She [Dr. Lange] was so thorough in the consultation and asked us in-depth, probing questions to get to know us and our history so well. There was no perfunctory presentation. The consultation was engaging, personal, and customized. She was also positive...Her instructions and care communication are all done through her nurse, who I loved, but when I needed to talk to her directly to get her thoughts on what path we should take moving forward as we debated another cycle, she was there for me.
They were welcoming, friendly, personable, and efficient! I didn't know before this experience how a fertility clinic worked and how different doctors rotate through the daily monitoring schedule, the testing and retrieval surgery center, etc. It's a machine...She [nurse] was 100% thorough, instructive, clear, compassionate, and reliable. She responded so quickly when I had a question or needed anything. I was in touch with her more than anyone else in the clinic, and I never had any doubt about her being invested in us, and I think she was a major part of our success and our overall happiness with RMA.
How was your experience with Allison Lange at RMA of Philadelphia?
Dr. Lange was methodical, consistent, extremely knowledgeable, and made me feel like she was truly invested in us and our success. I never thought that she missed anything or wasn't paying attention or was hesitant to make adjustments as needed. She studied my chart, my case, my results, and I felt like I was in very good hands throughout all 4 cycles. Her personality is somewhat reserved and matter-of-fact and not overly chatty or social, so I didn't feel the same rapport or camaraderie with her that I had with some of the other doctors at the clinic, but because I felt so comfortable and confident with her oversight and medical care, I didn't especially need that from her.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Allison Lange at RMA of Philadelphia?
Expect her to take excellent care of you "behind the scenes" but probably be more reserved in the in-person appointments and not spend her valuable time making a lot of small talk while doing the exam. Her instructions and care communication are all done through her nurse, who I loved, but when I needed to talk to her directly to get her thoughts on what path we should take moving forward as we debated another cycle, she was there for me.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Allison Lange at RMA of Philadelphia?
From the initial consultation, I knew Dr. Lange would be "the one". She was so thorough in the consultation and asked us in-depth, probing questions to get to know us and our history so well. There was no perfunctory presentation. The consultation was engaging, personal, and customized. She was also positive. At my age (almost 41 at the time of consultation), I knew the odds, but talked about possibilities and how this could work, not all the reasons why it might not.
Describe the protocols Allison Lange used in your cycles at RMA of Philadelphia and their degree of success.
My first two cycles were antagonist protocols - 150 Menopur & 300 Gonal-F for a few days, then I started Cetrotide, and finally we did an Hcg trigger shot 36 hours before egg retrieval. Dr. Lange noticed that despite my advanced age, I was a hyper-responder to the stimulants/gonadotropins, and some of my follicles were growing very very rapidly right away. It created asynchronous follicular growth, meaning we would have to trigger when at least half of them were ready, but it left many of them small and immature. So I had a large number of eggs retrieved but only about 50% of them were mature. Dr. Lange then moved me to an agonist protocol in which I would start Lupron 10 or more days before the stimulants to fully suppress my hormones, then go into 150 Menopur and 300 Gonal-F while continuing a very low dose of Lupron until the final Hcg trigger shot. This protocol dramatically increased the total number of eggs retrieved, and the percentage of mature eggs retrieved did slightly improve in the third and fourth cycles as well.
Describe your experience with your nurse at RMA of Philadelphia. (Assigned nurse: Samantha (Sammi))
Sammi and I got to know one another very well during our year of 4 IVF cycles! She was 100% thorough, instructive, clear, compassionate, and reliable. She responded so quickly when I had a question or needed anything. I was in touch with her more than anyone else in the clinic, and I never had any doubt about her being invested in us, and I think she was a major part of our success and our overall happiness with RMA.
Describe your experience with RMA of Philadelphia.
From the front-desk staff to the nurses that had to draw blood to the entire team of doctors that rotate each day for monitoring, I had a wonderful experience. They were welcoming, friendly, personable, and efficient! I didn't know before this experience how a fertility clinic worked and how different doctors rotate through the daily monitoring schedule, the testing and retrieval surgery center, etc. It's a machine. They have to time things so carefully that the system has to work perfectly. As I continued to watch how they organize appointments and calls to maximize effectiveness and efficiency and stay on top of every patient's care, I really was in awe. I have nothing negative to say about the clinic at all. Even though Dr. Lange was my primary doctor, I always felt that there was a huge team of people working for us and rooting for us the entire time.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at RMA of Philadelphia.
Monitoring was an efficient, well-oiled machine for sure. You were given about a 2.5-hour window early each morning for these, and regardless of whether there was 1 person in the waiting room or 10, I felt like I never waited for more than 15 minutes to be seen. It was a very quick in-and-out for bloodwork and ultrasound monitoring. Dr. Lange was more often in another clinic than in the one I went to, so I didn't see her as much for monitoring, but that didn't bother me at all. I got to know the other doctors who did monitoring in my clinic location quite well and really loved them, and I always knew that at the end of each day, Dr. Lange was the one reviewing my results and communicating them to my nurse Sammi to communicate to me. I was very impressed with the entire system.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Allison Lange at RMA of Philadelphia.
My insurance covered all of my fertility testing and my medication, but it did not cover treatment. An IFV cycle with ICSI was about $14,000 and included embryo transfer. The only extra costs each cycle were the egg retrieval (about $400) and the genetic testing for any embryos, which was done through Foundation for Embryonic Competence.
Describe Allison Lange's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at RMA of Philadelphia.
My doctor and the clinic strongly recommended that only one embryo be transferred at a time, and they explained why via the increased risks to mother and baby(ies), and I did not hesitate to follow their advice. Even though we ended up with 2 euploid embryos after ICSI and genetic testing, we only transferred one embryo per their recommendation, and we're glad we followed that recommendation.
10
Clinic
RMA of Philadelphia
King of Prussia
