As treatment progressed, I never heard from Dr. Jensen (only via email in a templated letter that stated the same thing every cycle). I felt after each IUI I was never given feedback about my progress or my cycle and reasoning for increasing my clomid dosage. I felt like just another person on her list of patients to review each month and that my treatment was not at all tailored to my personal situation.
This clinic [RMIA- Edina] is split between two locations which are extremely far apart from each other. One is in Minneapolis and the other in St. Paul. One would think the two locations would actually be more convenient for those who live on the other side of town. Unfortunately, the two clinics have the same nurses and doctors and the staff is forced to commute back and forth between them. This means that making an appointment for something simple like blood work or an ultrasound is actually difficult if you are not flexible with the hours that you can come in.
How was your experience with Jani Jensen at Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Associates?
After my initial consultation with Dr. Jensen I felt confident that she knew what she was doing and that there was a real chance that IUI would work for us. However, as treatment progressed, I never heard from Dr. Jensen (only via email in a templated letter that stated the same thing every cycle). I felt after each IUI I was never given feedback about my progress or my cycle and reasoning for increasing my clomid dosage. I felt like just another person on her list of patients to review each month and that my treatment was not at all tailored to my personal situation.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Jani Jensen at Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Associates?
Ask every single question you can think of at your consultation. This is literally the only time you will ever have a conversation with your actual doctor so even small questions like diet, exercise, be sure to ask her up front because she will not be available to meet with you after your consultation.
Be prepared to work only with your nurses and to be in charge of your own treatment. Ask LOTS of questions every time you visit the clinic and make sure you understand what is happening each time you go. Barely any information is ever given at appointments so if you are unsure of something you need to be sure you ask -- the nurses will not provide you with any more than the bare minimum unless you ask.
This clinic loves to do a blood draw even if you have a negative pregnancy test so be prepared to pay for your beta test every, single, cycle regardless of the outcome.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Jani Jensen at Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Associates?
When I came to the clinic, I saw a new nurse every time I was there. I never had a chance to build a relationship with any person that made me feel as though my treatment was customized or personal in any way. It felt like a cattle call -- like I was a room of many women just going through the motions of the same procedures with no real reasoning or feedback throughout treatment.
Describe the protocols Jani Jensen used in your cycles at Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Associates and their degree of success.
When I met with Dr. Jensen, I had already had all of the basic workup done for my infertility diagnosis by my OB-GYN. My blood work, HSG, pap results, and even my husband's semen analysis had all been provided to Dr. Jensen prior to my appointment and all results led to an unexplained infertility diagnosis. While meeting with her, I asked if further testing could be done or would be required, and I was told that no further testing would be needed and that moving on to treatment was my best option as I had a 3% chance of conceiving naturally each month at this point.
The overall strategy from Dr. Jensen was to try three medicated cycles of IUI with HCG Trigger shot before moving on to IVF. The first cycle, I was prescribed 50 milligrams of Clomid for 5 days beginning on cycle day 5, with ultrasound on cycle day 10. After analyzing the size of my two follicles, I was then instructed to use the trigger shot on day 13 and come back for IUI on day 14. This cycle was unsuccessful and on day 28 I came in for a beta test to confirm negative results. I was told everything looked normal and to try again for IUI #2.
The next cycle I was told to follow the same steps as the previous cycle. When I came in for my baseline ultrasound on day 10, I was told that I had one cyst and one follicle that was almost ready. I did the trigger shot on day 13 and came in day 14 for IUI when I was told the cyst was actually just a small follicle that never matured fully but that the other follicle was adequate in size. This was another unsuccessful cycle and my beta test on day 28 confirmed the negative results.
The next cycle I was told to follow the same steps as before, but my Clomid dosage was increased from 50 milligrams to 100. On day 10 I was told that I did in fact have a cyst (not a small follicle as previously determined), but also had a very large follicle that was ready to go. My body was naturally surging on its own, so I triggered that night and came back on day 12 for IUI. This was another unsuccessful cycle.
I was then told to come back for round 4 of IUI with another increase of clomid to 150 milligrams. It was at this point that I decided to stop coming back to RMIA.
I was initially told by Dr. Jensen that after three failed IUIs, the likelihood that more attempts would work decreased dramatically. So, I was very confused when I received yet another, templated letter from the doctor stating to try again with just an increase in medication. I felt extremely frustrated that in 3 months I hadn't had any face time with my doctor and even after the strategy we had mapped out was complete, I still got no further feedback from her and the reasoning for another attempt was extremely unclear.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Associates.
Many of the nurses I met with were incredibly kind, warm, and informative about the process. However, many other nurses were cold, direct, and impersonal. Some nurses would ask for me to record my own measurements during ultrasounds which I found to be odd and uncomfortable.
Although I had many nurses I truly liked working with, I never felt a connection or close to any one in particular because I saw a different nurse each time I went. I never felt that I had a specific contact to reach out to or that anyone could answer my questions directly.
Describe your experience with Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Associates.
This clinic is very clean, quiet and comfortable. There is usually no wait to see a nurse or for treatment and the nurses are fast and reliable. Someone is always available to answer the phone and I felt that communication was very quick.
However, this clinic is split between two locations which are extremely far apart from each other. One is in Minneapolis and the other in St. Paul. One would think the two locations would actually be more convenient for those who live on the other side of town. Unfortunately, the two clinics have the same nurses and doctors and the staff is forced to commute back and forth between them. This means that making an appointment for something simple like blood work or an ultrasound is actually difficult if you are not flexible with the hours that you can come in. I found myself driving over an hour just to get a blood draw or to have a baseline ultrasound because one clinic would be closed or the nurse I needed to see was not available at that location on that day. With IUI being extremely dependent on where you are in your cycle, there is not much room for flexibility and driving back and forth while working a full-time job was extremely stressful for me. Furthermore, IUIs were only performed at the clinic farthest away from me on the days I needed to have my procedure so I ended up actually driving to the farther clinic 75% of the time. I initially went with Dr. Jensen because of the two doctors at RMIA, she was the one available in the closer location. But, in the end I drove farther so it was not worth it.
Overall, this clinic has the basics you would look for in a fertility clinic, but it's lacking in customer service, patient communication, and personalized treatment.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Jani Jensen at Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Associates.
I only went to Dr. Jensen for IUI. Overall, I felt that her pricing was steep compared to others I had spoken to. Each aspect of treatment was priced differently, but overall for insemination, blood work, ultrasounds, each cycle totaled to about $1,200. Medications were separate from this cost. This is higher than I have heard others have paid ($800), and I did always feel pressured to have blood work done even if I knew I was not pregnant (negative pregnancy test on day 28 of my cycle, or spotting). This cost me almost $300 each time I had blood drawn, and I felt that was a cost that could have been cut if the clinic had personalized my treatment more, or had been more aware of saving their patients money.
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Clinic
Reproductive Medicine & Infertility Associates
Edina