Dr. Sekhon always treated me so kindly and spoke to me with past knowledge of my visits and our conversations... I am an LGBTQ person, I am overweight, and often Doctors treat me as lesser than for these reasons. Dr. Sekhon never made me feel like there was anything wrong or different about me. From our first consultation where she took my wife and me through our fertility options through our last visit she was kind, thoughtful, helpful, caring, knowledgeable, and patient as I had many questions throughout the process. Anytime I had a set back she was reassuring that it wasn't my fault and she had a course of action and next steps ready to go. Throughout my treatments I didn't see Dr. Sekhon for most monitoring appointments, but when I would see he
[My IVF Coordinator at RMA of New York] was extremely helpful in organizing medications, ensuring I had what I needed as far as syringes and needles, and making sure any and all documentation I needed to complete before treatments were done...[staff] was always respectful to me as an LGBTQ person...Coordinating shipping of Donor sperm vials from the cryobank to RMA was extremely simple. RMA has a clear process of where to ship and how to notify them.
How was your experience with Lucky Sekhon at RMA of New York?
Dr. Sekhon is the most compassionate doctor I have ever worked with (fertility or otherwise). I am an LGBTQ person, I am overweight, and often Doctors treat me as lesser than for these reasons. Dr. Sekhon never made me feel like there was anything wrong or different about me. From our first consultation where she took my wife and me through our fertility options through our last visit she was kind, thoughtful, helpful, caring, knowledgeable, and patient as I had many questions throughout the process. Anytime I had a set back she was reassuring that it wasn't my fault and she had a course of action and next steps ready to go. Throughout my treatments I didn't see Dr. Sekhon for most monitoring appointments, but when I would see her at transfers it was as if no time had past. She knew me, my history, and made me feel comfortable in a situation that could be categorized as extremely scary and uncomfortable.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Lucky Sekhon at RMA of New York?
Fertility treatments can be an extremely unknown and scary process. Trust that Dr. Sekhon is taking your situation into consideration and truly cares about your outcome with each step of the process.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Lucky Sekhon at RMA of New York?
Dr. Sekhon always treated me so kindly and spoke to me with past knowledge of my visits and our conversations. She often brought up my partner and spoke of her fondly (she could not join appointments due to covid). She was truly invested in the outcome of each procedure and answered any and all questions I had. I never felt rushed by her or that I was an inconvenience.
Describe the protocols Lucky Sekhon used in your cycles at RMA of New York and their degree of success.
Dr. Sekhon had me start with an HSG to ensure I had no tubal blockage before starting treatment. If I had she would have made sure to focus on one ovary instead of the blocked. However, I did not have any blockages and started with two unmedicated IUI cycles as there was no reason to believe I couldn't get pregnant with just insemination. I did inject a trigger shot 36 hours before insemination. Due to having a limited number of Sperm Donor vials I consulted with Dr. Sekhon and we agreed moving to IVF would be a great next step. I worked with her team to get all documentation ready during IUI number two so we would be ready to move straight to IVF if needed. I did two egg retrievals using injectable stim medications and a trigger shot which both resulted in around 20 eggs being retrieved and 8 blastocysts sent of for PGT-A testing. I then had two frozen embryo transfers, the first not resulting in a pregnancy, and the second resulting in a pregnancy. Throughout both transfers I took Estrogen Pills and Progesterone injections to help maintain the pregnancy.
How competent was Lucky Sekhon at LGBTQ care?
Going into any new doctor situation is nerve wracking as an LGBTQ person, however, Dr. Sekhon never made me feel that way. She spoke to me as a person who wanted to get pregnant and needed help with it. I never felt uncomfortable or judged. She was extremely knowledgeable and made sure to share all options I had when starting this process. When my first two rounds of IUI did not result in a pregnancy and I had limited donor sperm vials left she helped talk through the best options and how moving to IVF could be a better option for future planning for me and my wife.
Describe your experience with your nurse at RMA of New York. (Assigned nurse: Jennifer Needle)
My IVF Coordinator, Jennifer Needle, was instrumental throughout my egg retrievals and frozen embryo transfers. She was extremely helpful in organizing medications, ensuring I had what I needed as far as syringes and needles, and making sure any and all documentation I needed to complete before treatments were done. She was always available to hop on a call and would respond to emails within the hour. If there were ever concerns or questions I knew she would be extremely helpful, even if she didn't have the answer, she would find the person who did.
Describe your experience with RMA of New York.
RMA of NY is a wonderful practice full of caring practitioners. I have visited most of their office locations (Madison, Soho, and White Plains) and they each vary in their strengths and weaknesses. Madison is a large office and there is usually a short waiting period. The rooms are decent sized and while I never had my partner join me due to covid there would have been plenty of room. The Soho office is very small and intimate, but extremely efficient. The wait time for monitoring is typically no more than 5-10 minutes, they have a great system down. The exam rooms are extremely small and when my partner was able to join me for ultrasounds it was extremely cramped. However, the doctor was very mindful of this and always made sure to tell her where to stand to ensure she could see the screen. The White Plains office is a decent size, however constantly behind on their monitoring appointments, there were times I wasn't seen over an hour after my appointment time. Additionally, the front desk staff can sometimes be abrasive, you never know what to expect in this office, sometimes it is seamless in and out and others you're there for 30m-1h. However, the nurses at all locations were extremely thoughtful and helpful in each office and always made me feel cared for.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Lucky Sekhon at RMA of New York.
My insurance fully covered my fertility treatments so I only needed to pay my insurance deductible and out of pocket max ($7K).
Describe Lucky Sekhon's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at RMA of New York.
Dr. Sekhon transfers only one embryo at a time. I was not concerned with this approach as I did not want there to be a chance of multiples. Dr. Sekhon explained her practice with this and I was aligned with her practices.
How competent was RMA of New York at LGBTQ care?
RMA of NY was always respectful to me as an LGBTQ person. While often this was something that didn't come up as my wife was unable to attend monitoring appointments due to covid, when she could join me everyone was welcoming and kind.
Describe your experience using 3rd party reproduction (donor eggs, donor sperm, or gestational carrier) at RMA of New York.
Coordinating shipping of Donor sperm vials from the cryobank to RMA was extremely simple. RMA has a clear process of where to ship and how to notify them. My cryobank had all of RMA's information already in their system and was able to deliver vials within one days time. I simply had to call my cryobank, tell them how many vials I wanted to ship and who my clinic was and they confirmed the information with me and set up the shipment. I would then send an email to a specific RMA email address with the shipment information and when they could expect arrival. I never had any issues.
What specific things went wrong at RMA of New York?
- Lost appointments
- Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at RMA of New York.
I was gearing up for a transfer cycle at RMA. The day or two before my cycle started I received a call from one of the nurses informing me that I would not be able to complete a transfer cycle that month due to a government mandate that the IVF lab be closed for cleaning for the month. I understand that RMA had no control over when the government mandates this, but I would have liked to been given more notice as I had made specific plans surrounding this cycle.
10
Clinic
RMA of New York
NY - Downtown
