Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates

Dr Lee is a caring, knowledge, and highly skilled physician. She performed HSG, hysteroscopy (x2), retreivals, and transfers on me herself at the main office (Glen Lakes). I had minimal or no discomfort during the procedures. She is an efficient communicator. She clearly has a wealth of knowledge and experience in infertility treatment.

As previous reviews have stated, educate yourself and ask questions. This is a large busy clinic where your one-on-one time with Dr Lee with seem limited. Although I was disappointed with this at first, I realized she is attentive to the details of my care (labs, US etc..) and her decision-making is excellent. She clearly has both knowledge and experience in her field. One of the major factors for me choosing this group was the quality of the lab.

I was diagnosed with PCOS and bilateral tubal factor so I went straight to IVF. Dr Lee recommend a standard agonist protocol (follistim 300, menopur 75), once with HCG trigger, once with Lupron trigger. Both cycles resulted in very good egg yield (41, 39). ICSI was added on the second cycle due to low fertilization rate on the first cycle. PGS testing was not recommended and not completed initially. Frozen transfer cycles were artificial medicated cycles with estrogen pills, with estrogen patches added for thin lining. Two retreivals, three transfers (of 4 embryos) have resulted in one live birth.

Dr Lee recommends one or two untested embryos, or one PGS-tested embryo for transfer.

Dr. Thomas has always created an environment of openness and made me feel comfortable trusting her. I have never felt like she did anything but be fully honest yet always hopeful. She’s done a fantastic job of that delicate balance. She’s felt like a huge cheerleader in our journey but always transparent.

I would advice a patient to come prepared with any and all questions for Dr. thomas and she will happily answer them and more.

We came to Dr. Thomas having a failed IUI with another Dr. and being told IVF was our only option going forward. She received us compassionately and said she first wanted to run a few tests and do a procedure to ensure my Fallopian tubes weren’t blocked. The first doctor never even mentioned that was an option much less suggested it. Our first impression brought us gratitude at her thoroughness and protocol to start with lease invasive treatments first. IVF was confirmed as the next step. I was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve with poor quality eggs and my husband with male infertility, similar to my issues. In light of that, she chose to do an Lupron trigger protocol for our first round of IVF and retrieved 9 eggs. 3 fertilized. She transferred 2 embryos for a day 5 transfer- the thought being giving them time to mature more before transferring. We also did ICSY because of the lack of health of my husband’s sperm. The the third embryo did not make it to be frozen. We got a negative pregnancy test. For our second round of IVF she changed our protocol to the estrogen priming protocol. She retrieved 7 eggs. 3 fertilized using ICSY. 3 were transferred in a day 3 transfer with the thinking that if they were put in my body sooner they would have a healthier environment and a better chance to survive. We got a negative pregnancy test. For our 3rd round of IVF we used the same protocol. 7 eggs were retrieved. 5 fertilized with ICSY. 3 were transferred with a day 3 transfer and one embryo made it to be frozen. We were told we were technically pregnant but practically not- a chemical pregnancy. We got a negative test the second time. This then left us with one frozen embryo. We then did a FET with the typical protocol which resulted in the pregnancy and birth of our beautiful and healthy daughter! We then did a 4th IVF cycle. Same estrogen priming protocol. During the stimulation I experienced a lead/dominate follicle and the cycle was cancelled just prior to the transfer. We were told while this doesn’t happen a whole lot it is definitely more common with diminished ovarian reserve bc of so few eggs. She did not feel there was a high chance we would experience this back to back and to try again. We then did our 5th round of IVF, with no changes in the protocol and my body seemed to respond really well for me with 10 follicles measuring , 8 being healthily mature, going into the retrieval. When Dr. Thomas went in to retrieve those eggs there were only 3 there, all very immature ones. I apparently prematurely ovulated. Dr. Thomas was just as shocked as we were. None of those 3 fertilized so transferring was no longer an option. She expressed this happening maybe once a year or every other year and either I was in that small percentage or there was an issue with the effectiveness of trigger shot I used. She is pursuing gathering that info and reporting it to the medicinal manufacturer. To say we were devastated is an understatement. She said there was nothing I could have done different. Should we do IVF again she would monitor me just prior to the retrieval to ensure the follicles are there to spare going through a retrieval unnecessarily. So, here we are now..and are considering doing embryo adoption.

IVF 1: we had insurance that covered infertility treatments so we paid about $2000 out of pocket IVF 2: we had a small amount left of infertility insurance coverage so we paid about $9,000 out of pocket IVF 3 : $3000 office visits $3500 lab $1340 ICSY $500 anesthesia FET: $1500 office $1450 lab $500 meds IVF 4-5: $3000 + $1500 office visits $4500 lab (some to be reimbursed if we don’t continue with fertility treatments since we didn’t do the freeze all and FET.) $500 anesthesia $7,100 Meds

I’m grateful that Dr. Thomas took into consideration our specific issues to make the decisions as to doing multiple embryo transfers. We fully supported her going from 2 to 3 for the rest of our cycles knowing our odds were lower than most.

Dr. Chantilis is clearly very knowledgeable, though his bedside manner is not the warmest. He is thorough - he performed multiple tests before starting treatment to ensure every box was checked first. While I trust his expertise, I often had a hard time truly understanding what he was telling me or explaining to me because he is very technical - sometimes it can be a little intimidating to push for further clarification when you don't understand the medical lingo. He clearly sees a lot of patients, so a few times I felt like I had to remind him of my particular situation. I have had a few tests where my results were on the border of being normal vs. concerning (likely not causing my issues, but still a slight possibility). In both cases, he preferred to go the route of treating for each issue.

Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions and push for better explanation if you can't understand what is being described.

I have experienced multiple early miscarriages - 3 before seeing Dr. Chantilis and 1 while under his care. After multiple tests upfront to check for any possible explanations for my miscarriages, we started a cycle of Clomid. The first cycle we used Clomid + a shot of Ovidrel and timed intercourse but did not get pregnant. The second cycle we used Clomid + Ovidrel + IUI and got pregnant. Unfortunately HCG levels fluctuated irregularly and I miscarried around 6 weeks.

My insurance covered everything (I pay a co-pay at visits) except for semen prep fee ($160) for IUIs because the IVF lab is not covered by my insurance.

Dr. Thomas is extremely knowledgable and thorough. She caught things my first fertility doctor missed or skipped over. She is involved in adjusting my treatment plan as needed. She is compassionate and has a great staff around her to support her patients.

I would set your expectations that you likely won't see her or speak to her each visit. She has a great set of nurses around her that do most of the communicating.

I have gone through 1 IVF cycle with Dr. Thomas. She had me prime with estradiol pills for about 1 week before my cycle. I then started 300 IU of Follistim and 150 IU of Menopur for 4 evenings. I added Ganorelix the 5th evening. I took stim medication for 9 days prior to triggering with Pregnyl. Dr. Thomas retrieved 12 eggs. 10 fertilized and 3 made it to blastocyst. We are still awaiting our genetic testing results.

We had some insurance coverage, so we paid estimated fees to the clinic. After our first 2 cycles of IVF, we ended up with a credit of over $6,000.

Since we opted for genetic testing, Dr. Thomas will only allow us to transfer 1 embryo at a time.

Dr. Thomas was very knowledgable and systematic in her approach. She was also willing to order additional testing that I felt like I needed to have the information from. When I was able to see her, she was personable and compassionate. She was reassuring when things weren't going exactly as planned and guided me to make the best decisions for me even when they were harder choices to make. I wish I was able to see her at more of my appointments as I often had questions that the other staff could not answer.

Come with a list of questions when you do see her, because that will probably be one of the only times you will get to ask all of your questions face to face.

After recurrent pregnancy loss with some genetic abnormalities found in a few of the losses, Dr. Thomas said we should try and screen embryos for genetic abnormalities before placing them back in. So we did IVF with PGS

IVF 18000 including genetic testing and ICSI 800 embryo storage yearly

A single embryo was the only option discussed.

She was a great listener, very receptive to my requests and concerns. I felt comfortable approaching her with my many questions. Always kind, never felt like she was rushed when talking to me. Never felt pressured to jump straight into IVF.

Advocate for yourself but trust the process.

We started out with medicated cycle, the first cycle did not render the desired result so we added Gonal F. I responded too well to both Letrozole (5mg) + Gonal F (75iu) and developed over 8 follicles. That medicated cycle was converted to IVF. We triggered with Ovidrel and 36 hours later at retrieval discovered I had ovulated and were only able to retrieve 4 eggs, 3 mature, 2 fertilized and we attempted a Day 3 transfer, which was unsuccessful. Attempted last medicated cylce Letrozole (5mg) with lower dose Gonal F (37.5iu), triggered with Ovidrel and was unsuccessful. Moved on to IUI and similar medication and unsuccessful results for 2 cycles, IUI's schedule ~35hrs post trigger. Last 2 cycles we removed Letrozole and tried higher dose of Gonal F (75iu) + Ovidrel, IUI's schedule ~35hrs post trigger. My last IUI we tried Gonal F 75 iu for cycle day 5-9 and 37.5 in on CD 10, 3 18mm follicles. Triggered and did IUI 33hr post trigger. This last cycle was successful. Currently 30 weeks expecting twins.

IVF retrieval was about $4K and was the transfer. IUI was roughly $750 (procedure, sperm prep). Provided access to reduced cost medication through partner pharmacy, Encompass. Each IUI cycle cost roughly $900 with medication.

Only considered multiple because in my case it was a Day 3 transfer.

I went to Dr. Lee to inquire about using my eggs which were frozen when I was younger to conceive our second child. Since the pandemic has put our plans on hold, we talked about future plans since not much can be done right now My first was conceived naturally and quickly, so she was encouraging about trying to get pregnant naturally while we wait for restrictions to be lifted. To keep the ball moving, I was able to schedule a hysteroscopy and sent forms to ship/transfer my eggs when we are ready. She was very thorough in explaining the process and options, although it's confusing for someone who does not have a background. It would have been helpful if they gave me some literature or notes to go home with.

Write down options - pros and cons so patients can remember and go home with all the info to make an informed decision. It's a lot of information to process.

Unfortunately we couldn't do much except for a consultation, hysteroscopy and blood work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But she explained it didn't make sense to use my current eggs because my frozen ones are probably a better quality and was very positive that it would be successful. Hoping we can go back soon!

Due to my insurance covering most of it, would be , $750 to ship my eggs, $2000 for thawing and transferring the eggs, $500 for medication, $3500 genetic testing, plus the cost of egg storage. Total around $7k.

Dr. Chantilis is polite and welcoming. He makes you feel comfortable when talking about concerns or procedures needed and when asking questions . He shows confidence when discussing procedures needed but also make sure I know all of my options and that the decision is alway up to me.

Make sure to always ask questions if you do not understand what is being said.

I was put on birth control, labs were drawn to monitor my hormone levels and vaginal ultra sounds done. The ultra sounds showed I have 2 cysts on my left ovary one larger than the other. I was given the option to have them removed or proceed and was made aware of the potential outcome of each choice given.

The office visits, ultrasounds and labs we're covered with my insurance. The FDA Labs were not covered by insurance and were extremely expensive. All of the procedures my husband had done were out-of-pocket expenses. I was going to add him to my insurance before all this started but was informed that his procedures would not be covered by insurance. Phone consultations are expensive. For a 15 minutes phone conversation I paid $50. That's around $3.33 per minute. If you talk for 16 minutes you get charged for 30 minutes. With all that being said I understand that anything being done that has to do with IVF procedures is going to be expensive.

While Dr. Lawrence is very busy, she made my husband and I feel like we were the only ones that mattered to her when she met with us. She never rushed us through anything, but took time to thoughtfully explain things to us and to answer our questions. She left me a thoughtful--and long!--message before my first egg retrieval about why things had been so difficult. After the failed retrieval, she called and spoke to me for over a half hour about why things may have happened the way they did and to check on me. She adjusted the approach for my next round of IVF, which was significantly more successful. She is warm, funny, honest, and knowledgeable--all way which made me feel like I was in good hands.

Take advantage of your interactions with her to ask questions and to get her feedback.

Two rounds of IVF was expensive, but I have good insurance that covered the bulk of it. I probably paid around $10k out of pocket for various medications or lab fees that weren't covered by insurance.

She listens well and considered all of my questions and concerns. I do feel like even though the clinic is busy and she has a lot of patients, she reviewed my case and my history specifically when deciding best options for me.

Ask questions. She’s going to give you high level information, but if you want to know about other options or question why she does one method over another, ask. She will always answer your questions and consider your concerns on treatment.

We did IVF using gonal f, menopur, and cetrotide with a dual trigger at the end. Because of previous miscarriages we did a freeze all to biopsy for PGT-A testing.

We paid for the medications out of pocket because it ended up being a better deal than using insurance. We also paid for genetic testing out of pocket because it wasn’t covered by insurance. We paid up front deposits to both the lab and clinic. Everything else was filed through insurance. All in all, it’s a pricy procedure but on par with other clinics.

Because we are doing PGT-A testing, the policy is to transfer only one embryo at a time.

Dr. Thomas was very sensitive in her delivery when she told me she thinks I have borderline DOR. I’ve always suspected egg quality was the issue why we aren’t conceiving, and she suspects the same. Reading my health history, she also called in a mammogram since it’s been 2 years since my last one. This is in my records for every dr. I see, but she’s the only one to action an updated test.

Send your test results in beforehand so she knows what she’s working with. Come prepared with questions, and take lots of notes.

I’m just starting my first IUI cycle, and Dr. Thomas has me on 5mg Letrozole CD3-7, 75 units of gonal F CD5-8, and ultrasound on CD9 to determine if I need more stimulation or am ready to trigger.

Dr. Thomas personally went to the front desk and asked for my insurance coverage benefits. I was not even charged a specialist visit copay for my initial consultation and ultrasound. I asked if that was a mistake, and the front desk receptionist said I would owe at my CD9 ultrasound.

He’s a pretty awkward guy with not the best bedside manners. He is very well known in the RE field as he has been practicing for 25 years. That’s the reason why he’s very busy and also the reason why I went to see him. He performed a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy procedure on me for an endometrial polyp removal and I was told that the polyp was removed and so we proceeded with IVF 2 months after the surgery and he assured me that the rest of the uterus looked great and my success rate with IVF is very high. A little info about me- amh 3.3, age 32, husband sperm is normal and we did conventional IVF. I had unsynchronized follicular growth on day 6 of stim with one dominant follicle measuring 17mm. I was told to continue my stim dosage and proceeded with egg retrieval. 12 eggs were retrieved but only 5 were mature- only one day 5 blastocyst formed and that was ET and failed to implant. After this devastating outcome I consulted with 3 other RE and all of them informed me that it was caused by a poor stimulation protocol: chantilis should have cancelled your cycle due to unsynchronized growth and also he triggered you too early. One month after the failed IVF, I went to see another RE and we proceeded with another cycle of IVF. 28 eggs retrieved and resulted in 15 d5 and d6 blastocysts. When you compare the two results- 1 d5 blastocyst vs 15 d5/d6 blastocyst within a 2 months window you know it was NOT your body/egg reserve that caused the drastic results. I did SIS with the second RE doctor and was told that I have an endometrial polyp (same location and size as the previous one) that needed to be removed before FET. This news obviously was not taken well by me and my husband as I went through a hysteroscopy 6 months ago with chantilis. My husband reached out to chantilis and we were told that the polyp was indeed removed according to his clinical note and that he’s not sure why it came back. I remember before the surgery with chantilis I was told that the reoccurrence rate of polyp is at least 18 months. So now I’ve to undergo another hysteroscopy to remove something that should have been removed in the first place! On top of the poor stimulation protocol, he failed to remove a polyp and that has caused so many unnecessary heartaches and stress for me and my husband. IVF is already a difficult journey for couples and he has made this process 100x difficult for us emotionally, physically and financially.

Make sure he puts you on an individualized stimulation protocol for IVF!!!

For me like I mentioned earlier it was a poor stimulation protocol that resulted in a failed IVF cycle. He should have cancelled my cycle after seeing unsynchronized follicular growth. He triggered me when my E2 was 1700. For someone with a 3.3 AMH and AFC 30-35 you want to be triggered at a higher E2 which will yield a high number of mature eggs and thus embryos. I was told by 3 other REs after the failed cycle that this result was completely caused by a poor stimulation protocol by the doctor and that I’m a straightforward IVF case bc of my robust eggs.

Cash patient 1500 lap and hysteroscopy 3000 for GA and 3000 for facility fee 8400 IVF with fresh transfer 3000 IVF meds ( not included) 800 cryopreservation IVF lab Pgs- 2000-2500 for the IVF lab and 300/embryo for coopergeomics

I did not consider multiple embryo transfer bc of my age

Mika has been by far the best doctor, not just fertility specialist, that I've ever seen. Mika has taken an immense amount of time to make sure that I feel understood and that I have had clear expectations at every step. Mika has been conservative in her treatment plan, which is something I dearly wanted. Over the course of the last year we have slowly increased our efforts rather than immediately jumping to invasive procedures. I'm currently undergoing IVF with Mika and she has made the process as emotionally painless as possible. I wouldn't see anyone else.

Ask all your questions and never feel intimidated, Mika is very compassionate and wants you to feel heard.

in August of 2018 I suffered a tubal pregnancy and ruptured fallopan tube, resulting in a salpingectomy. After I recovered for a few months, I made an appointment with Mika. I'm 35 and being 1 tube down I wanted to have as much guidance as possible. Mika and I discussed a plan and she heard me that I wanted to be as minimally invasive as possible. For the first few cycles we tracked my ovulation and I used the ovusense and OPK to confirm it. After 3 failed cycles we began adding clomid, did that for 2 months and then tried 2 cycles with femara/letrozole. After that didn't work we decided to try two rounds of IUI. The first did not take and after that I decided to take a cycle off. We tried again and that one didn't take, so we decided to give IVF a try. I just had my first ever retrieval and Mika made the entire experience so easy and so much less scary than I thought it would be. She was able to retreive 22 eggs (!) and in the end 12 of them grew into healthy blastocysts. We are waiting on PGS results now and then will try our first transfer. wish us luck!

I think our freeze all cycle with PGS was around $12K plus the cost to the pgs testing lab and medications

We haven't had this conversation yet.

I can be described as very impatient. I was positive we would be successful on our first try and once we were on our third IUI, I was pretty upset. She quickly met with me to discuss my concerns and offered alternative supplements to take. She always made I was comfortable during the IUI and always had a positive attitude.

Speak up with questions

Our infertility was male factor and we were using donor sperm, there was nothing to indicate I'd have issues getting pregnant. We started with an HSG and blood test and everything came back normal. First treatment was Clomid only. I had great follicle growth and progesterone levels after the IUI. After my period came three days early, she added progesterone suppositories after each IUI. Second IUI was also clomid only with progesterone after ovulation. Third IUI was Clomid with Gonal F and progesterone after ovulation. Fourth IUI was Clomid with Gonal F. When I had slow follicle growth, she added days of Gonal and then progesterone after ovulation. Fourth IUI was successful.

Procedures, donor sperm thawing, follicular ultrasounds, bloodwork

NA

She’s an incredible doctor. She is passionate about what she does and truly wants the best for her patients. If one protocol doesn’t work she is will try something else for a better result. She understands that many decisions in infertility made based on finances and not desires and that this process is a huge emotional and financial burden. She has given me a son and a daughter and when my son passed away she was at his bedside. I recommend her to anyone who is having trouble conceiving. She is incredible and I am very grateful for her guidance

She will do everything she can to get you pregnant! She will be your biggest cheerleader!

To be honest, even though I am a nurse, I did not pay attention to the specific drugs and doses. I trust my doctor and assume she knows best. I know she did make changes throughout my 4 retrievals to maximize the results but I did not obsess over the specifics.

IVF with meds is about $12000 per round

Due to my age, my Dr was willing to transfer 3 non tested, day 3 embryos. We ended with one healthy boy.

Dr. Chantilis is extremely knowledgeable and compassionate. He is willing to tell you his honest opinion about your specific diagnosis and treatment. He has excellent bedside manner. When we decided to look into fertility treatments, I was 34. I had previously had my tubes tied and been remarried to my husband who has no children. We decided to move forward with Dr. Chantilis after hearing rave reviews from my obgyn of 20 years. He gave us his honest opinion to move forward with IVF, as not to waste unnecessary time and money. He was right all along.

Listen and follow through with his fertility plan for your specific diagnosis.

I’ve had a tubal reversal. Only one tube was salvaged. We have done timed intercourse, timed intercourse with clomid and gonal. I’ve taken metformin for PCOS. My husband has taken clomid and treatment for retrograde ejaculation. We have done IUI’s, at least 4 HSG’s, countless blood work and sonograms over 3 1/2 years. We have gotten pregnant once that ended in an ectopic pregnancy and now we are hopeful to move forward with IVF or INVOcell.

They elect to transfer one embryo unless there are other serious factors.

Dr. Lee is very intelligent and knows what she is doing. She is an expert in the field and is aggressive with doing treatments, especially when you express a need or desire to do a next step. However, she lacks a bit with the bed side manner and seems like she doesn’t love the social part of the treatment process.

Ask questions and tell her what you want. Know that she might not be the mushy lovey dovey doctor that doubles as a therapist. She is only there to treat you.

We did 1 cycle times intercourse and clomid, 3 cycles of TI, with clomid and gonal F. I am unexplained, so there is no known reason so she started “small”. Then we moved in to iuI with clomid and gonal F. Three times. Then Ivf with birth control, then freeze all, then first FeT ended chemical. Did ERA test after between FET 1 and 2. All good. FET worked, saw the heartbeat. Heartbeat stopped for no known reason when I saw my OB.l at 8+5. 3rd FET she added in lovenox and baby aspirin I’m thinking there may be an unknown clotting disorder, but all loss panels were negative. She did RPL blood work after 1st chemical. I’m currently 4 weeks pregnant.

She was very adamant about transferring one.

Mika Thomas looks at the big picture and also the granular details associated with IVF and the gestational carrier component my husband and I encountered. After two failed FET with the same GC at Dr. Thomas' practice and my husband and I making the decision to switch clinics, I still visit her office to have her review my current GC and any cycle questions that I have. She treats me with the same compassion, care, concern and courtesy as if I was still her patient. In each scenario where my husband and I to make a big decision, Dr. Thomas always provided two to three options. When asked, she always told me what she would advise her sister to do. This heartfelt and compassionate nature of Dr. Thomas allowed us to continually trust her. Dr. Thomas was always available for a brief (or extended) chat. Often times I'd be getting blood drawn at a separate station and she would peek her head in to check on me. She always asked about my husband when he couldn't attend appointments and constantly asked about my best friend's pregnancies and now children after I referred her as a consult. I know without a doubt that Dr. Thomas is rooting for my husband and I to have a biological child through IVF and surrogacy.

Ask as many questions as you feel necessary! Dr. Thomas always was patient with the abundance of questions I brought into her office. Even if I repeated questions, she answered and summarized what was important and what I couldn't control and/or worry about.

I came to Dr. Thomas without a uterus. My ovaries responded very quickly to the protocol she provided. Cycle 1: 2 weeks BC, menopur and gonal-f and lupron trigger Cycle 2: Lupron priming, BC, menopur & FSH and then Ganirelix mid STIM

2016 fees Consult fee $225 - portion covered by insurance Semen analysis - $90 Semen specimen and sperm cryo - $475 IVF cycle (freeze) including all blood & u/s - $4,250 Lab fees including ICSI ($1,340) - $6,940 total Separate: Meds - $6,500 approx Genetic testing (outside of clinic) - $2,125

He seems to have a wealth of experience which we appreciate. But it doesn’t feel like he knows us well or is interested in getting to know us. After our first cycle failed, he did give us a generous discount which we greatly appreciated. Overall, he seems very busy and rushed during the few office appointments we’ve had with him.

Expect chaos and unorganization from the front office and billing team.

First cycle was Menopur, Gonal F and Cetrotide and we only retrieved 2 eggs. None of the eggs made it to Day 5 and it was a failed cycle. Second cycle was Menopur, Gonal F and Lupron and 11 eggs were retrieved. We had 5 embryos on Day 5 but only 1 was normal after PGS testing.

Our first cycle was $20K. Our second cycle was closer to $10K because we received a generous discount because our first cycle failed and we didn’t retrieve nearly as many eggs as expected. The doctor wasn’t sure why that happened and an answer was never provided.

I’m happy with single embryo transfer. No issues or concerns with that.

Dr. Thomas is very honest, which can be a good thing. She sees things from a science perspective, which I guess she is trained to do. During my first cycle, she tried letrozole, it didn't work well, so we added more and changed my treatment each cycle. I felt like we were always trying something new, which was nice on one hand but why didn't we try that in the beginning? I am frustrated 'new' ideas were coming out every month, but nothing about my cycles really ever changed.

Do your own research. Ask about trying things you've read about or heard your friends try. Challenge her to mix up the treatment cycles.

I only taken letrozole for oral meds, first starting with 2.5 mg then up to 5 mg. I only grew one follicle with letrozole each cycle (5). After insisting we try something more aggressive to get more than one follicle, she added gonal-f. My first cycle on gonal-f +letrozole was pretty low dose, and again resulted in one follicle. My second cycle on gonal-f +letrozole was more than double the dosage than the first but again resulted in one follicle.

My office visits and procedures were covered by insurance. I paid for shots out of pocket.

He seems extremely knowledgeable. At the very beginning, I had my consultation rescheduled by their office two or three times, which was disappointing to me since I had to wait a month to get in. However I will say Dr C called me after hours each time to apologize and tell me about a surgery that had to be scheduled in place of my appointment and I thought it was very nice of him to do.

Don’t expect to see the doctor every appointment (I came from another fertility clinic in another city where I saw the doctor every single appointment/sonogram, etc and this was an adjustment for me but now I know this seems to be the norm with other REs in DFW. Ask questions if you don’t understand something, you have to advocate for yourself.

We tried two cycles of timed inter course with Femara which I wanted to move straight to IUI; of course those weren’t successful and the first IUI he added injectable med, and second IUI cycle, added another day or two of the injectable.

IUI $950 plus any meds which can be another $500-600

N/a

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 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.

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 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.