Kaiser Permanente NorCal

Dr Ikhena-Abel is knowledgeable and caring. I trust her because of her attention to detail with my case. I first saw her when I miscarried my second baby and she showed compassion, yet also eager to get going with my case because of my age. She always responds to my emails by taking action.

Be prepared for her schedule to be booked. She’s a wonderful doctor, but access to her is not easy

For our cycle she prescribed a very aggressive medication regime, ICSI and PGS to try and get as many eggs and embryos we could, but also test them to try and minimize another miscarriage

We were not covered by insurance. Each egg retrieval was a new fee. They didn’t over packages with multiple retrievals, which some friends of mine have had in other clinics. They also were not familiar with federal drug savings plans that other friends got through other clinics.

He's warm but didn't seem to consider my particular situation or priorities much. It was hard to get a response from him because Kaiser encourages you to reach out to the nurse practitioners instead. He was encouraging in that he thought I could eventually get pregnant from lower-intervention methods but didn't consider what my timelines and goals and urgencies might otherwise suggest.

You have to be willing to advocate for yourself and know what your priorities are. Come prepared with questions written down.

Because I didn't proceed to IVF at Kaiser, everything was covered under my plan.

Dr. Moy was a great doctor who explained things clearly and showed care for us during the process. She adjusted treatment as necessary and gave us the information we needed to make key decisions. She is very responsive via email, but getting time in person is a bit challenging with the number of patients she has at Kaiser.

Make sure to be informed, ready with questions & ready to advocate. Use your time with her wisely.

Letrozole, Ovidrel trigger shot + timed intercourse & IUI for 3 cycles. Letrozole is usually better for patients with PCOS. I grew ~2 mature follicles during those cycles. Then, we switched to Clomid, Ovidrel trigger shot + timed intercourse & IUI for the 4th cycle where I grew 3-4 mature follicles.

Without insurance Letrozole/Clomid, Ovidrel trigger shot, + IUI was about $800 per cycle. My insurance covered 1/2 to bring my total to ~$400/cycle.

Fully understanding how busy Dr. Moy must be worth numerous patients, I still wish I could have been told in person, rather than over the phone, that I have a uterine malformity that makes everything about getting and staying pregnant so much harder. My email and phone interactions with her have shown her ability to be compassionate and understanding.

Be prepared to interact with nurses more than your RE.

For clarity, I have a Unicornuate Uterus with a communicating Rudimentary Horn. To reduce risk, I had surgery to remove the Fallopian tube that was attached to the Horn, and had the Horn sealed closed. Our treatment plan was Letrozole, timed intercourse, a trigger shot, and IUI. Cycle one we started with Letrozole 5 mg a day for CD 3-7. I went in for an ultrasound on CD 12. The medicine worked but on the ovary without a fallopian tube. Cycle 2, we did Letrozole 5mg CD 3-7. At the CD 12 ultrasound, my ovaries and uterine lining showed zero reaction. Blood work showed I had yet to ovulate. So we intiated a second course for this cycle. CD 9-13 I took 7.5mg Letrozole. An ultrasound on CD 15 again showed no response. Cycle 3 and 4, my husband and I decided to take a break for the sake of mental well being. Cycle 5, we did 10 mg Letrozole CD 3-7. An ultrasound on CD 12 showed some activity, but measurements were still less than ideal. We did a second ultrasound on CD 15 to recheck measurements. Uterine lining looked perfect, but the only true growth in follicles again happened on the wrong side. Dr. Moy is urging us to go with IVF as it is the safest option. Since we can't seem to get past the ultrasound to the trigger shot and IUI phase of our treatment plan, she feels this is the best option. Since IVF is not achievable financially, she has agreed to switch to Clomid. However, it is Dr. Moy's belief that we will see similar results.

My insurance covered exactly zero of treatment. Everything was out of pocket. Consultation- $560 Phone appointments- $40 MRI- $811 HSG- $600 Laparoscopic removal of fallopian tube- $3,400 Letrozole- $13 per round Ultrasound- $340 each

She was incredible and while it was a very long process, we trusted her and she told us more than once she “plays to win”...she is quite the perfectionist, but we appreciated her for that. I was supposed to have a fresh transfer March 2017 but my lining didn’t get thick enough, so she cancelled and had me wait to do a frozen transfer until August. All summer she was trying different medication combos to get my lining thick enough...the August date even got changed a few times and I don’t think my lining got to highest she would’ve liked it to, but she felt good about it and gave us the green light. I highly recommend her. I also remember when we had our initial consultation, that evening she called me just to check in on me. She is extemely responsive as well.

You might find her personality at times rigid because she is a perfectionist but her main goal is to get you pregnant and have a healthy baby, so you just have to trust her. She is extremely knowledgeable.

To get my lining thick enough she recommended acupuncture and she was also OK with me taking the tincture they prescribed. She also adjusted my meds taking me off the estrogen patch and instead having me take it as oral pill and vaginally. Towards the end we ended up adding baby aspirin and eventually vaginal viagra. She also had me on terbutaline to prevent uterine contraction and gave me stronger dose of Valium the morning of transfer. I have a heathy 11 month old :)

From my understanding Kaiser does single embryo transfer and there are some criteria but if it’s not successful then it’s like a buy 1 get 2 free...like 3 tries for price if one. But ours ended up being successful on first try.

Dr. Grosskinsky is a fear monger omg doctor. He told my partner and I that if I didn’t follow his exact instructions I could end up “in a body bag” and my children would end up “on the short bus”. He would blame me if treatment didn’t work. He’s very blunt, has no bedside manner, and doesn’t seem to care if treatment works or not. He found out that I had complained about him and confronted me about it, chewing me out for doing so.

If you must see him, ask if you can record him or have your partner in the room. He made me feel very threatened and having a recording or partner with you makes the appointment more bearable.

Dr. Grosskinsky started me on 3 vials of menapur injections for 3 days. This overstimulated my ovaries. He then gave me 1 vial of menapur for 3 days followed by 4 days of final f. This also overstimulated my ovaries. He never tried 2 vials of any medication. He also refused to see me and do ultrasounds to check on my follicles at times despite my pleading that something was wrong.

I’m with kaiser so my co pay was $5 for almost everything.

I never told Dr. Grosskinsky that I wanted twins or triplets or more. He still felt that he should tell me if I ever did decide I wanted multiples that they would “end up on the short bus or die.”

Dr. Grosskinsky has a great personality and sense of humor. He knows how to lighten the mood during awkward situations without discounting the emotional nature of fertility treatment. He showed genuine concern for my well-being when I presented him with a medical concern that had nothing to do with my fertility treatment. After seeing another fertility doctor I realized that Dr. Grosskinsky may not have been informing me when I was not facing optimal circumstances for IUI but I am not certain about that. Overall, I felt like his personality was a great fit for helping a stress-case like me deal with the realities of fertility treatment.

Ask questions, make sure you understand everything about your process and the recommendations being given to you.

I started with the least aggressive approach; femara pills, trigger shot and intercourse. The second time; femara pills, trigger shot and IUI. The third try; a combination of femara pills and menopur shots, trigger shot and IUI. The forth and final try; 3 vials of menopur, trigger shot and IUI. After that we decided it was time for IVF and started seeing a different doctor.

The medications cost the most, about $600 when doing all menopur shots. The IUI cost about $400 each. IVF through Kaiser will cost about $25,000.

Dr. Hirata was on time and tried to get me in and out of appointments quickly unless I had questions or concerns or fears, then she would sit down and talk me through my anxiety and answer all my questions. She was compassionate and understanding of I needed to sit and cry for a few minutes, always having tissues on hand. She adjusted my medications when needed and always had a next plan of action. She told be the truth about everything without being too blunt or making me feel hopeless.

If you’re a nervous person like I am, go to Dr. Hirata. She’s very good at calming your nerves and having next step plans ready to go.

I believe Dr. Hirata has me start on 50 mg of clomid & then increased it to 75, 100, 150 etc until there was an egg. When we did our first IUI with no success she switched me to letrizol which also didn’t work. She wanted to treat me slowly as to not give me OHSS.

I had a $5 copay per procedure/visit

Dr. Moy is very friendly, has thr ability to explain things to you without bias, and is very knowledgeable about the processes of your diagnoses. She's an amazing provider and with her schedule being so busy, I had to see other providers for follow-up appointments. Sometimes I would prefer a continuum of care with one provider.

Come prepared with questions and or concerns to your appointments.

I did 3 cycles of letrozole, increasing dosages as one cycle with not result to a pregnancy. I've had success with maturing multiple follicles then self-injected the prescribed Gonadotropin to assist in releasing the follicle. Unfortunately, with the three cycles, it didn't result in a fertilization and pregnancy. Now, I'm recommended we go through IVF.

I am fortunate that my insurance covered half of my IUI cycles so each visit would cost me $120; Letrozole pills were about $6.00 per cycle; about $100 for the Gonadotropin injection.

I went to see Dr. Nixon after having been trying naturally for a while. I had already done rounds of fertility medications and over a year of acupuncture. I felt like he explained the cycle and the process of getting pregnant naturally, which I was already very aware of. I went in with specific things I wanted to try and I felt like I really had to push for them and that he wasn't listening to me. But he's a nice guy. Seems caring.

Stick up for yourself. If you already know what you want to do going in, make sure you advocate for yourself.

We started with the typical bloodwork. I already had done a lot of diagnostic work and 3 rounds of clomid. We skipped straight to IUI with letrozole, HCG trigger shot (make sure I ovulated), and an ultrasound (make sure follicles were good and ready).

IUI - $343 New patient visit - $340 HSG - $253

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Dr. Abel listens to you and I loved that she did all the monitoring and the procedures. She is very personable and I was transferred to her care after the initial consult with another doctor in the clinic because I wanted to have my cycle earlier. I was on the antagonist protocol and we were initially concerned about the risk of OHSS, which fortunately we avoided. While the cycle ended in a chemical pregnancy, she offered a lot of suggestions on what to do moving forward and was open to suggestions.

Get her from the start if you can. Ask about supplements.

We used the antagonist protocol because I have irregular cycles and a high AMH. I was on BCP 2 weeks at a time for about 3 weeks before starting injectables. We did ICSI although we didn't have MFI. We expected to retrieve a lot of follicles given the monitoring results but we only retrieved 7 eggs, fertilized 5 via ICSI, 2 fertilized normally and ended up with 1 day 5 blastocyst. Fresh transfer.

You are lucky if you get to the Fremont REI early but there were times when I had to wait an hour.

ICSI was an additional $1,500. My HDHP plan covered 1 cycle of IVF and medications.

We only had one embryo to transfer but the clinic prefers eSET.

Sadly, Dr. Nachtigall has retired so I can’t recommend him to others. My husband and I loved our visits with Dr. Nachtigall. He was realistic, supportive, blunt and kind. The only downside was that we were not able to communicate with him via email as much as he was “old school” and preferred speaking over the phone. We loved our conversations but sometimes it had to be passed through assistants and we would have preferred to speak to him directly.

He has retired.

On our very first visit with Dr. Nachtigall, he told me I was misdiagnosed all these years and that I really had something else - which was causing me not to have a menstrual period and ovulate. He recommended that I start taking medications to prepare me for infertility treatments leading up to IUI or IVF. I was able to start getting my periods regularly with the medications he prescribed. I trust him completely with all of the treatment he has provided. He also referred my husband to the top male infertility doctor within the Kaiser network!

It was covered under my insurance

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His communication was great. He worked with us on what was most cost effective for us. Some times it treatments and medication prices were overwhelming. He let us know I could get medications to get to my next appt then we could do an ultrasound to see how my body was doing. If we needed more meds we would go over it then and not to stress about it.

To go with him his has great bedside manners and is very easy to talk to about treatments

We started with low dose Femara because of my history of migraines. We went in for IUI 1 and my body responded fairly well to Femara. IUI 1 failed. Over the course of our next 4 IUIs we added injections. The last IUI was only injectables. All IUIs did fail. We asked for another opinion from a urologist on my husbands sperm count. We were denied by several kaiser doctors. We decided to look outside of kaiser for another doctor whom we will be seeing next month. I did not have any major side effects from medication. I was a little sick and my body was sore. But that was about it.

Our insurance only overs 50% of IUI and some medications. When we went to our consult. They kept pushing IVF even though we let them know that our insurance wouldn’t cover any of IVF. The doctor almost insisted that we did that without any further testing. I didn’t like that because we were still told IUI was still a good option for us.

When I first met Dr. Nelson, we had a lengthy appointment to go over all of my lab results and talk through next steps. It was a lot to absorb since I was just starting this process. He took time to answer all the questions my husband and I had at the time and really provided a lot of information. He was super attentive, thoughtful and a good listener. However, I realized later that when I left, I really wasn't sure how to move forward. He talked through all the benefits of IVF but didn't necessarily recommend that I start that immediately. Should we just keep trying? How soon should I start fertility treatments? At what point do I need to seriously consider or move to IVF, etc? I had a lot of information but really wasn't sure how to move forward. After a couple of months with no success, I expressed this frustration to him and we started putting together a plan. One of the hard parts about this process is never knowing when to start something different. I kept getting pregnant every few months, which gave me hope but the pregnancies didn't last. Once I expressed all of this to Dr. Nelson, he was really helpful in starting to put a plan together, which included beginning to take medication and then a few months later moving to IUI. Kaiser has a team of fertility doctors all working together. Every month I would put a plan together with Dr. Nelson but wouldn't see him for my visits; my baseline appointments, my check ups just before ovulation and IUI were all with other doctors. I would then have a phone appointment with Dr. Nelson around the time by period was due to talk next steps and a potential plan for the next cycle. At first the interaction with all of the other doctors was a little challenging, this is hard and emotional and it was difficult for me to share some of this with a small group of physicians, even though everyone was professional and thoughtful. After a couple of cycles, I got more comfortable with the process and the team. Since I have been unsuccessful with IUI, I'm now beginning the process of preparing for IVF. Dr. Nelson used to perform IVF and has a wealth of information to share about the process, what to expect and how my body might react to the medication. Although I have watched videos and read books about the process, his consultation has been comforting and really informative. I feel like I understand the process much better and what I might expect. Overall, Kaiser moves slowly with fertility- I was frustrated by the initial process of getting my lab work done, identifying needed tests and treatments. As a patient you have to be really proactive and articulate what you are looking for and what help you need. Once the process started moving and I got connected with Dr. Nelson, it was important to maintain regular communication and let him know what I was looking for and what questions I had. Once he was aware of what I needed, we mapped out a plan for my care and how best to move forward. Overall, I have been really happy with him.

Think about your questions ahead of time (if you can) and be upfront about your needs. He has a ton of information but none of that matters if he doesn't know what you are looking for. He is much more comfortable with phone calls than email but his schedule fills up so its good to get on his calendar regularly.

We tried three cycles of ovulation stimulation (one round of clomid and two of letrozole) with timed intercourse. When those didn't work we tried three rounds of IUI- all with letrozole. I initially wasn't ready for IUI so we tried the first process to see if we had any luck and then moved to IUI. I got pregnant my second cycle with IUI but my HCG levels were low (around 10) so I knew the pregnancy wouldn't last. I got my period 3/4 days later.

I have good health insurance coverage for Kaiser so all of my appointments and treatments were covered. I had $10 co-pays for some medications but overall very little out of pocket costs. If I move to IVF- at Kaiser or elsewhere none of those services will be covered.

I was very disappointed with his time management skills and felt very rushed by how quickly he was taking. He sounded very optimistic for our chances of getting pregnant, but did not describe our options well.

Give yourself extra time to be at the office in case he runs late.l and don’t be afraid to interrupt him to ask questions.

I was switched to letrozole as a result of negative side effects from clomid. He then encouraged us to do IUI with ovidrel to trigger ovulation to time the insemination to increase our chances since my cycles are so inconsistent and at times I have anovatory cycles.

60 minute consultation was covered by our insurance at 50% and cost $170 for us. Ultrasounds were also covered at 50% cost and were $117. IUI was covered st 50% and cost $172.

Overall, Dr. Ikhena-Abel is an excellent doctor. She responds quickly to my questions and is caring about my situation. There have been a few times where she references discussing something in my initial appointment that I don't remember talking about but it was a lot of information in a short amount of time. I was diagnosed with PCOS during my first ultrasound and I wish I could have talked to her more about the implications. It took a while, and a lot of research on my part, to understand what PCOS and anovulation meant for my fertility journey. I appreciate that she and the nurse practitioners changed my protocol each time to try to have a better outcome and that she's been honest with me through each step of the process.

Take copious notes at your first consultation!

1st cycle: Femara 5 mg. days 3-7, IUI 1, failed 2nd cycle: Femara 7.5 mg. days 3-7, 2 days of Menopur ml. at the end of the cycle to try for more than one egg (cancelled) 3rd cycle: Femara 7.5 mg. days 2-6, Menopur 75 ml. days 3-10; IUI #2 with 3 eggs, failed 4th cycle: Femara 5 mg. days 2-6; Menopur 75 ml. days 3-13; IUI #3 with 1 maybe two eggs 5th cycle: Femara 7.5 mg. days 2-6; Menopur 150 ml days 3-4; Menopur 75 ml days 5-9; Menopur 37.5 ml day 10; IUI #4 pending

I have IUI fertility coverage so my generic medication was $7 and my non-generic was $25. My ultrasounds and IUIs are $20 per appointment. I did not pay anything for my HSG or blood tests.

I had a good experience with Dr. Tan. He performed my most recent IUI. I only had 1 follicle so I knew the chances were slim, but he still made me feel good about it. We discussed my potential IVF protocol as well. He also did my saline ultrasound and my mock transfer which all went well.

I would advise them that the only way you'll see him is if you're doing IVF or potentially doing IVF, as he pretty much only does IVF cycles. I would suggest they go in armed with questions.

In 2015 when I was receiving treatment I saw Dr. Tan on my follow up ultrasound after 5 days of 50 mg clomid. I didn't have any growing follicles so he suggested stair stepping me to 100 mg clomid and when I went back after that I had a ton of follicles. I was pleased he didn't give up and kept my cycle going, because that cycle was successful!

My infertility coverage is excellent for IUI's. I only pay a $10 deductible for IUI, ultrasound's, hsg, saline ultrasound, etc. and my meds are covered as well. However, if I move onto IVF everything is out of pocket.

He's for eSET. Kaiser does not agree with multiple embryo transfers.

Dr. Grosskinsky is a good doctor. He's getting close to retirement so I don't think he has the same passion and drive that he used to, but he's still aggressive and obviously wants the best for his patients. I do feel like I had to be my own advocate at times and wish he had been a little more thorough in my treatment.

Be your own advocate! Do your own research and suggest new things to try.

I have done IUI's with donor sperm. Dr. Grosskinsky did not think a natural cycle would be beneficial but I did one back in 2015 that didn't work. We then did clomid and I produced a lot of follicles and that cycle worked. I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter. We're trying for number 2 and I've done 6 failed IUI's. We've tried natural, clomid, combo cycle (clomid + injectables), and injectables. We've added in ganirelix to help with the timing, and all negative. Most of my IUI's have been 36 hours post trigger shot, so I'm thinking about trying a back-to-back IUI next to help with timing.

I have insurance through Kaiser where I only pay a $10 deductive for IUI's, ultrasound's, etc. Bloodwork is free. I only pay $25 for injectables, and $10 for trigger shot or oral drugs. My insurance is great until I move onto IVF, and then everything is out of pocket, including medications. IVF will be about 14k with only a fresh transfer, and another 4k for medications.

I have not done IVF yet but I know Kaiser is very against multiples.

He is very straight forward which I like, always knew me & my history when I arrived. Sort of surprising with so many patients. I’ve seen him over the course of 4 years with a 3 year gap and he is exactly the same now as when I saw him 4 years ago. Great doctor, straight forward and very knowledgeable. It’s a good fit for my personality, I don’t need sympathy - just the facts please.

Be patient, they are booked out for months. If you are in a hurry, I would not recommend.

Have not started medication yet. I fully trust he will develop the correct protocol. We did a HSG, saw tubes are blocked and decided to skip IUI and go directly to IVF right there in radiology.

Fresh transfer cycle with ICSI and assisted hatching. $14000 HSG $400 Saline sono $400

He suggests 1, except for my age allows for 2. I agree with him.

Dr. Eways is very professional and personable. She takes the time to explain everything in detail. I did not feel like she was rushing me out to get to her next appointment. I have my first fresh cycle IVF planned for next month. She did a hysteroscopy to remove a polyp 2 months ago, which went smoothly. She made me feel safe and taken care of. Great bedside manner. My only criticism is that I had a phone appointment schedule with her once and she called me 40 minutes after our scheduled time. In her message, she stated that she usually calls within 2 hours of the scheduled time. Nobody in her office told me there was a timeframe, so I was unable to take the call. We were able to connect later that day, however.

She is great, but her schedule is packed and you have to wait several months for treatments.

I have not yet started my treatment protocol yet. No results yet.

About $500 for HSG, about $1000 for Hysteroscopy, $13,200 to book fresh cycle IVF

She mentioned that she prefers eSET, since there is higher risk for complication throughout the pregnancy with multiples.

Dr. Proctor was knowledgeable, compassionate and very responsive whenever I contacted him. He coordinated well with my husband’s male factor infertility specialist (Dr. Turek). Dr. Turek is picky about providers that he will coordinate with and he was happy to work with Dr. Proctor and his team. His faith in Dr. Proctor speaks volumes.

Appointments are quick because of the volume at the clinic. Come prepared with questions and do not expect long conversations. Dr.Proctor is very knowledgeable and responsive but does not have all the time in the world to sit and talk at every appointment.

We used a standard stimulation protocol (follistim, Menopur, ganirelix). I was allergic to follistim and dr proctor was very responsive and quickly switched me to gonal-f. I had an excellent response and 30 eggs were retrieved (25 nature). My husband has severe male factor infertility causing only 4 eggs to fertilize normally. Of the 4 embryos at day 1, 3 made it to freeze (we had to do a frozen cycle because my husband’s Soren retrieval surgery occurred weeks after my egg retrieval due to his doctors schedule). We transferred one embryo in December 2017 and I am now 15 weeks pregnant with a baby girl and we have two more high quality embryos on ice for later.

It was efficient, but busy! They recommended I get there early and as long as I did the wait wasn’t bad at all.

We had 50% coverage for one cycle, so the IVF cycle cost $6500 (without medications, including ICSI but no PGS). Our FET was full price and cost $4000 without medications m. However, since we did eset, we would get additional transfers of single embryos for free until a live birth.

Dr. proctor explained the risks and benefits of each thoroughly. Because I have no known fertility issues and we wanted to try and avoid multiples, we went with eset, which resulted in my current pregnancy (1st FET was a success).

She is down to earth and pragmatic. She has a sense of humor and is blunt. Being that I'm over 40, the news on fertility rates isn't great and she was always very honest about that. But I am not sold on IVF so she was willing to work with my for more IUIs that others may endure. She listened to my concerns, hopes and fears.

She is down to earth and has heard it all so don't be afraid to ask any questions you have.

I did 3 natural IUIs with frozen sperm, using an at home OPK test. Then I had 3 IUIs with Letrozole during day 3-7, with an Ovedrel trigger shot for one and an at home OPK for the other. I had to have ultrasounds before the Letrozole and then before the trigger shot. Then I took 2 months off and am doing Letrozole with the Ovedrel trigger. I will have my 6th IUI tomorrow.

My insurance covered half of the costs for the IUIs. I think it was about $150 for the IUI and $120 for the ultrasounds. The Letrozole was very cheap, $4, but the Ovedrel was about $100.

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Dr. Huang is a compassionate doctor. He knows our names and he knows our history every time we visit him. He doesn't need to go back to the computer to remind him what treatments we had. If another nurse practitioner or doctor will see us, he will communicate to them to let them know where we are in the process. I will never forget the time when I was so distress in my email because of a negative result, he immediately called me to follow up and explain our next steps and answered all our questions. He was giving us different options without being pushy. He is very personable and we felt that we gained another friend.

Be trustful because he will be honest with your situation.

He put us on Clomid with IUI for 3 cycles then Letrozole with IUI for 3 cycles. Unfortunately, all were unsuccessful.

We are lucky that most of the treatment fees are covered by our insurance. We only need to pay the copay for a very reasonable price.