Dr. Loy is very personable and takes the time to get to know you and your situation...He carefully reviewed all lab and procedure results to carefully select a treatment plan that he thought would be most beneficial for our specific situation...For our first retrieval we followed an antagonist protocol...After my first blood draw we dropped the Menopur to 150iu and added in Ganirelix. Follistim stayed the same the entire protocol.
Our care team has taken the time to get to know us personally from making appointments work with our work schedules to calling post-op to check in on how we were feeling. Never once have I felt like we were "just another couple" seeking fertility treatments...CRM has their main clinic facility in Winter Park with an attached surgery center for most procedures...they would return the call that same business day unless the call was made after 3:30pm and not time sensitive
How was your experience with Randall Loy at Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando?
Dr. Loy is very personable and takes the time to get to know you and your situation. He took the time to answer the many questions we had about the different options available to us. He carefully reviewed all lab and procedure results to carefully select a treatment plan that he thought would be most beneficial for our specific situation. When it came to deciding if we would do PGT-A testing on any embryos we had frozen, he had originally recommended against it. Ultimately we decided it was the best option for our family and he supported our decision. I respect the medical decisions and options he set before us because I know that ultimately, he wants us to achieve a successful pregnancy and will do whatever he can to get us there, even if it means adding in additional testing/procedures before transferring one of our precious frozen embryos.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Randall Loy at Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando?
Have your list of questions ready. Dr Loy is a well respected reproductive endocrinologist in our area and will take the time to hear you. Don't be afraid to ask the big, important questions. Be patient. It's very possible that he will add in testing or procedures to your protocol. Don't take that as a negative, see it as a positive. He is doing his best to ensure a viable environment for a healthy pregnancy. Do the PGT-A testing on your embryos, even if he says you'd be okay without it. It will give you peace of mind to know that your embryos are viable for transfer.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Randall Loy at Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando?
During any treatment cycle, any appointment, I felt seen. It didn't matter if it was with Dr. Loy, one of the nurses, or one of the other doctors...I could tell there was genuine compassion for meeting the needs of myself and my partner. Our care team has taken the time to get to know us personally from making appointments work with our work schedules to calling post-op to check in on how we were feeling. Never once have I felt like we were "just another couple" seeking fertility treatments.
Describe the protocols Randall Loy used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando and their degree of success.
For our first retrieval we followed an antagonist protocol. We started off with 225iu of Menopur in the morning and 225iu of Follistim in the evening. After my first blood draw we dropped the Menopur to 150iu and added in Ganirelix. Follistim stayed the same the entire protocol. We used Lupron and Pregnyl for trigger shots. These were not prefilled syringes (the trigger shots) and were difficult for us newbies. The cycle led to 16 follicles, but only 8 eggs were retrieved. Of those 8, 5 matured and 3 fertilized. We ended up with one PGT-A tested normal embryo.
We consulted with our care team afterwards and made some slight adjustments for our second retrieval. We lowered Menopur to 75iu and kept Follistim at 225iu. Ganirelix was added on day 4 of stims and we triggered with Lupron and Ovidrel (this time prefilled syringes). Our hope was that by starting with lower doses of Menopur, my follicles would be able to grow around the same rate thus providing us with more eggs to retrieve. On my retrieval day we got 9 eggs. Of those 9, 3 matured and 3 fertilized. We sent off two of the three for PGT-A testing are awaiting those results.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando. (Assigned nurse: Evelyn MacMillan)
The entire nursing staff, both in the clinic and their surgery center, show genuine compassion and care during treatment. Even when not in an active treatment cycle, they are available to answer any questions and schedule appointments. They take the time to check in to see how you are feeling (after a procedure), they ask if injections are going well, and are quick to return calls if they are not assisting other patients at the time. The nurses that I have had the privilege to work with have validated my feelings as they have both gone through similar treatments in the past. It was helpful and made me feel better to know I'm not alone in this. It also gave me hope for the outcome of my treatment cycles.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando.
CRM has their main clinic facility in Winter Park with an attached surgery center for most procedures. I found this surgery center to be extremely beneficial because it is easier to get scheduled in for procedures than going to a hospital. They also have a second location in Celebration which was helpful for me when trying to get early morning monitoring appointments that would affect my work schedule the least amount. All of the staff between both locations are extremely friendly and helpful. They are like an additional support group that are constantly rooting for you and your treatment cycle. When trying to get in touch with the staff, most of the time you will have to leave a voicemail and wait for them to return the call later that day. Sometimes I found that to be a tad bit frustrating because often times I had time sensitive questions that I wanted an answer to rather quickly. But, they would return the call that same business day unless the call was made after 3:30pm and not time sensitive. They do have an answering service that kicks in at 4:00pm and will forward your calls to the on-call nurse. Depending on the nature of your call, that nurse will either call you back the same day or the next.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Randall Loy at Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando.
The cost of one IVF cycle included embryo freezing, monitoring appointments, egg retrieval, embryology, PGT testing for up to 5 embryos, and freezing. This total cost would be around $15,000 and was expected to be paid upfront before a baseline appointment. If there were more than 5 embryos that were to be tested, the clinic would balance bill for each additional embryo. PGT-A cost was $350 per embryo + $100 flat shipping fee. The following were not included in our IVF cost breakdown, but were required: medications were predicted to cost between $4,000-$6,000. The facility fee for the retrieval is $1,000 and anesthesia for the retrieval started at $500 for the first 30 minutes and would go up to $750 ($125 for each additional 15 minutes). Storage fee for embryos is $60/quarter. Hysteroscopy was $1,650 plus an $800 facility fee. This is considered diagnostic and could potentially be billable to insurance. CRM also included a breakdown of FET fees that we will be responsible for when the time comes. Medications for the FET are expected to be anywhere from $1,000-$2,000. Transfer day is approximately $4,210 plus a $900 facility fee. This does not include any monitoring appointments or HCG tests. Of course with any clinic, these prices will vary per couple as each couple’s treatment protocol will be different. Because I am a teacher, we were also able to qualify for a small discount on our overall IVF cycle fee.
Describe Randall Loy's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando.
We have not reached out FET yet, but Dr. Loy will most likely recommend transferring one embryo at a time since we have three frozen embryos.
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Clinic
Center for Reproductive Medicine Orlando
Orlando