Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates

It was so helpful to have the clinic on sight with the doctors. The ease of this was very helpful during our IVF cycles. I felt like the embryologists did a good job of informing me of our progress. Typically on weekends I wasn't able to get as much information and sometimes the reports seemed hurried. The lab worked closely with my doctor to help identify any potential issues.

Dr Lee was great to always say hello when she spotted me in the clinic. I felt like she closely followed my case and discussed it closely with the other nursers and embryologists in the clinic. She was always willing to answer my questions and spend time with us, during and after our cycles.

The nursing staff, ultrasound techs, and phlebotomist are just wonderful. They are all very skilled and compassionate. My primary nurse, Katie was so helpful with answering questions, giving me calendars, and guiding me through the entire process. My favorite phlebotomist, Diane was so sweet. Blood draws got harder for me as the stimulation went on and she was great to pick places that would bruise less and wrap my arm gently. Both sonographers that I saw were fantastic. They can quickly count eggs and help position my legs so it's not as uncomfortable as the process progresses. In the lab, the nurses and staff were so great too!

Dr. Lee is very knowledgeable and that shows in her care. We felt like she set expectations and gave us the facts. She also communicated great with us during our IVF treatments. In our wrap up appointments for failed cycled, she gave us insight into the documentation and discussions with her staff about why we had failed and gave us choices on next steps. She was great to guide us through each cycle.

Come with a list of questions. She will help you work through your questions and provide the best answers she can.

During my IUIs I took Clomid (the lowest dose) and my husband donated at the clinic. During one IVF cycle I took Gonal-F, Menupure, Pregnyl, and one other med that I can't remember. During my second cycle I took the same meds, but use Lupron instead. We were hoping to get more mature eggs on the second cycle. I tend to have lots of eggs and only about half of them mature. Both cycles worked out very similar - so we concluded that the drugs didn't make much of a difference in my case. I reacted very well to the drugs, we are just struggling to get a healthy embroy. Currently we aren't sure the cause of unhealthy embroys.

We are blessed to have insurance coverage. We did not use this for our IUIs and they each ran under $1000. For IVF our first cycle was covered entirely, so we were out our deductibles. For our second cycle, drugs were not covered, so we paid the cost of drugs and our deductible was met, so we paid our percentage.

I would say the strengths are it’s a up to date clinic with good doctors and up to date fertility recommendations and information. My previous clinic didn’t mention much of the information I learned here. The hard part for me was just the non personal relationship with the doctor on your regular visits. Sometimes I would leave confused based on what the technician had told me. If you choose this clinic just be proactive with asking questions and scheduling follow up appointments with the doctor if something isn’t working for you.

It’s a very good clinic but probably like most it has many patients. It took me a while to get the hang of how things work but after initial consultation you don’t see the doctor (depending on treatment I guess). Doing fertility drugs and trigger shots I would follow nurses instructions, come in for ultrasounds with a tech, and then get called again by my nurse for updates and instructions. Obviously the doctor reviewed all of those things but sometimes I have felt a little lost. (I think this is how most big clinics are run but with something so emotional as getting pregnant sometimes I have wanted to feel a little more care.)

Holly is great, she is the person I’ve connected most with at the clinic (even if it’s just over the phone after appointments). She is compassionate and I actually been able to ask specific questions as I’m going through things.

I feel he is very honest, not pushy at all with just selling things. Hardest part for me is not that much doctor patients interaction on the day in day out. I’m not sure which good and busy clinic would have more of that kind of feel though.

Ask a lot of questions not only to Dr. Chantilis but also to the staff regarding making appointments and follow up consultations. I think everyone that works there forgets that you might not ‘know the drill’. The nurse randomly told me if I wanted to talk to Dr. Chantillis about my treatment plan the best thing to do is to schedule a specific appointment for that. It seems obvious but I didn’t know and by the time I called I could barely get in before I would start my next cycle. Some of the admin things can be frustrating but I think my advice is be your own advocate and make sure to be pushing things along for yourself.

I have done two cycles of clomid with ultrasounds and trigger shots with time intercourses. I’m PCOS with regular cycles but also have tubal damage so he just wanted to make sure even though it seemed I had.l a regular cycle that we would track ovulation and times intercourse before moving to IUI or IVF.

I’m not sure his opinions about this.

Everyone is very kind and courteous in the office. The ladies at the front are wonderful about helping you understand the costs of your plan of care and always answer any questions you may have. All of the nurses and technitions are so sweet and make you feel welcome.

Dr. Thomas is such a kind soul. She treats her patients as though you are a part of her family. Throughout my treatment, she would call me herself to deliver news or just to check on me. I never felt like just a number, she always made me feel as though I was her only patient.

Brittany is the absulute best!! She is the most kind and compassionate nurse I have ever met. Thorough my journey with Dr. Thomas and Dallas Fertlity, she has had to deliver some tough news to me many times and she always wants to make sure that I am okay.

Dr. Thomas is an outstanding doctor. She regularly called to check on me and made me feel as though I was heard. My husband and I, even after going through fertility treatments for almost 2 years now, ask a ton of questions and she is always so patient and through when answering. She always wants to make sure that you are comfortable with your plan of care and that you completely understand what will be happening throughout your cycle.

Don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as needed about your cycle/plan of care. She is wonderful about making you comfortable with everything that you will go through.

For my first round of IVF that was canceled due to low follicular development, we did an Antogonist protocol with BC pills for priming. We all decided after this round that I would not take BC pills again because of my poor response. For the next two rounds of IVF, I did estrogen priming and micro-flare protocols with the highest amount of Follestim and Menopur possible. I had a great response to this protocol, considering my AMH level, and ended up with 7 eggs each cycle. For my most recent round of IVF, we did the same protocol as before, but added in HGH and a steroid. I ended up having poor follicular response and converted to an IUI.

Since my embryo quality was not great, Dr. Thomas opted to transfer two embryos for each of my fresh, day 3 transfers.

I think the strength of this clinic is the experience and knowledge of the doctor and the staff. They all have extensive experience in their positions and have the best interest of the patient. Their weakness is they are busy. Be an advocate for your care and be sure you pay attention to what your process is. And don't be afraid to ask questions - they are very open to you being involved! It is a welcoming office.

The staff in the office are awesome. They are very kind and helpful. And they are very busy. Even still, they take the time to say hello, talk to me and see. The times I am able to talk with Dr. Lawrence, she is very kind an always seems to know where I am in my cycle. I know she has many patients, and it blows me away that she is able to remember! And it is a busy office, so I have needed to be diligent about my care and what i am doing. There have been a few times where I needed to correct the nurse about what the doctor and I had talked about for medication. She was very kind and double checked and let me know I was right. I always feel like they are compassionate and treat me well. And as a busy office, things can get confused.

Kelly has been excellent! She is very calm, collected. compassionate and kind. She has been wonderful to help me understand my care. Jill has been great at helping me understand my medication, how to use it and what I am taking. I have had to ask her to double check a few things because I remembered being told something different. She has always been kind and helpful about this. When she has had to explain changes in my medication, she is very clear and succinct.

I love Dr. Lawrence. I feel confident she knows what she is doing and has my best interest and health at heart. I don't feel like she is only doing what she wants to make her look good. She is a fast talker, so I have needed to ask her to slow down or to repeat things to make sure I understand them. And she is patient when I ask questions because I want to make sure I understand. She has a great way of being positive and being direct. She does not sugar coat things or pretend them to be what they are not. And she allowed me to be in charge of my process, even when it went against her recommendations. She remained supportive and honest. I do not see her every visit, and her staff make up for it. She was not at one of my two IUIs because it was on the weekend and I had the on-call doctor. She has been the doctor at both retrievals. I have been very happy in her care.

Ask questions and be sure you ask her to repeat herself or slow down. She is a fast talker with lots of energy!

During my first IUI, we did Clomid. I had a very high egg count and we were confident it would be enough. When we had a negative result, we boosted it up and tried again. When that didn't work, she was very frank and we decided to do IVF. During the first cycle, I was on 150u Menopure, 300 Gonal F, and Ganerelix. During the first 5 days I needed to drop the Menopure and start Ganerelix because I was developing too many too fast. The retrieval produced 44 eggs, 38 mature, 28 inseminated and 8 were able to be tested. We ended up with 1 normal embryo. None of us predicted this result. When we decided to do a second round to gather more eggs, she was frank about trying things differently. I went on birth control to suppress the estrogen, with the goal of it not getting too high too fast again. This was not successful, because when I went in for my baseline, I had a follicle developing. I needed to trigger and let that one go before we could proceed. Then they had me take Estrace. During this time, before I was supposed to be done, my body had a period. I went in for a baseline and we began injections. This time I did 150u Menopure for 3 days and then dropped to 75u on day 3. This was a planned strategy and was on target in order to help me not produce too much too soon. I was still taking 300 Gonol F and began Ganerelix on day 5. I am currently in the middle of this treatment, so I cannot report on the retrieval. I hope the results are better!

IUI was about $950 plus medication. I paid for this out of pocket both times. IVF was financed with ARC. The cost was about $18,000 the first time and $15,000 the second time because we had meds left over from the first so we didn't need to buy as much. We paid for ICSI and Genetic testing for both rounds.

I have not had experience with transfer yet, as we are on our second round of retrieval.

This clinic is organized. They have protocols. At first you may feel like they are just shuffling you through, but each lady here cares. Don't let the organization make you feel like a number. Talk to the girls in the front and the other nurses. They are all very sweet and work hard to make the office function so flawlessly. One thing that threw me off is each cycle must be paid in full before moving on to the next. In the grand scheme of things, I get it. It just caught me off guard when I owed hundreds all at once.

My nurse, Holly, has called me on a timely manner. She discusses options and gives me realistic expectations. I feel like I matter and always cared for.

Holly. Holly is an angel. She is patience, compassionate, and loves her patients. She truly cares for me. She's been my primary nurse from day one. There have been plenty of days that I would call her to just ask a question, cry, or just babble on about what my husband did, and she was there to listen. I'm so grateful for this nurse! Ruth is the other nurse for Dr. C. I've worked with her as well. She's been with Dr. C for like 15 years. She knows her stuff and I enjoyed working with her as well.

Even though Dr. Chantilis hasn't been involved with every visit and procedure, I have always been taken of. He's performed a procedure and called me personally. My husband and I have met with him one on one multiple times. He's honest and gives you a great understanding of how your body is working. He also explains procedures and what's up next. He is the best in the industry and I would recommend him to anyone.

Dr. Chantilis isn't super social and warm and fuzzy. Don't let that deter you. He's very intelligent and is really good at what he does. Also, you don't see him a lot, so establish a good relationship with your nurse. Ruth and Holly and are the BEST.

I was immediately diagnosed with PCOS when I started seeing Dr. C. Before he would do a medicated cycle, he wanted my husband tested and for me to do a HSG procedure. Dr. C wanted to make sure he was fertile and my tubes weren't blocked. Meanwhile, I was put on Metformin. We were cleared to try clomid. We did one low dose of clomid. Nothing happened, so we did a higher dose. Then we continued with a total of 4 rounds, out of the 4 he added in the Ovidril trigger shot to 2 cyles. We tried an IUI with clomid + Ovidril as well. All negative tests. I requested we change to something different due to the side effects. Then I started Letrozole, Gonal F, and Ovidril for 3 cycles. We did one IUI with this. All negative tests. Within all of these cycles, I usually went in CD10 to get tested for follicle progress. We never did a "blind" time intercourse or IUI. Some weeks I was in for a sono three times. Dr. C wanted to ensure we timed ovulation/IC just right. After our last cycle, Dr. C suggested IVF. He didn't push, but he gave us options. 1. He gave us the option to continue IUIs and medicated cycles. He said that I would need to go in for a laparoscopy to check for endo if were to continue. 2. He gave us the option to do Mini-IVF which is a little cheaper than a full blown IVF. You aren't on as many medications as the other. 3. Full blown IVF We are waiting to see if we can get pregnant naturally, but decided to do full blown IVF.

My insurance covered a percentage of office visits and blood work. Below is what I can remember. Sono - $365 (no insurance) IUI - $600 (no insurance) Quoted mini IVF - $8K (no genetic testing) Quoted IVF - $14K (no genetic testing)

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Friendliness and knowledgeable are their strengths. Their hours are also awesome for me. I am a nurse and they will come in for me early so I don't have to miss too much work if I have to have a son or blood work on a day I work. The only down side or weakness is the girl who answers the phone. She works for Dr. Lawrence and the OBGYN that shares the office. She is not very friendly on the phone and I often feel I am bothering her when I call. I have never had contact with her in the office, just on the phone.

The office is so caring! They call me by my first name, remember my husband's name (even though they have only met him once or twice), they remember my work schedule and location, and they call me to check up on how I am doing at random. Dr. Lawrence, herself, called after we found out my first transfer did not work and told me how bummed she was and let me ask all my questions. She is first class!

Her nurse, Jill is the coordinator also. She is so very knowledgeable. She makes sure she is always available for you and your questions, even if they seem silly. She never makes you feel dumb and always makes sure you are comfortable and encouraged. Her other nurse, Kelly, is also her son tech. I love Kelly too! She makes you feel comfortable and talks with you and laughs with you. Sonos are never an unpleasant experience. I always leave there office feeling good about things even after getting bad news.

I am still seeing her and getting ready for my second transfer. She looks at me and my unique hormonal and body issues and adjusts the plan to me. She is open to all questions and answers truthfully and with respect. She always has a smile on her face which makes me feel like everything is going to be OK. I know, because she tells me, that she will never give up on me and my desire to have a family!

Come with your questions ready! She will answer all of them. I took notes with the consultations (that is how I learn best) and was glad I did because she is so passionate about what she does that she gives you all the information you could ever need. Don't be afraid to ask her to slow down. She speaks really fast when she gets excited.

First I had an HSG that found polyps in my uterus and a blocked fallopian tube (at the ovary). She then scheduled me for surgery of the polyps (can't do anything about the tube) and did the procedure herself. Recovery was very minimal. Because of my age (37 at the time), she had me on max doses of the ovarian stimulation drugs pre egg retrieval and because we were dealing with a post vasectomy low sperm count, we did ICSI. 8 eggs retrieved and 2 grade BB embryos that were PGS tested as genetically perfect. I was on the typical Estrace tablets and then added progesterone injections (injections are more reliable than pills or vaginal in achieving the appropriate and consistent levels of progesterone. We did our first transfer November 16 and it did not take. I do not believe it had anything to do with Dr. Lawrence or the clinic as everyone was shocked it did not work. They all said how perfect and smooth the transfer went. We are currently getting ready for transfer #2 and she has me on birth control for a couple weeks, Leupron injections because I made cysts my last 2 cycles for some unknown reason, and will do Estrace and Progesterone injections later in the month. I made some personal changes to my lifestyle and medications to help with success of the next transfer and my piece of mind (off the magnesium supplement for my IBSC, doing acupuncture, and seeing a chiropractor). I am very hopeful and Dr. Lawrence is very supportive.

I believe our total will be, after medications for the entire process, one retrieval, and 2 transfers: $18,000-$20,000

She let us decide if we transferred only one embryo or 2. We chose one embryo to transfer for 2 reasons. #1 I really wanted 2 children and would have loved to have the second embryo for a second child. #2 I wanted to have no regrets incase the first did not take (which it didn't) I didn't want to loose our only 2 embryos at once.

I love that dr Lawrence has her own office. There was never a long wait and they were very efficient. I would say I wish they had an extra room where they could talk and explain to patients about information. It was still private but we would have to use the nurses office if Dr Lawrence was with another patient in her office.

Dr. Lawrence made us feel like we were her only patients. She was well versed on infertility and gave us answers and an actual infertility diagnosis that we hadn’t been able to get. It seemed like a lot at first, but she was thourough in all her testing to make sure she new my body and why we had been experiencing infertility. She was very honest and up front about the issues we would face even with IVF but still made us feel hopeful. Her staff is so amazing too!

Kelly and Jill were wonderful! They were/are genuinely invested in our journey and are hopeful with us. I always new what appointment/procedure was next based on the calendar they gave us. They were very clear when giving us injection instructions and made sure we knew how to do it ourselves before we were cleared to start. We will never forget them!

Dr. Lawrence is extremely knowledgeable about infertility and all things related to it and IVF. She was very helpful with helping us understand everything and reexplained everything in easier terms when my husband was confused. She’s so funny and makes conversation, especially during rough procedures to help put us at ease.

Be ready to learn a lot more about your fertility issues than you knew before. Lots of great info!

She ran numerous tests on me to make sure we had a proper diagnosis. She always made sure to do bloodwork and ultrasounds before each procedure. Before egg retrieval and starting meds for that, she was very upfront about letting us know that even with IVF medications there was a strong possibility that I could get little to no eggs. But she never said it was impossible. She was right because we only got 3 eggs. And because I had max dosages of all meds she recommended we freeze our eggs and wait to transfer so my body could rest and we were okay with that. As we started the process to transfer issues came up with my thyroid and blood sugar levels so she stopped the cycle until I could see an endocrinologist. We were disheartened at first, but knew that she was doing what was best for me. Even if it prolonged the journey.

We got a loan from an outside source that they recommended. They were very up front about cost and our options. We got a loan for $18,000 and that has covered everything so far. If our first transfer fails, we still have money from our loan for a second transfer.

Overall it was great. They kept things running on schedule and respected my time. They returned calls promptly. They have a great facility and reasonable hours. They were professional and easy to work with. The billing department could be a bit better about communication, just in terms of clarity.

Dr. Thomas called and checked in on me several times. She offered genuine sympathy and support when things were difficult. She was also excited and joyful with us when things went well. It was obvious to both of us that she truly cared about us. Also, her phenomenal nurse, Brittany was equally invested and supportive of us. I always felt cared for.

Brittany was my rock through this whole process. She truly cares about us. She was so patient. She answered even my ridiculous questions with patience and compassion. She became like a sister to me. I adore her.

Dr. Thomas always provided thorough and up to date information about every detail of the process. I appreciated that she also provided us with copies of the medical journals and research articles she referenced in citing outcomes and statistics. Dr. Thomas was always thorough but she was also warm and caring. She definitely left us feeling that she had individualized the treatment for us rather than using a onesize fits all approach.

Dr. Thomas will listen to you. Speak up if you have a question or concern

At 38 yo with PCOS: We chose to do one cycle of Metformin while we waited for something at work to change which would make it easier for me to do full IVF. We were aware it was unlikely to work and it didn’t, but Dr. Thomas supported us in not wanting to “waste” that month. After that, we went straight to IVF because we knew we wanted more than one child and I was 38.5. We knew if IUI worked, we would likely be about 40 by the time we could try again and by then my egg quality would be significantly worse. We did 2 egg retrievals as follows: ER #1: Stimmed on very low doses due to my PCOS and saw significant response early. Used Follistim, Menopur, and eventually Ganirelix. Kept the doses low and was checked regularly. At egg retrieval, we got 33 eggs. Some were very poor quality, which we expected. We asked about ICSI but Dr. Thomas didn’t recommend it and our Fertilization rate of the mature eggs was good. Unfortunately, only 7 made it to day 5 and only 3 of those were PGS normal. We froze all (that was our plan from the start... it was what Hubby and I wanted for family planning purposes but also was Dr. T’s recommendation.) After ER #1, we consulted with Dr. Thomas and she felt our chances of having 2 children with our 3 PGS normal frozen embryos was very good. I was still not ready to let go of the idea of possibily having 3 kids so we decided to do one more ER to Bank a few more embryos for future use. ER #2 We followed a similar protocol as the first time and immediately saw I was responding more strongly this time. We pulled back on the stim meds and planned for a Lupron only trigger shot. Ended up getting 37 eggs that time (again, some very poor quality due to my age and PCOS). In that round we needed up with 2 PGS normal embryos because many came back with a trisomy issue. I recovered well from both ERs and we were thrilled with our results. We did a frozen embryo transfer protocol but I came down with an unrelated illness and we had to call it off. A month later, we started again and did a frozen embryo transfer. Everything looked great and my body responded well, but the embryo didn’t implant. We knew that it wasn’t guaranteed and we also chose to use an embryo that wasn’t the embryologist’s first choice. So, that might have influenced things too. We’re planning to do another FET soon and feel good about our chances with the embryos we have left. We’re very very pleased with the care we received.

Frozen embryo transfer cycle including all lab work, ultrasounds, doctor visits, and the embryo transfer (excluding embryology fees) was prepaid $1500 plus the cost of meds. IVF Lab fees for embryo transfer (thawing embryo, prep of embryos for transfer etc) was $1450 prepaid. The egg retrieval is a little more challenging to price out because I don’t have the paperwork. WITH PGS testing, meds, the surgery, the monitoring, etc etc. I believe we payed somewhere in the neighborhood of $18,000 but a great deal of that was the PGS testing (I think that was maybe $5000 of it?). I’m sorry I can’t remm that part so well. It was a year ago.

Dr. Thomas recommended a single embryo transfer because my body responded well to the FET protocol and because our embryos were PGS tested. She also solicited our thoughts and we were not eager to increase our chances of multiples so we were on the same page.

DFW Fertility Associates have their own lab, very technologically advanced. Lots of great resources available to you as a patient. All major procedures are done at the same location and your embryos are stored right there at the Glen Lakes Office. They work to get you in on the weekend if needed. I don’t like that they have baby pictures hanging in the waiting room because most women suffering through infertility do not want to see baby pictures while going through treatment.

We were always treated with the utmost respect and kindness. Dr. Lawrence and her staff were very sensitive and caring when things didn’t go as planned. They made sure we were well informed and even called numerous times after hours to check on us. It’s huge to have people that understand or have been through infertility treatment themselves and you get that with Dr. Lawrence and her staff.

Very kind and friendly. Kelley is so awesome!!

Dr. Lawrence never gives information without research to back it. She is incredibly knowledgeable about the most groundbreaking technology, tests, and procedures in relation to fertility treatments. She is also kind and empathetic which has been a breath of fresh air.

Build a relationship with her, she really does care and want to see you be successful in treatment.

Round 1 of IVF: highest doses of gonal-f , micro dose lupron, menopur. Ovidrel trigger shot, egg retrieval that resulted in 7 eggs. ICSI was performed due to male factor infertility. No eggs fertilized. Round 2: gonal-f, ganirelix, and clomid. We reduced meds to help relax my body and not over work my ovaries. This cycle resulted in my body ovulating through the meds so we converted it to an iui that was not successful. Round 3: same meds as round 2, but we went to retrieval a day earlier. Retrieved 4 eggs, performs PICSI & ICSI. 1 egg fertilized. It grew to day 6, we had it genetically tested and frozen. We transferred the embryo in November 2017 and I am currently 23 weeks pregnant

We used ARC to finance our cycles. We bought 2 cycle plus program that included 2 cycles of IVF. Our doctor uses a global fee. They are very open and honest about billing.

They are always busy, but they get you in in a timely manner. If you have a procedure on a Saturday, be prepared for it not to be your doctor as they rotate their days. They are conscious of the demands of working full time and going through treatments and were helpful and flexible.

She was always personable and always remembered who I was, which was surprising given the amount of people lined up to see her. She was never rushed.

The nursing staff was also helpful. While I had one experience being given poor information, she was only my nurse on one occasion , leading me to believe she was either temporary or working for someone else’s service.

While we did not achieve the results we wanted, Dr Lee was great. She was informative and understanding and willing to answer all questions. She was able to ease my mind, specifically I remember a time a nurse was not explaining something correctly and made me feel worried. She overheard and came rushing in to clarify and ease my mind with better description of what would occur next. Infertility is one of the worst things I have ever experienced but Dr Lee made me feel like there was hope.

Ask questions and if you are uncomfortable, ask more. You are not burdening her.

IUI cycles were medicated. Do not remember specifics. IVF with injectables.

IUI was mostly taken care of by my insurance thanks to the ways they were able to bill and code. The Ivf was not covered but I utilized the package option which with medication cost about 20000 for two IVf cycles

This clinic is very efficient and respects your time. I loved how quickly things moved and you could get in and out fast for tests. You definitely feel like a number though and things can get lost in communication between the nurses, doctor, and IVF lab.

I rarely saw Dr. Thomas during cycle appointments and instead only saw sonogram technicians. There were miscommunications between Dr. Thomas and the IVF lab that caused added stress on the day of egg retrievals. When we did see Dr. Thomas, we felt like she cared and treated us well. However, this clinic deals with such a large volume of patients, it was just hard to feel like our treatment plan was customized and important.

My nurse at times was overly blunt or did not explain things well. When I started my first cycle and asked about how things looked over time, she hedged around the question and didn't say much. In reality, things were not going well at all and the retrieval produced very few mature eggs.

Dr. Thomas is probably very good at easy and straightforward cases, but our case was a little more complicated. After our first cycle failed to produce multiple embryos, Dr. Thomas switched protocols thinking that would fix all of our issues. While the second cycle produced more eggs, the end result was the exact same as the first protocol. After the two cycles, our conversation with her was that we should consider donors. We felt that there was more testing to do before going down that path and were very disappointed she gave up so early.

If you have a complicated case with multiple issues, I would consider going to a smaller clinic where you will get more personalized care and communication.

I have diminished ovarian reserve and my husband has low sperm volume but the other characteristics are normal. 1st Cycle - BCP, Lupron Flare protocol - 10 eggs, 5 mature, 1 fertilized, 1 embryo (supposed to work well for DOR patients, but I developed a lead follicle which resulted in the others not catching up; also the BCP over-suppressed my system) 2nd Cycle - Estrogen Priming, Antagonist protocol - 20 eggs, 12 mature, 3 fertilized, 1 embryo (Estrogen priming helps prevent a lead follicle and helps to produce more eggs) PGS testing on both embryos, and both genetically abnormal

Approximately $15K per cycle, including ICSI, embryo freezing, and biopsy for PGS

Dr. Thomas prefers eSET if there is a genetically normal embryo, which makes sense to me.

Clinic was clean and everyone was extremely polite and nice. The Storage and embryologists are separate but the same owner for this clinic, so you know that there is a close working relationship between clinic and labs, which I found to be a HUGE bonus.

There were many times that Dr. C did scans that a nurse could have done. He expressed interest in my case and was excited with my results. He was able to be personable and professional.

Holly was amazing. She helped me in ways that a typical nurse would not. Offering suggestions of pharmacies and where I could get discounts by being a patient. She answered questions that I had that I didn't expect her to answer. She also was able to train really well and answer questions about how to administer drugs. She was extremely responsive to calls and questions outside of appointment times. One "con" was the lack of empathy when, as a single mom by choice, I ended up conceiving triplets. This was SUPER scary to me and something that I felt I (financially) was unable to proceed with. When asking the clinic options and what to do next, I got a very negative "you knew the risks" response and "we can't help you."

I felt like I was VERY informed from Dr. C. However, I wasn't given a very reliable risk of multiples 3+ based on procedures used (ICSI). I ended up with 3 fetus' from a 2 egg transfer and learned later that ICSI increases chances of embryo's splitting.

Ask ALLLLL the questions. Especially risks of success!

Dr. C said to do 3 IUIs initially. I tried one but it proved to be quite expensive because I required expensive medications to ovulate. I did one failed IUI before requesting to divert from his recommendation and moved directly to IVF. Dr. C was ok with this. We did one IVF cycle and he adjusted medication based on the productivity of my ovaries. He did recommend we go to Frozen with all embryos first due to the MASSIVE amount of eggs I produced that cycle. I was at first opposed to this, but was very grateful I did it. His rational was that A) the clinic had better success rates with FET Cycles over Fresh, and B) This allowed my ovaries to completely heal prior to attempting pregnancy thus increasing the chances of success.

Scans - covered by my insurance, so only paid co-pay ($40 per visit) IUI - $300 IUI - Lab fee - $150 IVF (to frozen, including 1 year of embryo storage & lab fees) $6300 ICSI - <=10: $1000, >10: $1800 PGS - $5000 for all eggs 1 year storage fees (after first year) - $600/year FET (with lab fees) $3000 Medication (not sold from clinic, but with Dr. Chantilis as your doctor, a 20% discount with the pharmacy they recommend)

My doctor strongly recommended transferring 1 embryo. I argued and won. I wanted to put in 2 eggs. Based on my own analysis of success vs. $, I chose to put in 2. Both were successful and I began my pregnancy with triplets. I eventually gave birth to twins after a elective reduction. I'm sure in the future Dr. C will push harder for eSET for younger mothers (I was 32 at the time).

Strengths: Excellent Care, Lab is top notch Weaknesses: The clinic doesn't offer their own refund option for IVF

It never seemed liked he was rushing. He always answered questions and gave us lots of information. He was professional but friendly and honest. He even called me after normal office hours.

Deborah and Gayla our donor coordinator were fantastic. They always made sure I understand my medicine protocols and dosage and my test results. They were very efficient with communication and used email a lot. Gayla was exceptionally friendly and helpful.

He was thorough, but not afraid to try different protocols. He was candid and always told the truth even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear. He did come across as a yuppie, but a very nice one. We never had to wait very long to see him. He was up front about our chances of success, and didn't seem to worry about messing up his clinics statistics.

Trust him with what his recommendation is on how many embryos to transfer.

He suggested we use Lupron for both of my cycles, but wasn't opposed to not using it. We used oral estrace and progesterone injections prenatal vitamin and baby aspirin for first cycle. Second cycle we added lovenox, and he tested for immunity issues since I miscarried my fresh donor egg transfer, when the tissue was tested and came back normal. Also I have a genetic blood clotting disorder already known from years before the cycles, but I did wind up being borderline on my immunity testing for one of the tests. He also had us do a mock cycle before my transfer and a hysteroscopy for both cycles. During the first hysteroscopy a lot of endometrial polyps were found on one side of my uterus. He said for best success with implantation they should be removed by way of D&C surgery, so we did that.

$15,000 - Fresh IVF transfer using an in house donor. Clinic splits the eggs with patient. This included all donor costs, and IVF transfer and monitoring but didn't include my medication or my hysteroscopy, or annual storage for any embryos resulting from the cycle that were quality enough to freeze and store, or any surgeries needed on the uterus to make the uterus the best possible environment for an embryo to implant. Medication was coordinated through the clinic and the specialty pharmacy (Mandell's pharmacy out of New Jersey) they dealt with did appear to be the cheapest when I called around.

Dr. Chantillis educated us on eSET, and showed us what category we fit into. Even though on our second transfer we could have opted for 2 embryos I'm so glad he talked us out of it because during my pregnancy at 20 weeks I nearly went into labor and I had to have an emergency cerclage surgery after half the amniotic sac slipped through my cervix. We nearly lost our baby, and would have if we had had multiples. I was on bed rest for 133 days as it was, and our daughter was born at 38 weeks and 6 days healthy at 8 pounds and 10 ounces.

This clinic is one of the best in the DFW area, so the staff is professional, the facility is clean and organized, and they address all requests and questions you have. I had some billing issues but eventually they were resolved. Dr. Lee is also willing to coordinate with other doctors when it comes to surgery so that really helps.

Dr. Lee has been always like a big sister to me and she talked to me like so, because she would say, "if you were my sister, I would ..." Even I do not have any success with her, she has been a kind and caring doctor to me. She did most of the ultrasounds by herself unless there is scheduling challenges, and address all my questions, even though sometimes it's after I sought a 2nd opinion. She put patient's interest first, not her ego.

The nurses are professional, however sometimes I feel some may lack a personal touch. Some may sound more formulaic than caring. Sometimes I feel afraid to ask too many questions

Dr. Lee cares about her patient and has been very accommodating. Even now that I seek IVF care at CCRM, I still have her clinic do local monitoring. At the same time, I feel her approach more often may fall on the relatively more conservative side. I am not sure if this is due to me or due to her. I have always preferred a natural pregnancy and natural/herbal treatment over western treatment because I think western treatment is much more aggressive and hard the woman's body more. The process of finding what went wrong with me not being able to conceive was long, partially due to my resistance to have a hyrasalpinx tube removal after being diagnosed at the end of 2009. But after removal I was still not able to conceive and I insisted to have my progesterone on Day 7 post ovulation tested and turns out it's <10. I wish Dr. Lee has this tested much earlier so I can also react accordingly. Dr. Lee said the progesterone level couldn't be completely trusted due to the level can vary a lot in a day. I found this progesterone testing was used by another doctor as a more standard way of determining ovulation quality. Anyways, after I tried 3 clomid cycles, 1 ivf and 1 fet with Dr. Lee, I lost confidence about getting pregnant at her clinic, although she and her staff have been courteous and kind.

She is more conservative in her approach, and you may want to explore a little more about possible testing and options.

clomid from 50mg to 50mg to 75mg, ovidrel trigger each cycle, 2 natural intercourse, 1 IUI IVF: lupron 5+ menopur75+ follistim 300 for 9 days, twoeard day 8 and 9 there are changes in the specific meds but I don't remember the details. HCG ovidrel as trigger, 15 oocytes retrieved, 4 day5 embryos, no PGS, 2 fresh transfer, 2 frozen, progesterone oil injection post transfer until HCG test. FET: 2mg estrodial+baby aspirin, only 1 out of 2 embryos survived unfrozen, the transfer resulted in failure. Progesterone injection for all days post transfer

they are able to schedule the appointments timely, at least this was what I was told, if I have another doctor's order, they can schedule the next day's ultrasound for me.

The IVF cost about 12k back in 2012, FET about $1300 in 2015.

Not applicable to me.

They are very busy and there is a long wait to get in. I would recommend calling right away for your new patient meeting versus thinking and waiting to take the next steps. You should live/work close to the clinic because you have to go quite often. This clinic is in southlake and very easy to get to. The offices are very clean as well

He always takes the time to ask how we are doing -outside of fertility-. He remembers our hobbies and what we talk about so when we go in we feel immediately comfortable and like we are with a friend who happens to be our Dr. in this overly difficult time. It also helps that my husband really likes him to. They can chat about sports for 10 minutes after our appt easily.

They are very warm and conversational. They remember me when I walk in and I don't have to say my name which is nice (sad also). The nurses are clear in communication during my ultrasound and explain everything they see.

I had a septated uterus and Dr Gada immediately acted on this to get it corrected. I had a out patient surgery within 2 weeks of getting my results. Dr Gada understands we want a baby as soon as we can so he pushes/encourages us to the next steps. WIth that said he also understands that some steps we need to take longer in than others. We only did one round of clomid but we have done 3 rounds of iui's. We may end up doing up to 5 before considering IVF. Dr. Gada completely supports that decision. He keeps us informed about every step we are taking and he helps manage my expectations - which I need. IUI only has a 15% chance of success but when I am going through it my heart believes that its a 15% chance of not working. I would recommend Dr Gada to other people trying to start a family. He is not only professional and personable he and his wife have gone throught this as well. They went through IVF to have their son which tells me he knows how hard this can be.

Tell him everything. Any thing you can think of. Even if you think something may/may not be related to infertility he will confirm this with you. I had all these fears of what I thought was wrong with me and causing me to be infertile and I listed them off to him. He listened and explained away all my concerns. I have unexplained infertility at this point - so there is not rational reason that we can find - yet which is a hard pill to swallow.

I had the HSG test and my Dr saw a heart shaped uterus and pointed it out to me. He explained what this was/could be and that we would need to explore this further. I then had to have an MRI with iodine to determine what kind of heart I had septated or bicorniate. I had septated which was good news because he had told me this is the version that he can repair with surgery. I was told that this was not a cause of infertility but would be a cause of frequent miscarriages and that we needed to repair before under going fertility treatments. 2 weeks later I had Dr. Gada performed the surgery. The surgery was fast and was exactly how Dr. Gada described. I healed well and my uterus was fixed. I had to take a month off of trying after the surgery. When I got my first period Dr. Gada told me to call and he would start me on Clomid. He was very candid about his results working with clomid. He recommended going to IUI right away just to have all the odds in our favor but understood if we were not ready. After 1 month of Clomid we moved on to IUI. The initial appt was with Dr. Gada to go over the process but all other follow up ultrasounds and blood work was done through the nurse practitioner. The actual IUI was performed by Dr. Gada. We have now had 3 failed rounds of IUI. Dr. Gada wants to meet to re-evaluate. I am taking a month off due to travel and also I just think I need it. This has been a lot harder emotionally and even physically than I imagined.

$1000 MRI $1800 Surgery $310 IUI $160 semen analys with wash (every IUI) $85 Injectible Ovidrel $0 Ultrasounds and blood work -covered by insurance

have not experienced this yet

It's in a great location in Dallas but on the 2nd floor of office building with limited parking and no elevator available. For those individuals that are obese, this may be difficult for them. Otherwise, the clinic is very nice.

Dr Thomas has been very "present" during each appointment whether it's a face-to-face consultation, monitoring or lab work. She has a calm and friendly, yet professional bedside manner and has a great intellect related to fertility. I trust her medical opinions and know she has my best interest in mind during all times of treatment.

The nursing staff are very prompt with lab/monitoring results and what the next step is. There are never any answers they can't answer themselves. They are very aware of my individualized plan of treatment.

Dr Thomas was very alert and interested in our story from the first consultation. Although she didn't seem to write much information/history down, she could summarize everything in great detail at the end of the consult. She was very humble by sharing what worked for her conception and very professional at all times. She was strictly business, no emotional therapy given, which may not work for some people. Since I am in the medical field, I greatly appreciated the medical jargon and non-emotion consultation to decide the best plan of care. She has not once recommended we jump straight to IVF, instead recommending more cost-effective therapies for a few months. I highly recommend her to others who may been seeking this type of RE.

I would say they should be aware that Dr. Thomas closely monitors you during your treatment so expect to be monitored, have labs drawn, have consultations frequently.

Letrazole 2.5mg x 5 days CD 5-9 for 3-4 months

I have been able to bill majority of my treatment through insurance besides some of the medications. When comparing IUI/IVF treatments, this group has competitive pricing with others in the area.

They are pretty accommodating in terms of time. I never have waited past 10 minutes of my scheduled appointment time. One suggestion would be that if you have a procedure on the weekend, a heads up of who will be doing the procedure would be best.

Dr Lee always took the time to come speak to me, even if she wasn't the one doing my sonogram, bloodwork etc. She took the time to get to know my husband and I and jokes around with us in times of serious anxiety!

I have never had a bad experience. They aren't rushed and explain everything, even sometimes twice if I leave and have to call back to re-explain!

Dr. Lee is always very informative with me. One experience that's stands out is when they found cysts. The nurse was trying to explain to me "how big" they were. Now keep in mind I only have one ovary and had the other removed due to cysts so naturally this scared me. She overheard her explaination and made sure to come in and clarify and put it into perspective! She had a treatment plan ready and it was taken care of within the next month. I trust her and she is very honest about possible options. I much prefer that to beating around the bush.

Come in with questions. She is patient and will answer all questions. I have never felt rushed.

My first IUI I did the Gonal F and Ovidrel and my second they did the Gonal F and Letrozole. I had a negative result each time but with the second attempt I had more follicles that were larger.

I have only done IUI which some of the services were covered by insurance. Medication cost approximately $500 and the IUI procedure was $300

I have not gone through this yet.

This clinic is amazing, it is VERY popular so sometimes you may have to wait a little bit as Dr. Chantilis is very popular in the Dallas area for infertility. I heard before I went to see him that people say he could "get a rock pregnant" - which was funny to me but I appreciated that they had such confidence in him. Since he is good at what he does sometimes the waiting room is packed!

Before seeing Dr. Chantilis, I saw Dr. Gada at DFW Fertility Assoc. Southlake. Dr Gada was fine, but seemed to really be pushing us toward IVF. He (Gada) determined I did not need a laparoscopy done and instead proceeded to do IUI's. Both IUI's failed, after that I decided I wanted another opinion. In our FIRST meeting, Dr. Chantilis was MUCH more thorough, and said I don't want to say you need surgery, but you have every symptom of endometriosis. We did surgery, he was right, they found it in 12 places and also discovered my left ovary was attached to my abdominal wall. Dr. Chantilis took the time to really investigate my case, not shove me toward IVF.

Holly (which is also my name -so it's easy to remember) is the name of Dr Chantilis's nurse she is extremely kind, very detail oriented and has great relational skills. She is sweet while also making it clear she's there to help me get pregnant! She always calls the same day if I only go in for a sono/bloodwork with the results and she always provides a lot of detail so I don't even need to call her back.

Dr. Chantilis is a kind, compassionate, more reserved man that pays extremely close attention to detail. He is VERY professional, while also demonstrating compassion. He makes the patient feel safe, assured, and personally treated. I appreciate that he takes the time to really understand the couple and every aspect he can get his hands on to help find an issue. He also did not shove us toward IVF and encouraged us to try on our own for a while (after he cleaned up the endometriosis he found during my laparoscopy). I also appreciated that after my laparoscopy he came out into the waiting room (while I was waking up) and chatted with my mom/husband with photos of all he had found. He explained the pictures to them and even joked with my mom which lightened the mood. Infertility is painful, uncharted, and scary, he brings his knowledge, sweet personality and funniness to the table which helps the process become more bearable. He also is not in it to see you pay him for IVF which I value EXTREMELY.

Feel free to ask him questions, if he seems a little shy at first he will continue to warm up and be a little more silly and comfortable as you continue getting to know him.

Thus far, all we have done is laparoscopy (Jan 2017) and they tracked my last ovulation cycle because my periods were short so they wanted to make sure I was ovulating. I appreciate that even though I had surgery, instead of saying or your body is just adjusting, they tracked my ovulation with ultrasounds/sonos and did a progesterone blood test to be sure everything was working. HOPEFULLY we get pregnant over the next few months on our own now that my body is regulating!

All of my ultrasounds have been covered, I have had to pay the co-pay (it's $40 since he's a specialist). The surgery was pretty pricey (Laparoscopy) had to pay $1,000 to Dr. Chantilis and then much more to the hospital/anesthesiologist.

They are 99% on time and get you in and out in a timely manner. They work hard to get you in at a time that works best for you. I have a crazy schedule and they are amazing about trying to work with me. I love them. They always have a smiling face and the thing I love the most is they treat you like family. I was transferring our one embryo that was inconclusive and when I left their clinic to go and get the paperwork as I walked out she said " go and get your children". Seems silly, but it meant a lot to me!

For the first time a doctor sat with me while I cried and told me that it may take a while, but there is no reason why you shouldn't get you pregnant. Then at every appointment we have been to in the Southlake office, the staff has been amazing, so nice and caring. The first appointment I had with Dr. Gada he sat with us for over an hour and a half, to answer any and every question we had. His nurses go above and beyond to help us to understand what it is that they are telling us, no matter the amount of time it takes. They always remember who we are and take the time to find out how we are feeling. They are amazing!

They have many strengths. They are so helpful and have a wonder bedside manner. I am a little worry wort and they always know how to relieve my anxiety. They treat me with compassion and make sure I understand each step. The only thing I would say negative wise is from their Dallas office. They a little more business upfront, less warm and fuzzy. All in all though they are amazing, and I would recommend them again and again.

Dr. Gada has a wonderful beside manner. He makes you feel comfortable and confident in his decision for treatment. He goes above and beyond to reassure you when things are going well, and comfort you when there is bad news or a set back. Dr. Gada is very personable. He is willing to give you a lot of time and never makes you feel rushed. There really is no "dumb" question and he takes the time to answer each of them. He will tell you like it is, but in a very respectable manner.

If you have a question, ask it.

I am on an agonist protocol because of the PCOS. They had me on 10 unit of lupron for 10 days then took that down to 5 units. Then I take Menopur every morning and Lupron and Gonal f at night. I started off with 150 gonal f until my first blood work and have now been on 225 gonal f. Everything else has stayed the same. I am having to stim for a couple days longer, but I should be retrieving in the next few days.

$16,000 for ICSI, Retrieval, all sono, bloodwork, genetic testing, and meds. I will have to pay another $4,000 for the transfer.

My doctor doesn't have a huge preference until you are wanting to transfer more than 2. He recommends only one.

My only complaint about this clinic is that they are a bit disorganized. I never got reminder phone calls about appointments. Once I was called while I was on my way to my appointment and told that my appointment time was actually early than I'd been told. They didn't care that much that I was late, but I'm not sure who was right in that situation. I had a surgery before my FET cycle started and at the post-op appointment, the doctor said he wanted to see me on the first couple days of my next cycle for a scan and we could get started after that. Turns out that was my baseline sono to start our FET cycle and I got all of my cycle paperwork that morning and had to pay our fees. I was not expecting that, but maybe I'd misunderstood at previous appointment. If I hadn't been through IVF and FETs at a previous clinic, I think the lack of preparedness would have stressed me out. But as a veteran infertility patient, it didn't bother me too much. I knew what questions to ask and more or less what to expect in each step of the process.

Dr. Gada was very attentive and treated me and my husband like people, not just numbers.

I loved all of the nurses and nursing staff. They were knowledgeable and helpful with all questions.

I love Dr. Gada. He was always willing to answer all of my questions, no matter how silly I thought they were. He explained everything as clearly as possible, but still providing a lot of the science behind decisions, which I liked. He ran whatever tests I asked for, even though some he warned probably wouldn't yield any usable findings. He really seemed well-educated in the most recent IVF techniques and research, willing to try different things to create a better outcome.

Go see him and at least listen to his ideas on how to proceed. Be prepared for him to answer a quick text while he's in with you, but that just means he'll do that for you later on too.

Dr. Gada seemed satisfied with our remaining frozen embryos from our first IVF cycle at a different clinic. (We'd seen another doctor just before in our attempts to get second opinions who said our embryos weren't good after two chemicals and we should fork up the money for a new round of IVF at their clinic). He explained that there will always be about half of the embryos that don't work because of genetics and whatnot. He said lupron was not needed for our frozen transfer prep, so we skipped that and went straight to estrogen pills twice a day for a few weeks. I also added vitamin D and baby aspirin to the protocol because, while they have not been proven to help, they don't hurt anything. After about two weeks on the estrogen pills, I had a lining check and started progesterone in oil nightly (at a higher dosage than I'd used before). Transfer was in the lab facilities in a clean, operating room attached to the lab itself. We transferred two embryos because of my previous chemical pregnancies; he said we'd been cautious before and would be comfortable doing either one or two embryos. I continued on estrogen and progesterone until week 12. I am currently 13 weeks pregnant with twins.

The FET was $3000. We transferred our embryos to their lab also, and that fee was about $400 I think.

The doctor had us fill out a form explaining what the clinic recommends based on my age and history. Because we'd been cautious in the past and had so many chemical pregnancies, the doctor was ok with our decision to transfer two embryos.

They were organized, kind, and explained every step of the IVF process. Payment process was not explained well. If you had insurance coverage wasn’t explained 100% either. I did know what my final cost would be.

I felt like I was apart of the entire process. He put everything that was about to unfold into terms I could understand and genuinely wanted my feedback. He knew my anxiety was high and he continually made me feel at ease. He was kind, but blunt. I respected that.

They were kind, and answered questions when I was panicking. They really wanted success for me and were compassionate.

I loved being a patient of Dr. Chantilis. He’s a bit quirky, but loved that about him. He was very honest about our chances in conceiving, but still made us feel at ease. He did run a little behind schedule on our transfer day, but still eased my anxiety. He was positive through the whole process. We got the results we were hoping for and are hoping to return to him next April (2019) for our last embryo transfer. We only had two perfect embryos and so we are hoping for the same results. I would trust Dr. Chantilis with my life. He’s an amazing doctor.

Go in with an open mind. He has a quirky bedside manor but is different when you meet with him for results. If you can’t handle brutal honesty he probably not a doctor you should see as he doesn’t sugar coat things. If he feels he can’t handle you due to weight, severity of issues present etc. he will let you know. He wants what’s best for you and will do his best to keep you from a high risk situation.

Not sure exactly, but I was on estrace, lupron, and follistim with a trigger shot. After transfer progesterone in oil until 10 weeks

After insurance about 4000.00

He would only do one embryo due to my age and not having recurrent loses.

The only downside is the procedures are in Dallas, about an hour drive from the clinic. Everything else was absolutely fantastic. I'm willing to drive to have the best care

The entire office knew me by name. It took a while to find the right treatment to get my embryos implant, and when they were negative or cycles cancelled, they hugged me, encouraged me, and comforted me. It was way beyond what had to be done, I felt like a part of a team all working together to get my miracle family started.

Nancy, Shelley and the entire staff were like family to me. They hugged and comforted me when things didn't go well. When I did get my positive they yelled and celebrated with me. I absolutely love everyone in the office. I couldn't have asked for better support through a difficult process

My husband and I both work in analytical fields. Dr. Gada was so patient and dove deep into the data with us, answering all our questions, giving us supporting data. When there was a problem at the lab, he helped make it right quickly and assured us it would go as planned or we wouldn't pay. He was caring when we hit frustrations and I felt like he cared deeply about our results too. My husband and I truly loved Dr. Gada as our doctor

Make your appointment now, don't wait. He really cares deeply about his patient, and is so kind to his staff. I felt I was among family. Bring your questions and worries, Dr Gada will address them all

My egg retrieval was straight forward. 12 eggs, 8 fertilized, 4 healthy 5 day. My lining was really troublesome. The lining would get close, but not reach a good number. We ended up using letrozole in the cycle and my lining went from average of 6.5 to 7.5mm. We had to adjust progesterone a few times with that, but we eventually got there.

My insurance covered the majority of the costs (so blessed). I fought hard to have the lab portion covered and I did eventually win

We went with single transfer, single, and then double. I felt like he did an excellent job explaining the risks, especially with my lining issues

The clinic is very busy - I felt like a number at this clinic. I saw a sonographer more than my doctor. I did not feel like I received sufficient care from my doctor.

My meeting with Dr Thomas were great and I could feel her compassion. But the practice is extremely busy. I rarely was able to meet with Dr Thomas. Often when I met with her (for visits we paid cash for - 100% out of pocket) she would be getting paged or interrupted so the visits were unsatisfactory or disjointed because she was distracted. She would often be running late. Sonographers did all of my ultrasounds and they were frequently not sure of what they were seeing, which would cause me to have to return to the office for an additional ultrasound (which I had to pay for because we were out of pocket). The doctors, nurses and sonographers did not communicate well, which resulted in confusion in my protocol for my last two IUI cycles.

Nurses didn't check the web portal, were hard to reach via phone and didn't have good communication with Dr Thomas. I constantly had to ask about meds, clarify dosage and have them follow-up with Dr Thomas. Additionally, I often felt like I was bothering them with questions.

This practice is very busy and centered around seeing as many patients as possible vs patient care. Sonographers did all of my ultrasounds. Dr Thomas frequently didn't communicate changes in protocol to nurses so I was constantly having to advocate for myself and ask about medications Dr Thomas wanted me to take. I reminded Dr Thomas every single IUI that I spotted and she would need to have me on progesterone, yet each time she forgot and I had to ask about it. Dr Thomas was frequently distracted when we had consultations and was often being paged.

I would get opinions from several clinics and also ask how involved Dr Thomas will actually be involved in patient care vs sonographers. Ask about her communication of protocol changes to nurses.

2 IUIs with femera, 1 with injectables. No pregnancy. Multiple ultrasounds because she frequently thought something was wrong with my uterus but never found anything.

about $1k/IUI

NA

I vastly preferred this practice to the other practice I went to in Dallas. One thing I found odd was the pictures of babies all over the waiting room. However, I did like the big window looking out onto a tree. Anyway, Dr. Lee is great. She is really kind and thoughtful and I totally recommend her.

I had a bad experience with another fertility doctor in the Dallas area before I came to Dr. Lee as a patient. I told her why I didn't like the other Dallas-based doctor - I felt like he didn't make eye contact with me or talk directly to me but instead focused on my husband during important discussions. I also didn't feel like other Dallas-based doctor wanted to partner with another doctor we had been seeing in California to get a second opinion on how to handle my diagnosis of Asherman's Syndrome (intrauterine scarring caused by a D&C following a miscarriage) and was defensive and weird about taking suggestions from other doctors. As a result, Dr. Lee was a total dream. She made so much eye contact with me and always spoke directly to me and made sure I understood everything. She was also really happy to work with the California doctor and have us go to him for hysteroscopies and then come to her for fertility drugs when we got the green light to conceive. Dr. Lee definitely made me feel like a human.

I don't really remember. The truth is that we dealt mostly with Dr. Lee directly (which I liked).

I went to Dr. Lee after I left another Dallas-based fertility doctor's practice. I was in the process of being treated for Asherman's Syndrome by a doctor in California. Dr. Lee agreed to partner with the California doctor on the treatment of my Asherman's Syndrome and then when the California doctor said it was okay to move forward, Dr. Lee was going to give us fertility drugs and help us actually get pregnant since I also have PCOS and wasn't ovulating regularly. So basically she just held our hand in Dallas while I was having my Asherman's Syndrome treated in California (two hysteroscopies followed by estrogen therapy), and then provided a protocol for trying to get pregnant once it was okay to try again. I only did only one cycle with Dr. Lee because I got pregnant that first try - yay! It was quite the experience though: I took letrozole and follistim and then did a trigger shot plus timed intercourse. At the time of the trigger shot, I had a lot of mature looking follicles (10+) BUT my lining was very thin (only around 4mm). Dr. Lee was a little concerned about the risk of multiples, but thought it was extremely unlikely that I would get pregnant because my lining was so thin and she actually thought I should have yet another hysteroscopy to figure out what was going on. I think the idea had been to do an IUI or a fresh IVF transfer but that plan got called off because of the thin lining and we didn't want to freeze embryos because we were about to move to yet another city. Anyway, we did the timed intercourse with the thin lining and lots of follicles and I got pregnant with di-tri triplets (identical twins sharing a placenta plus a singleton). I think Dr. Lee felt bad that this was the result since she knew it would be a really complicated pregnancy with an uncertain outcome and to reduce the risks, I would have to choose a multi-fetal pregnancy reduction of the identical twins (I remember what she said at the ultrasound: "I've seen this work out" - not what you want to hear). I opted for the multi-fetal pregnancy reduction of the identical twins (this was done with a MFM doctor in New York City, not Dallas). Multiples like this when you already have fertility issues can be very emotionally painful - I'm still sad about what happened. So that really sucked. HOWEVER, I do have a beautiful daughter who is almost 2 and is doing great and I have Dr. Lee in part to thank for that! She was a really tiny baby (3 pounds 11 ounces) and had to come out early due to intrauterine growth restriction either caused by the Asherman's Syndrome or by the triplet pregnancy. Anyway, yes - I got the result I wanted: one healthy child and on the first try with this doctor! But, no, it was not an easy experience. I still really like Dr. Lee though, obviously. She has great bedside manner.

I don't have any. She's great.

I think I already described it above. We did one cycle of letrozole, follistim, trigger shot and timed intercourse. In retrospect, this was probably too aggressive. See the multiples issue described above. But on the other hand it worked!

I remember spending about $400 on medications for the one medicated cycle that we did and maybe another few hundred dollars for some ultrasounds that were not covered during this cycle. I think everything else was covered by our insurance and I only paid co-pays. I really don't remember though.

I don't have any thoughts on this because we didn't get there with this doctor and I didn't really talk to her about it. I think she is more open to multiples than other doctors I've been too though.

This clinic is clean, and professional. However, I never felt that the lady that checked me out after my appts was that friendly. She wasn't very warm. But, the environment aside from her was friendly.

I felt like both a number and human in that she didn't really show any emotion or encourage when I was saddened by an unsuccessful cycle or ectopic miscarriage. However, she was pleasant.

The nursing staff was very friendly, professional, compassionate, and encouraging.

Karen Lee is a very pleasant doctor. She was very thorough and honest with me about my diagnosis, treatment, and what to expect. She's very professional and gives attention to detail. However, I didn't feel that she was in tune with my emotions. It kind of felt like she was afraid to get a little emotionally invested in what I was feeling as a patient. I don't recall her ever giving me words of encouragment on those tough days I found out I had an ectopic miscarriage. While I liked her as a person and doctor, I just feel that sympathy was missing.

Let her know that you not only need her to sympathize on those tough days; you need her to acknowledge your pain, and not quietly walk away.

I can't remember specifics of my protocol as it was 5 yrs ago, but I do remember during my iui had to use egg stimulating hormones, have my follicles monitored and checked every other day, and triggered with ovudriel when it was time. During my IVF protocol I again used egg stimulating hormone injections such as lupron, and progesterone in oil (PIO). I also used the trigger shot when it was time.

Monitoring appts went smoothly. It wasn't uncomfortable. Dr. Lee was very gentle. None of the appts conflicted with my schedule.

I don't remember the exact cost, but I do remember paying little to nothing for my mefication and treatment as my insurance covered the majority of my treatment and medication bills.

Dr. Lee just advised that I transfer 2 embryos during my first round of IVF, and 1 embryo during my FET.