Oma Fertility of St. Louis

Dr. Zarek is hands down the most amazing Physician. She put myself and my husband at ease the first time we ever had a call with her. I remember crying after we talked for the first time, because I knew she really wanted to help us have a baby, and for the first time, I felt like it was possible. She has been an excellent communicator and has reached out to us personally multiple times throughout our journey. When other reviews say you are able to text her, it is true! My husband and I are driving from Ohio to St. Louis to work with her, because we believe in her that much. It has been worth every drive to know we have full confidence in our doctor. I can never say enough good things about Dr. Zarek!

Do not be afraid to ask her any questions. She will always take time to make sure you both are comfortable with her plan. She does not make you feel wrong if you question something. If you have any hesitation about becoming a patient of hers, it will go away when you get the chance to meet her or have a call.

We sought out Dr.Zarek as a second opinion, as we were getting no where with our local fertility clinic. Even though it would be a 6 hour drive each way, the reviews spoke for themselves and I knew I wanted to meet her. She helped to confirm a diagnosis of male infertility and we completed baseline testing. My husband continued ion his previous regimen of Clomid and Arimidex. Within 2 months, we started IVF stim medications. I had 1 egg retrieval which was successful where 4 embryos were frozen. I then had a frozen embryo transfer and a day 5 blast was transferred. I am currently pregnant after my first transfer attempt!

The package pricing is all transparent and online.

My husband and I chose to have a single embryo transfer. We were given proper education and counseling on our options.

After meeting with Dr. Zarek, we abandoned our plans to use another clinic immediately because we were so impressed by her. She spent unrushed time with us to hear about our experience so far (wanting both facts and emotions), to introduce us to the clinic, and to discuss next steps. Throughout the treatment, she spoke to us on her level while still exhibiting professionalism and expertise. Her availability during the treatment was reassuring; she was never too busy to address questions/concerns. After some unexpected results, she was immediately concerned about our emotions, addressing those first then swiftly discussing a plan to move forward. She was very candid about what she did and could not know, and I am confident that she always has the patient's best interest in mind.

FSH and Menopur with adjustments to dosages as needed based on my labs. Lupron/HCG trigger. I responded very well to this.

The costs for an IVF cycle and retrieval included a baseline cost for a cycle/retrieval, plus a separate cost for anesthesia and medications. They were very open about their costs up front. They are very concerned about providing the lowest cost possible without compromising quality.

I have had a great experience with Dr. Zarek. 1. She is very knowledgeable—and is truly an educator at heart. She is great at explaining everything in a way that is easy to understand without making you feel stupid. 2. Honest and compassionate —she is very frank, but compassionate about what is going on and I really appreciate that. 3. Personal—I have never had a doctor who is as invested in me as Dr. Zarek. When she gave us her cell # at our first appointment, I was BLOWN AWAY.

I spent a lot of time reading these reviews when I was starting out, so I get it. It's nerve-wracking trying to figure out if you are taking the right next step, if you are choosing the right doctor/clinic. But if you haven’t set up an appointment...just do it! Dr. Zarek is the absolute best and I trust her wholeheartedly trust her with my care. She's heading up a new clinic now, so you won't find a lot of info about the clinic itself, but based on my time with her, she recruits none but the best to be on her team.

I had done 3 cycles of Clomid and timed intercourse with my OB prior to seeing Dr. Zarek with no indication of ovulation. Because of my anovulation + newly discovered double uterus, we attempted 4 consecutive IUIs with Femara/Letrozole + Ovidrel trigger. My second cycle was cancelled because the ovary attached to the small uterus that we were trying to avoid pregnancy in was the one developing a follicle. The other cycles I did develop 1-2 follicles each time and ovulated with the IUI, but none achieved pregnancy. At this point, my husband and I felt that we couldn't keep going with IUI, so we decided to move forward with IVF. I believe that we used a "Long Lupron" protocol. I started by taking birth control, then around week 3 started 2 weeks of daily Lupron injections, which were to continue through retrieval. I was instructed to stop birth control at the end of the pack to allow for a bleed and then did my baseline (which included blood work and a transvaginal ultrasound) on day 2/3 of my cycle. Because my estrogen levels and ultrasound looked great, I was instructed to start my stims protocol of 75iu Menopur and 150iu Gonal-F a few days later, which I continued through Stims day 5. My estrogen levels looked good, so Dr. Zarek asked me to increase my Gonal-F to 225iu for 2 days. Based on the bloodwork done at my first follicle scan, my estrogen levels responded to that increase quickly, so she had me reduce that dose back to 150iu so that my estrogen would not rise too high by the end (which would lead to OHSS). My follicle counts were good at that point, which we were all pleased with. By my follicle check on Stims Day 10, I had about 14 follicles measuring between 13-15mm and a bunch of smaller ones that we hoped would join in over the next few days. However, my estrogen was still trending up, so Dr. Zarek had me decrease my Gonal-F from 150iu to 75iu for the next couple of days, at which point we would decide if it was time to trigger or not. My follicle scan two days later, showed that I had 21 follicles growing. Dr. Zarek wanted to wait one more day, but my estrogen levels had spiked, so she had me go home and take one more dose of Menopur and Gonal-F and we added cabergoline to hopefully ward off OHSS, and I would be taking Lovenox for 7 days starting the night of retrieval in the case that I did develop OHSS. Dr. Zarek retrieved 18 eggs the morning of my retrieval, 14 of which were mature. 12 fertilized, and 9 made it to blastocyst stage. Typically, these would have all been frozen, and we would have given my body a rest before doing a frozen embryo transfer. My insurance only covered fresh transfers, so Dr. Zarek allowed us to do a fresh transfer on the condition that I did not develop OHSS. I did not, so on day 5 we went in and transferred one of our sweet embryos and the remaining 8 were frozen that day/next (if I remember correctly, a couple were still growing on day 5). I started on PIO and suppositories. I went in for my first beta 10 days later and SURPRISE I was pregnant! I was honestly shocked that it worked the first time, I was expecting to have to do more than one transfer because that is what seems to be typical. I graduated from the clinic around 8-10 weeks pregnant with orders to sit and gestate haha. Healthy baby was born at 37 weeks!

The costs seemed about average, if not lower than what I have seen others talked about by friends from across the country. Her new clinic displays pricing on the website, which is nice!

Dr. Zarek believes that it is best to transfer only one embryo at a time because multiples pose a greater risk for the health of mom and babies—and transferring multiple only increases your chances by a little bit, statistically. This also gives you the opportunity to save extra embryos for another transfer if the first doesn’t take. I agree with that rationale in general, but especially in my situation because I have two uteruses and they tend to be smaller than an average size uterus. Multiples would pose a risk to my and babies' health, so we will only do one transfer at a time.

My experience with Dr. Zarek has been absolutely wonderful! She is extremely knowledgeable and meticulous. She explained things in detail and made sure I had all of the information I needed. Genuinely so impressed with her.

Explain to Dr.Zarek you hopes and wishes for your treatment process!

Protocol: Letrozole 7.5mg Trigger Shot Progesterone 200mg twice a day When Positive Pregnancy Test, Heparin 10,000 units twice a day Metformin XR 750 twice a day Prednisone 5mg Folate Aspirin 81mg

Cost were very minimal with Dr.Zarek.