Michigan Center for Fertility and Women's Health

Dr. K and the nursing staff are amazing to work with. In fertility is stressful, but they take away the added worry by being so punctual. They know their stuff. Another great thing Is everything is done in the office, bloodwork, retrievals, ultrasounds, HSG, etc.

Dr. K was so personable. She took time to meet with my husband and I and answer all our questions. It was not a cookie-cutter treatment, all decisions were based up on what we needed. I truly feel like she's in it to make people's dreams come true, not just for the money.

I loved, loved, loved, Dawn and Cathy! They were so informative, compassionate, and on time. They made me feel so comfortable.

Dr. K was amazing right from the get-go. I did 8 IUIs with another clinic prior, after that did a consult with Another. I did not click with anybody like I did her. She gives you a feeling of hope and trust. She is confident, but not cocky. She is compassionate and great at what she does. She spent over an hour with my husband and I at our consult because I came with a notebook full of questions.

When I hit my low of dealing with infertility, Dr. K gave me hope and in the end she made my dreams come true. I never knew if I would be able to be a baby, and I have 2! She knows what she's doing. This was her calling.

I was prescribed Birth control pills to down regulate, Lupron, Low HCG, Gonal F to grow my follies, and PIO prior to retrieval. 9 eggs were retrieved, we opted for a freeze all cycle (per Dr. K's suggestion based upon my blood work). I don't remember off hand the protocol prior to my FET, but it did work! I continued PIO until 11 weeks gestation.

We spent aprox. 15k (including meds). That included ultrasounds and tests.

Doctor K. allowed me to transfer 1 or 2, and warned me of all the risks with transferring 2.

Strengths-Everyone is extremely helpful, knowledgeable and compassionate. Weaknesses-You will always have to leave a message for one of the nurses, which can make people nervous if they want to talk to someone right away, but they will always call you back the same day, which was reassuring.

The care that I received from Dr. Kowalczyk and her staff was amazing. I developed real relationships with her nurses and staff. They were always available for any questions that I had and always called me back promptly. I felt as thought I was fully informed on my treatment options and what expectations I should have.

The nursing staff was amazing, if it wasn't for them, none of this would be possible. The nurse that I ended up talking with the most was Barbara. She was so helpful through this entire process, always calling me back and answering all of my questions. She became like a friend to me, who I could depend on and who knew exactly what I was going through. When I finally became pregnant all the nurses that I had contact with were so happy for me. The last time I talked to Barbara it was such a bittersweet moment that I cried. We had been through so much together and she was so happy for me.

We met with Dr. Kowalczyk numerous times throughout our time spent being treated at her clinic. She was very straightforward with what was going on with our inability to conceive and what she thought our best course of action was. She was very sympathetic to what we were going through and I truly felt as if she wanted the best for us.

Listen to the expertise and advice that you are being given. When I was going through my first IVF cycle I was at a high risk for over stimulation and Dr. Kowalczyk did not feel comfortable proceeding with the embryo transfer after the egg retrieval due to the medical risks. We opted for a frozen transfer next cycle that would be risk free for me and our potential child.

After going through numerous testing, I was told that I had a thyroid condition and that the shape of my husband's sperm was off, which could make it hard to fertilize my eggs. I was put on medication and told to eat a low carb diet. We were instructed to try IUI's first, it was possible that his sperm just needed a couple more targets in order for us to become pregnant. 1.) IUI's-I was first put on clomid, which ended up making the lining of my uterus thin even though I ovulated 5 eggs. Pregnancy test negative. 2.) The next two IUI's- I was put on letrozole, which unfortunately did not trigger the release of more then one egg in each cycle. Negative pregnancy test. The doctor only wanted to perform 3 IUI's before moving onto another treatment. We were given the option of IVF or other stimulation drugs to be used with IUI. The only problem with not doing IVF was that the other treatments were unpredictable and could result in high order multiples. She was concerned because I am very small (short and thin), which could lead to many health complications. We decided to move forward with IVF. 3.) IVF- The day before the egg retrieval, I was told that my numbers that day were extremely high and I was at risk for over stimulation. We went through with the egg retrieval in which 7 eggs were removed. They were fertilized and we ended up with 5 eggs. We were told that we should proceed with a frozen embryo transfer to avoid further health complications. 4.) Frozen embryo transfer- We transferred 2 eggs and I became pregnant with one embryo. We still have 3 left for future transfers.

My husband and I were lucky enough to have really good health insurance which covered a lot of the costs. The IUI's were $500.00 a piece. The most expensive thing that I paid for out of pocket was the IVF medications, which were between $4,000.00-$5,000.00.

It's a very relaxing environment everyone is extremely friendly everyone is extremely welcoming and just the environment is a place where you want to be. I love the fact that it is connected to the office that offers a massage and acupuncture and homeopathic medicine.

She tried to work with us and out financial needs. She asked our opinions, and what we wanted.

Everyone is so welcoming and inviting, everyone knows the struggles that you are facing otherwise he wouldn't be there.

She wanted what we wanted, a successful pregnancy. She gave us options and catered to our financial abilities. She made sure we knew risks when we had multiple follicles, she was empathetic after our chemical pregnancy, and she was very encouraging.

She's very straight forward, blunt, and tell it like it is. I really liked this, I didn't want things sugar coated.

Each medicated cycle started with an ultrasound to make sure that everything was all right. Clomid was given cycle day 5-9, then a follow up ultrasound was done to count the number of follicles and to make sure everything was all right. We were instructed went to trigger, went to have sex, and then came back for a progesterone blood draw, then the following week the pregnancy blood draw. She was very thorough and I felt very safe.

Unfortunately our insurance doesn't cover anything, each monitored medicated cycle including medication cost approximately $600.

N/a

Everyone was very helpful from appointments to billing. The biller sat down with us and explained the cost and coverage and helped with any questions we had along the way as why something was or was not covered

The doc took the time to explain thing as did the staff. They knew who you were when you came to your appointments and if you had questions they were answered. If you needed to speak to the doc and she was not available there would be a follow up call.

Everyone was willing to answer any questions and explain why things happen in the order that they did. Why certain blood tests and ultrasounds were needed

Me and my husband cake to the office after a bad experience with another doc. Dr. Kowalczyk reviewed our chart and said she could do better and she was able to. We already knew our only option was ivf based on both of our factors so she did not push us to try other options prior to starting the process.

Go with an open mind. The office may feel a little different than many it’s more calm and friendly and there are many different support groups and thing to help aid in the process.

I do not remember I know we used a different protocol than previously and things were switched around during the process to taylor the treatment to me and how my body was responding

We paid approximately 12,000 including sperm removal from my husband

None we got to choose what we wanted

Calm quite atmosphere always felt comfortable for me and my husband when we went in. Hours were very accommodating for work early morning and late night. Very short wait times usually. Wide variety of insurances accepted and help with meds if needed

I felt like a human the staff knew who you were and your situation the doctor was always willing to answer questions and allowed us to make the decisions but helped to guide us in the process.

Everyone took the time to explain what was going on and what the next step would be. Always willing to answer questions and listen.

She helped us in every step of the way, we had seen another doctor with negative results and feeling and from the beginning she said she could do better and did. My husband needed sperm extracted and she was able to set that up in the office at the same time as my procedure. If results were not going as planned she changed the medication to see a more positive result.

Go in with an open mind and be up front about everything going on and other experiences they had. She can’t help if you don’t tell the whole story.

I don’t remember exactly I know we did not use the standard protocol of Lupron and gonal-f. She changed things up since I had a slightly high fsh.

We spent about 12k with insurance covering part of the testing

Due to egg quality they suggested we transfer on day 3. Usually on 2 embryos are transferred but there were 3 good embryos and they thought best chance for any of the would be in me so on day 3 were given the option of how many to transfer and we decided on all 3 that looked good.

It is easy to make appointments, phone wait times can be longer than other places, but they are busy and it is worth the wait. The front desk staff is great with confirming appointments and discussing protocols to follow prior to procedures. They are in great hands in this clinic.

She discussed everything with me in great detail and did not jump to IVF and wanted us to follow up with urology to see if there was a cheaper option. My follow up with her discussing IVF put me at ease.

Warm and friendly! Super helpful during everything.

She is great at giving compassion during this rough journey. When I first met her I was ready to jump into IVF but she was cautious due to our issue being male infertility and had me proceeded with lab work, a baseline ultrasound, and saline sonogram. Results were discussed in great detail and I walked out of the office fully confident in her and her staff during our IVF journey.

You may not always see the dr but her PA’s Alexa and Emily are just as amazing as Dr. Kowalczyk!

I was quoted 10,000 for IVF and another 5,000 to 7,000 for meds.

This is my 1st fertility clinic so I can not compare it to any others. I am pleased with my experience. I will not complain... if I had 1 thing to say I wish I would have known that BMI should have been under 40 before I went

They all seem to remember me and call me by my name..... Dr K always congratulated/ big hugs on my weight loss progress ...

Dr K. was very honest in letting me know that my weight was pretty much my only obstacle.... She gave me a lot of information and ways for me to loose weight ... She explained the risk of being obese while trying to conceive through IVF risk are very high

Get your BMI under 40 before you even go

I didn't make it that far ... I was able to complete all the diagnostic testing to be IVF candidate. Also my husband did his part also.... But because I didn't loose the weight and now I have several other issues to put IVF on hold.... one thing including severe dysplasia ...I am preparing for a leep procedure soon

My insurance does not cover any of the costs

Overall care of the patient is excellent. Everyone is very friendly and they really care about the patients. Long wait times in the waiting room. Plan to be there for awhile if not the 1st appointment of the day.

Coming to the realization that we needed help from a RE was heartbreaking. I cried during our 1st visit. She was patient, kind and very caring.

Very compassionate and understanding. Always available to answer questions and returned phone calls in a timely manner.

Dr K is an amazing doctor. She is patient, kind and caring. She is also very candid and honest. She doesn't blow smoke. She shared with us the reality of my condition (PCOS) and AMA. She gave us a plan to get pregnant and best case scenario. If that didn't work, she gave us our next steps. We were pregnant 2 months later.

Be patient. You will spend a lot of time in the waiting room.

After 4 rounds of clomid with OBGYN, Dr K suggested letrozole with trigger shot. I also was taking baby aspirin, 2000mg of vitamin D ans 1000mg Metformin. One week after ovulation I began progesterone suppositories due to low progesterone. I remained on progesterone suppositories until the 2nd trimester.

Very organized. Warm environment. Nice decoration everywhere so you don’t feel like you are at a normal doctors office. It’s not just a white sterile feeling office. Waiting area is calming. They are going for a spa like feel.

Very personable and always asks how you are or what is going on in life or over the weekend. Takes time to answer questions and has a heart.

Nurses and support team are all very passionate and direct. Calls and questions are answered quickly and fully.

She is a very passionate doctor. She is extremely versed in her field and is a very personable doctor. She takes her time and explains current paths and possibly alternatives if necessary. Will personally follow up with patients as needed.

Wait times are long. Don’t be afraid to ask all of your questions.

Birth control with lupron, before. Fresh and frozen transfer was successful.

Egg retrieval and fresh transfer was roughly 10k without the cost of meds.

She will only transfer 2 at a time unless there is a lower chance of success from personal history. Recommends 1 in most cases.

Strength-great staff, qualified and compassionate. The clinic offers group therapy, nutrition, accupunture, massage. Weakness-its a large practice, that is not always a weakness but because of that you don't see the Dr as often for scans and bloodwork.

I started seeing Dr. K after my doctor (that she had worked with) passed away. She was very sympathetic of our situation, infertility due to my husband's cancer treatment.

Nursing staff is great, they always get back to you usually the same day to answer questions or go over results.

Very educated, very good communicator, very compassionate. Only thing I would change is I don't see her as often as I would like, she took over a practice for my previous doctor who passed away, so she is very busy.

Dr. K will not transfer more than 2 embroys for patient safety.

Liked that there were 2 locations. However their Lake Orion location didn’t offer many services when we were there as it was newer. I believe these clinics would be better suited to IVF patients versus IUI patients.

I was a patient for all of 2016, did 4 iui’s (5 planned but one didn’t happen because I ovulated early), and we never actually met the doctor. We were initially handled by the nurse practitioner, then nurses only. While everyone was nice I didn’t feel important to the doctor.

In the almost 9-12 months we were at the practice we never even met Dr. Kowalczyk. When we scheduled our initial appointment we knew it was to be with the nurse practitioner. But assumed sometime before the iui we’d actually get to meet our doctor. I also thought the doctor would at least be present for the initial iui, that was not the case.

Be ready to not meet the doctor

Strength is the actual visit. I never wait, I can always be seen. It’s very easy going and they run on time. Weakness is that sometimes younhave to call both offices to find your chart or speak to your nurse because they move among locations

Her staff called me with updates, helped watch my daughter during blood draws. It made the process easy

She kept me up to date on medication and lab results. She followed up on the weekend when dosing needed to be changed. She always explains everything to me

So far she has been kind and follows up with me if I see any other provider at the clinic. There are good communication among providers. I wish I saw her for visits more . I also wish she was at every visit

I have had many friends with success out of this office. A doctor is important, but the staff is critical as well

So far we have paid about 450$ for work up and testing

Strengths are communication and their hearts. Weakness maybe would be jumping straight into IVF when they’re other options, felt blindsided. Go in the appointment with an open mind and be optimistic bc the office is great.

Very sweet and informative. Understood what we wanted from Them.

She was very calm and attentive. Hugged me if I was upset, went thru my treatment options. Was very informative. She had a nice office and kept things on a tight schedule. I appreciated her willingness to get things done.

Ask questions.

I don’t exactly know the protocol and we are still going to her but she was very sweet and went thru everything step by step.