Cooper Institute for Reproductive Hormonal Disorders

Dr check is an unconventional dr who definitely does old school testing to try to get to the root of the problem. I do appreciate that but sometimes I think there can be other issues at hand which he dismisses. Prior to dr Check I was seeing a reproductive immunologist who found some immune issues. I did not have success with that dr however brought up these immune issues. Dr check didnt really believe in them and believes adderall will cover all immune issues. We had a very lengthy first consult, I was there for 4 hours and this is partially because I have an extensive history with no real reasons showing why I cannot conceive. He provides you with tons of research articles at your visit which back up his ideas of implementing adderall, extra progesterone, and a lupron shot in the luteal phase of your dr. I do appreciate how research oriented he is but at the same time he did not seem open minded to other tests I have done such as the EFT, ERA, immune testing...etc He also wants to save you money which I appreciate so he initially likes to get you pregnant using timed intercourse on his protocol. I never conceived naturally in the 7 years I have been trying and my husband has a balanced translocation. However I do know other patients that got pregnant with that issue so I figured it cant hurt to try for a few months because prior to him I was doing very intense immune treatments with another dr so can use a break. Ive done 2 cycles so far and no luck yet however they found my progesterone was on the low side despite all the suppositories and oral meds I was on. I am trying to avoid PIO because I got nerve damage from it during a transfer cycle. I will be meeting with him again in a few weeks to talk about my case again and see if he has other ideas. He seems very knowledgeable but he is somewhat scattered and goes off on tangents during the consult. This was frustrating to me because I kept feeling like I had to refocus him. However because I personally know a few women who had success with him after so many failures with IVF I figured it cant hurt to try.

Be prepared to get lots of research backing up his ideas however all this research he did himself. Be prepared to have very old school communication via faxes to get scripts..etc because they don't use email. He also records your consult via tape recorder so you can get that to refer back to. You need to be on top of everything at this clinic. There is also a somewhat long wait to see this dr in person.

Like I mentioned, Dr check likes to try to get you pregnant naturally eventhough you never conceived naturally before and have had many failed transfers with PGD tested embryos. He doesnt believe in using letrozole or clomid if you can make an egg on your own. He has you do a scan to make sure you released an egg and then another scan to ensure your lining thickened appropriately. He does a post coital test to ensure your husbands sperm still survives in your cervix 24 hours after intercourse. He puts you on adderall to control inflammation and other issues and uses extra progesterone and one lupron shot during luteal phase.

I was doing out of town monitoring so had to pay $195 for that fee. Enometrial scratch, post coital..etc went through insurance and so did bloods and scan

Jerome Check is a peculiar man but seems to be very knowledgeable about infertility research. He does not nickle and dime his patients which I thoroughly appreciated. It is not easy to follow his train of thought but he does not rush his patients. I do think he cares about his patients but that does not translate to elevated care. The ONLY pros to seeing Dr. Check is 1) Cost and 2) knowledge of research.

Personally speak to all parties involved in your treatment BEFORE all procedures take place. Do not assume that the communication you expect to take place among your caregivers will happen without your intervention. Being your own advocate is not enough.

Because of my low/declining AMH and lack of insurance coverage, I was put on on mini-ivf, so my protocol consisted of lower doses of fertility drugs. Looking back, I am not confident that this was the right approach and if the Dr. had looked deeper into my overall health, I think he would have prescribed a different protocol. If Dr. Cho had been informed about my special case and adequately performed the egg retrieval, I would have been satisfied with the results, but due to lack of communication, only 5 mature eggs were retrieved of the 14+ measurable follicles I had. After a disappointing egg retrieval, we went forward with a second cycle. Again, due to poor communication, (it took me 3 days of calling the clinic to get someone to call me back) I started the second cycle late and missed out on the first couple of days of stimulation. The second round we had less follicles and retrieved 6 mature eggs. Not successful for a healthy 30 year old.

I was a long distance patient and monitored off-site.

I think an egg retrieval cycle (excluding meds) costs ~$5k

We did not get to the embryo transfer stage.