Describe your experience with Princeton IVF.
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.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Seth Derman at Princeton IVF?
I did not receive enough details such as my test results, and he did not give good explanations about recommended choices.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Princeton IVF. (Assigned nurse: Louise)
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.
How was your experience with Seth Derman at Princeton IVF?
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.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Seth Derman at Princeton IVF?
Ask about the different protocols he uses and why he is selecting the patricular one for you.
Describe the protocols Seth Derman used in your cycles at Princeton IVF and their degree of success.
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.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Princeton IVF.
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.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Seth Derman at Princeton IVF.
I had a good insurance plan, so I did not pay very much, fortunately.