Kaiser Permanente NorCal

I'm a big fan of Kaiser and Kaiser's model. It's in their best interest to create healthy moms and babies. Downside is that you often spend a lot of time on less invasive fertility methods, when time may be a bigger factor for you (with work or whatever other priorities) than it is for them. This can be emotionally exhausting and requires you to be a stronger advocate for particular treatments. Driving time is significant because you have to go to different facilities for different treatments (and they are not nearby one another). Doctors and nurses are fairly fluid so while the overall care is excellent, you often retell your story to different people at every visit, which can be frustrating. Clinic is very, very organized and well-run!

He took a lot of time to talk to us and answer questions, but he immediately diagnosed me with something that turned out to not be an issue at all and miscounted my follicles.

Nurses were very kind and compassionate. The continuity of care isn't fantastic but it's definitely "good enough"--when I was there, you saw one of two NPs for most of your appointments and they were both really friendly but didn't always have the background from previous appointments. It was one of them who advised me to skip additional IUI treatments and go straight to IVF after I had a serious talk with her about my priorities and timing, and I'll always be grateful!

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.

The only thing I can think of is that it takes a long time to get in. For example I called mid March for a phone consult to discuss our next transfer and Dr. Eways is booked until beginning of May just for a phone consult. So you need to get things started early, she’s popular and has a large patient load.

I felt my treatment plan was very individualized

I don’t have any specific memory of the nursing staff but they were all great

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.

We get seen by the doctor fairly quickly and the clinic is clean. However, the staff and Dr. Grosskinsky are cruel and unkind. I cannot stress enough how much I would not recommend Dr. Grosskinsky. He’s threatens me in a way that I can’t put my finger on it but other people have witnessed and understood what he’s doing. He makes me feel powerless and less than human.

Sometimes I would ask questions, break down and cry from stress, or need further explanation on things I didn’t understand and he would blow me off, not answer my questions, or blame me for why treatment didn’t work. I felt like a number, and he was rushing off to the next patient.

There were a few nurses who were very caring and the rest seemed entertained by Dr. Grosskinsky’s terrible behavior. Many times I would see the nurses who were assigned to be in the room with Dr. Grosskinsky and I laughing at his remarks on failed treatment.

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.”

Kaiser is such a big operation that sometimes there are communication issues between all the different departments. The upside to that is have a care "team," who all bring something different to the experience.

Dr. Grosskinsky is personable and has a great sense of humor. He showed that he cared about my overall well-being and remembered personal details that we had discussed in past visits.

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.

The clinic was very cold and big. It was undecorated and painted white. The doctor was amazing but the clinic was a little intimidating. I will say that it was clean and well kept. The wait time to see the doctor was also usually pretty short.

Dr. Hirata always asked me how my week was going, if I was feeling anxious, and always asked me what she could do to help me feel more informed or more secure. She always told me what she was doing and seeing during every exam so I never felt lost. Once in a while i’d Become overwhelmed and cry and she always would sit next to me and hold my hand and hand me tissues until I could settle down. She would tell me the truth, but never so bluntly that I felt hopeless.

The nursing staff was kind and always made sure I had my next appointment. They weren’t rude but they didn’t interact with me too much.

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

Clinic work flow was always very organized, staff were friendly, and access to seeing a provider was never an issue. The ability to communicate with provider via the Kaiser's health online was a major plus! It decreases unnecessary calls dn increases relationship trusts with the personal one--on-one conversations via messages.

She was very friendly, approachable, and answered to my messages in a timely manner. She was very understanding our situation and goals.

There was always a consistency with the nurses I encountered. Always cheerful, knowledgeable and always made me comfortable during each provider's 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.

The clinic is fine. I don't think my husband particularly liked the area where he provided the semen sample. The staff were helpful enough. It was a pretty standard clinic though. Sometimes appointment availability was a challenge.

The one time I visited in person with Dr. Nixon he was sensitive and walked through our options. I didn't rate him completely positively because it felt like he wasn't listening to me and what I already knew and wanted to know. He spoke to us as if we didn't know anything about the process yet, even though we did.

Lorraine Gyor was very helpful. She explained everything very well, was very compassionate, and was responsive to my questions.

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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Monitoring can happen at the doctor's home clinic but all retrievals and transfers occur in Fremont. The clinic batches cycles which can be a pro and a con. It's good because your doctor will likely do all the monitoring and procedures. It can be bad because the wait times can be long for monitoring appointments and you may have to wait months to be on another IVF cycle. The Fremont REI clinic doesn't do lab draws -- you will have to walk to the main Kaiser Fremont hospital lab for lab draws. DNA fragmentation screening is not part of the screening process.

Dr. Abel has a warm bedside manner and is easy to talk with. I felt heard in all of my personal interactions with her.

The nurses were great -- the challenge was leaving voicemails and playing phone tag but they are very nice and responsive once you get a hold of them. The OR nurses were amazing.

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.

The strengths are that they are always very helpful and polite. They explain information thoroughly and respond in a timely manner. They always find alternatives to solutions and have a great attitude. I think the only weakness is that they have an automated phone line and you can never get a live person on the phone. I have always had to leave a message, but then I get a response within a day.

Dr. Nachtigall was always kind, supportive and real. He always explained things thoroughly and didn’t sugarcoat information. He was precise and always gave us options and steps to take in the process. I always appreciated his suggestions and loved talking to him. He made me feel comfortable and was always available to talk to me whenever I had questions.

The nursing staff are very helpful and respond to you within 24 hours. They are always very polite and are available to communicate via phone and email!

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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I do feel like with kaiser thy do not want to find out the root of your infertility. They run some test to make sure you don’t have blockages and normal Bloodwork. That’s about it my husband has low motility. And they don’t care to find out the cause of it and also what his actual sperm count is.

He was always asking how we were doing before he get to the next step of our treatment. He suggested what he thought was best but would still let me choose in the end what I wanted to do. If it was within reason.

Some of the nurses were great. Other were cold and shouldn’t be working in an infertility clinic. Some appt after IUI they would rush back in because they forgot paperwork or something in the room

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.

There is a team of providers all working together, so you are likely to see different doctors for different visits. The benefit of this is they can usually get me into clinic when I need to but the challenge is getting used to interacting with different groups of people.

Dr. Nelson has done a great job spending time to explain my test results and what they mean and make himself available to answer questions.

I interacted with a nursing team over the phone that was really helpful with setting appointments, getting my lab work ordered and updating me on test results that I couldn't see online or didn't understand. I also worked with a second nursing team at my appointments who were always really helpful.

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.

Prescriptions are given quickly, responsive by email, and clean facilities. Weaknesses include feeling like a number, no assignment to a primary nurse so you work with different people all the time, and no 24 hour on call nurse should something come up after hours or on the weekend.

He was over 30 minutes late to our 60 minute consultation, talked very fast and talked as if I was dumb or ignorant.

I had a really great experience with the NP Carla Schouten, where she walked me through my baseline ultrasound and my IUI. I also had a really negative experience with NP Deborah Pluckhan during my follow up ultrasound where she did not explain the number of follicles or give me my lining measurements. Additionally, she gave me the options to my new treatment and was did not provide me with information to make an informed decision about my care

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.

This is a Kaiser clinic, so like any Kaiser service you have to advocate for yourself. You don't see the reproductive endocrinologist more than once or twice and most care is with the nurse practitioners. I think I've seen four of the NPs, Carla, Debbie, Marion and Lori and I've liked them. I'm considering a cheaper option for IVF but I hope if I do go somewhere else that the staff are as good. They are quite aggressive (in my experience) with treatment, but I do have PCOS so it can be hard to stimulate my ovaries. Overall I've been very happy with them.

Dr. Ikhena-Abel is great about getting back to me. She clearly cares about her patients and I feel like she really wants me to succeed.

Overall, I've had great care with the nurses at Kaiser. One nurse was a little too heavy-handed with the ultrasound wand but lightened up when I asked her to do so. I was unhappy with one when she talked about next steps during my third IUI but I didn't want to think about another cycle or IVF at that point. I understand everyone is different. They've been very understanding throughout my fertility challenges and given me hugs with bad news. They're all very caring and kind.

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.

Kaiser - San Ramon is a small office with 3 doctor's and quite a few nurses. They're organized and efficient, which I like. I do think the clinic could use a few more doctor's because I think the doctor's that are there are overworked.

Dr. Tan has good bedside manner. He is the only doctor that does IVF cycles at this clinic so he is very busy. He still knew my daughter's name and some of my medical background so that was impressive. He is easy to talk to.

The nursing staff is excellent. They're compassionate and organized. They make the schedule work for you, even if they're busy because they know how important a well timed treatment plan is.

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.

Kaiser - San Ramon is a good clinic. I think they could use a few more doctor's because the doctor's seem a bit overworked but all in all I would highly recommend it. It's in a convenient location and the hours work well for people's schedules. I would suggest they open on Sunday's so patient's IUI's aren't limited to only Monday-Saturday.

Dr. Telles is so sympathetic of your situation and she really makes you feel like this could work. She changes up the protocol appropriately and likes to try new things before giving up.

The nursing staff is excellent! They're on top of their stuff and very organized. They've never made a mistake with my paperwork or results.

Dr. Telles is excellent. She doesn't work many hours though because she has 2 young kids at home, so as a patient at Kaiser - San Ramon you don't see her that often. She is very sympathetic though and changes the course of action for a successful outcome. I was feeling defeated after 5 failed IUI's and she said she still thought it could work and that IVF is not the only answer. It was reassuring and made me feel better. She is easy to talk to.

I would suggest they don't get too attached to her because they'll end up seeing other doctors at this clinic. But that she is excellent and follow her advice.

Tracy performed two of my IUI's. One IUI cycle the donor sperm count was low but she still made me feel good about that cycle. It did not work. She suggested for the next cycle doing two injections of gonal-f again, but tapering down to one injection after 3 days so that I don't produce too many follicles. We will be using her protocol on my next IUI.

I pay a $10 deductive for IUI's, ultrasounds, HSG, Saline ultrasound's, etc. I only pay $25 for injectables medications, and my blood work is free. My infertility coverage is great until I move onto IVF, and then everything is out of pocket.

She believes in eSET. Kaiser does not suggest multiple embryo transfers.

I go to the Kaiser infertility clinic in San Ramon. It's a smaller office and there are only 3 doctor's. I think the doctor's are overworked, which is one of the clinic's weaknesses. I think things could be run more efficiently if there were a couple more doctor's. I also hate that you are either an IUI patient or IVF patient. You can convert an IUI cycle to IVF should there be too many follicles, and only one doctor does IVF. This clinic has a lot of strength's too though. The nurses keep the place organized and I feel like they really care. I believe they have a good success rate too.

Dr. Grosskinsky has very good bedside manner and he definitely remembers details about me, my fertility history, and my family which makes me feel like a human. However, there are times when I think he could be a little more thorough in my treatment.

The nursing staff is excellent. They're on top of their stuff and get back to voicemails very quickly. They're helpful and informative!

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.

For me it is very convienent , all of the labs, radiology etc are located close to each other and since it is all Kaiser the billing is also very centralized. This office is very busy, not that I see a lot of patients when I go, but after referral my initial consult was scheduled over a month later. We booked IVF and were scheduled for 4.5 months later. In review: I really love the convience of everything being connected, love the doctors and staff, but it was a very long wait to do every step because they are so booked.

Lots of references about my particular situation and history. He took a lot of time to review and discuss my history and what he has seen in similar patients. He is a great balance of matter of fact stats and how sometimes the human factor is even more telling of what the possible outcome will be.

So far everyone has been really helpful, knowledgeable and very good communicators.

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.

The doctors always seem to be running behind. I would plan on being there longer than you expect. If you are not meeting with a doctor, the appointments are much more timely. The staff is friendly and helpful. The clinic is clean and has up to date technology.

Dr. Eways is very warm and welcoming. She takes time to build rapport with her patients. I felt like she was an old friend I was catching up with by the end of our first meeting.

All of the nurses I encountered were very helpful, professional, and knowledgeable. One of them even went out of her way to ensure I got a call back from the Fremont clinic, and followed up with me later.

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.

Strengths: knowledge of clinicians and success rates are excellent. Can’t argue with miracle results! They were also very responsive to any questions or immediate needs. Weaknesses: the clinic is very busy which makes appointments feel rushed at times. Wait times can be quite long. Also the ohlone kaiser pharmacy the clinic works with is awful. I switched to Walgreens discorx and had a much better experience AND my coverage was maintained even though it was Walgreens and not kaiser.

Dr. Proctor took a personal interest in our journey and always made us feel important and cared for.

They were always compassionate and helpful. No negative experiences at all.

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).

This clinic is very convenient for me in Oakland. The building is a little older, but the facilities are fine. It is Kaiser so there is a bit of a bureaucracy with dealing with check-in and costs, but it is all very manageable. I like Kaiser because it is all integrated and I can email with the doctors and staff.

Dr. Hirata and her staff were always friendly and personable when I went in for treatments, either consultation, ultrasounds, or IUIs. It is Kaiser, so they do run you through the process of a big medical system, but I have been with Kaiser for many years so that is par for the course. Once you get through the bureaucracy, the staff are great, and even dressed up for Halloween!

There are 2-3 nurses that I see regularly at the clinic. At my first IUI they were very helpful and informative about the whole process. They didn't mind when I took photos of the vial and they commented warmly about my lucky socks. Because I have had multiple IUIS now, it is more of an in and an out, partly because that is my approach to this too.

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.

no comment

The clinic is clean and they have all the supplies needed during my treatments. They have inviting waiting room, and very accommodating staff. The rooms are organized and directions are very clear.

He was understanding and very direct in his explanations. He is soft spoken and made us feel comfortable all the time. He will call us back as soon as he can and will stay on the phone until he's sure that he answered all our questions. He never rushed our appointments. He was honest and we felt like we gained another friend. He responds to email promptly.

We had different nurses when we visit. Some worked there for a while some are new to the job. Some are very short when answering questions, some are very warm. Most of the time, they are willing to answer our questions, and will try to make us feel comfortable. One of the things that I like about them, is that they always wants us to think positive and be happy.

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.

The clinic, being Kaiser, has its limitations including the level of patient education you receive, the inflexibility around being on the pill in preparation for the scheduled cycles, and the feeling that I was being "shuffled through." I once received an email from a nurse addressing me by someone else's name. The substance of the email was appropriate to me but it was very much a "copy paste" scenario. I could deal with all of this though until we encountered some issues with the embryology lab that have me looking into other clinics. In short, we lost one high quality PGS normal embryo because, as we were told, there was a very rare instance when the embryologist was unable to remove all of the oil from the embryo before freezing, rendering it unlikely to thaw successfully. Our doctor and the head embryologist explained what happened very thoroughly and patiently. We were offered a sympathetic "these things happen" but they did not claim responsibility nor did they offer a free cycle. I did another retrieval and our next PGS normal embryo had to be thawed, re-biopsied, and refrozen because the first biopsy came back as "No DNA present." I don't know where the breakdown occurred this second time (whether at Kaiser or the genetic testing lab) but it's enough of a question mark that I have trouble trusting the Kaiser lab. We will likely have further conversations with Kaiser.

Dr. Moy always tried to remember details about us and made conversation during the routine appointments. She has a great sense of humor and attitude and I really felt that she was rooting for us. During some more difficult news, she called us or made time for a phone call and answered all of our questions. Even when she had a cold.

Nursing staff were good. It would have been nice to have a designated nurse/coordinator throughout the process but instead it was whoever called back. That worked fine. They were friendly, knowledgeable, and helped answer my questions. The nurses during the actual retrieval were also friendly, some seemed new. Getting an IV needle in was difficult during all three retrievals.

I really love Dr Moy. We got to know each other quite well over three retrievals and the monitoring appts and phone calls and emails that surround it. She was our point person during all of it and was readily available for our questions. I really felt like she was rooting for us and we had many phone calls to hear news, discuss next steps, or answer questions. When issues arose, she reached out to the labs to understand what happened on our behalf and I do feel she went to bat for us as best she could. She was always good humored, patient, and understanding. There were times when I would have liked more information about the protocols and medications, and how/why she decided on the changes that she did. Overall though, I had a wonderful experience with Dr Moy. It's the limitation of Kaiser that were ultimately disappointing.

If you have questions during an appointment, ask them quickly. She will make time to answer your questions but she does seem to be in a rush. She's matter of fact and to the point which we appreciated.

All three retrieval protocols included Follistim, Menopur, and Ganirelix. The second two added Omnitrope and included a dual trigger which appeared to help the number and maturity of eggs retrieved. As with all Kaiser protocols, I was on the pill for a good portion of time prior to and after stimulation and retrievals.

Retreival: $9,305; ICSI: $1,900; Biopsy for PGS:$3,00; FET: $2,365 (unused credit); ~$8k in meds for each round

While we never got to the transfer stage, Dr Moy recommended transferring only one PGS tested normal embryo or more than one only if they hadn't been tested bc of risks of carrying multiples.

The front office staff is amazing. The team is professional and patient. They swiftly get me checked in and ready for my appointment. Some patients attended the appointment with their baby and the staff would naturally congratulate them, but it stung a little bit. It felt inconsiderate for the staff to celebrate a baby in the wait room around patients who are there because we cannot get pregnant. Maybe the can have blank cards at hand saying: congratulations! Instead of talking about the baby’s arrival in front of patients.

Dr. Harris has a warm personality. He always greets me with a smile and listens to my questions/concerns.

Three different Nurse Practitioners did my IUIs. It wasn’t ideal, however, between managing both our work schedules and the NP’s availability, we had to work with what was available to us. Before, I was very receptive about who I would book my appointments with. Now, I am happy to take an appointment that works with our schedules and gets me pregnant! :)

Dr. Harris has great bedside manners. I can trust him because he gives me all the information I need and warns me about risks. For example, he warned me that I am at risk for OHSS and confidently told me he would closely manage my medication to prevent OHSS as much as possible.

Dr. Harris is friendly, approachable, knowledgeable, and funny. I can ask him any question and he will promptly have an answer. I can book a consultation, request a phone call, or my personal favorite: email through kp.org. He answers within 1 working day and makes notes for his team (in case they have to follow-up with me).

I was diagnosed with PCOS. My husband was diagnosed with non-obstructive azoospermi (NOA). We knew we’d be using donor sperm and Dr. Harris said we could try IUI cycles or IVF ICSI. We are paying out of pocket so we opted for IUI. We knew the chances were slim (5-8%), but we had to try before seriously considering IVF ICSI. Before starting the IUI cycles, Dr. Harris and his team of Nurse Practitioners helped regular my thyroid hormone by taking Levothroid once a day. It took about 3 months to get my thyroid under control. Each IUI cycle consisted of: Femara 3 times a day for 5 days, vaginal scan to see if I was ovulating soon (periods are irregular), trigger shot in my belly (Ovidrel). All of this was painless and mildly uncomfortable. The vaginal scans and inseminations are uncomfortable. All 3 IUI resulted in negative pregnancy tests. We decided to move forward and try IVF ICSI. We have our date booked for January 6, 2019 and we’re looking forward to be under Dr. Hariss’ care.

For the 3 IUI cycles we spent about $3,000 (including medication: insurance covered 50%). Plus, another $4000 for 3 vials of donor sperm. Currently we placed a deposit for $13,000 for IVF ICSI (cost of medications not included).

This question isn’t applicable because we haven’t done IVF, but Dr. Harris did stress to me that he wants to do a single embryo transfer. We’re okay with that decision because we want to do what will be most safe for myself and the baby.