Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates

Dr. Lawrence is extremely knowledgable and talkative. She answered my questions thoughtfully and made recommendations based on evidence and research. She did leave the final decisions up to me, such as when I asked if I might need an ERA to check receptivity, or if I needed to add or change my protocol after a failed cycle and a chemical pregnancy. I am appreciative for her guidance and thoughts through this process. I would definitely return to Dr. Lawrence!

Ask for details and explanations as needed. Expect to go in for frequent quick appointments during treatment cycles - most of my visits were before work and during lunch. I only needed to take time off for the egg retrieval and a couple embryo transfers. Also, ask about support groups and counseling referrals as needed - I'm so happy to have found the Resolve support group! I was hoping to connect with others experiencing fertility issues, and I discovered a group of strong women with stories just like me.

I started with 3 IUIs with Femara and an Ovidrel trigger shot. I produced several eggs each time but all cycles were unsuccessful. I prepped for an egg retrieval with Follistim and Menopur for ~9 days before the trigger shot. Ganirelix was introduced after several days in to prevent natural ovulation. For the frozen transfers (I had 2 each transferring 1 embryo, and 1 transferring 2 embryos), I took birth control to suppress my hormones, and when starting a cycle began Estrace 2x per day (increased incrementally from 1x to 3x per day in the 3rd cycle to build a thicker lining), followed by progesterone in oil injections ~5 days prior to transfer. Regular bloodwork and ultrasound monitoring determined when to transfer the embryo(s).

Monitoring and labs were billed to my insurance Each IUI was about ~600 including the procedure, sperm prep, and Rxs Stimulation meds for egg retrieval & transfer meds ~4400 Egg retrieval, IVF, & blastocyst cryopreservation ~7000 Additional Oocyte cryopreservation (I chose to freeze eggs beyond the first 10 retrieved) ~800 Frozen Transfer ~3200 each

Dr. Lawrence strongly recommended 1 embryo at the first transfer. She limited the second transfer to 1 embryo due to my uterine lining not being at an optimal thickness. The third transfer she approved our request to transfer 2 embryos.

She talks very fast and it’s not always clear what she’s talking about. She can use a lot of medicinal terms and then try and explain all of them which can get confusing. I trust her knowledge and capabilities.

Ask her to repeat herself if needed or slow down when talking. Also I found it helpful to also consult with the nurses.

I am currently in the middle of my first IVF cycle. Using cloned, Omni trope, follistim, Ganirelix, and Ovidrel. Using low doses of each given my age, low AMH (.95), and high FSH (13).

Luckily our insurance covers most of our cost. But the IVF lab isn’t under contract so we had to pay $5300 for those costs. Additional $400 for doctor fees and $2000 for PGTA testing. Meds were about $1000

We both agreed on single transfer which we are very happy about.

Going through this process despite numerous dr.google searches, there is still way too much information to digest at once. We immediately told her IVF was not of interest to us and she respected it 100% no "can I ask why" guilty nonsense. She respected our decision and said let's make sure the iui works perfectly! That made both my husband and me a lot more comfortable and at ease.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. She can go through everything a little too quickly but has no problem going back and repeating herself or going into more detail.

I have unexplained infertility. I have a great egg reserve and my husband's sperm is good. We did 50mg clomid for 5 days and then used ovidrel to release my eggs, which I had plenty of that were large in size. We then did our iui with a good semen sample. Now I'm waiting to see if it worked!

All said and done for my iui, I'll be sitting around $1,000.

N/A

Laura took the time to fully explain what was wrong with my uterus. She also helped us understand the percentage of Iui vs ivf would work for us. We never felt pushed one way or the other. Laura was very thorough in my diagnoses and did not leave anything up to wonder about. She was very open about the cost and she even helped make a rough schedule of IVF for us so we could understand what to plan for.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask her to repeat something and don’t be afraid to tell her you are confused or don’t understand what she’s talking about.

At this time I am still in the process of ivf and cannot answer this question accurately.

Dr. Lawrence was to the point and didn’t waste anytime. She got us started with testing on our very first appointment. She was easy to talk to, willing to answer every question, and was reassuring the whole time. I felt so comfortable and at ease with her. Can’t wait to continue with treatment!

Go to her!! Don’t waste time anywhere else.

Dr. Lawrence is very knowledgeable and went out of her way to make sure i understood every detail of the treatment. I always felt like I was the only patient she had that day. She never made me feel rushed.

Be honest with her. She is very open to listening and accommodating to your needs.

First cycle we used max drugs because of my low ovarian reserve. I only produced 2 eggs that round. The next 2 cycles we used less drugs. It was more successful. We added ICSI to help with the fragmenting.

the drugs varied depending on the protocol anywhere between $2000-$5500. Doctor fee was about $2500 and lab fee was about $3500.

She said she would transfer no more than two considering my age.

She is amazing. She was understanding and compassionate. I never felt like I was just a number. She has incredible bedside manners!

You will not go wrong! Be ready with questions so will answer every one!

I honestly can not remember, I do know she was cautiously aggressive with my treatment.

Everything was told to us upfront. There wasn't any hidden fees or last minute charges. The only thing we didn't know off hand was the cost of the medications because they varied.

Dr. Lawrence has been great. She has had to deliver some unpleasant news to us, but did so compassionately. She gave us a heads up that IVF is likely in our future, but did not pressure us to make that decision and was willing to try however many IUIs we wanted prior to making that jump.

Keep a list of questions. She is a talker, which I like, but make sure you have yours ready so you don’t get lost in conversation and forget them.

My husband had very low count and I appeared to be ovulating, but there was a question on my egg quality. Dr. Lawrence was very upfront with us that IUI may not work because Clomid would not fix my short follicular phase, but she let us try it anyway. I was on 100mg of Clomid on CD 3-7. I went in for monitoring on CD 9 and 10 and had two follicles that were ready to go so I triggered the evening of CD 10 for a CD 12 IUI. On IUI days, my husband's number were less than half of what they had been on previously so our hopes were not high. Luckily, we got a positive pregnancy test 14 days post IUI!

My insurance has covered all of the diagnosis testing, but iui and IVF are out of pocket. The prepaid iui is only $1000.

N/A at this time

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.

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

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.