Simple IVF Centers - San Luis Obispo Fertility Center

First visit was great. He was approachable answered all of our questions. Made us feel comfortable. But once a plan was decided and treatment started it became hard to understand what was happening. When it comes to medical procedures I want to actually talk to someone and Dr.Steinleitner mainly communicates by email. Which I understand but when my questions weren't being answered and/or I wasn't understanding something I would call and was instructed to email. Every appointment was different sometimes he was great and other times he was very serious and brief. But, always in a hurry to complete our appointment and move on to the next patient. Sometimes he made me feel uncomfortable. At an appointments after completing a round of clomid and not getting pregnant, he asked me why I wasn't crying. I expressed to him that, even though I was sad I also trusted the process and was kind to myself. He proceeded to tell me that, he found that weird because all the women he has helped always cry when something doesn't go as planned. That made me confused. We took a break after 3rd clomid failed cycle. When we returned a few years later to talk about our options and he seemed annoyed, that we just had questions. That time we didn't move forward. His website was misleading, regarding differen't procedure costs. This year we returned again, hopeful, and first appointment was great with him. He actually answered all of our questions and seemed excited. Went over plan, procedure and cost with us. So will see.

Know your health history. Ask questions and don't be intimidated to do so. He is very arrogant and confident. Take notes. He will look at you like your crazy but do it. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself.

First time we went we did 3 cycles of clomid. Before we got started he had my husband complete a semen analysis, I completed blood work to check my ovarian reserve, endocrine panel and if I had any infectious disease. I also completed a hysterosalpingogram. He then gave me a calendar to follow for treatment. Before he ever went over any results from test completed. He prescribed 3 clomid 50mg tablets by mouth at bedtime, scheduled me once for an ultrasound told me when to have timed intercourse and told me to take pregnancy test two weeks after. Then I was instructed to email him with results. During the 3rd cycle he added an injection that I would have to administering once he gave me instruction to do so. I ordered and paid $100 to get it, right away. When we had our follow up appointment for an ultrasound. He told us that we needed to again buy a different injection that he had at the office and when I told him about the previous one that he had instructed me to buy, he said that the one he had at the office was better because it was already prepared. But that ultimately it was my choice. Even though we had the other one with us. And so we paid $100 again for the new injection. After that I took a break when 3rd cycle trying with clomid and injection didn't work. Treatment for all 3 where the same. No changes and was only seen once for an ultrasound. Second time we went in to discuss and ask questions about a procedure outlined on his website. He seemed annoyed and disconnected. I asked about a previous email he had send after my husbands sperm function test came back in the abnormal range and so there was a male contribution to our longstanding infertility. But he said that was nothing to worry about. We didn't continue that time. This year we decided to start again, made appointment was seen in January. Talked about mini IVF. What I understood it's like IVF but less doctor visits and smaller doses of medication. At that appointment he completed an ultrasound. Ordered blood work, gave me list of medications that I would be ordering. Asked to complete another sperm analysis and arranged my calendar for treatment. Never asked about my period or gave me results until I bugged by email. I decided to move treatment until he went over all my results from all the test he requested to complete for my husband and myself.

I don't remember the previous appointment cost. But my current cost so far for a "mini" IVF treatment is: Husbands lab work $212.00 Husbands semen analysis $250 <specimen mailed in> My blood work for foresight carrier screening $349.00 Blood work for me: $363.10 Medication (Menopur, Ganirelix Acetate and leuprolide): $1, 206.00 Medication (doxycyline tablets, dexamethasone, HCG injection and estradiol tablets): $141.10 Consultation with ultrasound: $175.00 Mini IVF: $ 3,400 Basic IVF Laboratory services: $1,050 IVF anesthesia: $400 ICSI Sperm microinjection: $1,000 But doctor gave me total of cost for procedure, financial personnel gave me different cost and my online portal gives me a different cost.

He had a script to explain things and he stuck to it; it was easy to understand. He is blunt, which is fine. I just never felt like he cared about me as a patient, I just felt more like someone in the masses of patients he was seeing.

I would not go and see him or use his office unless you know what ever possible step of your treatment should be beforehand (which of course, you won't). They will overlook things, give conflicting information and let you slip through the cracks because the San Luis Obispo office is very, very unorganized and mismanaged. If you do choose to go here, as it is the only place other than SB in our area, please be extremely persistant in asking questions and following up.

I was told I have PCOS after testing. I was given 5mg of letrozole for a number of days to stimulate ovulation. Then an HCG trigger shot. Then vaginal progesterone pills. The first cycle i did not know why I had to go in for the first ultrasound because no one explained why. The second one I was told I had two eggs and that I was ready for a trigger shot. No one had told me that the next step would be a trigger shot. At the same appointment the nurse told me that the Dr said that an IUI was recommended for us, despite not having being previously discussed. I asked if she was positive this was the case and was told 'yes'. Steinletner did not do my IUI, a woman did, who answered more questions than anyone else had so far. However, no one had ever entered the next steps on my calendar so she could answer no questions regarding meds and timing for things. The next month we did the same as above only I was told that I DID NOT need to do IUI, as our case did not need it. I questioned why I was told I needed to do IUI the month before and was told "i don't know" by the nurse. The next cycle was exactly the same only I asked for IUI, in the hopes it would help us get results, at that point Steinletner did my ultrasound (the first time he had ever been in the exam room with us) and said we could do the IUI but only if we did the Infection Disease screening for my husband... They had forgotten to get this done the first IUI. I asked why this happened and was told "I don't know".

We had BC/BS. IUI was 300, trigger shot about 150, utrasounds 19, office visit under 50; out of pocket with our insurance.

Dr Steinleitner is a professional person, and he is all business. He truly cares about his patients and whole he is not the most sensitive to emotional needs as some other doctors can be, his patients need to know that he always has their best interests in mind and that he will do all he can to make their success happen.

Don’t go to the doctor if you need therapy, go to a therapist. Dr. S. is scientific, precise, and he will not sugar coat the message, so get yourself ready for that.

We tried ovulation therapy for 3 cycles with no results. Then I tested positive for endometriosis so we went forward with 2 cycles of IVF. Those yielded one embryo. We will transfer it in November. I currently am under Lupron to treat endometriosis while awaiting the procedure. We are also exploring the use of donor eggs as our goal is two children.

The doctor reduced costs of medications by ordering them from overseas. The procedures are all expensive, but not when we compared them to two other doctors in California, it was about 60%.

We can’t transfer any more than one because they were genetically tested and they are abnormal

He has no bedside manner at all, makes granfiose vlaims and gets you to pay his fees. And then gets you next to nothing to show for huge amounts of debt. He told me one retrieval would net us enough embryos for all the kids I could possibly want, but I only have 1 in the freezer. He said I have a 60%chance my first try, so we'll see. Oh, and he forgot to order some of my meds, leading to a rush, a panic, and a ton of stress mid cycle

Be super thick skinned and take everything he says with a grain of salt

I had to go on bcp for a month, then menopur and follistim gor 12 days, ganirelix was added day 6. I was also on dexamethasone daily. I used pregnyl and breville to trigger. I feel I my cycle would have resulted in more embryos without the bcp

I paid for the drs fees and my meds first. $4900 for dr and $3k for meds. Then another $2200ish for embryology. $400 for anastesia. That covered the retrieval. I am doing FET to treat my endometriosis before transfer, so that is another $2900 for dr (was quoted $2200) $800 in meds, and $1500 to embryology. They also billed me in full, and still bill every already paid ultrasound to my insurance too. When asked they say it is legal and helps ckeep their costs down while helping me reach my deductable".

Not an issue for me, I only have 1 embryo

-Was able to be seen within a week and he was quick to respond to emails. -Was responsive to app via text message. _Was always gentle and showed compassion during face to face visits. -A better transition between Dr. would be recommended so that confusion with who is the Dr would be helpful.

Request documents of every procedure and ask questions.

Using the app was very helpful remind you when to take medication and what was next.

Consultation, lab work, medications, egg retrieval and transfer fee, embryologist fees

My doctor had strong feelings about transferring more than one embryo.

Dr. S is very straight forward with treatment and is always confident with each step, he gave me hope when i had 0 hope left, although he isnt one to be super compassionate you must go in with a thick skin knowing he wont be sugar coating anything. He didnt make me feel overwhelmed with anything and he didn’t make me spend money on extra things where he didnt see fit.

Go in with thick skin and ask all questions before treatment

My husband was diagnosed with azoospermia, so we did an micro tese a day before my egg retrieval followed by ICSI. To prep for egg retrieval we did menopur and ganirelix with a trigger for approximately 10 days. We did a frozen embryo transfer and got a positive but end result was chemical pregnancy, for our 2nd transfer we finally got our BFP and are waiting for our first ultrasound

Our treatmebt was roughly 15,000 and another 5,000 & up in medications/labfees/embryologist etc...

We decided to do 2 embryos for both transfers but doctor let us be the decision makers for that

While Dr. Steinleitner was personable, empathetic, and compassionate during consultations, and even helped us out with some of the pricing here and there, he was quite misleading and dishonest along the way. If you had a question he'd give a very confusing, quick, 1 sentence answer that left you with more questions. And if you pressed for more questions he'd get elusive, even angry. I never felt that I got the full amount of information necessary at each stage. Bad news was not delivered by him, and not always delivered at all, I found out that eggs he said were frozen were not and were actually deemed unusable! My last hopes were "just kidding - not actually there" and no one bothered to tell me! Finally, after 2 failed cycles, with no proposed change to treatment, additional testing, or explanation of his thought process, we asked some relevant, reasonable questions. He became hostile and refused to treat us or communicate with us further!

Do NOT see this doctor. Seek better care elsewhere!!!

First did 6 rounds of OI treatments. After they all failed he recommended IVF We did a "normal" round of IVF and out of 23 eggs only had 1 to transfer. After this he recommended INVOcell which was new to his practice. I had 4 embroyos, transferred 2, they failed. Then after that found out the other 2 were not actually viable as he said they were.

About $4000 for all OI cycles, about $15000 for "regular" IVF cycle + around $3000 for meds and about $4000 for INVOcell cycle + around $2000 for meds

He recommended 2 embryo transfer for us due to age (38) but first time we only had 1 to consider, second time we did do 2 embryos at day 3

I was referred to Dr. S by a friend who is a local OB/GYN and has also experienced infertility firsthand. He had just opened a satellite office in Fresno and it was good to have another option as we had already been to the only other fertility doctor in town. His pricing was very fair and reasonable. Based on our tax return he offered us a discount on his fees. Because we had been dealing with fertility and other health issues for quite some time we were able to convey to Dr. S. that we needed him to be straightforward with us at all times and he respected this wish. His bedside manner is unique. If you want someone to hand hold and comfort you then you'll be disappointed. He did show compassion. There were 1-2 instances where I felt like the communication could have been clearer. For example, at some point we only had 1 viable embryo. I'm not sure when this changed from 2 to 1 but we didn't find out until we were on our way back to the clinic to have the embryo transfer. Unfortunately, I ended up having a chemical pregnancy. The calls from the person in the office were very vague and disconnected. I took the first blood test on Christmas Eve and received a call stating I was kinda pregnant (I'm paraphrasing). I repeated the test a few days later and received another call indicating my number had dropped to zero. I understand the doctor was very busy but I believe we should have been asked if we wanted to schedule a follow up or if we at least knew how we wanted to proceed. There was no communication from the office after that call. In all honesty I felt like a number at that point but I don't know if that was just standard protocol. If I had not scheduled a follow up and asked specific questions I would not have known that I had a chemical pregnancy. If we were to move forward I'd feel comfortable working with Dr. S. again.

Hold everyone accountable. If someone says they will call and they don't, call them. Ask questions.

I don't remember the specifics of the protocol that was used. I don't have anything to compare to.

The protocol was in line with our wishes and everything was explained to us well in advance.

Alex is a doctor who is quite obviously passionate about his field and practice. He is very thorough with us and answers all of our questions in a respectful and easy to understand manner. He is very accommodating and traveled 4 hours to the clinic of our insurance's choice so our procedure would be covered. He also adjusted our treatment plan as needed when I was developing eggs slower than anticipated. When I had issues obtaining my medications through my insurance on time, he was so sweet and allowed us to get our medications in his office for free, and replace them with the drugs we received from my insurance the following week, so we wouldn't have to move our cycle dates. His prices are average to the industry and we are so happy we chose him to be our RE. I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone looking for an RE on the central coast or central valley. He has 2 offices. One in Fresno, CA and the other in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Don't think you can't get IVF because you can't afford it. While there are some upfront costs, Dr. Steinleitner's office is able to set up monthly payments for those who don't have insurance coverage and can't afford upfront costs.

Dr. Steinleitner was a nice guy, but as a doctor he seemed a little careless. I never felt that he had read my chart before entering the room to see me. He would walk in and say "ok, what are we doing today?" I wiuld answer "today we are doing a baseline ultrasound," or whatever, but in my head I was always thinking "why don't you tell me what the hell we're doing today?" Also, he didn't pay close attention to detail. I did three IUIs with him, and the first two were very painful because he used the wrong size speculum and got flustered that it wasn't working. On the third IUI, I had to remind him beforehand what size speculum to use and what do you know, that one went super smoothly. But perhaps the biggest issue I had with Steinleitner was that after a poor response from my first IVF cycle, he didn't try a different protocol. He put me on slightly stronger stims, but overall still pretty mild. I ended up having to cancel the second cycle, too, and he recommended we seek a second opinion. After going through an IVF cycle with a new doctor, Steinleitner's lack of attention to detail became even more apparent. The new doctor had me doing blood tests almost daily during the stims, and I didn't do any blood testing during the stim cycles with Steinleitner. Maybe if I had, he would have been able to detect the poor response sooner and course correct. Instead, thousands of dollars of meds went down the drain. The good thing about Steinleitner is that he was very sympathetic and he seemed to generally care and feel bad that he couldn't get us pregnant. His office has a policy where you pay half of the fee upon start of treatment, and you only pay the other half if you achieve a pregnancy. We didn't even make it to a retrieval so he ended up generously refunding almost our entire payment, save for the costs of ultrasounds. It was astounding, and we were incredibly greatful.

Dr. Steinleitner is great if your needs are simple and straightforward. But if your case is a bit more complex, it might behoove you to seek an expert from San Francisco or LA.

I did one natural cycle IUI and two femara IUIs with an ovidrel trigger. In all three cases, I had one dominant follicle. I also did two IVF cycles with the long lupron protocol, and 10 days of stimming with menopur. The cycles seemed to be going well and I had approximately 12 follicles measuring around 11mm each that were visible on the ultrasound on day 7ish of stimming. But on the day of the final ultrasound (day 11ish), only 2-3 follicles had fully matured, measuring 17-18mm. Both cycles were canceled. I was tested for ovarian reserve after the first cancellation and it was discovered that I actually have very good ovarian reserve, so the doctor was stumped and recommended I get a second opinion.

I only was with Dr. Steinleitner for about 15 minutes as I already had my embryos and had him preform the transfer. He was quick and to the point (which I don't mind) and did the job without pain or anything uncomfortable.

He is to the point and blunt (which I prefer but some may want more hand holding)

I was put on progesterone pills to regulate my period to their calendar one month before baselines as well as a small dose of lupron daily for the month leading up to my FET baselines. After baselines for my FET, I started estrace and dexamethanone, baby asprin and folic acid. the week leading up to transfer I began the pio in oil injections. my transfer was one week ago today and I am continuing these meds daily until beta in three days from now.

$3600 for the FET plus meds

i had two 5 day embryos and he suggested i transfer them both. he said it was normal protocol for them to do so. i did as suggested and transferred both.

Poor communication and somewhat condescending. He groups patients together so sometimes you wait 3+ months just to complete a cycle. He would sometimes seem annoyed at questions but said in the beginning he welcomes them and that we’re a team. It seems he’s is trying to get too big and can’t handle the load he has.

Consider another practice even if you have to drive a bit more. This is what stopped me from initially switching but so glad i did. It is so much less stressful and so much quicker and easier than what I had thought! Wish i would have done a switch sooner.

He didn’t really discuss strategies nor a lot of results. It was like pulling teeth to get information.

$50,000

I like the doctor himself. He can be blunt, but I appreciate that. He's friendly and warm, but doesn't sugar coat things and his confidence makes me feel more confident too. He offers a lot of information- it can be a little overwhelming, but I'd rather have too much info than too little.

Don't expect to be coddled. He tells it like it is.

I haven't started my protocol yet, however I have been prescribed a lot of medications: Menopur, gonal-F, Lupron, Pregnyl, Omnitrope.

So far, I've spent $3000 on medication, $1000 on blood work, and $3800 for Mini IVF. I'm still going to have to pay $1000 for ICSI, and $400 per embryo for PGS testing, and $3000 for a frozen cycle transfer and more meds.

I'm not yet sure of his approach.

Dr Steinletner is a nice man who is quite serious and to the point. He listens and is quick to correct you when your wrong about what you think you know about your procedures or medicine. But I think My experience with the doctor is just that my experience. I would love to share in hopes that I can help someone as others did for me. I read his reviews the good with the bad and still choose him. I feel like as much as we relate in our pain to one another our experiences defer. To be completely honest I found he was the most affordable in our area and my choices were very limited with my financial resources as well as where I live.

Let him know how you feel stand your ground and don’t let him intimidate you just because he’s the doctor. You know your body best if you have a concern let know.

He is the only doctor at his office so everything is very personal. He cares about you as a person not just medically. He is incredibly smart and proactive. He suggested tests other RE never did BEFORE any transfers to not waste embryos on knowledge we could have known. (Ex. ERA before our first transfer, DNA fragmentation of husbands sperm, endometrial marker testing). He is kind and genuine and we are very lucky to have him as our RE.

Trust him. Have faith it can work!

I did an antagonist protocol. Because I have Diminished ovarian reserve, he started me on his highest protocol.

He is very thorough and wants to make sure you understand all aspects of your treatment. He was very comprehensive with the testing her performed which gave us a lot of good information. I felt listened to and understood.

He can be a bit blunt but that is his manner when explaining things initially.

I was on so much. I don’t remember it all.

My monitoring appointments were scheduled at a regular time but I always had to wait in between other patients.

Around 7000 for one cycle of ivf and the testing that was done to prepare for it.

We haven’t done our transfer yet but he shared that he would only implant one embryo at a time.

Great honest doctor, candid about potential outcomes. Knowledgeable and compassionate. He had a good bedside manner and was respectful. I felt I could trust him. I’m thankful to have someone like that to care for me. The office is close to me and convenient, and prices are fair.

Be ready to be flexible with appointments

We used injectables as well as pills to stimulate my ovaries

Pricey but they offer package deals

No info on this one

Strengths: knows his science and does not lack confidence. Weakness: pot bedside and communication

Go in with thick skin

Antagonist

The doctor, facility, anesthesiologist, meds, pgs

I am still new to this world of fertility. I am learning to have my questions ready, and to not do too much research ahead of time. Dr. Steinleitner has been very good about answering my questions and explaining our treatments. He does not sugarcoat things or promise the world. I appreciate his clarity.

Understand that he will give you the information needed. There is a lot of information on the internet that may not pertain to your individual treatment. It is OK to have questions ready, he will answer them. He is kind and warm, but will be honest with his plans for your treatment.

Before meeting with Dr. Steinleitner my husband and I went through a fertility specialist through our primary doctor. We were fortunate to have a number of tests done prior to meeting Dr. Steinleitner as we transitioned to IVF. My previous Dr suspected I had Endometriosis. Our first test was an endometrial biopsy, which confirmed Endometriosis. My husband also had his semen tested again, which came back clear, and OK. We are planning a delayed egg transfer, with time in between for endometriosis suppression. I haven't started the injectable hormones yet.

Despite having a good job, my insurance does not cover anything outside of IUI. So, everything with Dr. Steinleitner has been out of pocket. We are doing advanced IVF (with delayed egg transfer, genetic testing, and endometriosis suppression. We are looking at ~$16-17K for this first cycle. I believe we have spent ~$2,500 in appointments and diagnostic testing (semen analyses, endometrial biopsy).

We are not to this point yet. I have learned to take this one day at time, and not to get to ahead of myself.