Chicago IVF

She's very knowledgeable and did a lot to put us at ease while explaining potential outcomes. We only meet with her directly once and most appointments were with my nurse or the NP. I don't feel the need to meet with her anymore since everything else is handled well.

Don't expect to meet with her often. You'll develop a better relationship with your nurse.

We did Follistim with lupron trigger due to my high AMH and risk of OHSS. And freeze all for embryos. We expected a lower egg retrieval number and were on the high end of that. Due to history of low male morphology, we did ICSI all and 5 made it to day 5 blast and freeze. We're very happy with the low symptoms and outcome. Transfer is delayed due to COVID-19

It was hard to get an estimate before my treatment plan was finalized and the billing office wouldn't give a range until that and they looked at my insurance. We were surprised by the cost of genetic testing since no one said it typically isn't covered by insurance. The genetic testing company bills insurance for $12,000.

Natalie Schultz is an older woman who seems very knowledgeable. At my initial consultation she explained everything very well and I ended the call with very optimistic feelings. However, I would have liked if she asked me and my wife what our goals or expectations were during the consultation and maybe what we would have preferred and made us feel apart of the decisions for our IVF Cycle. Instead, we were told what we will be doing and when. We were somewhat okay with this since she is the doctor and we just assume she knows what’s best but it have been nice to ask for our input to see if it was doable.

Some advice I would give is to ask as many questions as you need to while you are in the room or on video with her because you probably won’t be able to talk to her directly or see her again until a procedure or next consultation.

Overall all strategy was to move directly to IVF since my HSG was abnormal due to tubal blockage and I have never been pregnant in the 9 years of TTC on my own. IVF strategy was for an initially low protocol because of my age (29) and to avoid OHSS. After the first few days of stims levels were getting high so protocol changed to lower dosage. We ended up getting to retrieval after 8 days of stimming. 13 eggs retrieved, 11 mature, 10 fertilizer, ZERO blasts. Wasn’t given an explanation besides “they just filled out”. Will be beginning 2nd cycle soon.

Dr. Schultz has never talked to me about my partner or our goals as a lesbian couple. Also, every time I go in the front desk staff or nurses just assume I have a husband.

Pre-testing, Downers grove and Orland Park offices are separate so the procedures done at downers grove I had to pay a $225 surgery fee each time (SHSG, HSG, egg retrieval, and transfer), medications.

Haven’t gotten to a transfer but my clinic definitely has policies on eSET.

Coordination between sperm bank and the clinic was phenomenal, I didn’t have to do a thing.

The first visit was telehealth which is a bit impersonable. I met him in person at the surgery center where he performed my hsg. He did not address me before performing the procedure which I found a bit off putting. He has a brusque business like manner of relating to patients. He was very clear and concise as well the point which I appreciate. He recommended ivf based on my husbands counts but I wanted to do IUI first and he allowed it instead of demanding his recommendation. We were successful on round 2 and have a beautiful little girl now.

Don’t be afraid to be your own advocate- he is willing to work as a patient physician team.

IUI 1- clomid, insemination with ultrasound and lab surveillance IUI 2- I asked to change to letrozole and he was ok with that, otherwise the same

Dr. Brasch, at every visit, reviews the least to most invasive interventions as well as the cost associated, as we are dealing with a lack of insurance coverage because fertility treatments are not covered by our insurance plan. He is reassuring but also honest, straight-forward, and realistic. He expresses his professional opinion in a way that still allows us the freedom to make decision moving forward with treatment. He is sure to explain things in a way that we understand and answers questions thoroughly.

Do not hesitate to ask questions or for clarification.

Dr. Brasch prescribed me the lowest dose of Clomid and my body reacted very well to the medication, without severe side effects. My first IUI treatment, I had overstimulation and created 6 eggs. It was left up to us to continue with treatment due to the risk of a high-order multiple pregnancy. We felt the risks were well explained to us and we decided to move forward with the IUI procedure. We completed inseminations on back-to-back days, to improve our chances of conceiving. Our first round of IUI was unsuccessful. We decided to move forward with another round of IUI the following month, with the same medication doses and back-to-back inseminations and again the procedure was unsuccessful. The treatments occurred in May and June 2017. Presently (March 2018), we have not had any further treatment and instead attempted to investigate and treat what we believed to be the cause of infertility (male factor). My husband was diagnosed with multiple varicoceles and had surgical repair in July 2017. Numerous post-surgery semen analysis showed no improvement in sperm count. We again consulted with Dr. Brasch who suggested we investigate surgically on myself and I completed a laparoscopy in November 2017 and results came back normal. It was at that point that we decided if we attempt any further treatment, we would proceed with IVF. Due to the financial burden of IVF without insurance coverage, we are unable to proceed with treatment at this time.

Our insurance covered many of the tests, procedures, and office visits under Dr. Brasch's care, but did not cover the cost of fertility treatment. We had numerous $40 co-pays for office visits. My husband's varicocele surgery costs approximately $1000 out of pocket, my laparoscopy cost approximately $600 out of pocket. Each IUI procedure cost $1,850 so for us we paid a total of $3,700 since we completed 2 IUIs. In addition to that expense, we also paid approximately $120 for medication each cycle. We have spent approximately $6,000 since we began seeing Dr. Brasch in the fall of 2016.

I cannot comment on this as we have not experienced our doctor's approach to eSET vs. multiple embryo transfer.

I felt that he did show compassion and care. He felt confident in my diagnosis and how to treat it which I was happy about. I needed surgery before and that was where I became unsure. I felt that he didn't do everything he could have in regards to a surgery. I followed with an IUI anyway kind of feeling like it wasn't going to work. At that point I decided to go for a second opinion.

Ask lots of questions. He will try to answer them to the best of his ability during your consult. Any follow-ups bring lots of questions and do your research.

Dr. Jain was very informative and sensitive at the same time. He laid out our options in a tiered manner from least aggressive and least expensive to most. His staff was really helpful and even accommodated my early work ours for blood work.

Don't hesitate to ask questions or ask for clarification. The nurses are very encouraging and most are knowledgeable.

Doctor was friendly and very clear when explaining things to us. He gave us diagrams and examples. There was no waiting for any of the tests that we needed. I was nervous about the whole situation and he put me at ease. Everything was explained great. No questions were needed as he covered everything before I could ask

Be patient, he likes to talk.

We just got done with all the testing. We're having our financial meeting in a month and then we will proceed

We haven't gotten that far yet. So far we have paid almost $1500 for just the testing. I still owe $930 for my last test.