delivered, I lay on the table for 10 mins. Once I leave I go about my day. Call back in 2 weeks after a pregnancy test is taken with results. The first 2 were negative results as my lining was only at 5.5mm. The 3rd resulted in a positive test but miscarriage after 8 weeks. I am currently in the middle of my 4th cycle.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff is half the reason I stay at CRM. They are so kind, likable, and knowledgeable. I only have wonderful things to say about them, especially Sue.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Strengths:
Regular appointments are mostly on time.
Nurses are wonderful.
Damario is a knowledgeable doctor.
Do not follow a one size fits all approach.
Phlebotomist is really great at her job.
Weaknesses:
Front staff isn’t always as warm and compassionate. They can be frustrating to work with at times.
Appointments with the doctor seem to always run late.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I do not remember costs as these are mostly covered by insurance.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to convey critical information
- Read less
1
2
Age
40
Treated
2019
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
7 IUI
Diagnosis
—
1
2
I never got to talk to my doctor...I had no idea what my treatment should look like or why- I just kept calling and going in for baselines month after month with no results and no feedback....Meg [Dr. Hopeman] was compassionate on the first meeting and very hopeful. Then, I only saw her twice in 6 moths of treatment. Didn't see her again till I cried and said I was going to another clinic. Thr treatment plan wasn't explained further and I just kept going back in for more IUIs
Very disorganized. I sat in the office [Ctr for Reprod Med of Mininnesota] on more than one occasion waiting to be called back after checking in, and turned out that my file had just been sitting on the desk, never taken back to the nurses. Almost never got called back when leaving messages for the nurseline, and they didn't stagger staff so there was never anyone working over the lunch hour....Costs for treatment were very reasonable compared to other clinics.
Age
40
Treated
2019
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Operations
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 2 Docs
Treatment
7 IUI
Diagnosis
—
1
2
How was your experience with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Meg was compassionate on the first meeting and very hopeful. Then, I only saw her twice in 6 moths of treatment. Didn't see her again till I cried and said I was going to another clinic. Thr treatment plan wasn't explained further and I just kept going back in for more IUIs even though there was no regroup to see why nothing was happening.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
You need to ask specially to have her call you, or you will never hear from her again and will have a new nurse every time you enter the clinic.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I never got to talk to my doctor...I had no idea what my treatment should look like or why- I just kept calling and going in for baselines month after month with no results and no feedback.
Describe the protocols Meg Hopeman used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
No rational for any treatment. I used letrozole 3 times/day for multiple IUIs, then changed to Gonal f 300 for the last two.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
You had a different nurse every time you came into the clinic. I honestly maybe saw one nurse more than one time. Felt very businesslike and impersonal. The nurses themselves were all nice, but none seemed to have any answers to any of my questions and I always left confused.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Very disorganized. I sat in the office on more than one occasion waiting to be called back after checking in, and turned out that my file had just been sitting on the desk, never taken back to the nurses. Almost never got called back when leaving messages for the nurseline, and they didn't stagger staff so there was never anyone working over the lunch hour.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Costs for treatment were very reasonable compared to other clinics. You get what you pay for though.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to call with results
- Failed to send your chart to another clinic
- Provided conflicting information
- Read less
8
9
Age
27 - 28
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
4 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
8
9
Dr. Hopeman did a great job explaining what to expect with every appointment we had with her. She went into great detail explaining each part of the process and trying to make whatever we chose work for our plan and our schedule. She constantly reviewed our chart, and made changes as she saw fit. I was always updated with the plan in a timely manner.... We began using Clomid with IUI. Our ultrasounds had to be adjusted based off ovulating before triggering.
The clinic [Center for Repro Med of MN] is located in a busier part of town, which isn't always convenient at rush hour times. Overall, the clinic is very nice and is clean. Occasionally the front desk staff isn't always the most kind to overly emotional patients.... Overall, the nursing staff at the clinic did a great job. I saw difference nurses at each appointment, but they were always willing to answer all questions I had.
Age
27 - 28
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$200K - $499K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
4 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
8
9
How was your experience with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Hopeman did a great job explaining what to expect with every appointment we had with her. She went into great detail explaining each part of the process and trying to make whatever we chose work for our plan and our schedule. She constantly reviewed our chart, and made changes as she saw fit. I was always updated with the plan in a timely manner. Scheduling appointments was easy, and convenient.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Go in with as many questions as possible. She will answer all of them!
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
During my visits, Dr. Hopeman remembered who I was, and what we had talked about. She did a great job making us feel like we mattered, and offering all of her best thoughts and opinions for our care. She made us feel reassured that it was definitely possible for us to have children.
Describe the protocols Meg Hopeman used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We began using Clomid with IUI. Our ultrasounds had to be adjusted based off ovulating before triggering. After 3 cycles with Clomid, we sat down with her to discuss moving on to IVF or trying IUI with injectables. Both options were presented very clearly, and also presented us with multiple reasons why we could try either option. After laying out all of the reasons for each, we tried doing IUI with injectables. She was very willing to do however many cycles we chose to do, and move on to IVF whenever we felt comfortable. She often adjusted meds based off of response for desired effect with great stim results.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Overall, the nursing staff at the clinic did a great job. I saw difference nurses at each appointment, but they were always willing to answer all questions I had. If they were not able to answer, they always asked Dr. Hopeman in a timely manner, and called with the answer that day. They were very compassionate and empathetic towards me at all appointments.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic is located in a busier part of town, which isn't always convenient at rush hour times. Overall, the clinic is very nice and is clean. Occasionally the front desk staff isn't always the most kind to overly emotional patients.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I had some insurance coverage, so I am unsure of all associated costs. Doing some research before hand, costs seem pretty inline with other clinics in the area.
Describe Meg Hopeman's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
For our IVF cycle, she has a strong preference of transferring only 1 embryo because of the risks involved with multiples, and being young.
- Read less
10
10
Age
35 - 36
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
2 IUI
Diagnosis
Anovulation, PCOS
10
10
She is caring and thorough. After calling and leaving questions with the office, Dr. Hopeman has personally called me back twice to address my concerns. She seems to legitimately care. She wants to ensure that I understand fully what is going on with my treatment. ... She was present at a radiology procedure at different location from the regular clinic at which I had not expected her to be there. I do not feel rushed at our appointments.
My one real critique would be with a couple of issues I've had with billing [Ctr for Repro Med of MN]. It has all been worked out eventually, but confusion has been caused by bills being sent for services already paid for. We paid in clinic yet received a bill in the mail several days later. ... One of the ladies cheered me up one day when she complimented my purse and we had a chat about it.
Age
35 - 36
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Graphic Designer
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
2 IUI
Diagnosis
Anovulation, PCOS
10
10
How was your experience with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
She is caring and thorough. After calling and leaving questions with the office, Dr. Hopeman has personally called me back twice to address my concerns. She seems to legitimately care. She wants to ensure that I understand fully what is going on with my treatment. I like that she draws out illustrations to help me get it. I keep a binder with all the info we have talked about; looking back after several appts I noticed the drawings again and it made me chuckle, both because I was amused and also that it reminded me of our conversations. She is endearing.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Come prepared, dont hesitate to ask or clarify anything, including costs and risks.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
She's easy to talk to and listens very well. She is willing to explain and elaborate on any questions or concerns I have had. She was present at a radiology procedure at different location from the regular clinic at which I had not expected her to be there. I do not feel rushed at our appointments.
Describe the protocols Meg Hopeman used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We started out with testing to find out what the cause of our infertility was. Her treatment recommendation was to start off with IUI. There was no issue with my husband's sperm or function, I had plenty of follicles, but they were not maturing or releasing. We started with 5 days of letrozole, followed by an injection of ovidrel to help release an egg. First two rounds we did timed intercourse, but the letrozole and ovidrel doses were increased for the second round. 3rd round we did IUI. 4th round was iui again, but added Follistim on cycle days 9-11, as well as progesterone capsules vaginally twice a day starting the day after the iui. We are currently in the 2 week wait to see about this recent round. Follicle growth has been monitored throughout by internal ultrasound (Husband calls it getting wanded, lol). Typically baseline ultrasound day 3-5 of cycle, then a growth ultrasound on day 12, then an additional ultrasound 2 or 3 days later prior to triggering. If negative pregnancy test again for the most recent round, we will likely switch from letrozole to clomid for 1 more round, then take a pause and consider how to move forward.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff has been fantastic overall. The one miscommunication we have had was during the first round of timed intercourse, we were told to take a pregnancy test 3 weeks instead of 2 weeks after. Ended up getting my period before I took the pregnancy test. There are 3 main nurses I have dealt with on the roughly 15 visits I have had with the clinic. They are all great, but I do have my favorite, mostly because she is really enthusiastic and chats with me, which helps me feel enthusiastic and hopeful as well.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The coffee in the waiting room is not good. Parking in the ramp next to the clinic is easy and free. Clean, nice, and welcoming. Scheduling and other front end staff are accommodating and personable. One of the ladies cheered me up one day when she complimented my purse and we had a chat about it. My one real critique would be with a couple of issues I've had with billing. It has all been worked out eventually, but confusion has been caused by bills being sent for services already paid for. We paid in clinic yet received a bill in the mail several days later. Called and it was cleared up but still caused me anxiety. Another time I paid a bill online, but apparently picked the wrong clinic (sister clinic across town). Again caused anxiety and confusion. Had to call to correct. Was told it would take a couple of weeks to process but would be corrected. Was told it happens frequently when paying online.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Just dealing with iui, not ivf, including treatment, monitoring and meds, it has been over $2000 per cycle. This has been all out of pocket for us, since my insurance through my employer does not cover fertility treatment.
Describe Meg Hopeman's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Due to our current treatment regimen, we have not yet had that conversation with Dr. Hopeman.
- Read less
8
10
Age
40 - 43
Treated
2016 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
5 IUI, IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor, Unexplained
8
10
Given my age (over 40) Dr. Casey was willing to transfer two embryos, which is what I wanted. ... Dr. Casey is knowledgeable, direct, and takes the time to explain things in detail. She always went over our questions, even when we asked the same thing twice, or wanted things diagrammed or drawn out to understand them. She was also really pleasant when doing actual procedures with us. However, I would not say there was a true sense of warmth or investment in us as a couple, beyond just as patients.
The clinic is well organized, well staffed, and extremely efficient. It is a pleasant environment, but I would not describe it as a warm environment - similar to the staff. What I liked most about it (other than the fact that I had a successful treatment) is that they are open early, so I could get a lot of my appointments done before heading in to work, and that they are super responsive on the phone, which is very useful.
Age
40 - 43
Treated
2016 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
5 IUI, IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor, Unexplained
8
10
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Casey is knowledgeable, direct, and takes the time to explain things in detail. She always went over our questions, even when we asked the same thing twice, or wanted things diagrammed or drawn out to understand them. She was also really pleasant when doing actual procedures with us. However, I would not say there was a true sense of warmth or investment in us as a couple, beyond just as patients. That is find I think, but it did not necessarily match my expectations before coming to this clinic. However, going back for a second treatment now, after a successful IVF pregnancy, I just know what to expect and it does not bother me. I appreciate even more Dr. Casey's matter of fact manner and her ability to help us cut through our own wishy-washiness. For instance, we were hemming and hawing about doing another IVF treatment right away, and asked whether we should maybe try naturally or try another IUI. She did not tell us what to do obviously, but quoted us some statistics that clarified where our chances stand. So I found that useful - no coddling, but rather straight information.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Come with questions, make sure you call if you think of anything else (because either she or her nurses will call back, which is always nice and useful); and finally, do not expect a super warm and engaged doctor - just a straightforward, knowledgeable, professional one.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I usually try not to pick the middle of a scale on a question, but this really was in the middle - not quite like a number, not quite like a human either. The clinic has no warm atmosphere, but it's not super clinical either. It's just "this is all business, and our business is these treatments", but it's not "our business is trying to grow families", if you see the distinction. In any case, they know their treatments, and it worked, so heck, I am happy!!
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff was always super well prepared and organized for whatever needed to happen - and there were so many appointments and pieces of the treatment, that I was always grateful for that (as I often had a hard time keeping track of things). However, much like Dr. Casey and the clinic overall, there was little warmth that showed through in our interactions. This was strange to me in the beginning, as it did not match my expectations. Going back for a second IVF treatment now, I know what to expect and it does not bother me much. I also realized something else: that if I ask more personal questions, nursing staff will often respond in kind - in fact, at my last appointment, I found out that one of the nurses I was always weary of because she always seemed to me to be annoyed, in fact has twins born as a result of IVF at this clinic, and she talked freely and warmly about it to me when I asked. So that just shows me that the staff follows a very business-like, rather cool, protocol with patients for reasons they must think are very good, and I will leave it at that.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic is well organized, well staffed, and extremely efficient. It is a pleasant environment, but I would not describe it as a warm environment - similar to the staff. What I liked most about it (other than the fact that I had a successful treatment) is that they are open early, so I could get a lot of my appointments done before heading in to work, and that they are super responsive on the phone, which is very useful.
Describe Colleen Casey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Given my age (over 40) Dr. Casey was willing to transfer two embryos, which is what I wanted.
- Read less
9
9
Age
31 - 33
Treated
2017 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
IUI, IVF, Egg Freezing
Diagnosis
Endometriosis, PCOS, Unexplained
9
9
Our experiences with Dr. Lebovic were limited to the consultation and few appointments. He was pleasant during the interactions we had, though not overly personable. We appreciated his matter a fact and upfront approach to our frozen embryo transfer. ... The nursing staff [Ctr for Repro Med of MN] was good at relaying our questions to Dr. Lebovic and getting back to us in a timely matter.
The clinic [Ctr for Repro Med of MN] is set up nicely and organized well into subsections based on appointment type. The waiting room is set up in such a way to give you a sense space even when crowded. They also focus on scheduling IVF patients in batches. ... However, aside from the obvious knowledge and skill of the nursing staff, I was surprised that at times our interactions with the staff felt very clinical. By this point in our journey we had been through an emotional roller coaster and I guess I sort of expected the nurses to address the emotional aspects of the treatment as thoroughly as they did the technical.
Age
31 - 33
Treated
2017 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
Other
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
IUI, IVF, Egg Freezing
Diagnosis
Endometriosis, PCOS, Unexplained
9
9
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Our experiences with Dr. Lebovic were limited to the consultation and few appointments. He was pleasant during the interactions we had, though not overly personable. We appreciated his matter a fact and upfront approach to our frozen embryo transfer.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Come prepared to your consultation with your questions. Interactions with Dr. Lebovic were limited. Most communications after the consultation were with the nursing staff.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
It was difficult to feel comforted and well connected in the infertility process. That said, I understand the need for an objective approach when assessing the best treatment method(s).
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
I don’t recall the exact protocol used for our frozen embryo transfer but the results were successful with a singleton. However, I do remember brand name medications being preferred if not required in some situations.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff was good at relaying our questions to Dr. Lebovic and getting back to us in a timely matter. It was clear that they are well practiced and knowledgeable of the various protocols. However, aside from the obvious knowledge and skill of the nursing staff, I was surprised that at times our interactions with the staff felt very clinical. By this point in our journey we had been through an emotional roller coaster and I guess I sort of expected the nurses to address the emotional aspects of the treatment as thoroughly as they did the technical. That said, everyone was pleasant to interact with, but none of the nursing staff brought the emotion to our treatment that I expected from such a specialized care team. Essentially, if you are able to separate from that expectation then they were pleasant to interact with.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic is set up nicely and organized well into subsections based on appointment type. The waiting room is set up in such a way to give you a sense space even when crowded. They also focus on scheduling IVF patients in batches.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We paid for our frozen embryo transfer upfront and prior to starting any protocol.
Describe Dan Lebovic's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
All doctors we interacted with at the clinic had strong preferences for a single embryo transfer. We felt they did a great job to help us better understand the risks of a multiple embryo transfer and pregnancy.
- Read less
8
10
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
4 IUI
Diagnosis
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Unexplained
8
10
He [Dr. Mark Damario] was very clinical, but I preferred that as we are pursuing our second child, I just wanted to see progress and results. He was very detail oriented and required all the tests in order to determine diagnosis. He also is very good at explaining procedures and reasoning....
Our first round of IUI, I did a Clomid, to stimulate follicles. Then a trigger shot of Ovidrel to make sure I ovulated and progesterone vaginal suppositories following the IUI up until my pregnancy test. The suppositories were to help secure the possible pregnancy. This IUI failed. We repeated the same protocol for IUI#2.
The nursing staff [at Center for Reproductive Med of MN- St. Paul] is FANTASTIC. They listen to my cry and complain but are so compassionate and understanding. They just want me to feel as comfortable as possible... They are generally very flexible with scheduling, very nice front desk staff, and are very organized. The offices are comfortable and not too clinical feeling. They can sometimes get behind on their schedule but not very often.
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$0 - $49K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
4 IUI
Diagnosis
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Unexplained
8
10
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He was very clinical, but I preferred that as we are pursuing our second child, I just wanted to see progress and results. He was very detail oriented and required all the tests in order to determine diagnosis. He also is very good at explaining procedures and reasoning.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Don’t go into it expecting lots of warm and fuzzy conversations. He is focused on the details and every little thing, even things you wouldn’t have thought would matter.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
While he was pretty clinical and blunt (which I preferred) the nurse practitioners were fantastic and relatable.
Describe the protocols Mark Damario used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
Our first round of IUI, I did a Clomid, to stimulate follicles. Then a trigger shot of Ovidrel to make sure I ovulated and progesterone vaginal suppositories following the IUI up until my pregnancy test. The suppositories were to help secure the possible pregnancy. This IUI failed.
We repeated the same protocol for IUI#2.
For the 3rd IUI, we switched to femara, and continued with Ovidrel and Progesterone. Saw better results with more follicles on Femara. IUI failed.
We upped my dose of Femara for round 4 of IUI. This IUI is still in progress so we will know in about 2 weeks if it is successful.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff is FANTASTIC. They listen to my cry and complain but are so compassionate and understanding. They just want me to feel as comfortable as possible.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
They are generally very flexible with scheduling, very nice front desk staff, and are very organized. The offices are comfortable and not too clinical feeling. They can sometimes get behind on their schedule but not very often.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Read less
10
10
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
5 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
10
10
It is obvious that Dr. Lebovic is highly educated in reproductive medicine as well as other components of medicine. As disappointing as it was to be cancelled, we found out I had hyperprolactinemia and needed to be treated prior to transfer. If it wasnt caught i would have been at significant risk for miscarriage. He pays attention to details and although as t times i wish he'd give me his opinion and not just facts, at the end of the day my husband and I have been in complete control of our care because of it.
CRM is very good at what they do. The finance dept makes it easy by communicating with your insurance company and even sending applications for exceptions for coverage when denied. The ultrasound techs have the art done to a tee. They do little things like warming up the lubricant and painting the lights above your face so you are comfortable and relaxed. You never have to pay for parking. The clinic gives you a nicely framed picture of your embryo after implantation. All of these details make a big difference. The only negative experience I've had is that the patient cart I was brought into the procedure room on was outdated.
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2018 - 2019
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
5 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
10
10
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
It is obvious that Dr. Lebovic is highly educated in reproductive medicine as well as other components of medicine. As disappointing as it was to be cancelled, we found out I had hyperprolactinemia and needed to be treated prior to transfer. If it wasnt caught i would have been at significant risk for miscarriage. He pays attention to details and although as t times i wish he'd give me his opinion and not just facts, at the end of the day my husband and I have been in complete control of our care because of it.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I would recommend going into your initial consult with prepared questions you may have come up with through your journey. This is the time Dr. Lebovic will sit with you face to face as long as you need and he is happy to explain any uncertainty you may have. After this appointment he is available but not face to face. Oh and park on the second level of the parking ramp, go in the building and take the elevator to level 4. Closer parking, easier to get out of parking spot without waiting for cars to exit, and you can stay out of the elements as well.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Lebovic sat down and talked with my husband and myself and explained thoroughly our situation and the research and education behind what he thought we should do next and why. He then gave us the resources and tools and allowed us to make our own decisions. He has been available via email through our entire journey as needed.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We started with an IUI cycle. I was put on Femara and then triggered with ovidrel a day or two before our IUI procedure. We went through 5 IUI cycles since they were relatively inexpensive and partially covered by insurance. After 5 failed cycles we began the process for egg retrieval. I was placed on menopur and gonal-f. I injected ovidrel the day before our retrieval. We froze all embryos and did PGS. I am now currently on estradiol and progesterone. Was taking aspirin stopped after positive beta.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota. (Assigned nurse: Theresa )
Theresa seemed to be truly invested in our journey and who we are. She was genuine, informative, and showed great empathy when relaying bad news.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
CRM is very good at what they do. The finance dept makes it easy by communicating with your insurance company and even sending applications for exceptions for coverage when denied. The ultrasound techs have the art done to a tee. They do little things like warming up the lubricant and painting the lights above your face so you are comfortable and relaxed. You never have to pay for parking. The clinic gives you a nicely framed picture of your embryo after implantation. All of these details make a big difference. The only negative experience I've had is that the patient cart I was brought into the procedure room on was outdated.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
IUI cost us 200-300 after insurance each time. Egg retrieval was $10,243. Frozen embryo transfer was $2,957. PGS was $2,170.
Describe Dan Lebovic's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr. Lebovic prefers single embryo transfers but is open and will allow multiple embryo transfers if the patient is aware and understands the risk involved.
- Read less
10
10
Age
27
Treated
2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Anovulation, PCOS, Tubal Blockage
10
10
We started with Letrozole/Clomid [with Dr. Lebovic], then moved to injectables. We ultimately chose to go with IVF which was a strenuous process but so worth it...IVF was a little added work/process but gave us better odds which is what we wanted - and now we are expecting after IVF and a frozen transfer!...was very diligent about providing us with reading material and resources on reasons for transferring one vs. two, but in the end, he respected our decision to transfer 2...did a great job of individualizing our plan of care. He made us feel like he wanted us to get pregnant just as badly as we wanted to.
Our primary nurse [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota], Dana was unbelievably caring and was a great advocate for us and our care at the clinic...the clinic provided a financial advisor at the clinic to assist in the process...has great hours (weekends as well), easy communication for scheduling and communicating with nurses over the phone, and is a very nice, pleasant environment. The one thing I will say is I wish I would have had the majority of my interactions with 1 nurse. Have a new nurse every visit inhibits continuity of care. Each nurse has to "learn" about you and what your current plan is and where you are at in your current treatment cycle. I think the care provided would be much smoother and make the patient feel more comfortable and confident in their plan of care and treatment.
Age
27
Treated
2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
Other
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Anovulation, PCOS, Tubal Blockage
10
10
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Lebovic is a very kind, caring and intelligent doctor. We felt very confident in his plans throughout our time working with him. He was very quick to respond when questions were asked. We knew that he would be able to help us get pregnant, and he did!
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Just make sure to be an advocate for yourself. There are a lot of patients at this clinic and at times the clinic seemed too busy to handle certain needs of ours which was frustrating at times. But with open communication and advocating for yourself as a patient, Dr. Lebovic and the clinic responded very well to our needs and desires.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I felt like a human as Dr. Lebovic did a great job of individualizing our plan of care. He made us feel like he wanted us to get pregnant just as badly as we wanted to.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We started with Letrozole/Clomid, then moved to injectables. We ultimately chose to go with IVF which was a strenuous process but so worth it. The medications and injectables was a lot of work for 15-20% success rates monthly. IVF was a little added work/process but gave us better odds which is what we wanted - and now we are expecting after IVF and a frozen transfer!
Describe your experience with your nurse at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota. (Assigned nurse: Dana)
Our primary nurse, Dana was unbelievably caring and was a great advocate for us and our care at the clinic. The other nursing staff was spotty at times - most were extremely nice and caring and informative while others were not as friendly and not as forthcoming with information.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic has great hours (weekends as well), easy communication for scheduling and communicating with nurses over the phone, and is a very nice, pleasant environment. The one thing I will say is I wish I would have had the majority of my interactions with 1 nurse. Have a new nurse every visit inhibits continuity of care. Each nurse has to "learn" about you and what your current plan is and where you are at in your current treatment cycle. I think the care provided would be much smoother and make the patient feel more comfortable and confident in their plan of care and treatment.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
A lot of the medications and injections were covered by insurance. IVF and transferring was not covered by insurance but the clinic provided a financial advisor at the clinic to assist in the process.
Describe Dan Lebovic's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We ultimately chose to transfer 2 embryos. Dr. Lebovic was very diligent about providing us with reading material and resources on reasons for transferring one vs. two, but in the end, he respected our decision to transfer 2.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Failed to convey critical information
- Read less
10
10
Age
39 - 43
Treated
2015 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
IUI, 3 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
10
10
She [Dr. Colleen Casey] is a straight talker...She's quick and efficient so have a list of questions ready. She will answer and if you don't have any ready you will feel like you are wasting time...able to focus on me and my personal health. Able to make recommendations for my specific conditions...She was able to recommend supplements that vastly improved egg quality for me and was able to steer me away from other ideas that weren't supported by science.
For me strengths [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota] were it's close to home and has free parking. Weakness I feel like in the time I was going it got super busy. Toward the end I felt like some of the delay in treatment was due to the fact they had so many patients. I suppose that speaks to the quality of service, but sometimes it was frustrating because of course I wanted the treatment yesterday by the time I started.
Age
39 - 43
Treated
2015 - 2019
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European, Black or African-American
Income
—
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
IUI, 3 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
10
10
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
She is a straight talker that didn't shy away from though questions. She was able to recommend supplements that vastly improved egg quality for me and was able to steer me away from other ideas that weren't supported by science.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
She's quick and efficient so have a list of questions ready. She will answer and if you don't have any ready you will feel like you are wasting time.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Straight talk about women my age going through these procedures, but also able to focus on me and my personal health. Able to make recommendations for my specific conditions and things that may help or things/crazy internet ideas that just weren't scientifically supported.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
I don't remember any of the details, but I know during one of the three cycles they upped my medications. On the third cycle I was able to negotiate the ultrasounds and reduce the number. This really helped the whole process to be a bit more affordable and also saved me making so many appointments so I didn't have to miss work.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Theresa was my favorite. I remember liking the entire staff and I always worked with different nurses. Everyone was friendly and able to answer questions. They always returned my calls in a timely manner.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
For me strengths were it's close to home and has free parking. Weakness I feel like in the time I was going it got super busy. Toward the end I felt like some of the delay in treatment was due to the fact they had so many patients. I suppose that speaks to the quality of service, but sometimes it was frustrating because of course I wanted the treatment yesterday by the time I started.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
About $20,000/cycle including medications. IVF + PGS + ICSI + FET
Describe Colleen Casey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I was prepared to get a sermon. In the end I was just asked what I wanted. I never had more than 2 PGS tested embryos and each time I elected a single.
- Read less
9
9
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
9
9
We ended up completing two rounds of IVF (fresh transfers) and one FET with her [Dr. Colleen Casey], and I feel like she was genuinely happy for us when we finally had success (after our third round). She was also very sympathetic when our first two rounds were unsuccessful - one being a chemical pregnancy, and the other an ectopic pregnancy...Overall, she was very warm, knowledgeable, and motivated to help us succeed...
FET #1 [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota]: After ectopic pregnancy, we decided to do PGS testing on our 10 frozen embryos. 7 came back normal...Most of the nurses were very friendly and warm...Weaknesses: This is more of a personal preference, but I wish you could see your own doctor for more of the procedures (egg retrievals/embryo transfers) rather than whoever is on rotation for the week. It would be nice to touch base with your doctor more often, but she did make herself available by phone when we had questions specifically for her. They also don't call with test results other than pregnancy tests.
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
9
9
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Casey was very friendly during our first meeting. Based on my prior testing, treatment and overall diagnosis from my OB, she was confident that we would have success with IVF within a couple rounds. During what turned out to be three rounds of IVF, she was supportive during our low points (chemical pregnancy and ectopic pregnancy) and still very encouraging and hopeful that we would have a baby. She never made us feel rushed, but I do feel that you had to come prepared with questions, otherwise the meetings would be very short. Overall, she was very warm, knowledgeable, and motivated to help us succeed.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Do your research and come prepared with questions! She is a wealth of information, but you need to know what to ask.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
We ended up completing two rounds of IVF (fresh transfers) and one FET with her, and I feel like she was genuinely happy for us when we finally had success (after our third round). She was also very sympathetic when our first two rounds were unsuccessful - one being a chemical pregnancy, and the other an ectopic pregnancy. She personally called my OB to refer me back for treatment of the ectopic. When we returned for another round, she was very patient and took time to answer our very long list of questions. This helped to alleviate some of my concerns about another negative outcome occurring.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
IVF #1 (antagonist protocol):
Gonal-F: 250 units starting
Menopur: 75 units
Ganirelix
Lupron for trigger shot due to increased risk for OHSS
Endometrin inserts before transfer (1 insert 3x/day)
Ended up decreasing Gonal-F during stimulation due to overstimulation. By the end, they lowered me to 75 units (lowest dose per their standards). This resulted in 27 eggs, most appearing mature, but only 10 fertilized (not using ICSI). Ended up with one viable morula to transfer on day 5. No embryos left to freeze. Transfer resulted in a chemical pregnancy.
IVF #2 (antagonist protocol):
Same as above except Gonal-F was kept at 75 units the entire time. They wanted a lower/slower stim cycle in hopes of better quality embryos. 19 eggs retrieved, 18 mature, 11 viable blasts. Fresh transferred top graded embryo, and froze the remaining 10. This resulted in an ectopic pregnancy.
FET #1:
After ectopic pregnancy, we decided to do PGS testing on our 10 frozen embryos. 7 came back normal.
Lupron: 20 units for 10 days, then 5 units for another 10 days
Estrace: Started at 1x/day then ramped up to 3x/day
Endometrin: 1 insert 3x/day
Baby aspirin 1x/day
Transferred 1 euploid frozen embryo that resulted in a healthy pregnancy and live birth.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Most of the nurses were very friendly and warm. My favorite was Theresa A.! Dori was also very nice. They always ensured that we had our prescriptions faxed over to the pharmacy on time, and called back same day for most of my questions.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Strengths: Success rates, knowledgeable staff, very organized with their information.
Weaknesses: This is more of a personal preference, but I wish you could see your own doctor for more of the procedures (egg retrievals/embryo transfers) rather than whoever is on rotation for the week. It would be nice to touch base with your doctor more often, but she did make herself available by phone when we had questions specifically for her. They also don't call with test results other than pregnancy tests.
Describe Colleen Casey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
She suggested transferring one embryo due to the quality and success rates for their clinic, but was open to us transferring 2 embryos had that been our preference.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call with results
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
8
10
Age
34 - 35
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
3 Fertility Medications
Diagnosis
Unexplained
8
10
I came in on my first letrozole cycle under the direction of my regular OB/GYN. He [Dr. Kuneck] recommended a different dosage cycle for the next round. After two cycles with timed intercourse (TI) it was clear that I was not having the desired response to the letrozole so he recommended injectables for the next cycle. I inquired about IUI and he advised that based on my husband's test results, he didn't think doing IUI would have any additional benefit for us over TI. He was correct in this, as I got pregnant on my first cycle with injectables/TI.
Because it [Center for Reproductive Medicine] was a large clinic that served many patients, I didn't feel like I had a completely personal connection with my provider or any particular member of the nursing team. I interacted with various nurses most of the time and only checked in with Dr. Kuneck when developing and changing my treatment plan. However, I felt that Dr. Kuneck was compassionate and informative during our interactions and the staff and nurses at the clinic were all very nice. I didn't mind the less personal system they had in place because they were always very responsive and I appreciated that the larger clinic allowed lots of flexibility so I was almost always able to get in for my appointments at a time that was most convenient to me.
Age
34 - 35
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 Fertility Medications
Diagnosis
Unexplained
8
10
How was your experience with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I only checked in with Dr. Kuneck when developing my initial treatment plan and when adjustments needed to be made, but I felt that Dr. Kuneck was compassionate and informative during our interactions. He was extremely knowledgeable and took the time to answer all of my questions and make me feel comfortable with the process.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Kuneck is a very knowledgeable, experienced provider who will make sure you understand your treatment options, but if you are looking for a personal connection with your provider you may be happier with someone else.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Because it was a large clinic that served many patients, I didn't feel like I had a completely personal connection with my provider or any particular member of the nursing team. I interacted with various nurses most of the time and only checked in with Dr. Kuneck when developing and changing my treatment plan. However, I felt that Dr. Kuneck was compassionate and informative during our interactions and the staff and nurses at the clinic were all very nice. I didn't mind the less personal system they had in place because they were always very responsive and I appreciated that the larger clinic allowed lots of flexibility so I was almost always able to get in for my appointments at a time that was most convenient to me.
Describe the protocols Paul Kuneck used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
I came in on my first letrozole cycle under the direction of my regular OB/GYN. He recommended a different dosage cycle for the next round. After two cycles with timed intercourse (TI) it was clear that I was not having the desired response to the letrozole so he recommended injectables for the next cycle. I inquired about IUI and he advised that based on my husband's test results, he didn't think doing IUI would have any additional benefit for us over TI. He was correct in this, as I got pregnant on my first cycle with injectables/TI.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff was very nice and compassionate. They were very responsive and available when I would call for information.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Because it was a large clinic that served many patients, I didn't feel like I had a completely personal connection with my provider or any particular member of the nursing team. I interacted with various nurses most of the time and only checked in with my provider when developing and changing my treatment plan. I didn't mind the less personal system they had in place because they were always very responsive and I appreciated that the larger clinic allowed lots of flexibility so I was almost always able to get in for my appointments at a time that was most convenient to me. Most of the time I was in and out quickly. There were only a few times where I felt I had to wait an inappropriate time in the waiting room before my appointment.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
My insurance covered assessment and monitoring, so I had no out of pocket costs for my monitoring ultrasounds. My insurance also covered a portion of my medication costs. The injectables had the most out of pocket costs for me and amounted to about $420 for one cycle. The total med costs (including what insurance paid) were over $2000.
Describe Paul Kuneck's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Not applicable
- Read less
7
9
Age
36
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
6 IUI, Donor Sperm
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
7
9
I didn't have a lot of medical history for Dr. Damario to work from, so our couple meetings were brief and informative, especially if I asked questions, but they weren't as lengthy or detailed as I expected. I did appreciate how he made a recommendation at first, but then when he got my test results back, he was very clear about changing his opinion, and why. That promoted me to take a clear course and not second-guess whether it was the right one.
The nurses [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota] were nice, compassionate, and treated me well. My only complaint is that because I saw different nurses, they weren't always up-to-date on details of my situation. I had to mention each time that a certain tool made the IUI much easier to accomplish, and it was a little annoying that they weren't reading that in my chart each time, or always taking my word for it.
Age
36
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Writer
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
6 IUI, Donor Sperm
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
7
9
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I didn't have a lot of medical history for Dr. Damario to work from, so our couple meetings were brief and informative, especially if I asked questions, but they weren't as lengthy or detailed as I expected. I did appreciate how he made a recommendation at first, but then when he got my test results back, he was very clear about changing his opinion, and why. That promoted me to take a clear course and not second-guess whether it was the right one.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Come in with questions and don't be afraid to ask him to elaborate. He's more than willing to explain things, but sometimes takes prompting, otherwise he'll wrap up a meeting quickly.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Demario was pretty dry and generally straight-forward in his communications, without a lot of personality or emotion, but his staff (who I ended up seeing a lot more) were very friendly and more caring.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nurses were nice, compassionate, and treated me well. My only complaint is that because I saw different nurses, they weren't always up-to-date on details of my situation. I had to mention each time that a certain tool made the IUI much easier to accomplish, and it was a little annoying that they weren't reading that in my chart each time, or always taking my word for it. So, they didn't usually have that tool there; some went and got it, while others tried without and then had to get it. One was successful without.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Front desk staff was friendly and recognized me...or had a great system to do so. So, visiting was quick and easy and on schedule. And it felt like they knew me, and I wasn't just a number. Processing medical account info or any other details went smoothly.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Depends on insurance, of course, but a natural IUI cycle was about $700 (I did 4) and a fertility support cycle was about $2,000 (I did two). Fertility meds about $100 each round. Recommended ovulation tests $90 (for 2). Lab unfreezing and testing was $160 each time, worked into total round cost.
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
8
8
Age
30
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
3 Fertility Medications
Diagnosis
Male Factor
8
8
Dr. Lebovic is extremely kind, compassionate and takes the time to answer our questions. He never seems to be rushing from one patient to another....He explains things thoroughly and makes appointments long enough to answer questions. He is very kind and easy to talk to. He has goes over all costs and options and recommended every possible infertility test before going forward...Our infertility is male factor. My husband was originally prescribed Clomid from his urologist
The clinic [Ctr for Repro Med of MN] is very clean and modern. They are very good about dealing with insurance and knowing costs (something which most doctors don’t seem to know well). They seem to do scheduling well. The clinic doesn’t seem overcrowded and the staff do not seem overworked. They have coffee, tea, and water in the waiting area. They are very considerate of their patients emotional needs....They are very kind and compassionate. None of them are in a hurry and all of them take time to answer our questions.
Age
30
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 Fertility Medications
Diagnosis
Male Factor
8
8
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He explains things thoroughly and makes appointments long enough to answer questions. He is very kind and easy to talk to. He has goes over all costs and options and recommended every possible infertility test before going forward because any testing was covered under our insurance. He was very clear about costs.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Do research and come up with lots of questions because he has lots of answers. :)
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Lebovic is extremely kind, compassionate and takes the time to answer our questions. He never seems to be rushing from one patient to another. The nurses in his office have also been extremely kind and compassionate.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
Our infertility is male factor. My husband was originally prescribed Clomid from his urologist (he has one kidney so sees a urologist biannually). Dr. Lebovic had us continue treatment for a couple of months, did a full blood screening and ultrasound of my uterus and ovaries, and had us see a genetic counselor. The genetic counselor was extremely knowledgeable. My husband was born with prune belly syndrome and we left knowing so much more about it and our odds (or lack of odds) of passing it on.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
They are very kind and compassionate. None of them are in a hurry and all of them take time to answer our questions.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic is very clean and modern. They are very good about dealing with insurance and knowing costs (something which most doctors don’t seem to know well). They seem to do scheduling well. The clinic doesn’t seem overcrowded and the staff do not seem overworked. They have coffee, tea, and water in the waiting area. They are very considerate of their patients emotional needs.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
So far, we have only done diagnostic testing, and we have maybe paid $50 total for that, it was covered by insurance. Insurance also covers clomid, which we are using, we have a low copay for that. Any further treatment is not covered and will likely cost between $3000 and $26,000 which seems normal/average.
- Read less
5
0
Age
42 - 44
Treated
2016 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IVF, Donor Eggs
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
5
0
The course of treatment was cookie cutter and didn't change. ... She [Dr. Casey] was a nice doctor though but the care wasn't tailored to my wife and only changed after we pressed for alternatives and went through a mock cycle. ... It was the same each time. The pill for a time, then lupron shots, estrace, progesterone. ... Do not use this doctor and clinic [CCRM - Minnesota] if you are having a lot of difficulty getting pregnant.
They [nurses] never knew information on my wife upfront and would routinely make sloppy mistakes by giving her standard guidance. ... After the mock cycle she was found to be post receptive but they [nurses] almost messed up our last cycle had my wife not pressed and questioned the professional nurses [CRM - Minnesota] and questioned what they were saying to do. It is shocking.
Age
42 - 44
Treated
2016 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Engineer
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IVF, Donor Eggs
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
5
0
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
The course of treatment was cookie cutter and didn't change. It seemed to be the same for everyone everytime. She was a nice doctor though but the care wasn't tailored to my wife and only changed after we pressed for alternatives and went through a mock cycle. This place seems more like a farm running everyone through one protocol.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Do not use this doctor and clinic if you are having a lot of difficulty getting pregnant.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Even though we went through many cycles with them, the staff regularly didn't know what we had done before. We even did a mock trial and the results were post receptive and while doing our last donor cycle after the mock, they were still giving us bad information by not recognizing the treatment should change. My wife even questioned it, they said no this is fine and then realized their huge mistake and changed the medicine. This type of behavior was present during our time here. Not that example but they would often give us the same old methods, treatment, and information time after time. It is difficult because you are in a vulnerable situation and dependant on their expert advice.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
It was the same each time. The pill for a time, then lupron shots, estrace, progesterone.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
They never knew information on my wife upfront and would routinely make sloppy mistakes by giving her standard guidance. They must have one track protocol and it is hard for them to know if that changes. They didn't seem to know if we were doing ours or fresh or frozen or donor.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Everything can be different for different people so if you do go here, also go to Colorado clinic in Edina. You have to talk to more than one place. We were naive and thought we went to the best. You have to talk to different doctors and different places. I would recommend they ask what happens when it doesn't work. Did the process change. Is it tailored to the patient or do they follow a method they like. Why? Because it works best? That may be fine but it is good to know that it isn't guaranteed. I thought you could assure yourself a baby with one of these processes.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
25k for egg cycles and 5k due each frozen transfer
Describe Colleen Casey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The first fresh donor transfer after a failed fresh homegrown transfer was where we had a surprise. We had told them over and over we were going to do 2 embryos. We had tried on our own for so long we wanted to do whatever it took to get one or two babies. Minutes before the transfer of the fresh donor eggs, the doctor said it was so good that we should just do one. My wife had to make her decision they're on the spot and was gently pressured to just do one. It was our choice but the were insistant that it was so good and this was very likely to work. It was a unesseccary to do two because we would end up with two babies and the complication of that.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Read less
7
9
Age
29
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
Fertility Medications
Diagnosis
Anovulation, Male Factor, PCOS
7
9
She [Dr. Colleen Casey] has been nice, warm and welcoming and made us feel like it was their priority to get us pregnant. She was honest in answering the questions I had for her during our consult as well, which I appreciate completely.... I just wish we could hear back from her directly, so further questions could be answered in a phone call rather than waiting for a nurse to talk to her and then call back, or waiting for the next conference.
[The Center for Reproductive Med of MN-Minneapolis is] Very warm environment with calming colors and decor in the waiting room and patient rooms. Warm and welcoming staff, including the people at the front desk. Lab techs and ultrasound techs are also very nice and knowledgeable. Busy with patient activity and tests being done.... Every person we encountered was very nice, greeting with a smile. We always felt welcomed wherever we entered.
Age
29
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
Fertility Medications
Diagnosis
Anovulation, Male Factor, PCOS
7
9
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I just wish we could hear back from her directly, so further questions could be answered in a phone call rather than waiting for a nurse to talk to her and then call back, or waiting for the next conference. She has been nice, warm and welcoming and made us feel like it was their priority to get us pregnant. She was honest in answering the questions I had for her during our consult as well, which I appreciate completely.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Be prepared to ask questions at your consult, and possibly not hear much from her until the conference scheduled or a procedure.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I understand their clinic is very busy with patients, and that nurses may be the ones calling us back with answers to our questions. We had our consult and other questions I have had have been answered by a message, the nurses checking with C.C. and then calling me back.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We are just starting out, and my husband has male factor infertility so she explained possible treatment options depending on what the urologist comes up with...but most likely IVF will be our best bet. We also talked about possible further treatments if other things were found.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Every person we encountered was very nice, greeting with a smile. We always felt welcomed wherever we entered.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Very warm environment with calming colors and decor in the waiting room and patient rooms. Warm and welcoming staff, including the people at the front desk. Lab techs and ultrasound techs are also very nice and knowledgeable. Busy with patient activity and tests being done.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
So far, what I know of what we will have to pay is the tests we have had done. IVF is very much in our future and I'm needing information on that yet, but we were waiting to see what the urologist says and we have a conference with C.C. at the end of October.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call with results
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
7
8
Age
30
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
7
8
We [with Dr. Colleen Casey] did Letrozole so I would produce more eggs and we did a trigger shot so we would know exactly when to do IUI and have it timed out great to give me the best chance. In having unexplained secondary infertility for more then 3 years now timing is so very crucial for me to get things right.... I think she was really great listening and showing compassion. She takes your thoughts and opinions and really cares. I felt like we were a team with the same goal and that made me feel positive. I feel good after I speak to her and she gives me hope.
The strengths [of Center for Reproductive Medicine of MN- Minneapolis] are the doctors and nurses seem to really love what they do ❤️ It’s a positive vibe when you walk in and I live that. They could have more administrative staff helping with scheduling, paperwork, insurance questions as I felt like that was a bit rushed and a little chaotic. Also when calling they seemed rushed like they were experiencing too many calls and needed more staff.
Age
30
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
Prefer not to answer
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
1 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
7
8
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I think she was really great listening and showing compassion. She takes your thoughts and opinions and really cares. I felt like we were a team with the same goal and that made me feel positive. I feel good after I speak to her and she gives me hope. I wish she would have been more active with the actual procedure (IUI) or explained who would do what as that was a little confusing. I feel like she cares about you as a person not just a patient looking to make money off of you.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Ask tons of questions and do research prior to your appointment so you know what to ask and definitely don’t feel shy asking about prices of different treatment routes.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
She listened to me and asked me my thoughts on treatment routes and really cared about me as a person.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We did Letrozole so I would produce more eggs and we did a trigger shot so we would know exactly when to do IUI and have it timed out great to give me the best chance. In having unexplained secondary infertility for more then 3 years now timing is so very crucial for me to get things right.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff was great and explained things so well. They answered any questions and seemed very confident in what they were doing and made you feel absolutely comfortable when I was very anxious and high stress. The reassurance I felt was fabulous!
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The strengths are the doctors and nurses seem to really love what they do ❤️ It’s a positive vibe when you walk in and I live that. They could have more administrative staff helping with scheduling, paperwork, insurance questions as I felt like that was a bit rushed and a little chaotic. Also when calling they seemed rushed like they were experiencing too many calls and needed more staff.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The IUI was about 1,200 and the Letrozole was 10$ covered by my insurance. The trigger shot was 260$ and was not covered by insurance and was a big hassle to get delivered as it came from a special pharmacy.
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
0
0
Age
37 - 38
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
0
0
Dr. Damario tried the "usual" protocols with us for our 3 IUIs. We used a frozen sperm sample for one IUI and had a nurse tell me that the sperm count was fairly low, minutes before the IUI rather than actually calling on the day the sample was given.... After 2 failed IUIs, I requested additional testing, which he relented to. These tests gave us some clues regarding our challenges but Dr. Damario was not great at explaining the significance of our results
The billing office [Ctr for Repro Med of MN] wouldn't give us an outright refund for services we paid for OOP after we learned that some of the procedures were covered by our insurance....To change doctors at this clinic, you literally have to discuss the change with the CEO. The CEO told me that she was really surprised at my requested change and made me feel like I had done something wrong... nurses couldn't answer a simple question like "on average, what % of sperm don't make it through the freeze-thaw cycle."
Age
37 - 38
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
East Asian
Income
$200K - $499K
Occupation
Marketer or PR
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 3 Docs
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
0
0
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Damario started us with the "typical" IUI protocol given our diagnosis of unexplained infertility. After 2 failed IUIs, I requested additional testing, which he relented to. These tests gave us some clues regarding our challenges but Dr. Damario was not great at explaining the significance of our results. We wound up googling for information. We also then found out that there are a number of lifestyle issues that can impact sperm quality, which Dr. Damario never once mentioned. The lack of information was highly disappointing and left us feeling like we had spent thousands of dollars without learning very much. I would not recommend his practice for anyone who wants a proactive, communicative physician.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
You have to be your own advocate and invest in a lot of research on your own. He will not push you or advocate for aggressive treatment.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Damario tried the "usual" protocols with us for our 3 IUIs. We used a frozen sperm sample for one IUI and had a nurse tell me that the sperm count was fairly low, minutes before the IUI rather than actually calling on the day the sample was given. This is one example of several times when the clinic didn't seem to have any sense of urgency or be very proactive about helping my husband and I navigate infertility. It was highly disappointing.
Describe the protocols Mark Damario used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
1st IUI: 50 mg Clomid on CD 5-9 with ovidrel trigger; 2nd IUI: 100 mg Letrozole CD 4-8 - ovulated early and cancelled cycle; 3rd IUI: 100 mg Letrozole with frozen sperm sample with very low count and ovidrel trigger; 4th IUI: 100 mg Letrozole with fresh sperm sample with normal count with ovidrel trigger; all cycles were BFN.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Sue was great; most of the other nurses at the St Paul location were not great at communicating. Many couldn't explain the rationale behind changes in protocol; also, nurses couldn't answer a simple question like "on average, what % of sperm don't make it through the freeze-thaw cycle."
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Clinic was located convenient to my home, which is why I initially chose them. Their appointments are generally on time. The billing office wouldn't give us an outright refund for services we paid for OOP after we learned that some of the procedures were covered by our insurance. Instead, they issued a credit and many months later, I still have never received an account balance. To change doctors at this clinic, you literally have to discuss the change with the CEO. The CEO told me that she was really surprised at my requested change and made me feel like I had done something wrong in requesting a change of doctor rather than truly trying to understand how the clinic might improve. It was disappointing.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Read less
5
7
Age
33 - 34
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
3 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
5
7
We started with follustrom treatments for the first 3 IUIs [with Dr. Colleen Casey]. After all three came back failed we met with her (after waiting 2 months to get in to meet with her) and she kind of asked what we wanted to do next. Our insurance covers some of the IUIs and I told her I wanted to try something else because what we were doing wasn't working. For this upcoming cycle I'll be starting on menipur instead.
Easy parking [at Center for Reproductive Med-Minneapolis], front desk staff are nice (but don't remember to tell you if you should empty your bladder, have it full, etc.) Sometimes staff seems a little too professional/it would be nice to get a smile or two in this tough world.... It would be nice to see the same one. They have all been nice. But with each appointment and each IUI I have had someone different. The only staff that has stayed the same is for blood draw and ultrasound tech. The nurses have sometimes seemed confused as to what medications are being used for the current cycle.
Age
33 - 34
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
5
7
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
She seems very nice but I'm not fully convinced that we have explored all of the testing options. I would like to see her dive into our case more rather than just label us as "unexplained." Being that we have only met with her twice I would love communication even via email all the way. To know more of our numbers/stats/and potential to mix up treatment a bit.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Stick up for yourself. Ask her all the potential treatment options and fight to have them done even if she's not certain about them.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Because of her schedule we were not able to do a consultation with her after the 3 failed IUIs which resulted in taking a break from treatment until after we could meet with her. Other than before starting treatment and meeting with her after the 3 we had no direct communication from her.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We started with follustrom treatments for the first 3 IUIs. After all three came back failed we met with her (after waiting 2 months to get in to meet with her) and she kind of asked what we wanted to do next. Our insurance covers some of the IUIs and I told her I wanted to try something else because what we were doing wasn't working. For this upcoming cycle I'll be starting on menipur instead.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
It would be nice to see the same one. They have all been nice. But with each appointment and each IUI I have had someone different. The only staff that has stayed the same is for blood draw and ultrasound tech. The nurses have sometimes seemed confused as to what medications are being used for the current cycle.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Easy parking, front desk staff are nice (but don't remember to tell you if you should empty your bladder, have it full, etc.) Sometimes staff seems a little too professional/it would be nice to get a smile or two in this tough world.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Provided conflicting information
- Read less
7
9
Age
40
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
3 IVF, 3 Embryo Freezing
Diagnosis
Unexplained
7
9
Dr. Lebovic is clearly a highly trained doctor, knows the science, and cares about his patients and the outcomes everyone is trying to achieve. There have been a few times where I felt Dr. Lebovic wasn't up to speed on communications I had had with nursing staff or certain things that had been changed/ordered - it felt as if he hadn't read my files before talking to me and was proceeding with certain things before confirming with me. I
The nursing staff at CRM Minneapolis are wonderful. I haven't had a bad interaction with any of them. They are very good at what they do, and show a lot of care toward their patients.... CRM Minneapolis is a large clinic and they have the capacity to treat a lot of patients. The clinic is run very smoothly, and they seem to provide very good care. From what I understand they also have a great embryology lab, which is important. The only minor downside is that you can sometimes feel like a number - doctors don't have a lot of time as they are spread out. I don't think this leads to worse care - just something to keep in mind.
Age
40
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
—
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 2 Docs
Treatment
3 IVF, 3 Embryo Freezing
Diagnosis
Unexplained
7
9
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Lebovic is clearly a highly trained doctor, knows the science, and cares about his patients and the outcomes everyone is trying to achieve. There have been a few times where I felt Dr. Lebovic wasn't up to speed on communications I had had with nursing staff or certain things that had been changed/ordered - it felt as if he hadn't read my files before talking to me and was proceeding with certain things before confirming with me. I think he just needs to take a little more time with patients. It can be a bit unnerving when you have to remind your doctor about certain things.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Be very clear about what you want and don't be afraid to speak up/advocate for yourself.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
CRM Minneapolis is a large clinic. My sense is they provide high quality fertility/infertility care. Because there are so many patients it's natural that doctor's and staff have limited time with patients.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
Antagonist retrieval protocol: estradiol, Menopur, GonalF, Cetrotide, Ovidrel (trigger shot)
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff at CRM Minneapolis are wonderful. I haven't had a bad interaction with any of them. They are very good at what they do, and show a lot of care toward their patients.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
CRM Minneapolis is a large clinic and they have the capacity to treat a lot of patients. The clinic is run very smoothly, and they seem to provide very good care. From what I understand they also have a great embryology lab, which is important. The only minor downside is that you can sometimes feel like a number - doctors don't have a lot of time as they are spread out. I don't think this leads to worse care - just something to keep in mind.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
~$25,000 for one retrieval cycle and one transfer
Describe Dan Lebovic's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr. Lebovic leans toward eSET but is open to transferring 2 embryos depending on a patient's situation.
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
7
7
Age
30 - 31
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
PCOS, Uterine Fibroids
7
7
He [Dr. Paul Kuneck] is very direct and information focused. There isn't a lot of "touchy-feely" stuff with him, just facts. This was helpful for us because we didn't want to feel like we were being coddled, we wanted to know the facts of our situation even if the facts were difficult to hear.... I didn't actually see Dr. Kuneck often during the time I was his patient which made me feel like just another patient or statistic. But when I did see him he made me feel less like a statistic so it averaged out.
Some of the nurses [at Center for Reproductive Med-MN]were amazing- very kind and compassionate and understanding of how challenging and painful the situation could be. Some nurses were not as kind, or had personality types that weren't as understanding, and eould leave me feeling worse about things.... The clinic is in a good location in downtown Minneapolis and parking is free. Most of the people (scheduling, secretaries, lab staff, nursing staff) are very nice. The person in the billing office is very rude.
Age
30 - 31
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
PCOS, Uterine Fibroids
7
7
How was your experience with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He is very direct and information focused. There isn't a lot of "touchy-feely" stuff with him, just facts. This was helpful for us because we didn't want to feel like we were being coddled, we wanted to know the facts of our situation even if the facts were difficult to hear.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He is great at what he does but don't expect a lot of emotion.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I didn't actually see Dr. Kuneck often during the time I was his patient which made me feel like just another patient or statistic. But when I did see him he made me feel less like a statistic so it averaged out.
Describe the protocols Paul Kuneck used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
I did 5 cycles of Femara with trigger shots. The first cycle required 5 mg femara on cycle days 5-9 and 20-24 then a trigger on day 29 of novarel; this was unsuccessful. The second cycle was 7.5 mg of femara on cycle day 3-7 then a trigger shot with novarel on day 16; this was unsuccessful. Cycle 3 was 7.5 mg of femara on cycle day 3-9 and ovidrel trigger on day 14; this was unsuccessful. Cycle 4 was 7.5 mg of femara on cycle day 3-9 and ovidrel trigger on day 13; this was unsuccessful. Cycle 5 was 7.5 mg of femara on cycle day 3-10 the ovidrel trigger on day 12; this was also unsuccessful. I also used progesterone suppositories during all these cycles between the expected ovulation date svc the date of a negative pregnancy test. We then moved on to our first IVF cycle with menopur and gonal-f on cycle day 2-9, added Ganirelix on day 8-9, triggered with hcg on day 9, egg retrieval on day 11, and day 3 embryo transfer on day 14. I had 3 eggs at the time of retrieval which I was told was unexpected (I'd had 12+ mature follicles at the ultrasound immediately prior to retrieval. Two of the eggs fertilized and were transferred. I then used minivelle patches and endometrin inserts. This IVF cycle was successful and I am currently 11 weeks pregnant.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Some of the nurses were amazing- very kind and compassionate and understanding of how challenging and painful the situation could be. Some nurses were not as kind, or had personality types that weren't as understanding, and eould leave me feeling worse about things.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic is in a good location in downtown Minneapolis and parking is free. Most of the people (scheduling, secretaries, lab staff, nursing staff) are very nice. The person in the billing office is very rude.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Oral medications with triggers were around $150 per cycle. IVF medications were $2000. Ultrasounds were around $50 after my insurance (needed 3-7 per cycle). We chose to use the Attain program for our IVF cycles which was $20,000 (in the end we only needed one cycle so this wouldn't have been necessary).
Describe Paul Kuneck's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
They transferred 2 embryos because that was all we had. Had there been more we would have been able to decide whether we wanted to transfer one or two.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
0
1
Age
32 - 33
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor
0
1
I met with Dr. Damario for an initial consultation and then once more two weeks prior to Stimulation start for a baseline ultrasound and trial transfer. During the entire course of IVF treatment, egg retrieval, and transfer I did not see or hear from Dr. Damario at all.... He did not seem to be aware of what was happening with my care. He couldn’t recognize me and didn’t know my name. He always had his nurse contact me, except once
We pre-paid $1200 for cryopreservation of embryos. More than 6 wks after all of our embryos stopped developing and it was confirmed we did not have any left for cryopreservation, we had still not received a refund for this or heard from the clinic [Ctr for Repro Med of MN] about a refund.... Sue was great- explained everything in great detail, kept me informed about my lab work and my progress
Age
32 - 33
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor
0
1
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He did not seem to be aware of what was happening with my care. He couldn’t recognize me and didn’t know my name. He always had his nurse contact me, except once— Dr. Damario called me after my first BHCG to tell me I was pregnant and had “an honest to goodness good pregnancy level.” But two days later, when my BHCG dropped, Dr. Damario had one of the nurses contact me to tell me I was going to miscarry. Dr. Damario miscounted my follicles during my baseline ultrasound. During my ultrasound after miscarriage diagnosis, Dr. Damario looked around for about 3 minutes before confirming miscarriage will be happening and giving me my options to proceed with the miscarriage. He diagnosed me with a “blighted ovum” at 6.5wks, which I have read should never be diagnosed before wk 9. I also had a visible yolk sac, which I also understand does not meet the definition for blighted ovum. Here I am at 9.6wks and still have not miscarried (will likely still miscarry), but have chosen to follow up with further ultrasounds at a different clinic with a new provider.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Do your research about your own situation and possible IVF protocols before meeting with Dr. Damario so you are prepared to ask specific questions & get the answers you need.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I met with Dr. Damario for an initial consultation and then once more two weeks prior to Stimulation start for a baseline ultrasound and trial transfer. During the entire course of IVF treatment, egg retrieval, and transfer I did not see or hear from Dr. Damario at all. His nurses were always the ones in contact with me about my progress and with orders for stimulation dosage changes. Dr. Damario would not have been to recognize me in the waiting room or recall my name at any point, even once completed with treatment.
Describe the protocols Mark Damario used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
- Birthcontrol for downregulation 6 weeks prior to treatment start
- Lupron 20IU for further downregulation for 10 days
- Lupron decreased to 5IU from day 3-5 of stimulation, then stopped
-Stimulation Start: Menopur 150IU morning & Follistim 150IU for 14 days (Follistim bumped up to 300IU after day 3 d/t slow ovarian response/possible over sensitivity to Lupron)
- Trigger Shot: 10,000IU Novarel (HCG) injection 36 hours before transfer
* my body was downregulated significantly prior to treatment start, which required doubling the dose of the follistim and added an extra 2-4 days of stimulation before trigger shot. I also had two lead follicles and was told of a potential risk for cycle cancelation
* I had 16 follicles, but only 14 eggs retrieved. 8 eggs were mature and all 8 fertilized with ICSI. No embryos made to blastocyst stage.
* we transferred a morula and 8-cell embryo on day 5. All other embryos stopped developing by day 6 and we did not have any leftover to freeze.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Sue was great- explained everything in great detail, kept me informed about my lab work and my progress, described ultrasounds while doing them, remembered my name and things about me.
Julie- great, very kind and personable; remembered my name and things about me.
There were other nurses that didn’t even introduce themselves or attempt to build any rapport during the appt at all, were very blunt and jumped to worst case scenario. I don’t know their names because they never said their name.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Strengths:
- front desk staff friendly and personable
- a few nurses were friendly and personable
- most of lab staff was nice and efficient (aside from one lab person)
Weaknesses:
- a few bad nurses that make you feel like a number
- care team didn’t seem to take time to understand our situation
- we were not given any possible explanation for the underdevelopment of all of our embryos
- our miscarriage was diagnosed immediately, and with 100% certainty before taking additional bloodwork or ultrasound to confirm— this seemed very insensitive, considering our entire process.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
IVF retrieval/transfer/ICSI- $11,800
Medication- $7000
Monitoring/bloodwork: $2800
Prescreening: $800
Describe Mark Damario's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr. Colleen Casey did the embryo transfer. She recommended transferring only 1 embryo because the next most developed one was only 8 cells. She told us transferring two could be harmful to the morula which was further developed. We told her we wanted to transfer two anyway and asked for more information on how it could be harmful and she then said that it probably wouldn’t be harmful, but it just wouldn’t be likely to implant. We transferred two and all remaining embryos arrested the next day.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Lost paperwork
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to consider drug intolerance
- Read less
7
8
Age
34 - 35
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
PCOS, Unexplained
7
8
Dr. Kuneck's office is a business-like setting. He verbally reviewed my medical history but did not review, at least not in front of me, the several page packet I filled out about my medical and family history. With the exception of one time, he got back to me promptly an encouraged me to call with other questions.... He sees a large volume of patients which has at times made me feel like a number, but also provides him with a lot of experience. I am a person that likes to know the "why's" of he treaments and know the impacts of my body beyond attempting pregnancy. I felt that I had to advocate for myself to get through answers to these questions, at times.
Everything [Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota] is located in one location. Parking is free. Once you are an extavlished patient, appointments are generally easy to get. They do a benefits check for you. There are free educational sessions on the IVF process that are open to the public. The nurse line always goes to voicemail, but they always call back.... Basic IVF procedures are roughly $9000, with additional costs for freezing, genetic testing, etc. Monitoring appointments are charged separately. Shared risk plans are offered.
Age
34 - 35
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
—
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
PCOS, Unexplained
7
8
How was your experience with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Kuneck is clearly is an expert in his field. He sees a large volume of patients which has at times made me feel like a number, but also provides him with a lot of experience. I am a person that likes to know the "why's" of he treaments and know the impacts of my body beyond attempting pregnancy. I felt that I had to advocate for myself to get through answers to these questions, at times.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Write down and ask any questions you may have.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Kuneck's office is a business-like setting. He verbally reviewed my medical history but did not review, at least not in front of me, the several page packet I filled out about my medical and family history. With the exception of one time, he got back to me promptly an encouraged me to call with other questions.
Describe the protocols Paul Kuneck used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
I utilized letrozole and ovidrel for 2 IUI cycles. I did ovulate, but pregnancy was not achieved. I will be attempting IVF with a low dose protocol.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
All the the nurses were very knowledgeable. Most nurses were very warm, though I was only asked how I was feeling during a small percentage of my appointments. They are very focused on the medical treatments. They had good tips for obtaining medications and it was clear they hoped we would achieve pregnancy.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Everything is located in one location. Parking is free. Once you are an extavlished patient, appointments are generally easy to get. They do a benefits check for you. There are free educational sessions on the IVF process that are open to the public. The nurse line always goes to voicemail, but they always call back.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Basic IVF procedures are roughly $9000, with additional costs for freezing, genetic testing, etc. Monitoring appointments are charged separately. Shared risk plans are offered.
Describe Paul Kuneck's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr. Kuneck seemed to favor single embryo transfer due to my age and predicted success. We were in agreement on this. He also provided education verbally and in written form regarding risks of multiples.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Read less
7
6
Age
37 - 38
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
3 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
7
6
My experiences with Dr. Hopeman have been largely positive. As a scientist myself, I appreciate receiving highly detailed information on my labwork, diagnosis, treatment, etc. Dr. Hopeman has been willing to provide these detailed explanations in a compassionate way. She has been available to speak by phone or meet in person as needed. In the course of a regular IUI cycle, however, I do not see her. I do, however, feel that Dr. Hopeman pushes IVF somewhat.
I think this clinic [Center for Reproductive Medicine of MN] is geared towards IVF patients, and, as someone undergoing IUI cycles, I felt a bit of a second-class citizen. The clinic set up did not enable me to feel that I was receiving personalized care.... Each nurse I interacted with seemed competent and friendly, but over the course of nine visits, I believe I met with eight different nurses. The lack of continuity was a huge problem for me, and made me feel a bit like part of an assembly line. I felt that because the nurses didn't know me and my medical situation personally their clinical judgments were based on their experiences overall, and were not tailored to my situation.
Age
37 - 38
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Professor
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
3 IUI
Diagnosis
Unexplained
7
6
How was your experience with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
My experiences with Dr. Hopeman have been largely positive. As a scientist myself, I appreciate receiving highly detailed information on my labwork, diagnosis, treatment, etc. Dr. Hopeman has been willing to provide these detailed explanations in a compassionate way. She has been available to speak by phone or meet in person as needed. In the course of a regular IUI cycle, however, I do not see her. I do, however, feel that Dr. Hopeman pushes IVF somewhat.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Be very clear with her about what your boundaries are in terms of types of treatments you are willing to consider, and tell her what level of detail you would like in terms of scientific information about diagnosis, testing, and treatment.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Hopeman is very caring and treats me like a person, but I generally only see nurses when I go in for monitoring and IUIs. Over nine visits I saw seven or eight different nurses. The lack of continuity in nursing care made me feel like a number in many of my daily interactions at the clinic.
Describe the protocols Meg Hopeman used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
My first two cycles with Dr. Hopeman I had baseline ultrasound monitoring on cycle day 3, took letrozole (10mg) from cycle day 3 - 7, went in on cycle day 11 for a monitoring ultrasound, triggered that night (ovidrel) for IUI the morning of cycle day 13. I used progesterone suppositories during the luteal phase. My next cycle I will have estradiol measured on day 3, try clomid instead of letrozole, wait until cycle 12 for monitoring, and double the dose of ovidrel for triggering. The morning of the IUI and the following morning I will have progesterone measured to check the timing of ovulation, and I will again take progesterone suppositories during the luteal phase.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Each nurse I interacted with seemed competent and friendly, but over the course of nine visits, I believe I met with eight different nurses. The lack of continuity was a huge problem for me, and made me feel a bit like part of an assembly line. I felt that because the nurses didn't know me and my medical situation personally their clinical judgments were based on their experiences overall, and were not tailored to my situation.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I think this clinic is geared towards IVF patients, and, as someone undergoing IUI cycles, I felt a bit of a second-class citizen. The clinic set up did not enable me to feel that I was receiving personalized care. I do however think that the treatment provided is high quality and the facilities are fantastic.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
An IUI cycle cost approximately $1,500 (including drugs), without insurance coverage.
Describe Meg Hopeman's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
No comments.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to order appropriate test
- Provided conflicting information
- Read less
9
9
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
6 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
9
9
You can tell Dr. Lebovic is busy because his responses are generally short in emails but he is very responsive. He always responds to my messages within about 15 minutes of me sending which is impressive. When I got OHSS he checked in with me daily for weeks and always asked how I was doing.... The only thing I would mention that has been mildly frustrating is that he has a somewhat conflicting viewpoint on our diagnosis as my 2 of my other OBs.
The clinic [Center for Reproductive Med of Minnesota] overall is great. The only thing I don't like is the nurseline. You are unable to get a nurse on the phone and have to leave a message and have them call you back. When they call you back (usually hours later or even the next day depending on when you call) and if you miss the call, you have to call in again and leave a message all over again and wait again for a call back many hours later. This phone tag format is stressful for IVF and infertility.
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Operations
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
6 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
9
9
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He is very responsive to email and always answers questions right away and directly. He is quiet and patient and seems to really care.During consults you don't feel rushed and he makes sure that you have time to ask all the questions you have. When I had complications with my retrieval after hyper stimulating he checked in with me daily asking how I was doing and was always available to talk to me or the hospital. I've been really happy working with him. The only thing I would mention that has been mildly frustrating is that he has a somewhat conflicting viewpoint on our diagnosis as my 2 of my other OBs. We are diagnosed as Unexplained Infertility but Dr. Lebovic seems to think I might also have very mild PCOS despite the fact that I do not meet the diagnosis requirements for PCOS. I personally don't think I have PCOS and neither do 2 different doctors I've seen. This hasn't gotten in the way of my treatment to my knowledge because the protocol would remain the same but it has been frustrating at times being my own advocate making sure we are on the right path.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
If you are looking for a cheerleader, moral support type doctor he is probably not a good fit for your needs. But if you want someone who gets to the point, is very responsive, and clearly cares about you and your well being he will be a great fit.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
You can tell Dr. Lebovic is busy because his responses are generally short in emails but he is very responsive. He always responds to my messages within about 15 minutes of me sending which is impressive. When I got OHSS he checked in with me daily for weeks and always asked how I was doing. He is calm and doesn't make you feel rushed when you are asking questions about treatment.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
For all 6 IUIs:
- Protocol remained the same because I was appropriately responsive
- 2.5 mg letrozole days 3-7 and HCG trigger. Resulted in 2 mature follicles each time.
For IVF: resulted in 33 eggs retreived and 7 blastocycts
- Birth control as a down regulation
- Stimulation was 75 IU Menopur and 150 Gonal - F (Gonal - F dosage went down to 75 after first ultrasound because I was very responsive)
- Ganirelix once follicles were getting mature
- Trigger was dual Lupron and HCG to prevent OHSS
- Was also given cabergoline to help prevent OHSS
* I only did 8 days of stims before triggering because I was so responsive and I still got OHSS
Frozen Embryo Transfer: Still in progress
- birth control for down regulation
- Estrace pills and baby aspirin
- Progesterone suppositories
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
CRM uses a team of multiple nurses so you do not have one specifically assigned. All have been very helpful, knowledgeable, and kind.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic overall is great. The only thing I don't like is the nurseline. You are unable to get a nurse on the phone and have to leave a message and have them call you back. When they call you back (usually hours later or even the next day depending on when you call) and if you miss the call, you have to call in again and leave a message all over again and wait again for a call back many hours later. This phone tag format is stressful for IVF and infertility. Otherwise the clinic is great. The scheduling staff is good, you can always get someone (besides nurses) on the phone. The financial coordinator Stephanie is very helpful and will go out of her way to help you troubleshoot any issues. The nurses are great. The office is clean and generally you don't have to wait too long in the waiting room.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
$10,000 single cycle IVF without PGS not including medication or monitoring which is billed separately. Without insurance each ultrasound for monitoring is around $500.
Describe Dan Lebovic's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr. Lebovic feels we should do 1 embryo at a time based on our age and the fact this is our first IVF cycle. We agree with his advice.
- Read less
5
7
Age
38 - 40
Treated
2016 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IVF, Donor Eggs
Diagnosis
Unexplained
5
7
When I actually met with Dr. Casey, she was very personable. She was encouraging, although I wish she would have been more blunt and provided more realistic expectations. At times, I feel like she is encouraging so I will continue to spend money, even though it's probaby not likely to work. Also, from what I have learned, my treatment plan is the same as every one else - so not very personable.
The nurses, ultrasound techs, and lab techs [Center for Reproductive Med] have been great! Very compassionate and willing to answer questions. Some at the front desk are friendlier than others. No one was rude or unhelpful - just some were less personable.... I feel that overall, the clinic is very busy, so it can be difficult to get a preferred appointment time, and the process seems to take a while just to be fit in to start each process.
Age
38 - 40
Treated
2016 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
—
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IVF, Donor Eggs
Diagnosis
Unexplained
5
7
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I chose Dr. Casey because she was relateable - having children close to my age, being female. When I first met with Dr. Casey she was very encouraging and explained everything very well. However, I wish she would have encouraged donar eggs sooner, as my AMH level was very low.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Consider all of your options (donar eggs, adoption, etc.) in the beginning because the process rarely works the first time and can be very lengthy. Also, the treatment is mentally and financially exhausting. I don't think the mental side effects were fully explained to me.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
When I actually met with Dr. Casey, she was very personable. She was encouraging, although I wish she would have been more blunt and provided more realistic expectations. At times, I feel like she is encouraging so I will continue to spend money, even though it's probaby not likely to work. Also, from what I have learned, my treatment plan is the same as every one else - so not very personable.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
With my own eggs, I was on bc to get my cycle in line with theirs. Then I was on Lupron for 10 days, then started Menopur in the a.m. and Follistem in the evening. During this time I had ultrasounds and bloodwork every other day. Took HCG prior to retrieval. Then, started endometrin twice a day and did day 5 transfer with fresh embryo. After transfer, started Vivelle patches and continue Endometrin. Unsuccessful.
Switched to donar eggs with fresh transfer. Birth control to coordinate my cycle with donor. Lupron for 10 days. Then reduce Lupron (but continue) and start Estrace 3 times/day. After a couple of weeks, start Endometrin 3 times/day and Doxyclycline 2 times/day. Transferred only 1 embryo (per doctors very strong recommendation). Resulted in pregnancy, and then miscarriage after 4 weeks.
Currently doing frozen embryo transfer with donor eggs. Started birth control to coordinate with clinic schedule. Lupron 20 U for 10 days. Drop to 5 U Lupron for 10 days and start Estrace (with Lupron) for approximately 21 days. Will also do Endometrin approximately 5 days prior to transfer and after.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota. (Assigned nurse: DeNae M)
The nurses, ultrasound techs, and lab techs have been great! Very compassionate and willing to answer questions. Some at the front desk are friendlier than others. No one was rude or unhelpful - just some were less personable.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The nurses, ultrasound techs, and lab techs are great. They are very sensitive, caring, and compassionate. I feel that overall, the clinic is very busy, so it can be difficult to get a preferred appointment time, and the process seems to take a while just to be fit in to start each process.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
It was approximately $21,000 for IVF cycle with my own eggs, approximately $25,000 for cycle with donor eggs, and approximately $5,000 for frozen transfer. Medication was an additional $1,000-$4,000 per cycle.
Describe Colleen Casey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
In talking with nurse and doctor Casey, I was encouraged to transfer 2 for higher success rate, understanding risk of multiples. Day of transfer, Dr. Kuneck was only willing to transfer 1 embryo because of high quality embryo. It was not successful, so I wish I would have done 2. Now doing FET with plan to transfer 2 embryos.
- Read less
7
4
Age
32 - 33
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Poor Egg Quality
7
4
Dr. Lebovic is obviously intelligent and takes a very evidence-based approach to treatment. He is a fine choice for standardized care if you are a straightforward case. If not, however, you may find yourself frustrated as there is limited openness to tweaking protocols, adding supplements, etc. Dr. Lebovic tries to connect and is very responsive (called/emailed immediately with test results and to answer questions) but his bedside manner is lacking in warmth.
You are not assigned an individual nurse here and this is a large clinic [Center for Reproductive Medicine]. This means that every time you go in you are dealing with a new person. When things come up there is no easy access point. You can call the nurse line but you will consistently be directed to the voicemail system and can expect to wait all day for a call back. When you do get a call you should be prepared for the nurse to be entirely unfamiliar with your case and to have 'skimmed' your voicemail at best.
Age
32 - 33
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 2 Docs
Treatment
1 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Poor Egg Quality
7
4
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Lebovic is obviously intelligent and takes a very evidence-based approach to treatment. He is a fine choice for standardized care if you are a straightforward case. If not, however, you may find yourself frustrated as there is limited openness to tweaking protocols, adding supplements, etc. Dr. Lebovic tries to connect and is very responsive (called/emailed immediately with test results and to answer questions) but his bedside manner is lacking in warmth. I'm not typically one that needs a lot of warmth, in fact I am sometimes irritated by it! But his was just such an anxious, cold presentation that it made me uncomfortable and added to the stress of it all. Infertility treatment is stressful enough, do yourself a favor and only choose to work with a provider that you feel good about!
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Give him a shot, perhaps your personalities will jive better than mine did with him. Be prepared to ask a lot of direct questions and receive very brief answers. Don't hesitate to reach out to him for guidance as needed as he is happy to help.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Lebovic does his best to be a clear communicator and to be responsive. The problem is just that there is no sense of warmth. He is neutral in every way one can imagine. Flat affect, flat intonation, provides limited opinions and observations, etc. We could tell he was trying but it was just all very cold.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
Birth control leading into things. Antagonist protocol (ganirelix) + 300IU Follistim + 150IU Menopur. Ovidrel trigger. The rationale for using this protocol was never explained to me.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
You are not assigned an individual nurse here and this is a large clinic. This means that every time you go in you are dealing with a new person. When things come up there is no easy access point. You can call the nurse line but you will consistently be directed to the voicemail system and can expect to wait all day for a call back. When you do get a call you should be prepared for the nurse to be entirely unfamiliar with your case and to have 'skimmed' your voicemail at best. I had mutliple experiences where the nurses called back and provided inaccurate information about my case which instills very little confidence. When I lost a pregnancy it was very difficult to reach anyone for help about what to do and when I finally did the contact was neutral at best.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
This clinic is a factory. There are quite a few doctors, a lot of nurses, and many, many patients. This means that it is very unlikely that you will see your identified provider after the initial consult or that you will notice many familiar faces at your appointments. On egg retrieval and transfer days you could have any provider in the practice assigned to you and, be warned, they do not all have superb bedside manner. This results in unecessary stress on very important days. This is also a clinic that schedules cycles quite far out (2+months after consult) and seems to run patients in 'batches' meaning that they may have you on birth control for months to sync up your cycle with their schedule.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The actual cycle was about $14,000. Meds were probably another $3000.
Describe Dan Lebovic's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Prefers eSET but open to multiple embryo transfer when appropriate.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call with results
- Provided conflicting information
- Read less
10
9
Age
32
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
—
Diagnosis
Unexplained, Other
10
9
Dr. Kuneck is very direct and upfront with his recommendations. He did a lovely job of balancing giving his opinion with also giving space for my husband and I to make decisions. I am still in the course of my first IVF treatment, but I really appreciate his honesty and optimism. Dr. Kuneck also was quite comfortable with moving straight to IVF rather than spending time on IUIs that would only marginally increase my chances of success.
The nursing staff [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of MN] has been incredibly responsive to my questions and concerns. I had some initial insurance issues and they were very supportive along the way and helped me make sure that I got all of my medications on time.... I do not see my doctor on every visit and I understand for some people that would be a problem. I do know that my doctor is very actively involved though and reviews my case each time I get bloodwork or have an ultrasound done. I think the clinic runs efficiently.
Age
32
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Teacher
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
—
Diagnosis
Unexplained, Other
10
9
How was your experience with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Kuneck is very direct and upfront with his recommendations. He did a lovely job of balancing giving his opinion with also giving space for my husband and I to make decisions. I am still in the course of my first IVF treatment, but I really appreciate his honesty and optimism. Dr. Kuneck also was quite comfortable with moving straight to IVF rather than spending time on IUIs that would only marginally increase my chances of success.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I would say be open to any option. Dr. Kuneck wants you to achieve success but will also defer to your decisions.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Kuneck is very direct but kind in his manner. He's incredibly knowledgeable and always makes me feel welcome.
Describe the protocols Paul Kuneck used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
This is my first IVF cycle, so we decided to go with the typical course knowing that it might take a cycle or two to figure out how my body responds. I am still in my cycle. I did 22 days of bcp, on day 19 on bcp I started Lupron. Then I began menopur and gonal f on day 11 of lupron. On day 3 of STIMS I went in for bloodwork and then had my dosages adjusted. My next step is an ultrasound and blood work on day 5 of STIMS.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff has been incredibly responsive to my questions and concerns. I had some initial insurance issues and they were very supportive along the way and helped me make sure that I got all of my medications on time.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
This clinic has many strengths. I have found the nursing team and doctors to be incredibly supportive and informative. I do not see my doctor on every visit and I understand for some people that would be a problem. I do know that my doctor is very actively involved though and reviews my case each time I get bloodwork or have an ultrasound done. I think the clinic runs efficiently.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I have a strong insurance package but this requires reimbursement. Medications cost $2000 so far (after insurance reimbursement) and I needed to pay up-front $10000 for the IVF cycle.
Describe Paul Kuneck's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
No comments
- Read less
8
8
Age
29 - 30
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
2 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor, Unexplained
8
8
I didn't get to see Dr. Casey much throughout our fresh cycle. All of the ultrasounds scans, med modifications, and communication is done through the nursing staff. In addition, Dr. Casey was not the physician who performed the egg retrieval or the transfer of our embryos.... Dr. Casey is very knowledgeable and passionate about helping couples become parents. When our fresh transfer resulted in a negative pregnancy, she personally called me to discuss the results, what potentially happened, and what our next steps forward would look like.
The nursing staff handles most, if not all, the communication between patient and doctor. It is nice to be able to talk with the nurse after each appointment to discuss current plan and any changes that may need to be made by the doctor. One weakness about the nursing staff at CRM, is that they often times don't call back the same day to answer important questions or respond to time sensitive information (i.e. got my period - when should I start birth control pills, etc.).
Age
29 - 30
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
?
Race
Prefer not to answer
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
2 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor, Unexplained
8
8
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Casey is very knowledgeable and passionate about helping couples become parents. When our fresh transfer resulted in a negative pregnancy, she personally called me to discuss the results, what potentially happened, and what our next steps forward would look like. She was positive and reassuring that we would some day be parents.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Ask ALOT of questions and be sure you really understand the plan - the only dumb question is the one not asked!!
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I didn't get to see Dr. Casey much throughout our fresh cycle. All of the ultrasounds scans, med modifications, and communication is done through the nursing staff. In addition, Dr. Casey was not the physician who performed the egg retrieval or the transfer of our embryos. That was disappointing.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We had an antagonist protocol for our first egg retrieval cycle. I was on the lowest dose of stimulation meds. My meds included: 75 units of Menopur & 150 iu of Follistim. I stimulated extremely quickly and already had 5 mature eggs at my first ultrasound (stim day 5). I hadn't started the antagonist (Ganirelix) until immediately after that first ultrasound. However, I was a little worried that I stimulated so quickly - would they be good quality eggs? would my lining be ready to accept a transfer? ... At my ultrasound the next day, I had 8 mature eggs so they decided to have me trigger that night. I triggered with 10,000iu of HCG. I was also a little concerned that there wasn't any lining checks or measurements throughout the process of this fresh cycle. Overall, the process was pretty seamless. I was lucky and didn't have many side effects or discomfort during stimulation or after retrieval.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff handles most, if not all, the communication between patient and doctor. It is nice to be able to talk with the nurse after each appointment to discuss current plan and any changes that may need to be made by the doctor. One weakness about the nursing staff at CRM, is that they often times don't call back the same day to answer important questions or respond to time sensitive information (i.e. got my period - when should I start birth control pills, etc.).
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
They take confidentiality seriously - but that also gives off a cold and secluded vibe. This could also be due to the nature that is infertility - a silent battle for each couple. The scheduling/office staff is always friendly and returns phone calls promptly.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Baseline Ultrasound ($263 ea.) - 1
Follow-Up Ultrasounds ($216 ea.) - 2
Office Visits ($89 ea.) - ?
Labs ($181 ea.) - 3
Egg Retrieval - $3791
Embryo Transfer - $1669
Embryo Culture - $1810
Identification - $680
Anesthesia - $374
ICSI - $1200
Cryopreservation of Embryos - $1200
Ultrasounds (retrieval and transfer) - $635
Lab prep for transfer - $450
Medications - $2850.84
Describe Colleen Casey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The doctor who did our transfer didn't put up much of a fight or invite any sort of discussion around the topic. We only had 1 blastocyst at day 5 (transfer day) and a less mature morula (day 4 cell). He also said that we likely wouldn't have any that made it to freeze. So... we decided to transfer 2 because that increased our chance of getting at least one by 10%. He didn't give us any explanation about why he only recommended an eSET and just said, "it's up to you". This was disappointing - especially now on the other side of transfer still not pregnant. In addition, I have done an incredible (spent HOURS on google) amount of researching on the best route and why - something that should be presented as pro's and con's at time of transfer.
- Read less
4
3
Age
39 - 41
Treated
2016 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
3 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Endometriosis, Male Factor, Poor Egg Quality, Uterine Fibroids, Unexplained
4
3
He [Dr. Damario] never seemed to study up on the current cycle's prior visits and it felt like we were telling him what happened...always seemed wishy washy and not assertive enough with his opinion and assessment of the cycle status. I would have preferred someone who was more confident. He also never followed up with me after the 2 miscarriages...The nurses showed more compassion following our miscarriages than the dr. did.
Strength [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota] - allowing you to do monitoring in St Paul or Minneapolis. Weaknesses - (1) not always giving more than 24 hours notice for the amount you have to prepay per visit, if you don't have insurance. (2) No communication from management to clinic finance person that their contract with health insurance provider was updated and patient wasn't supposed to prepay anything
Age
39 - 41
Treated
2016 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Endometriosis, Male Factor, Poor Egg Quality, Uterine Fibroids, Unexplained
4
3
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr Demario always seemed wishy washy and not assertive enough with his opinion and assessment of the cycle status. I would have preferred someone who was more confident. He also never followed up with me after the 2 miscarriages.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Ask lots of questions if you don't understand something.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He never seemed to study up on the current cycle's prior visits and it felt like we were telling him what happened.
Describe the protocols Mark Damario used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
2016 we had 3 iui's with follistim, femara, and ovidrel to trigger.
2017 we had 2 ivf cycles (stims, retrieval, icsi, embryo transfer. First round was birth control for initial suppression, then follistim, menopur, endometrin, minivelle patches, hcg injection for trigger. Second round was the same except for increased follistim, coQ10 supplement, and I think we added in microdose Lupron. In 2018 we had 1 FET with the 2 remaining embryos from 2017 round 2, with birth control for initial suppression, estradiol tablets, and PIO injections.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nurses showed more compassion following our miscarriages than the dr. did. They were also always willing to answer questions.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Strength - allowing you to do monitoring in St Paul or Minneapolis.
Weaknesses - (1) not always giving more than 24 hours notice for the amount you have to prepay per visit, if you don't have insurance. (2) No communication from management to clinic finance person that their contract with health insurance provider was updated and patient wasn't supposed to prepay anything
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I believe our reimbursement for the ART side of the first cycle was $9870. That does not include any bloodwork, monitoring appointments, or medication. The reimbursement we got the 2nd time was slightly higher due to needing embryo cryopreservation.
Describe Mark Damario's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We only ever got grade 3 embryos. When we arrived at our FET in January 2018 he encouraged us to consider transferring 2 which would increase the chance of 1 sticking.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call with results
- Failed to order appropriate test
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
6
5
Age
40
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IUI, 3 IVF
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
6
5
Dr. Casey has a very matter-of-fact style of interaction. We had some pretty big losses during our treatment, and while she expressed sympathy, she was quite blunt. There isn't anything necessarily wrong with this--it just isn't our style and we would have preferred a little more compassion/empathy. Dr. Casey presented information about our options in an easy-to-understand format and we felt well-informed regarding the process. However, we felt like we were lead to believe that our chances of success were quite a bit higher than they actually were.
CRM is a very big and busy clinic, with many staff members. I had contact with many nurses during my treatment, and it was rare for any of them to really know the details of my case. There were several times (typically during phone calls) when I could tell that the nurses hadn't adequately reviewed my chart before calling.... It is very easy to feel like you are just an anonymous number, which we really didn't like. Having said that, it is generally easy to schedule appointments, it is easy to get through to the front desk staff, and the nurses generally call back in a timely manner.
Age
40
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$200K - $499K
Occupation
Doctor
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 2 Docs
Treatment
1 IUI, 3 IVF
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
6
5
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Casey has a very matter-of-fact style of interaction. We had some pretty big losses during our treatment, and while she expressed sympathy, she was quite blunt. There isn't anything necessarily wrong with this--it just isn't our style and we would have preferred a little more compassion/empathy. Dr. Casey presented information about our options in an easy-to-understand format and we felt well-informed regarding the process. However, we felt like we were lead to believe that our chances of success were quite a bit higher than they actually were. We don't feel that Dr. Casey was realistic with us about our chances. Additionally, I was triggered on day 7 for two IVF egg retrievals (with egg retrieval on day 9). We were never told that triggering this early is very risky in regards to the chances of getting euploid embryos. Had we known the risks, we would not have decided to move forward with egg retrieval either time. We did really appreciate that Dr. Casey called us personally to report on PGS results, and she gave us her phone number to contact her if needed (without going through the phone triage system). We felt like we had access to her if we had any further questions.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I would recommend asking for very specific information regarding realistic chances of success, particularly for patients who are going into IVF with a lower chance of success (low ovarian reserve, low AMH, low AFC, history of a short follicular phase).
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
CRM is a very big and busy clinic, with many staff members. I had contact with many nurses during my treatment, and it was rare for any of them to really know the details of my case. There were several times (typically during phone calls) when I could tell that the nurses hadn't adequately reviewed my chart before calling. Having said that, there were a couple nurses who were better than the others, and who clearly tried their best to compassionately treat my husband and I as individuals going through a very difficult process.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
For IUI, we used Follistim for about 5 days, triggered on day 8, had IUI on day 10, and became pregnant, but miscarried around 9 weeks. Our first IVF protocol was with Follistim (starting dose 225) and Menopur (1 vial per day), with Ganirelix. We triggered with Pregnyl on day 7 and had egg retrieval on day 9. 6 eggs retrieved/6 mature/5 fertilized with ICSI/1 blast (PGS abnormal). Our second IVF protocol was with Follistim (starting dose 275, I think), Menopur (2 vials per day), and microlupron (started 2 days prior to Follistim/Menopur). We triggered with Pregnyl on day 7 and had egg retrieval on day 9. 7 eggs retrieved/5 mature/4 fertilized with ICSI/2 blasts (both PGS abnormal).
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nurses at CRM were such a mixed bag. We had a few nurses who were so kind and compassionate and friendly and helpful. On the other hand, there are a few others who were unnecessarily blunt, unhelpful, and talked down to me (as if I knew nothing about my own body or what I'd already been through). It would have been very, very helpful if I'd had a primary nurse (or two) assigned to my care. It was really difficult to be working with a different nurse every day.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Again, this is a big clinic with a large number of patients. It is very easy to feel like you are just an anonymous number, which we really didn't like. Having said that, it is generally easy to schedule appointments, it is easy to get through to the front desk staff, and the nurses generally call back in a timely manner.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We paid about $12,000 per IVF cycle (plus the cost of PGS testing, which was about $3000).
Describe Colleen Casey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr. Casey's approach was to do eSET with a PGS-tested euploid embryo. We were very much in favor of using this approach. Unfortunately, we never made any PGS normal embryos to transfer.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Provided conflicting information
- Read less
10
9
Age
35
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
3 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Poor Egg Quality
10
9
We appreciated [Dr. Dan Lebovic's] realistic, straight forward approach. We also appreciated that he understood each individual is different and he was willing to change my protocol based on my previous failed cycle at another clinic. He had excellent communication with us as well. He personally emailed me with some test results and personally called me with our pregnancy test results.
You will be working with multiple nursing staff throughout your treatment [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota]. You will always leave messages fir nursing staff and then they will call you back after they pull your chart. ...14 Days of stimulation based on my previous history of poor stimulation. Additionally, increasing my stimulation medications and changing my trigger.
Age
35
Treated
2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$200K - $499K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
3 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Poor Egg Quality
10
9
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
We had a great experience with Dr. Lebovic. We were considering using donor eggs and my eggs. He gave us realistic statistics on both scenarios. He provided us with medical facts to assist with our decision. We appreciated his realistic, straight forward approach. We also appreciated that he understood each individual is different and he was willing to change my protocol based on my previous failed cycle at another clinic.
He had excellent communication with us as well. He personally emailed me with some test results and personally called me with our pregnancy test results.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I feel Dr. Lebovic is an excellent, intelligent physician. He will provide you with realistic expectations and medical facts to assist you with your decision making. He has a straight forward approach, which we greatly appreciated.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Lebovic took the time to fully evaluate our case. He was our 2nd fertility specialist and he thoroughly evaluated our medical records, pursued additional testing, changed out protocol, and provided us with realistic outcomes based on our history.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
14 Days of stimulation based on my previous history of poor stimulation. Additionally, increasing my stimulation medications and changing my trigger. 150 menopur, 300 follistim. 4 days of certitude. Hcg plus lupron trigger.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
You will be working with multiple nursing staff throughout your treatment.
You will always leave messages fir nursing staff and then they will call you back after they pull your chart.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
36,000 including medications
- Read less
7
7
Age
24 - 25
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
5 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor
7
7
Dr. Hopeman is very smart, and this is where some of the compassion and relations is lost a bit. I can see she wants the best but has a tough time communicating that. Although our processes were based off our situation and circumstances, our plans did seem to be heavily based on standard procedures...Make sure to ask specific questions, as I have left wondering what the next steps are. She is honest with her answers.
17k for IVF cycle including medicine. Roughly 1.5k for iui cycles [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota]...CRM is a very busy clinic. It can be difficult to get appointments at the time convenient for you since you visit so many times per cycle. They do a nice job making sure you fully understand the IVF process. Once you are at the clinic it is usually pretty quick at getting you in and out. I think clinics like CRM should consider adding an infertility psychologist.
Age
24 - 25
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
—
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Accountant
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
5 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor
7
7
How was your experience with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Hopeman is very smart, and this is where some of the compassion and relations is lost a bit. I can see she wants the best but has a tough time communicating that. Although our processes were based off our situation and circumstances, our plans did seem to be heavily based on standard procedures.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Make sure to ask specific questions, as I have left wondering what the next steps are. She is honest with her answers.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Somewhere in the middle- our doctor is so smart she is more facts based.
Describe the protocols Meg Hopeman used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
Strategies were based off of the male infertility factor and the positive response my body had to medicines. None of the 5 IuIs or one IVF cycle worked so it is hard to say whether this was best for our situation
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Overall I really appreciated the nursing staff. They were almost all compassionate and knowledgeable. It was a bummer that I have a different nurse just about every time I visit. I had one encounter where there was some sort of miscommunication on the date of my FET which was concerning and the nurse blamed it on me that it was my misunderstanding where I did not feel that was appropriate.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
CRM is a very busy clinic. It can be difficult to get appointments at the time convenient for you since you visit so many times per cycle. They do a nice job making sure you fully understand the IVF process. Once you are at the clinic it is usually pretty quick at getting you in and out.
I think clinics like CRM should consider adding an infertility psychologist.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Meg Hopeman at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
17k for IVF cycle including medicine.
Roughly 1.5k for iui cycles.
Not sure specifically how much an ultrasound, blood work, and other routine visits cost.
Trial transfer and saline test roughly $600.
Will be between 4-6k for FET
Describe Meg Hopeman's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic as a whole is very against multiple embryo transfer- so she was the same way.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Lost appointments
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Read less
9
9
Age
29 - 30
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
9
9
He [Dr. Lebovic] responds to any questions I have almost immediately and makes sure he’s thorough with his explanation and next steps....He’s been very responsive to questions I have which has been a huge help! He makes sure to adjust my treatments as needed after blood work. I did think we’d see him more during this process but understand the nurses roles and what they’re able to help us with!... Dr Lebovic changed up my prescription amounts after our first IUI after seeing how my body reacted to the medications.
The clinic [Ctr for Repro Med] has been helpful through this process with booking appointments and helping with the financial portion - letting us know what is owed at what time (mainly the up front cost). I do wish they could help more with insurance/medications, etc as that’s been a frustrating part....We don’t have a nurse assigned to us (and perhaps that would be easier so they know everything going on versus just nursing notes) but they’ve all been very knowledgeable and helpful.
Age
29 - 30
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
—
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
9
9
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He’s been very responsive to questions I have which has been a huge help! He makes sure to adjust my treatments as needed after blood work. I did think we’d see him more during this process but understand the nurses roles and what they’re able to help us with!
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I’d recommend going to him - he’s very knowledgeable and responsive!
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He responds to any questions I have almost immediately and makes sure he’s thorough with his explanation and next steps.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We did 3 IUI treatments in hopes it would work before turning to IVF. Dr Lebovic changed up my prescription amounts after our first IUI after seeing how my body reacted to the medications. This helped my body produce more eggs but unfortunately with such a small success rate, we were not part of that. Also, once I started IVF and he viewed my blood read, he adjusted my follistim to a small dosage due to my E2.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
They’ve been wonderful throughout this process. We don’t have a nurse assigned to us (and perhaps that would be easier so they know everything going on versus just nursing notes) but they’ve all been very knowledgeable and helpful. I’ve called the nurse line multiple times throughout this process and they’ve been so great at getting back to me and making me feel at ease!
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic has been helpful through this process with booking appointments and helping with the financial portion - letting us know what is owed at what time (mainly the up front cost). I do wish they could help more with insurance/medications, etc as that’s been a frustrating part. It was great the nurse gave us a heads up on the medications and to check with insurance but it’s been a complicated process (financial and insurance wise).
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We are still in the process of IVF and we are doing genetic testing but I believe the cost will be around $22K including our medications.
- Read less
7
8
Age
38 - 39
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor, Uterine Fibroids
7
8
Colleen Casey spoke to us about our individual case. She was encouraging and understood the multiple considerations one needs to consider with IVF....Colleen Casey answered all of our questions thoroughly and never made us feel dumb for asking. She was receptive and offered alternative options. The clinic operates such that you have minimal contact with your actual doctor so we only spoke with her a total of 4 times, including once on the phone. She did seem a bit annoyed when we called with an after hours question about embryo transfer. We felt we needed time to consider all of our options but she mentioned that they were going to call the next day. I was a bit taken back by this.
Communication with the nursing staff [CRM Mpls] is almost impossible. They never answer and if you don't answer it's impossible to get information...They were kind during the in patient procedures...They don't have urologist on staff, thought they could schedule my husband's sperm extraction, decided late in the game that it was too risky and we had to reschedule our entire cycle...It's nice to know that they are constantly collaborating.
Age
38 - 39
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Teacher
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor, Uterine Fibroids
7
8
How was your experience with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Colleen Casey answered all of our questions thoroughly and never made us feel dumb for asking. She was receptive and offered alternative options. The clinic operates such that you have minimal contact with your actual doctor so we only spoke with her a total of 4 times, including once on the phone. She did seem a bit annoyed when we called with an after hours question about embryo transfer. We felt we needed time to consider all of our options but she mentioned that they were going to call the next day. I was a bit taken back by this.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
In general Dr Casey is encouraging but if you see her realize that other doctors at the clinic are more clinical and aren't always exactly familiar with your situation.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Colleen Casey spoke to us about our individual case. She was encouraging and understood the multiple considerations one needs to consider with IVF.
Describe the protocols Colleen Casey used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We had infertility due to my husband having anejaculation due to cancer treatment. I am 38 but with a health 4.8 AMH and they counted 22 follicles pre treatment. We were prescribed Menopur, follistim and ganirelex. I only stimmed for 6 days, they retrieved 9 eggs, only 5 mature, 3 blasts on day 6, all tested abnormal with PGS. Trying again this time with Lupron, Menopur and Follistim. Dr Casey is hoping to slow down stim process a touch in order to have more mature eggs to work with.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Communication with the nursing staff is almost impossible. They never answer and if you don't answer it's impossible to get information. I'm a teacher and I learned pretty quickly I needed to step out of my class and run down the hallway for privacy if I ever wanted any information. They were kind during the in patient procedures.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
It's nice to know that they are constantly collaborating. It's a convenient location for all of the procedures and it's nice that everything is done in one facility. It's unfortunate that the monitoring hours are so limited though they were able to generally get me in when I needed to see someone.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Colleen Casey at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
12,000
Describe Colleen Casey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr Casey was wonderful in recommending PGS when we said that we were really uncomfortable risking a Twin pregnancy. With PGS we can do single transfer and be pretty confident that we are implanting a healthy embryo.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Scheduled the wrong procedure
- Read less
10
10
Age
33 - 34
Treated
2016 - 2017
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Tubal Blockage
10
10
We were informed and supported through the entire process. He [Dr. Campbell] is the kind of doctor that doesn’t give false hope and will be very candid with you to the level you are prepared to handle at any given time. He is caring and you can tell, loves what he does. ... If you want to be coddled this isn’t the right fit. My advice is to know your questions, ask them, and ask more; Dr Campbell will always be truthful.
City traffic wasn’t enjoyable, especially after transfer. Free parking and I appreciated that they [CRMM] had signs saying to not bring children to appointments; that shows compassion for everyone’s journey and feelings. ... Beautiful space. Clean, welcoming, would be nice if it was in a suburb though. ... It totaled almost $20,000. We had the fees to CRM and to ART Advanced Reproductive Something. We had to pay for all medications. Nothing was covered by insurance.
Age
33 - 34
Treated
2016 - 2017
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Teacher
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 2 Docs
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Tubal Blockage
10
10
How was your experience with Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
We were informed and supported through the entire process. He is the kind of doctor that doesn’t give false hope and will be very candid with you to the level you are prepared to handle at any given time. He is caring and you can tell, loves what he does.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
If you want to be coddled this isn’t the right fit. My advice is to know your questions, ask them, and ask more; Dr Campbell will always be truthful.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr Campbell was clear and understanding. He explained difficult medical processes in a way we could grasp easily. He answered all of my questions and put my mind and heart at ease when I was struggling with fear or concern.
Describe the protocols Bruce Campbell used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
It was a regular IVF cycle. Estrace, Lupron, and aspirin regime. My tubes were damaged so after retrieving eggs and fertilizing the embryos were frozen. This was to have a tubal ligation. I could’ve continued but dr Campbell said the fluid could harm an embryo and cause infection so he wouldn’t transfer with the tubes in.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
I didn’t have too much interaction but they were always very clear with next steps and what to expect.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Beautiful space. Clean, welcoming, would be nice if it was in a suburb though. City traffic wasn’t enjoyable, especially after transfer. Free parking and I appreciated that they had signs saying to not bring children to appointments; that shows compassion for everyone’s journey and feelings.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
It totaled almost $20,000. We had the fees to CRM and to ART Advanced Reproductive Something. We had to pay for all medications. Nothing was covered by insurance.
Describe Bruce Campbell's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr Campbell said I had the same chance of having a baby with 1 or 2 embryos. That having two transferred and getting twins or more could actually be harder on the babies instead of having one strong healthy baby. I agreed.
- Read less
0
0
Age
38
Treated
2017
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
2 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
—
0
0
We didn't feel like we had any understanding of our treatment or what they could do for us to help us start a family. He [Dr. Mark Damario] basically read back our questionnaire when we met with him and kept reading and showing us statistics. The statistics were not encouraging at all. We were mostly confused and didn't have any idea what the plan was. He didn't explain chromosomal/genetic testing with us very well, even though I'm over 35 years old. He was big into selling us on buying multiple IVF sessions, but didn't really give us a reason why we would need to do IVF multiple times.
This clinic [Center for Reproductive Med of MN] had a long waiting period to see a doctor (months). When I had a fail IUI the nurse asked me what I wanted to do next, my answer I don't know, what are my options (cause I honestly didn't know) I said IVF? The nurse goes you need to make an appt with the doctor to discuss that and he is book for weeks. Found that very frustrating to not be able to see a patient in a timely matter especially when everything with this is timely.
Age
38
Treated
2017
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Graphic Designer
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 2 Docs
Treatment
2 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
—
0
0
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
We didn't feel like we had any understanding of our treatment or what they could do for us to help us start a family. He basically read back our questionnaire when we met with him and kept reading and showing us statistics. The statistics were not encouraging at all. We were mostly confused and didn't have any idea what the plan was. He didn't explain chromosomal/genetic testing with us very well, even though I'm over 35 years old. He was big into selling us on buying multiple IVF sessions, but didn't really give us a reason why we would need to do IVF multiple times.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
For us, it was a blessing that our insurance had us switch clinics. This clinic was not the place for us. We do have friends that liked this clinic and Dr Darmario and had success here.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I felt like we had no direction in where to go with our treatments. We filled out a questionnaire and basically when we met with Dr. Damario he just read it back to us. My husband and I walked out of the clinic wondering if we should even continue. This clinic is where our insurance sent us first. Thankfully before we go fully into our treatment we were able to switch clinic and doctor. This was a night and day difference for us.
Describe the protocols Mark Damario used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
We did IUI because I had unexplained infertility and felt like it would work for us. Really with my age, we should of went straight to IVF and skipped IUI. Now it's clear to me why I was a great candidate for IVF, and not IUI. But this wasn't explained to me at this clinic.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff was nice. When I was at this clinic they didn't have an online portal where you could easily ask questions. I found that very frustrating and a little old school to not be able to email a nurse with a simple question.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
This clinic had a long waiting period to see a doctor (months). When I had a fail IUI the nurse asked me what I wanted to do next, my answer I don't know, what are my options (cause I honestly didn't know) I said IVF? The nurse goes you need to make an appt with the doctor to discuss that and he is book for weeks. Found that very frustrating to not be able to see a patient in a timely matter especially when everything with this is timely.
Describe Mark Damario's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We did not do IVF with this clinic.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
2
3
Age
33
Treated
2017
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
1 IUI
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Other
2
3
We received poor communication [from Dr. Dan Lebovic] regarding the treatment plan as well as diagnoses. Although compassionate in the first and only meeting, I do not feel that he is even directing my care due to the nurses making the care plan after a follow up and then checking with Dr. Lebovic later...A change in my care plan was presented to me at check-in by being asked to pay for an IUI up front, when IUI had never been discussed. It was later told to me by the nurse that Dr. Lebovic had charted this was the next step. This was not communicated to my husband or I prior to the appointment and obviously not by Dr. Lebovic. I requested a call from Dr. Lebovic and never did receive an apology.
[At Center for Reproductive Medicine] A recommended change in care plan was not communicated to me by the doctor but rather by requesting me to pay my out of pocket portion of the next procedure that had never been talked about. I was not taught how to administer my ovidrel. They sent my prescription to an incorrect pharmacy...They put the incorrect appointment time for my husbands sample and my IUI, even though they had written the agreed upon time on my take home sheet. They are often behind schedule 15 minutes to 30 minutes.
Age
33
Treated
2017
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IUI
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Other
2
3
How was your experience with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
We received poor communication regarding the treatment plan as well as diagnoses. Although compassionate in the first and only meeting, I do not feel that he is even directing my care due to the nurses making the care plan after a follow up and then checking with Dr. Lebovic later.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Inquire at your initial meeting regarding his communication regarding the treatment plan as well as his direct incolvement with follow up appointments.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
A change in my care plan was presented to me at check-in by being asked to pay for an IUI up front, when IUI had never been discussed. It was later told to me by the nurse that Dr. Lebovic had charted this was the next step. This was not communicated to my husband or I prior to the appointment and obviously not by Dr. Lebovic. I requested a call from Dr. Lebovic and never did receive an apology.
Describe the protocols Dan Lebovic used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
I have no clue if a specific protocol is being used. Our first cycle with Dr. Lebovic was 7.5 mg of Femara days 3-5. Ultrasound CD 2 and 10. Ovidrel shot on CD 11.
Our second cycle was the same dosage of Femara then I was prescribed Follistim CD 7-9 with an ultrasound on CD 10. I was told to wait to trigger until CD 12, timed intercourse on CD 12 and IUI on CD 14.
We are in the middle of our third cycle. Same plan as cycle 2 except when I went for my ultrasound on CD10 they wanted me to continue Follistim through CD 13 and I go back on CD14 for another ultrasound.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
Poor customer service. Nobody introduces themselves nor do they answer the phone with their names. I'm constantly asking for more information regarding how other patients approach obtaining out of pocket medicines, prescriptions are sent to the wrong pharmacy, the nurse line is never answered which leads to leaving a voicemail which they do not listen to carefully and call back to "clarify" information that was left in the voicemail.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Customer service is a weakness. They do not answer phone with identifying themselves. They put the incorrect appointment time for my husbands sample and my IUI, even though they had written the agreed upon time on my take home sheet.
They are often behind schedule 15 minutes to 30 minutes.
I'm struggling to find a strength...they are open half days on weekends.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dan Lebovic at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
IUI - $284
Density Gradient- $388.70
Describe Dan Lebovic's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
NA
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Lost appointments
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Read less
8
8
Age
34 - 35
Treated
2016 - 2017
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
8
8
I trust Dr. Kuneck completely. He was willing to adjust the treatment plan to what I felt like my body needed and he was genuinely disappointed along with us when our transfer didn't work. He was optimistic but also direct, and I appreciate his candor. He's very experienced and I value his insight.... You won't see him very much! Take the opportunities to have consults with him even if you don't think you need them. Know that he is making all of your care decisions.
You do see a different nurse [at Center for Reproductive Medicine] pretty much every time you're in, which makes it hard to build a relationship with your day to day caregivers. However all except one were extremely kind and thoughtful to me. In particular the nurses on retrieval and transfers were amazing... Billing and the business end is very efficient and straightforward. they do everything over the phone which can be tough if you're working a standard desk job, I wish they would do some things online.
Age
34 - 35
Treated
2016 - 2017
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$200K - $499K
Occupation
Marketer or PR
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
8
8
How was your experience with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I trust Dr. Kuneck completely. He was willing to adjust the treatment plan to what I felt like my body needed and he was genuinely disappointed along with us when our transfer didn't work. He was optimistic but also direct, and I appreciate his candor. He's very experienced and I value his insight.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
You won't see him very much! Take the opportunities to have consults with him even if you don't think you need them. Know that he is making all of your care decisions.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr Kuneck is very forthright but also kind and genuinely cares about his patients' success. The nursing staff in general is also very kind, but you see a different nurse/ultrasound tech every time you're in so it's hard to build a relationship with the caregivers you see daily. However Dr. Kuneck personally reviews your chart daily and makes all decisions about your care.
Describe the protocols Paul Kuneck used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
First cycle: standard Lupron cycle, cancelled after only one large follicle developed. Diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve.
Second cycle: microdose lupron flare cycle, retrieved five mature eggs from three follicles, one fertilized, transferred three day embryo. Negative pregnancy test.
Third cycle (in progress): natural antagonist cycle (no birth control per my request).
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
You do see a different nurse pretty much every time you're in, which makes it hard to build a relationship with your day to day caregivers. However all except one were extremely kind and thoughtful to me. In particular the nurses on retrieval and transfers were amazing.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
It's a busy clinic with a good success rate; they know what they're doing! Billing and the business end is very efficient and straightforward. they do everything over the phone which can be tough if you're working a standard desk job, I wish they would do some things online. You always see different care providers which can make you feel a little like a number. But you're in and out in a short amount of time. Plus they pay for parking!
Describe the costs associated with your care under Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Approximately $10k out of pocket for IVF itself, which you can submit to insurance for reimbursement (I got some dollars back). My insurance covers monitoring and bloodwork as well as medications.
Describe Paul Kuneck's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Dr Kuneck talked to us about the risks and rewards of multiple embryo transfer, and shared with us that at my age, the risks of a multiples pregnancy (bedrest, prematurity, etc) were about equivalent to the increased rate of success. My husband and I are both not interested in twins, and appreciated his frank feedback and advice.
- Read less
7
8
Age
38 - 40
Treated
2015 - 2017
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
2 IUI, 3 IVF
Diagnosis
Anovulation, Male Factor, Poor Egg Quality, Unexplained
7
8
he [Dr. Campbell] admitted when he didn't know why things weren't working! He was willing to be as aggressive with treatment as we wanted. And I think he does truly care about his patients... At consults, he took the time to answer questions and address concerns and was ready to adjust treatment plans when things weren't working... He is very busy and wait times for consults and cycle starts can run 3+ months.
i did have to call and request test results [at Center for Reproductive Medicine] once. However, my doctor was on vacation and I think that is where the delay was. When I inquired regarding the results another doctor did call me that same day...Very busy. Wait times for consults or cycle starts are usually 3+ months. However, all the doctors I've had contact with have been great and many of the nurses are too. They run a tight schedule - appointments for ultrasounds and blood draws are usually right on time and you'll be in and out in no time.
Age
38 - 40
Treated
2015 - 2017
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
2 IUI, 3 IVF
Diagnosis
Anovulation, Male Factor, Poor Egg Quality, Unexplained
7
8
How was your experience with Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I think Dr. Campbell is a good doctor. At consults, he took the time to answer questions and address concerns and was ready to adjust treatment plans when things weren't working. And, he admitted when he didn't know why things weren't working! He was willing to be as aggressive with treatment as we wanted. And I think he does truly care about his patients. After our 2nd cycle with nothing to transfer, I thanked him when leaving our consult. He stopped and looked at me with sincere compassion and said, "don't thank me, I haven't gotten you pregnant yet. You can thank me when I do".
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Be patient! He is very busy and wait times for consults and cycle starts can run 3+ months.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Only contact with Dr. Campbell was during office consults (either prior or post treatment cycle) and during some testing (SIS, trial transfer). He did call to personally deliver PGS testing results (2 of 3 cycles) and was willing to consult with me over the phone after failed cycles to answer immediate questions. All other contact is with nursing staff. I do wish I would have had more contact with Dr. Campbell, but am appreciative that he did not rush during consults, etc.
Describe the protocols Bruce Campbell used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
Cycle 1 - long Lupron, menopur, Gonal-f. All embryos arrested before reaching blastocyst stage.
Cycle 2- menopur, Gonal-f, ganirelix. Switched to antagonist to see if it would make a difference with egg quality. 2 embryos reached blastocyst stage and were PGS tested abnormal.
Cycle 3 - menopur, Follistim, ganirelix, HGH, prednisone, testosterone cream. One embryo reached blastocyst stage and was PGS tested normal.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nursing staff seems very busy and,at times, can seem annoyed with questions, etc. Some of them seem guarded with your medical information - for instance, not willing to give up information regarding estradiol levels and follicle counts (I was told on more than one occasion, "you don't need to worry about it."). It is frustrating that you may not see the same nurse more than once in s treatment cycle.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Very busy. Wait times for consults or cycle starts are usually 3+ months. However, all the doctors I've had contact with have been great and many of the nurses are too. They run a tight schedule - appointments for ultrasounds and blood draws are usually right on time and you'll be in and out in no time.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call with results
- Read less
10
10
Age
42
Treated
2017
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
5 IUI
Diagnosis
PCOS
10
10
Dr. Damario personally meets with you to explain your treatment options...From my first time meeting Dr. Damario, I knew he was a caring doctor. Compared to my first doctor, he is much more hands on with my care. I have seen him more in my one IUI cycle than I saw my other doctor in my 4 IUI's. Dr. Damario takes the time to explain things to you to make sure you understand the course of action. I highly recommend him...For my one IUI cycle with Dr. Damario, we used Gonal-F (150 IU) and then Ovidril. We decided to go with this route because this is what worked in my last IUI which resulted in my son with a different doctor. This worked again as I got pregnant right away and we found out it was twins. Unfortunately, we lost the twins at 8 weeks gestation.
Strengths [at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota] are that they will see you on the weekend so no time is wasted with waiting extra days. However, if you are at the St. Paul clinic, you will need to go to Minneapolis for your weekend appointments...You just have to stay on top of them to ensure they are sending in proper insurance paperwork in a timely manner. Weakness is that they only see you for certain procedures during the weekend. So if your baseline ultrasound ends up happening on a weekend, they will prefer you do it during a week day.
Age
42
Treated
2017
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
South Asian
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Marketer or PR
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
5 IUI
Diagnosis
PCOS
10
10
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
From my first time meeting Dr. Damario, I knew he was a caring doctor. Compared to my first doctor, he is much more hands on with my care. I have seen him more in my one IUI cycle than I saw my other doctor in my 4 IUI's.
Dr. Damario takes the time to explain things to you to make sure you understand the course of action.
I highly recommend him.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Make sure you ask lots of questions.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Damario personally meets with you to explain your treatment options. Then when you do your first pregnancy ultrasound, he is the one who does it (NOT a nurse).
Describe the protocols Mark Damario used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
For my one IUI cycle with Dr. Damario, we used Gonal-F (150 IU) and then Ovidril. We decided to go with this route because this is what worked in my last IUI which resulted in my son with a different doctor. This worked again as I got pregnant right away and we found out it was twins. Unfortunately, we lost the twins at 8 weeks gestation.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
I have had mostly wonderful experiences with the nursing staff. They are kind and understanding. The only big hurdle I've run into was getting approval from my new insurance this year and having the nurses send in the proper paperwork for approval in a timely manner. Other than that, all previous interactions have been very good.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Strengths are that they will see you on the weekend so no time is wasted with waiting extra days. However, if you are at the St. Paul clinic, you will need to go to Minneapolis for your weekend appointments. Dr. Damario is great and the nursing staff are also mostly great. You just have to stay on top of them to ensure they are sending in proper insurance paperwork in a timely manner.
Weakness is that they only see you for certain procedures during the weekend. So if your baseline ultrasound ends up happening on a weekend, they will prefer you do it during a week day.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I'm covered by insurance so I have a $30 co-pay almost every time I go in. I am unsure what the other costs are.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Lost paperwork
- Read less
8
10
Age
30 - 31
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
6 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor
8
10
Dr. Damario decided to change my dosages on my meds and add in Ganirelix in hopes that I would produced more mature eggs and prevent any premature ovulation. ... He was very nice and personable and explained everything to my husband and I in great detail. Even though he was quiet I felt like he was to the point and made sure we understood everything. ....
My monitoring appointments were always in the morning as then it gave time for the doctor to review everything and then make any necessary medicine dosage changes or anything like that. It was very much a well-run clinic [CRMM] and never did it feel like you were the next in line. ... The staff is really there to help you and they want the best outcome for their patients. Never once did they make me feel like I was being a burden and they always answered any questions I had.
Age
30 - 31
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
6 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor
8
10
How was your experience with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He was a very good doctor. I was scheduled with him after I had to reschedule my appointment from another doctor at the clinic. He was very nice and personable and explained everything to my husband and I in great detail. Even though he was quiet I felt like he was to the point and made sure we understood everything. He took the time to answer all of our questions and address our concerns.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Don't be afraid to ask questions. He is quiet but very personable.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Damario was quiet but explained everything very well. He always answered my questions and never did I feel like I was being a burden to him. He was to the point and never gave any sense of false hope.
Describe the protocols Mark Damario used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
My first protocol I was on Lupron, Menopur, and Follistim. After the first retrieval I produced 17 eggs, 10 were mature and 8 fertilized. Unfortunately we were left with no embryos after our genetic testing was done. For my next egg retrieval Dr. Damario decided to change my dosages on my meds and add in Ganirelix in hopes that I would produced more mature eggs and prevent any premature ovulation. At my retrieval we got 15 eggs, 13 were mature and 10 fertilized. After both retrievals and genetic testing we were left with 2 genetically normal embryos.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The nurses and staff were the ones who I/we dealt with the most. We had the most communication between us and they could not have been more great. They always made sure our questions were answered and our concerns were addressed. Because I live about 2 hours away from them they were always so good about communication and accommodating when needed.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The staff is really there to help you and they want the best outcome for their patients. Never once did they make me feel like I was being a burden and they always answered any questions I had. They were so helpful in so many ways and they really made you feel comfortable and that you mattered. When you're dealing with infertility the last thing you want to feel is as if you're just another number. The staff really treated me well.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
My monitoring appointments were always in the morning as then it gave time for the doctor to review everything and then make any necessary medicine dosage changes or anything like that. It was very much a well-run clinic and never did it feel like you were the next in line.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mark Damario at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The costs were broken down into monitoring, procedures, and they gave estimates on what medications and genetic testing would cost. They also had the embryo storage cost information.
Describe Mark Damario's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We did discuss the risks about transferring 2 vs 1 and ultimately the decision was left up to myself and my husband.
- Read less
10
10
Age
29 - 31
Treated
2014 - 2016
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
1 IUI, 1 IVF, 1 Egg Freezing, 1 Embryo Freezing
Diagnosis
Endometriosis, Uterine Fibroids
10
10
Dr. Erickson was very patient and kind. She always had a smile on her face, and she was always very optimistic. She was truthful, but caring. I felt in very good hands with Dr. Erickson.... Dr. Erickson was the first doctor we met with at CRM back in 2014. She explained that I should have a laparoscopy as a first step to confirm if I did or did not have endometriosis. Once I found that out, she advised we jump right into IVF, because outcomes are best.
Overall, CRM did a great job, and we of course were so grateful for our positive outcome. I do think they could show more compassion and grace while dealing with patients that have so much riding on their care. I think that the doctors are smart, and their protocols have worked for many of my friends, including us. Also, when my daughter was born, I sent a birth announcement, and I heard crickets. I really do think the least they could do is send a congratulations card.
Age
29 - 31
Treated
2014 - 2016
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Marketer or PR
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 3 Docs
Treatment
1 IUI, 1 IVF, 1 Egg Freezing, 1 Embryo Freezing
Diagnosis
Endometriosis, Uterine Fibroids
10
10
How was your experience with Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Erickson was the first doctor we met with at CRM back in 2014. She explained that I should have a laparoscopy as a first step to confirm if I did or did not have endometriosis. Once I found that out, she advised we jump right into IVF, because outcomes are best. We were hesitant because of the cost, but she really seemed to push IVF. At first, we didn't appreciate the strong push, but once our IUI cycle failed, we decided to look into IVF. She was always very encouraging and compassionate. She was always hopeful and she seemed to have a very positive outlook for us.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Ask questions and take notes, and see if there is anything that would work before the cost of IVF. I think the best advice is to get educated on all of the terminology and scenarios.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Erickson was very patient and kind. She always had a smile on her face, and she was always very optimistic. She was truthful, but caring. I felt in very good hands with Dr. Erickson.
Describe the protocols Lisa Erickson used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
I initially had two laparoscopies to excise the endometriosis. We then tried for six months with no luck, and tried IUI. IUI was not recommended, but we wanted to try anyways. We did a pretty straight and simple cycle with egg monitoring and a trigger shot. I had two mature eggs, and the cycle failed. We waited two months before we decided on IVF. When we went in for our IVF consultation it was January, and they didn't have an opening for a retrieval until May. I started birth control in late February, and then Lupron. I then used Menopur and Follistim. I was closely monitored and my eggs weren't where they should be, so we bumped up everything. I had my retrieval in early May, where I had 12 eggs retrieved. We decided before the cycle, that if I had anything more than 12 eggs, we were going to freeze the eggs, and just fertilize the 12 to limit the amount of embryos. We ended up with a perfect dozen, and of that 12, 8 were mature, and by day five we had three viable embryos. I used Minivalle patches and Endometrin. I feel like I had a pretty standard protocol, and we were happy with the outcome. We transferred one on day five and nine months later, our miracle daughter was born! We have two embryos on ice and we are just deciding on when would be a good time to grow our family again.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
They seem distant and not engaged. I truly wish they had more compassion and empathy. It seemed like they were disengaged and just there doing their job. Going through fertility treatments is so emotionally exhausting that I wish that the nurses were more engaged.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Overall, CRM did a great job, and we of course were so grateful for our positive outcome. I do think they could show more compassion and grace while dealing with patients that have so much riding on their care. I think that the doctors are smart, and their protocols have worked for many of my friends, including us.
Also, when my daughter was born, I sent a birth announcement, and I heard crickets. I really do think the least they could do is send a congratulations card. We have spent so much money and time, and there was no response. For example, I sent a birth announcement to my acupuncturist, and they sent a card and a Onsie. I just think CRM's overall customer experience could be upped, especially when people have poured their heart, soul, time energy and cash here.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
It was a well-oiled machine. I never had to wait more than five minutes. I really appreciated how efficient they kept appointments.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Cycle Monitoring
Medications
Lab Work
All said and done it was around $15,000
Describe Lisa Erickson's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Our doctor strongly encouraged a single embryo transfer for the fresh cycle. For FET, she encourages multiples.
- Read less
7
8
Age
26 - 27
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
5 IUI
Diagnosis
Endometriosis
7
8
Each couple's infertility story is different and unique. Dr. Erickson takes that into consideration when creating a diagnosis and treatment plan. She was careful with her words and very sympathetic when she was explaining our diagnosis and our odds of conceiving.... Before leaving that appointment, we had a diagnosis, a surgery date set up, and a tentative treatment plan....I did 2 IUI's following the same protocol and then it was recommended we do IVF.
Making appointments for anything (ultrasounds, blood work, doctor visits) is easy. Many same day appointments available. The waiting room [Ctr for Repro Med of MN] is very cozy and inviting and doesn't make it seem like you are at a "clinic."... Our total IVF cost included ICSI and genetic testing. Freezing remaining embryos was not included. Medications were not included either. We were quoted around $15,000 for one IVF session
Age
26 - 27
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
?
Race
Other
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 3 Docs
Treatment
5 IUI
Diagnosis
Endometriosis
7
8
How was your experience with Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
During our consultation, Dr. Erickson made sure she explained everything in terms we understood. She came in the ultrasound room with me and explained everything she was seeing, instead of waiting for her to read the results and tell us at another appointment. Before leaving that appointment, we had a diagnosis, a surgery date set up, and a tentative treatment plan. It was information overload but everything we have been waiting to hear. We finally got answers.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Ask lots of questions. You will go over a lot of information in a short period of time. Think of questions before your appointment and bring that list with you.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Each couple's infertility story is different and unique. Dr. Erickson takes that into consideration when creating a diagnosis and treatment plan. She was careful with her words and very sympathetic when she was explaining our diagnosis and our odds of conceiving.
Describe the protocols Lisa Erickson used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
During our consultation, we set up a surgery date and a tentative treatment plan following surgery. After surgery, I was prescribed Femara and ovidrel injection, along with IUI. I did 2 IUI's following the same protocol and then it was recommended we do IVF. With Stage 4 endometriosis, your odds of conceiving on your own is very low.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
They all worked as a team with their doctors. Appointments ran quick and smooth.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Making appointments for anything (ultrasounds, blood work, doctor visits) is easy. Many same day appointments available. The waiting room is very cozy and inviting and doesn't make it seem like you are at a "clinic."
Describe the costs associated with your care under Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
Our total IVF cost included ICSI and genetic testing. Freezing remaining embryos was not included. Medications were not included either. We were quoted around $15,000 for one IVF session
Describe Lisa Erickson's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We didn't get this far into our treatment yet.
- Read less
1
2
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
PCOS, Poor Egg Quality, Unexplained
1
2
I felt like a number at CRM. During my 3 IUI cycles and my IVF cycle I never saw my doctor [Dr. Lisa Erickson] one time. I had an issue with Lupron, and with that was able to speak with my Dr. on the phone. At one point during my IVF cycle monitoring a polyp was found on my cervix. This was very scary as I didn't want my cycle to be canceled. After my appointment I was leaving the exam room and heard a nurse say 'ya you can just throw that cervical polyp chart over there'.
After my appointment I was leaving the exam room and heard a nurse [at CRM] say 'ya you can just throw that cervical polyp chart over there'. This made me feel even more like a number, like I wasn't being treated with any type of customization and that they honestly didn't care if I got pregnant or not. I ended up getting pregnant, which of course I can't complain about, but I wouldn't choose this clinic again.
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
No
Race
Prefer not to answer
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
PCOS, Poor Egg Quality, Unexplained
1
2
How was your experience with Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Erickson was compassionate and friendly, but I never saw her besides during our initial consult so I don't feel like I can evaluate her. But since I have to use 200 characters I will say, that if a clinic is so busy, that their doctors don't even see a patient through their treatment, then they should take on less patients. Why even have a doctor?
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
See your patients during their cycles so they feel confident. My doctor is now retired so it doesn't really matter, but I'm sure CRM still operates like this.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
I felt like a number at CRM. During my 3 IUI cycles and my IVF cycle I never saw my doctor one time. I had an issue with Lupron, and with that was able to speak with my Dr. on the phone. At one point during my IVF cycle monitoring a polyp was found on my cervix. This was very scary as I didn't want my cycle to be canceled. After my appointment I was leaving the exam room and heard a nurse say 'ya you can just throw that cervical polyp chart over there'. This made me feel even more like a number, like I wasn't being treated with any type of customization and that they honestly didn't care if I got pregnant or not. I ended up getting pregnant, which of course I can't complain about, but I wouldn't choose this clinic again.
Describe the protocols Lisa Erickson used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
During my 3 IUI cycles I too femara to stimulate follicle growth. During my last cycle I had NINE measurable follicles (it still didn't work). During my IVF cycle I was on follistim, menepur and lupron. I only produced 7 follicles. It seems like if I was able to produce so many by just taking a pill, that I should have produced a lot more by the invasive injectables. My Dr. and I weren't on the same page as far as a goal for eggs. Again, we're thankful it worked, but have no eggs frozen which means another round of IVF.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
I had a different nurse at each visit, so no primary. Also as I mentioned previously from the comments I overheard from a nurse, it's obvious they treat their patients as numbers and not real people.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
CRM has a high success rate, which is the whole point of fertility treatment so that's great. Patients are treated like numbers so if you're someone who needs compassion and to build a relationship with your doctor, this isn't the place for you. Nurses show no compassion and cycle you in and out quickly. I don't feel like treatment is customized.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Lisa Erickson at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We purchased the attine program for about $22,000
Describe Lisa Erickson's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We transfered one embroy which is all we had.
- Read less
6
4
Age
36
Treated
2016
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor
6
4
CRM is the busiest fertility clinic in Minneapolis with a high patient volume. Despite the countless office visits and appointments, it still felt as though I was a stranger to the staff...My results were never communicated to me. I had to call and ask to get my FSH, AMH, LSH, Prolactin, and Estradiol levels. I also was never told what my lining measurement was after my first retrieval. After I began reading chat boards online, I soon realized that these should be common knowledge to the patient...The nurses were great. They were always available to answer questions. I rarely saw the same nurse twice, so I never felt like any of them really knew me. But one nurse in particular (Theresa) was amazing. I was fortunate enough to have her 2 or 3 times. She was so caring and supportive. She listened to my concerns, and really helped ease any worries or fears I may have had.
Dr. Kuneck is very intelligent and was thorough when we actually saw him. However, that was not often. We mostly communicated with the nurses and other staff. Our only embryo transfer (which failed) was not performed by him, but rather a doctor I had never even met. My egg retrieval also was performed by another doctor in the clinic. The lack of presence was something I did not anticipate when we initially chose him as our RE. I had hoped for a doctor who was more hands on and who was more directly involved with us throughout the entire process.
Age
36
Treated
2016
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Nurse or HC Services
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 2 Docs
Treatment
1 IVF
Diagnosis
Male Factor
6
4
How was your experience with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Dr. Kuneck is very intelligent and was thorough when we actually saw him. However, that was not often. We mostly communicated with the nurses and other staff. Our only embryo transfer (which failed) was not performed by him, but rather a doctor I had never even met. My egg retrieval also was performed by another doctor in the clinic. The lack of presence was something I did not anticipate when we initially chose him as our RE. I had hoped for a doctor who was more hands on and who was more directly involved with us throughout the entire process.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
You really need to be our own advocate. Do your research and question any and everything you are doubting or concerned about.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
CRM is the busiest fertility clinic in Minneapolis with a high patient volume. Despite the countless office visits and appointments, it still felt as though I was a stranger to the staff.
Describe the protocols Paul Kuneck used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
For my retrieval, I initially was put on BCPs for 2-3 weeks, then lupron for 10 days, menopur, and Gonal F. This seems to be their go-to protocol. Fortunately, I responded well to the meds and didn't need any tweaking. They retrieved 19 eggs, 12 mature.
For my FET cycle, again did BCPs for over a month. Once stopped, started lupron, then added estrace orally 3 times a day. Also 1 low dose aspirin. I started Progesterone in oil 5 days before transfer. This time I didn't respond well to the protocol, as my lining wasn't getting thick enough. I only measured 6.1 mm on day 14, so my transfer date was pushed out a week. They increased my estrace to 3 2mg tablets orally and 1 vaginally at night. On day 21, I measured 7.6 mm which they seemed to be satisfied with. I was very concerned that my lining wasn't thick enough, and suggested that maybe we cancel. We only had one embryo, so I wanted every precaution to be taken. I was told not to worry, that my lining was just fine. We went ahead and transferred our only beautiful, hatching embie, which resulted in a negative pregnancy.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The nurses were great. They were always available to answer questions. I rarely saw the same nurse twice, so I never felt like any of them really knew me. But one nurse in particular (Theresa) was amazing. I was fortunate enough to have her 2 or 3 times. She was so caring and supportive. She listened to my concerns, and really helped ease any worries or fears I may have had.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I think this clinic is best for those who are the typical infertility case. Those who require a different and more customized approach, would do better elsewhere.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Paul Kuneck at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
We did 1 cycle of IVF with ICSI, 1 MicroTESE surgery and 1TESE surgery for my husband, egg freezing, embryo freezing, and 1 Frozen Embryo Transfer. Total our costs were upward of $30,000.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Failed to call with results
- Provided conflicting information
- Read less
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
0
0
Age
36 - 37
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
4 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
0
0
He [Dr. Campbell] was friendly and had good bedside manner. We trusted him as a doctor....until we had two back to back transfer failures of PGS normal embryos and he didn't want to make any changes to our protocol. Just wanted to keep doing the same thing. I was the one who had to do all the research on things to try and bring ideas to him, most of which he shot down and seemed unwilling to do...
The only strength [of the nurses at Ctr for Repro Med - Minnie] I can think of is timely responses to messages/voice mails, and a few of them showed compassion and caring. Most of them seemed to just want to get your visit/phone call/etc. over with so that they could get to the next person...This clinic puts everyone on birth control pills for both retrieval and transfers, in order to control your body to fit their schedule. For me, and for many other women, birth control pills wreak havoc on our emotional well being. So you will be an emotional mess while you wait two months on your birth control pills so you can fit into their schedule...
Age
36 - 37
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
No
Race
—
Income
$200K - $499K
Occupation
Operations
Order & Number of Docs Seen
3rd of 4 Docs
Treatment
4 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Unexplained
0
0
How was your experience with Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He was friendly and had good bedside manner. We trusted him as a doctor....until we had two back to back transfer failures of PGS normal embryos and he didn't want to make any changes to our protocol. Just wanted to keep doing the same thing. I was the one who had to do all the research on things to try and bring ideas to him, most of which he shot down and seemed unwilling to do.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
This clinic and doctor are very standardized - they put every patient on the same protocol and rarely change it, even if it's not working. If that's the situation you want to be in, by all means go to this clinic and doctor.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Long wait times to get on their schedule for retrieval, transfer, etc. They obviously had a much bigger patient load then can appropriately carry. Not a single person there from receptionists, doctors, and nurses ever remembered your name, despite going there nearly daily at some points in the retrieval cycle. Not a single person ever asked me how I was doing with everything and their attitude was generally get em in and get em out.
Describe the protocols Bruce Campbell used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
For egg retrieval: priming with birth control pills, then lupron, then stim with menopur and gonal f. No cetrotide/ganirelix. HCG trigger.
For frozen transfer: birth control pills, then lupron, then prepare with estrace pills (worked up to 2mg three times a day), PIO injections after lining check. Baby aspirin.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff.
The only strength I can think of is timely responses to messages/voice mails, and a few of them showed compassion and caring. Most of them seemed to just want to get your visit/phone call/etc. over with so that they could get to the next person.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
This clinic puts everyone on birth control pills for both retrieval and transfers, in order to control your body to fit their schedule. For me, and for many other women, birth control pills wreak havoc on our emotional well being. So you will be an emotional mess while you wait two months on your birth control pills so you can fit into their schedule.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
28k not including meds.
What specific things went wrong at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Read less