Princeton IVF

The only weakness was the billing department could nevee get my insurance correct. I also wish they made appts instead of first come first serve. Their strengths were that everyone knew you by name(staffwise) and also the patients got to know each other because we would see each other everyday

Dr. Derman took all the time I needed every morning even if I asked him the question previously. He was very gentle but honest with what to expect especially due to my age and egg quality. He called with all updates regarding my bloodwork and he was so professional.

Keeley drew my blood every morning she was so gentle. I am a hard blood draw but she took her time and made sure she only had to stick me one time. During my morning ultrasounds she would listen to me vent and/or cry. I couldn't have asked for a better nurse

Honest he never gave me false hope. He was willing to do what was best for my family as well for the outcome of having our baby. When I decided I needed a break he was very supportive and also he did not force an IUI or IVF.

Please follow his instructions thoroughly but also voice your concerns he will always listen

From the beginning we knew from my bloodwork and other testing I needed injectable medication. Initially my dose was very low I did not respond at all. The next several months we gradually increased my medication to produce more eggs they failed. I took a one month break from the IUI. I started back again with the same dosage we produced more eggs this time but no pregnancy. We finally sat down and had a long talk and decided I needed to move to IVF. I asked him could we try IUI one more time he agreed and increased my Gonal F to the max and it worked. I got a positive test at 44 years old.

All of my visits were covered by both my insurances the only thing not covered was the IUI which was $630 each time.

I was really happy here BUT you should know that it is inside the same space as the regular OB/GYN/midwifery office....the left half of the waiting room is for OB/MW patients, and the right half for Dr. Derman/infertility. So if seeing a lot of pregnant women or women with babies is triggering for you, this is going to be an issue. They are good with scheduling and communication. Kind of an out of the way location, but only a few minutes from the Hamilton train station. Lots of brand new equipment. Lab is in-house. HSGs and egg retrievals done at different sites (Princeton and Abbington).

Nurses and staff were extremely warm, and the doctor was good about answering my questions in a lot of detail (as much as I wanted...he actually pulled out a textbook at one point to show me an image to help explain the answer).

LOVED Keely, she was so kind and helpful and very attentive and responsive. When I got pregnant she seemed genuinely happy for me and so sweet.

Dr. Derman is definitely up to date on the latest reproductive endocrinology research--I have a PhD and I had been reading everything I could find ahead of my visit. I knew I wanted Femara over Clomid based on thin lining, I knew I wanted someone who would perform specific tests, and who had knowledge of recent studies on vitamins D and E. He knew and brought up all that research before I did--I know he used to prescribe Clomid but has switched to Femara mostly because recent research shows better results and that was very comforting to me. He will thoroughly explain anything as long as you ASK him...he may not go into detail without you asking but he even pulled out a textbook and walked me through the biochemical reactions when I had a question. He isn't the warmest person but he is not at all cold, and I cared far more about his knowledge to get me pregnant than anything else. When a radiologist scared me by being a doofus, Dr. Derman was actually surprisingly confident and compassionate and helped me to stop freaking out and even checked in with me at the next appointment to make sure I was truly believing that things were ok (they were...the radiologist was an idiot who spoke out of turn). When I had an usual result on an HSG (which he squeezed me in for so that I could get it done that cycle and not need to wait a month), he got me in first thing the next morning for an SHG so that they could confirm all was well and I wouldn't need to worry for any longer than absolutely necessary. Once I was meeting with the nurse practitioner/MW and when I had a question about the medication beyond her knowledge she went and got the doctor and he came in and spent a good 15 min answering my question even though we weren't scheduled to meet--I can't ask for better than that. Also, I got pregnant on my first treatment so that's great.

ASK questions. Don't expect him to read your mind. Don't expect him to be warm and cuddly--he's super optimistic about getting you pregnant but he's not overt about it even though I do think he's very compassionate. If you like the details and science, go ahead and tell him so that he will go into more detail for you.

2.5mg (lowest dose) of letrozole (generic Femara) on days 3-7, plus trigger shot (Ovidrel) and IUI. I had thin lining and a low Day21 progesterone result so they induced ovulation with the letrozole...I was ovulating without the trigger with a thick lining by CD12 but was instructed to trigger anyway to be safe, have sex that night (just in case I ovulated at home) and return for IUI in the morning. Result is my beautiful son!!!

one round of letrozole was about $4 after insurance, the IUI with sperm wash came out to like...$500 and $36 after insurance? IUI would have been less but I have a high deductible plan. All testing was covered by insurance. Two doses of Ovidrel was $180, and I was able to donate the leftover dose.

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We were very unhappy with our experience, and recommend that any prospective patients look elsewhere for treatment.

After a miscarriage, Dr. Derman was extremely perfunctory in his interactions with us.

The nursing staff were not competent phlebotomists, and were completely unable to give a straight answer to basic questions about treatments and timelines.

My husband and I did not have a positive experience with Dr. Derman. We ultimately had to pursue IVF, so we could test our embryos for a genetic disorder. The stimulation protocol used by Dr. Derman was extremely long – about four weeks – and we later learned that it is an older protocol that is generally only used in specific circumstances, when the newer, shorter protocols are inappropriate. One downside to the older process is the possibility of overstimulation, which resulted in a week of extreme discomfort following egg retrieval. Our first FET was successful, but ultimately resulted in a miscarriage. Dr. Derman was extremely perfunctory in his interactions with us following the miscarriage. This turned out to be a missed miscarriage necessitating a D and C, which Dr. Derman performed. Significant discomfort and nausea persisted for several days after the procedure, at which point we decided to switch doctors. During the routine tests with our new doctors, we learned that the D&C was unsuccessful, and a second would be required. Dr. Derman had neglected to take the customary step of confirming via bloodwork that the D&C had been successful. I experienced significant complications during the second D&C in the form of a severe hemorrhage, which necessitated a much longer recovery and additional subsequent testing than would otherwise have been the case. Overall, we are extremely unhappy with our experiences with Dr. Derman. He uses older protocols rather than the most up-to- date techniques, neglects to follow up to ensure that procedures are successful, and lacks any compassion in the event of a miscarriage. We strongly recommend anyone considering his practice to go elsewhere.

We strongly recommend anyone considering his practice to go elsewhere.

Both my husband and I are carriers for a genetic disease, so we were told we should use IVF with ICSI. The stimulation protocol Dr. Derman uses, we later learned, is somewhat outdated and now more commonly used only under specific circumstances.

Bloodwork began at 6am, but ultrasounds did not begin until 7am. Both were first-come, first-serve, which meant arriving before 6am, and then waiting for over an hour to be seen after blood was taken.

We had to pay office copays and embryo cryo and storage fees.

Dr. Derman was indifferent to single vs. multiple embryo transfer.

Strengths: It's a smaller office. So depending on your interaction, you may feel as if you have a more personalized treatment. Weaknesses: The doctor and the front desk staff seemed very disorganized. The doctor would ask patients to arrive as early as 6AM but he wouldn't show up to the office until 6:45 or 7AM, making patients fill up the waiting area. We were very frustrated with often waiting over an hour just for bloodwork or an ultrasound. Since moving from this clinic, we have never experienced that elsewhere.

We felt as if they were taking on far more patients than the office can handle. They would power us through leaving little time for questions during meetings. A wait of 45 minutes or more was not uncommon in morning bloodwork or ultrasounds.

There were several nurses in the group. We saw Louise the most. She was extremely helpful in doing the bloodwork and handling a fear of needles. She was very instructive for how to perform the injections and showed a lot of compassion overall.

Dr. Derman seemed very knowledgeable in the infertility domain. But he would often very quickly explain things and move on without us having an opportunity to openly ask questions. I found myself trying to write notes down as fast as possible to keep up. While every time he said he'd provide paperwork and material for us, we never received any. Moreover, there were critical times when we were supposed to start/stop medications and we would not get calls from him. We had to remind him of the treatment sometimes, which was a bit concerning.

Do your research. Interview at least two other doctors or groups along with Derman and decide based on who is the best fit for you. Dr. Derman may be good for some, but he wasn't for us.

It was "a cattle call with a line around the corner". Very rarely did we wait less than 15 minutes. Most often it was 30 minutes or more, and in some cases over 1.5 hours wait. There were times when the front desk staff wouldn't even look at the clipboard for over 15 minutes.

All of our expenses were covered under a co-pay (IUI and IVF), except for IVF injections which ended up having a co-pay of about $250.

It was close to where I live, the partking is free and accessible. It is not as busy as the bigger clinics. The staff are friendly. You see the doctor every time. He does everything: all the ultrasounds. So you can speak to him. They do the egg retrieval and embryo transfer off-site at Abbington. I found out later that the success of IVF also depends very much on the skill of the embryologist. Abbington is fine, but it is not a high volume facility. I would rate it as average.

I did not receive enough details such as my test results, and he did not give good explanations about recommended choices.

The staff are friendly. It is difficult to reach them by telephone, but they will reply when you leave a voice message. They did not do a good job explaining the injection teaching. One time, they had to ask Dr Derman to explain the site of injection. Another time, she had to ask Dr Derman about which side and location to inject.

I think he is trying his best, but he does not explain what is happening with each cycle. Since this is a small clinic, I see him every time, so one expects more explanations about the prognosis of my cycle. However, he is also busy, so he does not always remember exactly the treatment protocol. It is important to be proactive by reminding him of my exact protocol. Having said this, the procedures were performed on time and properly. Since I was a poor responder, I would gave appreciated that he let me know to escalate sooner towards IVF, than to spend an extra cycle on Femara and an extra one on IUIs. After 1 cancelled IVF cycle and 1 failed IVF cycle, he was willing to attempt 1 more IVF cycle, but I declines and decided to switch to another clinic. The next clinic declined to treat me because of my high Day 3 FSH level. So in retropsect, it is appreciated that Dr Derman was willing to try one my IVF cycle. Nevertheless, I contacted 4 more clinics and I am now trying a new protocol elsewhere.

Ask about the different protocols he uses and why he is selecting the patricular one for you.

First started with Femara. He prefers this to Clomid. We did 4 cycles, each at an escalating dosage, because I was not responding to the previous lower dosages. None of the cycles were successful. I then went to injectibles and IUI using Follistim. The first cycle was at 75 IU and I had a hormone surge. The next two cycles, Follistim was increased to 150 IU and ganirelix was used to prevent the surge. All three IUI cycles were not succesful, so I moved to IVF. I am a poor responder. Each time only led to 1 (or 2 at best) mature follicles. We found this out during the IUI and IVF cycles. The first IVF cycle used Gonal + Menopur + Ganirelix (to prevent LH surge). Unfortunately, I still had an LH surge and the cycle was cancelled. The second IVF cycle used Follistim + Menopur + Lupron (to supress the LH surge). This got me to egg retrieval, ICSI, and then transfer on day 3. Unfortunately, the cycle was not successful.

They are between 6 am - 9 am. Sometimes, the wait can be very busy. Most times, there is only 2-3 people ahead of me.

I had a good insurance plan, so I did not pay very much, fortunately.

I spent a long time at this clinic. The waits to be monitored were extremely lengthy, the nurses were not personable, and you were quickly moved in and out. It was also extremely difficult to get a person on the phone. In fact, I never had a live person answer the phone any of the times that I called. I always had to leave a message.

I think this is where I really struggled with this clinic. The turnaround of staff was constant. The nurses often appeared to be stressed out, and playing many different roles in the lab and the clinic. I spent years at this clinic, and no one really ever addressed me on a personal level. I felt like the nurses could have been more compassionate.

Dr. Derman was the only doctor at this practice (I am not sure if this has changed). It was a small practice, so the staff was often overwhelmed. Dr. Derman was great with responding to emails, but he was difficult to get in touch with otherwise. I felt that a lot of the decision making was made by the Physician's Assistant, rather than the doctor.

Stay on top of everything.

Dr. Derman did try different protocols with me. He did change medications from one round to the next. I honestly don't remember the details. My first round of IVF resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Dr. Derman was willing to let me go back to IUI while I was trying to figure out my insurance, rather than pushing forward with another round of IVF.

Monitoring appointments were first come, first serve. I would often get there about an hour before they began so that I could ensure that I would be able to be seen and get to work on time. The wait time was very long. You were called in for bloodworm first, then back to the waiting room, and later called back for ultrasound. On my first visit there, I had to ask what the procedure was because no one had explained anything to me.

I was fortunate to have great health insurance, so I was primarily responsible for copays.

This is a very disorganized place. We spent hours waiting for call backs since we could never get a person to answer the phone, and we spent hours in the waiting room because they treat procedures as open cattle calls, asking patients to come an hour before the doctor arrived.

They regularly confused us and our family situation, asking about a husband or mentioning we should come deposit our sperm.

The nursing staff are hard to reach. We never got a live person to answer the phone a single time in a year of treatment. Once we actually got into the clinic for an appointment, we had long waits until any staff showed up. A few nurses were kind and helpful once we were at an appointment, but the logistics and communication between were extremely frustrating.

We did not find Dr. Derman to be a good communicator or thoughtful doctor. He was not attentive to our needs or family and regularly asked about a husband or sperm samples, despite working with us for over a year.

Know what you want and be prepared to advocate for yourself and your family. Also, be prepared for long waits and a pretty frustrating set of logistics.

We used Femara (letrozole) early in the cycle at increasing dosages, with IUI following a positive OPK result.

At the time we had insurance coverage for IUI, so we paid only deductibles ($150 each IUI) and a $25 copay per visit.

The practice is 2 in one...ivf on one side and ob/gym on other. Was great and easy to move from one side to the other after 8 wks of pregnancy. I don't have any weakness to list. Never a long wait on either side of practice.

All the nurse were very nice along w Dr. Derman. Never felt like I was going to see a doctor. He was frank with all the info and was availavle 24/7.

All the nurses were very pleasant and friendly. If you had any questions they would get you answers right away.

I would recommend Dr derman and have to several friends. I am currently going thru another cycle w him. He is very knowledgeable in his field. You don't feel like a patient. Even in emergency situations he is easy to to contact.

Just be open about any and all questions. He will answer all of them. Keep in mind most appt are early in the morning so you must leave a vm and the office will def call you back.

We initially did 3 rounds of you. Followed by I vf. We also used icisi assisted hatching.

Almost all my appt were early in the morning. If i needed to go in after noon, they did make exception.

My ins paid all of it . I only paid min. Copay.

W1st I vf cycle we 9 embryos and we cud not decide on transferring 3 or 4 embryos and we leaned on Dr derman for advice and transferred 3.