Shady Grove Fertility

The clinic has an amazing clinicals. Everybody that I encountered in regards to nurses and doctors were amazing. My only concern is the financial stand. It is hard to get them on the phone, they do not follow through with responses quickly and you have to make sure that you are on top of your benefits if using insurance or no exactly what you’re paying for so you can catch errors and get them correct The clinic has an amazing clinical staff. Everybody I encountered in regards to nurses and doctors were amazing. My only concern is the financial stand. It is hard to get them on the phone, through with responses quickly and you have to make sure that you are on top of your benefits if using insurance or know exactly what you’re paying for so you can catch errands and get them corrected. Do not be afraid to make a little noise to get the response that you need from the billing and financial department. Dealing with them is a pain but more than worth it to have the clinical staff on my side.

Dr. Martin and his nursing staff are truly the best thing that I could have by my side during this process. He was always very calm, patient and explain things in times that I could understand. He never rushed our visit and always gave me the chance to ask questions. When my second embryo transfer resulted in a missed miscarriage Dr. Martin’s office staff reach out to me throughout the entire process And I was also shocked that he personally called me at least three times just to check on how I was doing mentally as well as physically. It was the most comforting feeling ever to know that I was not alone from a clinical perspective and even as human beings.

Dr. Martin’s nurse Debbie, is like a ray of sunshine. She was always feed it to hold my hand, get me through the hard times and explain things to me. They were times that she would be off for the day but would still make sure to call me with my results because she wanted to be the one to provide them to me. You can tell that she has a genuine caring and compassionate spirit for her patients and it shows in everything that she does.

As I have said in previous chances, Dr. Martin MD as a clinician is far more than I could ever expect from my doctor. I wish more doctors were like him. Whenever he saw that I was getting down in the process he will try to make sure to get me to laugh or smile and remind me that keeping a positive mindset is a big part of the process. He seem to always be involved in my care even after I was realeased from the clinic after my pregnancy. From the very first consultation when I met him and he sat down and drew a diagram out of what my care plan would look like to make sure that I understood everything that was going to happen to me I had a great feeling about him. Even after my husband’s job has relocate from Pennsylvania to New York three hours away I went to consultations with other doctors and did not find anyone that I felt transferring my care too and now decide to drive three hours each way to see him because I believe that much in him.

Do not be afraid to ask questions. He will answer every question and to him none are stupid questions. Give him the chance to allow you to feel comfortable

For my first egg retrieval Dr. Martin placed me on an antagonist protocol. The reason we needed to seek IVF help was my husband suffers from male factor in fertility. Otherwise I have three healthy children from my previous marriage and no history of any issues conceiving. He explained to me that we would have to use IVF with ICSI because my current husband‘s sperm had to be surgically retrieved . During my first egg retrieval we used an hCG trigger however it caused me to overstimulate so now in my second egg retrieval cycle we are using lupron instead. After our miscarriage when we weren’t sure if we should proceed with IVF Dr. Martin explained that he felt we still had a chance because my body has proven that knows what to do in regard to my uterus, we just need a good embryo to implant. He said he felt as though the sperm was not a huge issue because we were able to get 3 embryos to blastocyst stage and highly recommended that this next cycle we utilize PGS testing to give ourselves the best cancelled of implanting a good embryo.

When I lived in Pennsylvania morning monitoring appointments when that hard for me. Once I move to New York however monitoring between 7 and 9 AM was a little more difficult to get to considering I was driving three hours each way to get the air. One time I arrived after 10 AM but I was able to drive to the Chesterbrook facility and still see my doctor as he was there that afternoon. They understood my trip and we’re more than willing to help accommodate.

I don’t recall as my insurance covered everything except genetic testing. PGS testing is $3400

For my first transfer we only transfer the one embryo. My second transfer was two embryos because we only had to laugh and Dr. Martin MD is open to discussing this with me. I told him that my insurance only allows us three chances and I would rather him play at two and still have one more chance laughed to go through another egg retrieval. He helped me weigh all the options and was open to my feelings and agreed to transfer two embryos in the second transfer. I love that we came to that decision together

Shady Grove's strength is in its reputation and size as apparently the biggest fertility clinic in the nation. With experienced REs across multiple centers, the within network expertise is available to guide treatment plans in difficult cases. I like the flexibility of being able to go to any of its numerous locations (even across several states) as medical records are linked. Overall, getting an appointment is easy especially for monitoring, which can be done in different centers across town rather than needing to be at the primary clinic every time. Having said this, I found it necessary to book a post-treatment follow-up appointment with my RE weeks out (typically at the start of a cycle) if my goal was to not miss any time due to scheduling availability. While getting a phone consult to regroup was an option, in-person consults had to be scheduled further out. Even though one has to medically qualify, Shady Grove's programs such as shared risk allow for a certain sense of security against how long a treatment may take to work. While I haven't used a shared risk program, the caveat is that either party (clinic or patient) can choose to withdraw at any time for a refund. Although I learned of this too late to fully benefit when first seeking care, Shady Grove provides a free consultation for would-be patients who attend a free seminar. This is a terrific idea since some insurance companies make women jump through multiple hoops before being allowed to see a specialist and timing of early diagnosis is so critical to better outcomes.

Despite having a very busy practice, Dr. Levens frequently goes the extra mile to answer detailed and numerous questions, calling ahead of and after treatments, and being available to do procedures himself whenever possible. He listens carefully and attentively so I have never felt rushed during consults or even with middle-of-the-hallway questions during monitoring. Dr. Levens encourages patients to be engaged in their care and always invites follow-up inquiries as needed.

I've been in treatment for so long that managed to have 2 nurses by now. Layluma was fantastic--very sweet and caring--both as my primary nurse and upon being promoted to the surgical team. Chelsea took over as my primary nurse thereafter and has been great about answering my many questions promptly and patiently. Since especially for TI/IUI phases of treatment most of your clinical relationship is with the nurses, I am fortunate to have had a positive experience with a responsive team.

From the first time I met Dr. Levens, it was very clear that he makes a personal investment in the care and well-being of his patients. I tend to have a lot of intricate questions and he regularly engages in answering these in sufficient detail. While Dr. Levens has a game plan with treatments, he is open to patients' input and, if so desired, will discuss the pros/cons of what one might have found in researching the latest protocols or merits of various options. I have recommended Dr. Levens to numerous friends and acquaintances as he has a terrific bedside manner. Infertility treatments can make male partners feel marginalized yet Dr. Levens' attitude and soft-spoken nature are very approachable to men as well and puts them at ease. Although this stage of the relationship deepened with IVF (and was less so during the TI/IUI phase of my treatment), Dr. Levens frequently calls ahead of procedures if he isn't the one on-call that day and even after to offer support/encouragement. As the complexity of my clinical situation expanded, Dr. Levens' personal attention to my case increased and he communicated updates to me much more often rather than relying on the nursing staff. When one egg retrieval went particularly awry, he updated me regularly on what was going on and it was clear that Dr. Levens was as interested in the outcome of my medical care as my husband and I. Further, I particularly appreciate how Dr. Levens will seek to keep as many options open for his patients as possible (e.g., endometrial prep for a fresh transfer just in case we decide to go for this option on day 5). The language a person chooses to use can say a lot about one's true take on a situation and Dr. Levens speaks of 'we' vs 'you' as in 'we are in this together' and that shows up in every aspect of the care I received to date--infertility really is a team sport.

Although he has a very caring nature, Dr. Levens tends to have a more pessimistic/realistic view of the situation so be mindful of this. For instance, Dr. Levens regularly subtracts 10% from assorted success statistics I've seen (e.g., chance of implantation, odds of pregnancy from procedure, etc.) so consider this when hearing both good news (it's likely better) or bad news (it might not be as bleak). Dr. Levens is also really approachable so do take him up on the offer of reaching out with questions in between consults and/or during monitoring as he will make time to speak with you.

We did 2 medicated timed intercourse cycles with Clomid, an IUI with Clomid and supplemented with Gonal-F, an IUI with Gonal-F, an antagonist IVF (Gonal-F and Menopur with Cetrotide followed by HCG trigger), another IUI with Gonal-F, an agonist IVF (Lupron, Gonal-F, and Menopur with HCG trigger), and an antagonist IVF with a dual trigger (Gonal-F and Menopur with Cetrotide followed by HCG and Lupron triggers). Next we are trying an estrogen priming antagonist IVF protocol. In terms of rationale, the idea was to reach greater levels of egg maturation by various mechanisms in hopes of making more embryos.

I am fortunate enough to have had insurance coverage for infertility treatments, the level (different health plans) and pricing (procedure-based) for which varied throughout my care. For IVF, my costs were usually $5k-$7k for medications, $2.5k+ for procedures, and $3.4k if electing to PGS test embryos.

As most REs, Dr. Levens would recommend a single embryo transfer especially following PGS testing although is willing to consider multiple embryo transfers when clinically indicated (e.g., untested embryos with past implantation failures).

They are well organised and even though they have a big number of patients most of the time their system allows you not to feel like a number. Most of the nurses and technicians are nice, the front desk staff not always. They have certain protocols that if you don't fit in them they would not agree to do IVF with you but would push for IUI which may be a waste of time and money.

Dr. Levens is supportive and shows empathy when you have a miscarriage. Dr. Levens is kind when you have 1 on 1 with him. However, it is hard to find him outside your scheduled consultations and it may take several days for him to return a call. When your case is not very promising he also loses interest to you.

She was careful and was quick to respond to e-mails and return calls. She was kind and understanding

Dr. Levens is very kind and compassionate if you have losses. He spends time with you and explains things eventhough sometimes I would prefer to know more. However, when your case doesn't anymore look promising, he loses interest and may make you feel abandoned. He doesnot reply his e-mails but will usually call back few days later.

If you need to talk to him personally in tn the middle of the cycle, you need to push the front desk staff or the nurse for that. Better schedule a specific time if you don't want to miss his call.

I had one IUI with 300 mg Follistim. I had one dominant egg and two smaller. I htink the timing of IUI was not correct as I started ovulating on my own and they did it on the day right after the trigger shot.

The clinic has an amazing clinicals. Everybody that I encountered in regards to nurses and doctors were amazing. My only concern is the financial stand. It is hard to get them on the phone, they do not follow through with responses quickly and you have to make sure that you are on top of your benefits if using insurance or no exactly what you’re paying for so you can catch errors and get them correct The clinic has an amazing clinical staff. Everybody I encountered in regards to nurses and doctors were amazing. My only concern is the financial stand. It is hard to get them on the phone, through with responses quickly and you have to make sure that you are on top of your benefits if using insurance or know exactly what you’re paying for so you can catch errands and get them corrected. Do not be afraid to make a little noise to get the response that you need from the billing and financial department. Dealing with them is a pain but more than worth it to have the clinical staff on my side.

Dr. Martin and his nursing staff are truly the best thing that I could have by my side during this process. He was always very calm, patient and explain things in times that I could understand. He never rushed our visit and always gave me the chance to ask questions. When my second embryo transfer resulted in a missed miscarriage Dr. Martin’s office staff reach out to me throughout the entire process And I was also shocked that he personally called me at least three times just to check on how I was doing mentally as well as physically. It was the most comforting feeling ever to know that I was not alone from a clinical perspective and even as human beings.

Dr. Martin’s nurse Debbie, is like a ray of sunshine. She was always feed it to hold my hand, get me through the hard times and explain things to me. They were times that she would be off for the day but would still make sure to call me with my results because she wanted to be the one to provide them to me. You can tell that she has a genuine caring and compassionate spirit for her patients and it shows in everything that she does.

As I have said in previous chances, Dr. Martin MD as a clinician is far more than I could ever expect from my doctor. I wish more doctors were like him. Whenever he saw that I was getting down in the process he will try to make sure to get me to laugh or smile and remind me that keeping a positive mindset is a big part of the process. He seem to always be involved in my care even after I was realeased from the clinic after my pregnancy. From the very first consultation when I met him and he sat down and drew a diagram out of what my care plan would look like to make sure that I understood everything that was going to happen to me I had a great feeling about him. Even after my husband’s job has relocate from Pennsylvania to New York three hours away I went to consultations with other doctors and did not find anyone that I felt transferring my care too and now decide to drive three hours each way to see him because I believe that much in him.

Do not be afraid to ask questions. He will answer every question and to him none are stupid questions. Give him the chance to allow you to feel comfortable

For my first egg retrieval Dr. Martin placed me on an antagonist protocol. The reason we needed to seek IVF help was my husband suffers from male factor in fertility. Otherwise I have three healthy children from my previous marriage and no history of any issues conceiving. He explained to me that we would have to use IVF with AC because my current husband‘s phone had to be surgically retrieve. During my first egg retrieval we used an hCG trigger however it caused me to overstimulate so now in my second egg retrieval cycle we are using a little brown sugar instead. After our miscarriage when we weren’t sure if we should proceed with IVF Dr. Martin explained that he felt we still had a chance because my body has proven that knows what to do in regard to my uterus, we just need a good embryo to implant. He said he felt as though the sperm was not a huge issue because we were able to get 3 embryos to blastocyst stage and highly recommended that this next cycle we utilize PGS testing to give ourselves the best cancelled of implanting a good embryo.

When I lived in Pennsylvania morning monitoring appointments when that hard for me. Once I move to New York however monitoring between 7 and 9 AM was a little more difficult to get to considering I was driving three hours each way to get the air. One time I arrived after 10 AM but I was able to drive to the Chesterbrook facility and still see my doctor as he was there that afternoon. They understood my trip and we’re more than willing to help accommodate.

I don’t recall as my insurance covered everything except genetic testing. PGS testing is $3400

For my first transfer we only transfer the one embryo. My second transfer was two embryos because we only had to laugh and Dr. Martin MD is open to discussing this with me. I told him that my insurance only allows us three chances and I would rather him play at two and still have one more chance laughed to go through another egg retrieval. He helped me weigh all the options and was open to my feelings and agreed to transfer two embryos in the second transfer. I love that we came to that decision together

The clinic has more strengths than weaknesses for sure. Most weaknesses are just small inconveniences such as location and parking situation. In my opinion their main weakness is that the receptionist fails to answer and return phone calls. In person she is very unfriendly. The clinical staff at Shady Grove is absolutely wonderful. They go above and beyond to satisfy patient needs. They even provide visuals to help further understand procedures. The financial counselor is thorough in explaining what is covered by insurance and what is owed. They offer a generous 25% off discount for military families, and a 5%-25% off discount for qualifying patients who make under 95k per year. Overall i’m high Satisfied.

I know what it’s like to feel like a number, I was treated as such by previous doctors who refused to provide further treatment for me... but when I met Dr. Nair she showed me true kindness and compassion. She is honest, knowledgeable, and most importantly she gave me hope.

Our nurse was very organized and informative. She made sure we were satisfied and understood our treatment plan.

When Dr. Nair first introduced herself to my husband and I she approached us with a welcoming voice and a kind smile. She made us feel comfortable and patiently listened to everything we had to say. Dr Nair showed empathy and compassion when I opened up to her about our previous miscarriages. She was honest and thorough when explaining our options and let us feel in control of our treatment plan. Dr Nair worked together with us as a team and assured we were comfortable in our decision making process. Overall Dr. Nair has many strengths and as far as I have seen she has not shown any weaknesses.

I highly recommend seeing Dr. Nair. She is everything we have been looking for in a doctor. There aren’t many like her.

Dr Nair suggested that while taking clomid if I produced too many mature eggs that cycle I should not go through with IUI and take the chance conceiving multiples of 3 or more due to the increased risks of preterm labor and low birthweight.

Initial consultation along with diagnostics was covered by Tricare. (No copay or deductible) otherwise consultation is $175. IUI costs $1,800. Clomid $100-$500. 25% off Military discount. IVF $10-$15k.

Dr Nair suggested transferring no more than 2 embryos.

Strengths: multiple locations; beautiful facilities; IVF costs slightly cheaper than some of the other options; large staff; up-to-date equipment and procedures; wellness center (providing nutrition, counseling, and acupuncture); talented doctors, nurses, embryologists, etc; shared risk program. Weaknesses: their size can make them come across as impersonable, the nurses have so many patients that they can get information wrong; before the new facility in Fairfax, all of my procedures were done by doctors other than mine. We also think it is important to note that at the time of our contract signing, the shared risk was only for those 38 and younger, making me at 39 ineligible to participate. Three weeks after treatment began, they updated the program to include 39-40, but did not make us aware of the upcoming changes.

Our in-person discussions/interactions as well as phone calls with Doctor Levens were always very friendly, informative and in depth; however, our interactions with nurses and office staff often left us feeling frustrated and neglected.

Most of the nurses I came in contact with were very capable, helpful, and compassionate, but there were several mishaps that made the process much more stressful than we hoped for. I had two primary nurses during my care. The first nurse was very personable but we had several instances where I had to correct her or ask for more detailed information on protocol. It could also be frustrating getting an answer from her in a timely manner because she was out of the office quite frequently. Eventually she left the company for another position. The second nurse was definitely better at getting back to us and helping us to feel looked after; however, there were still times we still felt like the amount of money we were paying didn't match the service we received. One of the biggest mishaps that we think is important to share was during the embryo development stage of our second cycle. The team had decided to push our embryos to day 7 because they were right on the edge of the blastocyst stage. On day 7 we waited the entire day to hear our results, holding out hope that no answer could be a good thing. By 4:00pm we finally had to call the after hour line because no one had called us. The after hours nurse called back and said that Dr. Levens had wanted to call us personally but that she could give us the results. She then proceeded to tell us that our embryos had stalled in their progression and had been discarded. When I told her we had waited all day by the phone, she replied, "Really?" So after waiting all day we heard the most devastating news we could hear from someone we didn't know and who didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. Dr. Levens called back very quickly after that and apologized profusely; however, we can't help but feel we were misused. We understand that there were good intentions but feel it was a very insensitive thing to put us through.

Dr. Levens is always very thoughtful in his approach. He explains everything as thoroughly and simply as he can and also takes the time to answer any questions. He keeps up with all of the latest research and gives his honest opinions about IVF treatments. We were slightly disappointed that he was so focused on the medicine side of things and didn't entertain any thoughts we had on a more holistic approach. Though he wasn't involved in all of our procedures, due to scheduling constraints, he was thoughtful enough to call afterwards. However, the calls usually came later in the evening, and if you missed one the only number given was the general office number, which made getting a hold of him frustrating. When our last cycle failed he set aside adequate time so that he could be sure to answer all of our questions and let us grieve. The only fault we found with this session was that he assured us that I had responded well to the updated protocol when we actually retrieved fewer eggs than the first cycle. When I asked what he would do with a third cycle, he responded that he would go back to the initial protocol and push the trigger medication at the end. This made us feel that the protocol didn't actually do what he had hoped, and it almost felt as though he was trying to save face.

Do your research and go in with questions. Make sure you find out everything that you need and want to know.

Antagonist - Vivelle Protocol. No birth control pills due to my Factor V Leiden's (heterozygote) disorder. Priming cycle: Vivelle patch, ganirelix First cycle: Follistim and Menopur; Pregnyl for "Trigger"; Zithromax taken day before retrieval; Progesterone in oil taken pre-transfer. This resulted in 10 retrieved eggs, 6 mature, 5 fertilized, 1 embryo. Embryo was biopsied for pre-genetic screening and came back normal. Embryo resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Second cycle: Gonal F, Menopur, and microdose Lupron (to hopefully aid in producing more eggs); Pregnyl for "Trigger"; Zithromax taken day before retrieval; This resulted in 6 retrieved eggs, 5 mature, 5 fertilized, 0 embryos. Dr. Levens commented that several of the follicles didn't have viable eggs to retrieve which is why if he did a third cycle he would attempt to push the trigger harder with Pregnyl as well as Microdose Lupron.

Because I was 39, I was ineligible for their shared-risk program. Our insurance doesn't cover infertility so we paid everything out of pocket. Precycle costs (hysterosalpingogram, sperm testing, genetic testing, blood hormone tests, etc): At least $2,000 2 cycles, unlimited transfers: $18,500 (we only had 1 transfer) $5,000 PGS for up to 6 embryos (we only tested 1 embryo) Sedated transfer: $500 Discounted medications for 2 cycles around $12,000

Strength: the staff. Nina, who is at the front desk, makes the world go round. Her positive attitude and smile meant the world to me during my daily morning appointments. Weaknesses: None! We have been so happy with the care we have received. I guess I would say the cost since our insurance isn’t covering it.

From the moment we met Dr. Sasson, we knew he was our guy. He explained all of the medical procedures in a way where we were able to understand them. He reviewed the risks and benefits without making anything seem too easy or too hard. He was straight to the point, but not in an overly blunt way. He drew graphs for us and provided a lot of take home information. He made us feel confident in the decisions we made with him.

Nikki has been wonderful. She is easy to get in touch with and always follows through with what she says she is going to do. She also is extremely compassionate and handled every difficult phone call with grace. She is lovely!!!

Dr. Sasson went above and beyond to keep us educated about the process. His communication was excellent. (He even called to discuss treatment with me when my body wasn’t responding to certain medications to explain the next steps.) I was confident in his treatment decisions and felt that I was in safe hands. He explained everything from start to finish. I never left an appointment feeling unsure what the next step would be.

Trust the process!

I have PCOS and have quite a few follicles. We started with IUIs. First round- 100mg clomid followed by Gonal F shot and ovidrel trigger. Negative Second Round- 100mg clomid, 150 mg clomid, letrazole with injections. My body wasn’t responding well to the meds. (Too many follicles! They were just eating up the meds with no response!) Negative. Third Round- Clomid and Gonal ans Ovidrel. Negative. IVF embryo retrieval: Gonal F and Menopur. Cetrotide added. Lupron trigger. (Haven’t done transfer yet.)

Shared risk program. ~26k. Covers six rounds (not including meds or certain things) but if all round fail, receive refund of money. Cost included PGS testing.

Dr Sasson recommended one embryo transfer based on my age and situation.

A weakness I would say at this clinic would be is that I was never told that children are not aloud at the clinic. I have one miracle child (who is 5), and I brought him with me to one of our appts to have a pregnancy test done, because my husband wanted to be there too, and we did not have a sitter. The woman at the front dest was very rude about it. She told me that some women could have just suffered a miscarriage and do not want to see children. I guess she was unaware that I have had two miscarriages myself. She made me feel ashamed for bringing him, and I dont think that a place promoting children, should be acting that way. So I would say, that If you have children, leave them with someone when you come.

Dr Bromer is great with his patients. He makes sure you thoroughly understand everything. Procedures, medications, and questions you may have. He is very gentle, and I would reccomend him to anyone undergoing treatment.

I have had 2 nurses so far and both are extremely compassionate. They answer any concerns or questions I might have.

He is extremely helpful in answering questions. He has warm bed side table manners. My husband and I always feel like all of our questions have been answered when we visit with him. I would reccomend him to other patients.

If you have any questions or doubts, ask him. He will answer honestly.

Standard IUI protocol for all 3 IUIs. Day 3 come in for monitoring, start chlomid for 5 days. Come in day 11 or 12 of cycle for more blood work and monitoring. If follicles are measuring where they should, trigger shot on day 11 or 12. Two days after trigger, go in for IUI. All 3 of my IUIs were unsuccessful. Everything looked great, blood work was good, number of follicles were good, and sperm count was also good. We are unsure as to why all 3 failed.

I am currently still waiting on insurance to submit my claims. So far I have paid out of pocket about 600 dollars.

We did not start IVF treatment yet, so we did not yet discuss embryo transfers.

Strengths- organized and efficient. Shady Grove runs like a well oiled machine and you are in and out of monitoring sessions quickly. Weaknesses- I felt like a number. There was no personalization or feeling that I was remembered from my last appointment.

Shady Grove runs like a factory - you check in, get called to the back, and get sent out once everything is finished. as Often as I’ve been there over the past few months, I don’t think any of the nurses recognize me because they constantly have a flow of patients come in and out and conversations are kept to a minimum.

For as busy as the nurses are, Jody did an excellent job of responding to my concerns. Sometimes I’d get an email response and sometimes she would call, either way, I felt like I was able to get answers quickly.

He’s very knowledgeable and makes sure you understand what he is saying and that you fully comprehend his treatment plan. That being said, he’s a little odd and I felt slightly uncomfortable the one time he did an ultrasound on me.

Make sure to ask all of the questions you have- he really does do a good job of explaining everything.

3 cycles of clomid, ovidrel, and preogesterone suppositories. I have PCOS and the clomid was used to stimulate follicle growth and the ovidrel was to ensure I ovulated within a certain timeframe. I’m on the third cycle now, but the first 2 ended up with negative results.

Timed intercourse was 100% by our insurance. We are discussing moving on to IUI next and that cost is $1800.

I have been to 3 different branches of the shady grove and all the woman we have come in contact with were very sweet and happy to help us. From the faces at the front- to taking blood- even the doctors monitoring the follicles! The only weakness I've noticed is how hard it is to get a phone call in to them, but if you saw the line at the 7 am open, you would understand!

Dr. explains very by the book on how the treatment should work 'statistically'. " 'Statistically' you should have no reason why you shouldn't get pregnant. " Not very warm or really want to hear when you have had three IUIs that haven't worked.

Kim has been very helpful. She has given all the information on what is to come and what to expect after. Even when we were getting discouraged she had called me and told me what she had gone through and gave us different outlooks on the treatments given.

Dr. Osheroff did not really do any of my procedures or monitoring. We only saw him when it came to an office visit and he did do my last IUI. Part of me believes he did the third IUI to basically say he believed it was done right since they have all failed. It is very discouraging when you get the negatives. I wish it was a little more personal and heartfelt, but Dr. Osheroff is very intelligent when explaining different things.

Dr. Osheroff gives the negative or positive when it comes to results/ next steps. Other than that just depend on your nurse to give you the information you need.

I have been prescribed clomid because I am an insulin resistant PCOS, I do not ovulate on my own. First approach was 4 months of clomid with intercourse, all unsuccessful. The IUIs were thought to work because my husband has only a 3% morphology, after the wash he has about 7-10 million usable sperm. We tried 3 months clomid with IUI, all unsuccessful. Dr. said we could continue doing a few more IUIs, but doesn't suggest it.

My insurance doesn't pay for anything infertility. Had to pay for all testing/ medications (don't remember costs- maybe over $1,000?) IUI was about $2,000 each with medications. ($6,000 total) If we do an IVF it is $15,000 for one procedure and that does not include any storing/ extras.

Dr. suggested we transfer one or two embryos, but no more because a risk for multiple pregnancies. If we have the option, the more the better-- two would be what we would want for a greater risk to have babies. Growing up you never think to yourself that you would love to have multiples, until you have infertility issues and then you think you can handle anything that is thrown your way!!!!

They are busy! Make sure if you’re doing ivf make the first appt available All of the staff was good and everyone was knowledgeable and compassionate. Don’t hesitate to do what they recommend and ask all the questions. Be sure to ask about discounts because they have some for the scripts

He was very good about explaining the whole process and gave us options based on our failed cycle with reasons why

First assigned Stefanie Hernandez and she was great! She got a new job and for my frozen transfer I was assigned Danielle bird a She was not good and was not organized and seemed annoyed with me

He was very good about explaining the process he understood when we didn’t want to use donor sperm yet and came up woth an alternative. He was very good at making us feel like it was not hopeless. He set us up woth urologist to see my husband and gave us positive anecdotes

Ask questions because he has the answers and will spend the time needed with you

Gonal f and menopur, these were upped very quickly as I was not responding, but once upped I was responding fine. Started ganirelix and then did egg retrieval. Because of my progesterone level the doctor recommended a freeze all and do a frozen transfer. He called personally to tell me that only 2 embryos were made. It was later that one more embryo got made but only 1made it to 6 day blastocyst We then got ready for frozen transfer with estrogen and progesterone injections Frozen transfer did not work

My insurance covered 90% but the prescriptions were what was expensive about $11000 total with insurance but my insurance has a 25k lifetime maximum

The only thing I see as a weakness with Shady Grove is the financial department. Not the counselors but the system itself. At SGF, you have to pay in full before you can actually start your treatment. We did so but keep getting bills saying we owe money for services we have already paid for. I’ve gotten emails saying that my application for ICSI is pending and that I will owe money once approved although we have been approved and I have paid the balance. It’s aggravating when you leave an exam room happy but go to leave and are told you owe money. It’s an ongoing cycle that needs to be fixed. I’ve been told it’s a new system but according to the girls in my Facebook support group, this has been an ongoing issue.

Dr. Roth never treated us like a number. During rough times when our treatment would get pushed back for something, she would call to check up on us. She has called to make sure I was okay when I had a bad reaction to Vicodin and had to go to the hospitalafter the egg retrieval. She cares about her patients.

Our nurse Jamie is an absolute dream. She is always there to answer the millions of questions I have. She always responds back to me whether it’s through email or a phone call. She never just calls and hangs up but she always leaves a voicemail if I don’t answer. Everyone at Shady Grove has been accommodating and helpful. Always pleasant. I’ve never had one bad experience there and I’ve been with them for almost a year (in December).

I couldnt have asked for a better doctor. I’ve known quite a few ladies who have gotten treatment at Shady Grove Fertility both at the Frederick office and Rockville office and each lady had a doctor to recommend. Initially, we were paired with Dr. Bromer but had to reschedule which then we were paired with Dr. Roth. From the very beginning, I felt comfortable around her. She fully explained the tratement plan she had for us and answered any questions I had without hesitation. She never seemed annoyed even with her busy schedule. I’ve mentioned before that she has called to check up on us when our treatment would get pushed back or when I had a bad reaction to medication. She has called us to give us good news after our egg retrieval even after our assigned nurse gave us the news. Dr. Roth is a phenomenal doctor who I would recommend (and have) to anyone seeking fertility treatment.

Trust in Dr. Roth. She loves what she does for a living and you can see that when she interacts with you. You’re not a number with her. You are (your name) from (city, state) who wants nothing but to start a family or add to an existing family.

I am still undergoing treatment.

We have blue cross blue shield and have 100% coverage after meeting our deductible. We paid what was left of our deductible which was around $2800.we signed up for a synchrony study with requires assisted hatching and ICSI. We were not approved for either of those services so that was out of pocket plus we owed for services before we were approved which was another $3800. Medication has been a breeze and nothing has been over $30 per prescription

No comment. I am in a study that does PGS and ERA testing and only allows for the transfer of 1 embryo.

Strengths is that if you NEED to see someone they will fit you in. Weakness because of this is that you often wait a long time once you arrive for your appointment. My advice is make the first appointment of the day whenever possible.

I felt like a human because every time I saw Dr. Sasson he remembered where I was in my treatment and it was all customized to our needs.

My nurse was very nice and easy to get in contact with when she was in the office. There was one time where she was going to call me to schedule an appointment and never did, then was out of the office. I had no problem scheduling with the main number though.

I liked Dr. Sasson because all our our treatment was customized to us. I didn’t feel like he just threw the same medications/ treatment at everyone. He worked with me when I ended up needed a second hysteroscopy for a septum. He was able to get it scheduled even though the clinic was overbooked with retrievals and transfers. We did however get far less embryos than predicted. I am not sure why.

The first step was a hysteroscopy to correct a septum in my uterus. This surgery did not remove the full septum however. We were going to do IUI next but insurance wanted us to move right into IVF. We did IVF and frozen everything, then did another hysteroscopy for my septum. We will be doing a transfer next. I was on Gonal F, Menopur, and cetrotide. I triggered with Lupron. We started on low dose meds because I had a lot of follicles and did the lupron trigger for the same reason. This was successful in preventing OHSS.

I was extremely lucky to have insurance coverage. I had to pay my deductible up front before treatment. Embryo freezing wasn’t covered and that was $1,800.

He had a strong preference for us to only transfer one embryo.

One of the first things you will notice when you step inside is that the front desk staff is kind and compassionate. This is extremely important to me as I believe approachability begins the minute you walk through the door. The nursing and medical staff is empathetic and wonderful from the person who draws your blood to the people who perform your procedures.

I came to Dr. Sasson ready to give up on giving birth to a child. We were already going through an adoption home study. I have been struggling with severe pelvic floor problems for many years now and was encouraged to go see Dr. Sasson by a pelvis floor physical therapist. Dr. Sasson treated me like an individual and treated my pain with care, sensitivity and kindness. I was used to feeling scared and ashamed at the doctor but I never felt that way under his care. Our IVF cycles had a few setbacks. My first transfer had to be cancelled a week prior as I ovulated through the medication. I then suffered two miscarriages within a 5 months window. I was devastated and depressed. Dr. Sasson helped us to come up with a plan and to execute that plan to get to the bottom of what was wrong. He cried with us and showed great empathy and warmth over our losses but he never let us lose hope. I chose to follow his advice and I underwent both surgery at the local hospital to potentially correct some pelvic issues and then underwent the ERA procedure to help with the transfer. After several months, we tried again. I am now 15 weeks pregnant and everything is going well. When we left Shady Grove, Dr. Sasson thanked us profusely for trusting him and we all felt very emotional.

It's hard to put into words the relationship that I developed with Lisa Russell and the entire nursing staff at Shady Grove Chesterbrook. They became close friends and family and, even now, though we are so thrilled to be expecting a baby, I miss seeing him on a regular basis terribly. Lisa is first and foremost an excellent nurse who understands the complications of infertility. She was an excellent communicator. It was very rare that I did not hear directly from her if important news had to be shared. On the off chance that another nurse called me and not Lisa, they were always extremely kind and warm in her absence. I felt as though I could call or email Lisa every day and I never felt like I was bothering her. When we suffered devastating miscarriages, she was an emotional support and a friend; yet, she also helped us to understand what was going on. When I asked her for an honest opinion, she gave it to me. I always knew what we were doing, where we were going and what the goal was. She celebrated our triumphs and empathized with our tears. On the days when I was scheduled for a procedure, Lisa would always pop back to check on me. In addition to Lisa, there were other extremely caring and loving staff at Shady Grove that always showed us compassion and kindness. Even a simply blood draw was handled with the utmost care and a smile. The nurses and staff that are responsible for the surgical procedures (Rosemary, Erica, Mallory, Jaime etc) are also excellent in every way possible. I still never forget breaking down in tears on the surgical table before I had to undergo a D&C procedure and the nurses gathering around, telling me it was OK to cry and offering me love and support on this most difficult day. The Shady Grove Chesterbrook nursing staff is second to none.

As I shared previously, I came to Dr. Sasson after many years of poor experiences with Doctors due to severe pelvic pain and pelvic floor issues. I had pretty much given up hope even after spending several years in pelvic floor PT. I had tried to reach out to another fertility clinic prior to Shady Grove, and felt immediately like they couldn't be sensitive to my health issues. However, that was not the case with Dr. Sasson. From the first moment we met him, he listened to us and treated us like individuals. He was very careful and sensitive about making sure I felt comfortable at all times. When we experienced devastating setbacks (miscarriages) he grieved with us but didn't let us give up hope. He helped us come up with a plan to diagnose what was going wrong and helped us execute that plan with positive support and empathy. I am now 15 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby and things are going well. It was hard to leave Dr. Sasson as he took such good care of us. He's a loving, kind and wonderful Doctor.

Trust him fully. At the end of the day, we know our own bodies and we need to be our own advocates but we are not the Doctor. When and if setbacks occur, trust that he is going to help you figure out where you go from here. When a plan is given, have the courage to follow it to completion. It's the only reason why we are now expecting our son.

As a patient with severe pelvic floor problems, I really was not a good candidate for IUI so we went immediately to IVF. We learned quickly that although I had a normal follicle count on my ultrasounds, my follicles did not respond as well to the stimulation drugs. My first cycle, we only retrieved 5 eggs. A dominant follicle had sucked up a lot of the medication on the one side. Out of those 5 eggs, we wound up with 1 normal PGS tested embryo. The transfer was canceled one week prior to the procedure because we found that I ovulated through the delestrogen. I was then put on a different protocol for the next month wherein I had to take Lupron injections first to avoid the ovulation again. This was difficult but we fought through it. The transfer was successful and I became pregnant. We had a healthy heartbeat at 6 and 7 weeks; however, I then started to bleed and we sadly lost the baby shortly thereafter. At the Doctor's suggestion, I went through with a D&C procedure to ensure I would not get an infection. We went through our second egg retrieval a few months later after I healed from the miscarriage. This time, Dr. Sasson chose to start me on an estrogen patch to help prevent a dominant follicle like the time before. He also increased my dosages on the medication in the hope that we could get a few more quality eggs this time. This protocol worked and I had 9 more mature eggs retrieved at the retrieval surgery. Of those 9 mature eggs, 7 of them made it to 5 day blasts. Of those 7, 3 of them tested normal through PGS. We transferred the first of those embroyos (from the second batch) following the same transfer protocol as my first pregnancy. (Lupron injections to prevent ovulation.) Then we started on the del estrogen and the progesterone injections. Unfortunately, this pregnancy also resulted in a very early miscarriage (a chemical) after a positive pregnancy test at home. At this point, Dr. Sasson suggested that I go through the recurrent miscarriage bloodwork so that we could identify why I had now miscarried two PGS tested normal embryos in a row. He also suggested that I schedule a surgery at a local hospital so that we could do a full hysteroscopy and make sure there weren't any other lingering issues with my uterus that might be causing the problem. I went through with this procedure and we learned that, despite my years of pelvic pain, there did not appear to be anything in my uterus that was causing the miscarriages. The endo that was causing my pelvic pain was very deep in my pelvis, likely not a candidate to be ablated and not something that they should likely try to touch. Additionally, at Sasson's suggestion, I went through with the ERA (Endometrial receptivity test) in order to gage if there was an issue with the timing of my transfers. The ERA showed that I was considered "pre-receptive" and Dr. Sasson then adjusted the timing of my next transfer accordingly. Finally, my miscarriage panel bloodworked showed that I tested positive for one of the antibody clotting disorders and I was put in a daily baby aspirin to try and treat it. The panel also showed that I had elevated prolactin that might be contributing to my problems and I was put on Dostinex to attempt to treat this as well prior to transfer. My 3rd transfer (2nd embryo from the second retrieval) occurred after the results of my ERA and after I started the aspirin and Dostinex protocol. I did a lowered Lupron protocol this time to prevent ovulation and then started on my delestrogen injections per usual. We then adjusted the timing of my progesterone injections to match the results of the ERA. This transfer was a success and resulted in a healthy pregnancy. I was released from Shady Grove's care after 10 weeks and I am now under the care of a high risk OB that came highly recommended. I am now 15 weeks pregnant and all is going well.

We were lucky to be part of the shared risk program for IVF. At the time, I believe the cost for the shared risk portion of the treatment (not including medications or PGS testing) was $21,000. However, if we were going through this treatment now, the cost would be even lower as Shady Grove recently lowered their rates for shared risk.

I believe that had I asked to transfer 2 embryos, Dr. Sasson would have respected my wishes; however, this was not something that I considered doing.

It is very easy to contact the office and schedule appointments that fit your needs. They have always phoned with reminders of appointments and also send out helpful emails with different tips and success stories from past patients.

Doctor Martin has always made us feel that he has our best interest at heart. He is interested in our lives and is determined to help give us the family we have always dreamed of.

The nursing staff is so kind and compassionate. I understand why they are so compassionate, however sometimes I felt like I was being handled with kid’s gloves. Which is not a bad thing at all because some women need that :)

Dr. Martin has always made himself available to us for any questions that we may have. We just finished our IVF consult with him and we feel so confident in our understanding and ability to move forward. I feel very lucky that Dr. Martin doesn’t just see me for my lab values, but treats me as a patient. He is very straight forward but also has an excellent bedside manner.

Believe that he has your best interest in mind and trust his process.

I have unexplained infertility. I ovulate on my own with regular cycles and my husband is healthy. We started with clomid plus trigger plus timed intercourse. But clomid overstimulated my ovaries and we ended up switching to femara plus trigger plus timed intercourse. This our fourth and final cycle of timed intercourse. If this cycle fails, we will move onto IVF later in the year.

I am very lucky with the insurance that I have the costs have been minimal. However, IVF is not covered. Luckily we qualify for Shady Grove’s shared risk program which is very affordable.

SGF is indeed run like a very efficient machine. It’s not necessarily a great impression at first if you’re looking for warm and personalized attention, but I had pretty big change of heart after my 3rd miscarriage (from a natural pregnancy) and I moved from being lukewarm on IVF treatment to aggressively pursuing it. I did appreciate their efficiency.

Dr. Chang was very helpful although he like all the doctors are very busy. He did call me directly several times to explain things (eg when I was having a likely chemical pregnancy) and he helped to give the basic facts of the matter. I appreciated him laying out the options when things weren’t looking good and offering new tests to find out more info.

Was appreciative of his calling me directly a few times to discuss treatment options at length. He was also good re: being realistic and managing expectations. On my third FET and last he was really hoping for the best but it turned out not to be and we are not in a whole new IVF cycle, which will be my last.

I was on Menopur 75 and Gonal F 225 for about 9 days which was a surprisingly short protocol. Triggered on day 10 and retrieval on day 11. I used the HCG trigger instead of the Lupron and there was a specific reason why Dr Chang decided on that but I can’t recall. They retrieved 19 eggs. 10 ended up fertilizing normally but only 3 tested noramally (PGS) without chromosomal abnormalities. All 3 FETa failed. One of the three was a chemical pregnancy.

$22,500 and an additional $3000 for medicines, about $2,500 for PGS testing, and $1400 for acupuncture treatments, approximately $700 for an ERA test (endometrial receptivity biopsy) Everything was out of pocket. My insurance only paid for infertility testing and diagnostics. The year we decided to start IVF, the US Federal government pulled ALL of the insurance carriers that offer IVF treatment off their benefits offerings.

Yes he really thought I had a high chance of success and we didn’t want twins.

I think the clinic could do better with the front desk staff being more attentive, with looking you in the eye and addressing you as soon as you reach the counter. There was one woman who was very kind when greeting patients, but some of the others were not as friendly as they ought to be. Same with the women who draw blood. I absolutely loved India but the other tech wasn't as warm. The clinic's strength is their proven reputation and their ability to be the leader in fertility treatments. I think with scaling such a business, SGF just needs to keep maintaining the quality of interaction between patient and provider.

At any fertility clinic, its easy to feel like a number. Because there were so many people in and out for bloodwork and ultrasound, its easy to think you're rushed but you're not. You have the opportunity to ask as many questions as needed and interject however many times you want. I never felt as that other many other patients around me affected my experience. If anything, it comforted me to know that others are going through a similar journey.

Anne Miller was great. She always responded timely to my needs. Jennifer Butler-Symonds was also incredible amazing. She gave me all the information I needed, even when I was confused or felt like a basketcase and was worried about everything. She also met with me when I came into the office, to give me extra needles because I ran out. I loved my interactions with Jennifer. It helped tremendously during such a stressful time as this.

Dr. Greenhouse was always so gracious to me. After a significant number of days on stims, my follicle count was very low and we risked not getting any eggs at all. Dr Greenhouse sat down with me to let me know what my options were - and told me he'd support me with either option I decided. He was compassionate and I appreciated that very much. I have met other Doctors who were "to the point" and not as "warm" - I am so glad that I was treated by Dr. Greenhouse and not someone else with poor bedside manner.

If you're seeing Dr. Greenhouse, you are in good hands. He's a great doctor and very skilled. Ask all the questions you need - he was very patient and throurough with my list of questions.

I have .3 AMH and endometriosis. We started off with 150 Menopur with 450 Gonal F. After a few days, we increased the Menopur to 225 and then added Cetrotide in the mix. Trigger shot was Novarel. They saw 3 follicles, a 19.5, 17.1 and 11.8 but unfortunately, I think the big one got to big and the small one was undetectable. I came out with only 1 egg retrieved. But that one egg was mature. Thank God.

I paid $9,000 for the retrieval, monitoring, egg storage for 5 years and fees. I then also paid around $7,000 for medications for a total of $16,000.

I was only treated for egg freezing so those options were not needed.

Very modern, professional, clean. Has their process down. At the beginning of the process, Shady Grove set you up for a coordinator for financial, embryo, office, nurse- all parties which specialized in their reapected areas to help you to navigate when the process starts.

Like a human bc show they care. Communicated. Easy to get a hold of my nurse or doctor. Took time with me.

She’ll answer questions, has patience, you are able to contact her via email or phone and always returns call/email same day.

I am in Virginia Beach. I go to the Rockville, Maryland location for treatments. Dr. Levens was at this location when I first started treatments but has moved. Although my treatments are remote, I still can call him anytime I have any questions. He calls and checks in on me to see if I have any questions. I monitor outside of Shady Grove but when we were pregnant last and was having heavy bleeding. Dr. Levens asked we go to his clinic so he can personally do our sonogram. I am happy with Dr. Levens. He is a great doctor. Too bad he is not in Virginia Beach. Shady Grove is worth the travel.

Do research and trust the process.

We started with progesterone vaginal inserts and progesterone injections. Then, we moved to progesterone injections and was able to have implantation. As for estrogen, we started we just injections, second cycle we added estrogen vaginal inserts twice a day and now, inserts are up to three times a day. The change to estrogen have increase the uterine lining before implantation and increase of progesterone injections dosage have decrease bleeding after transfer.

$25,000 donor egg, risk share program.

Doctor was very careful about the amt of embryo we can transfer. He educated us to the possible risk for the baby and mom with multiple embryos. The 1st cycle, we transfer one. The 2nd cycle, two embryos bc we asked. I am glad although he prefers one embryo because we asked for two, he was open to our decision.

Shady Grove takes great effort to create an environment with compassionate professional care from the front desk folks that greet you at check-in to the medical staff passed in the halls to even how the waiting space is broken up so you don't walk into a massive open waiting room akin to visiting the DMV. When you're having a tough day as many of us do in this process, those things are comforting. We've been with Shady Grove through three IVF cycles and the one area of weakness is the Financial Services team. The Finance team has high turnover, doesn't always lay out costs clearly and at times may take days to respond to your call or message. That said, they are still pleasant to work with. I would suggest doing most communication on finances via email so you have records.

While the day to day instructions and details are conveyed by our nurse, Dr. Chang is usually available for questions if requested and called us directly if there was significant news (good or bad). During those calls, he always asked how am I doing--all of which made us feel like our case mattered.

To be honest, it was a bumpy start with our nurse. She's very kind and compassionate, but having worked with another nurse before, we could see that she was not as thorough in giving instructions. There's been much improvement since those initial hiccups, but we still ask for clarification on occasion.

Dr. Chang is pleasant, knowledgeable, honest and an empathetic listener. He seems fully aware of the physical and financial challenges patients often experience. He is slightly hopeful while remaining candid. He also doesn't try to push us in a direction we don't want.

SGF handles monitoring appointments like a well-oiled machine. They do a great job from start to finish.

Two cycles of IVF with PGS testing: $21,500 plus the cost of meds which adds an additional $5,000-$7,500 per cycle.

SGF does use a cookie cutter approach for their protocols. Nothing is outside of the box. SGF is a large clinic, but we didn't really ever feel like we are just a number there. The Fairfax office was great!

Dr. Levens is very personal and caring. If you have any questions about why he is doing something, just ask, he will explain it in detail. SGF sees a lot of patients and yet the care still feels personal.

Sarah our IVF coordinator was great. She replies to emails and calls very promptly and gets to the point. The monitoring in the morning was fairly orgainized and quick. There were a few hiccups but nothing major at all.

Dr. Levens is a great doctor who is to the point, yet in a caring way, and has a background in research. We never felt like he didn't know what he was doing. He called us a few times during the stimulation phase of our cycle to give us updates, or see if we had any questions.

Make a list of questions, discuss any doubts you have with Dr. Levens.

Dr. Levens started us on the protocol we wanted. During the stimualtions he adjusted the dosages as needed. In general SGF does not really do out of the box protocols, they do take a more cookie cutter type approach for protocols. However, this doesn't mean it can't work.

Well run - a few hiccups but nothing to complain about.

There are many options at SGF and they use "global" fees, which is nice because monitoring is included in this. They have a single cycle package, and multi-cycle package, and a shared risk program.

Shady Grove has cutting-edge technology and gives you confidence in the procedures and treatments. They have many different locations and everyone from front desk staff to the physicians are extremely kind. At times, I had some difficulty getting super specific information or suggestions about finances.

Andrea was extremely kind and really took the time to explain everything, including things that were not necessarily in her scope of expertise (financing). She was very patient and really explored all options with me. In addition, she was very honest.

The entire nursing staff was always very kind. I felt very comfortable and welcome.

Andrea was very thorough in exploring all of my options. As a single woman, she was supportive of my journey. I never felt worried about doing this alone. Andrea never made me feel like she was rushing. In fact, when I apologized for asking so many questions, she told me that it was her job and to ask her everything I needed to. In addition, I was told to contact her with further questions. She encouraged me to keep all of my options open and explore all possibilities. Each time I go, Andrea makes me feel that I matter and am not just another number.

That she is very nice and thorough - don't hesitate to ask her any questions.

I had fibroid surgery while I was under Andrea's care. I had all of the testing done to assess readiness for IVF. My treatment was pause in order to secure proper financing. We discussed transferring my eggs from NY, using egg donors, and using sperm donors.

I was able to use insurance only for the fibroid surgery. Everything else has been out of pocket - my insurance does not cover anything. I believe using my froze eggs (including transfer) costs somewhere around 16K, if this is not successful, using an egg donor (shared) will be around 19k.

It is a pretty well-oiled machine. There are so many women (and men) that attend the clinic daily for a multitude of reasons and all are taken care of. There were a few times when I knew that during morning monitoring I needed to follow a certain protocol, as delineated by my nurse, however it was not written in the system and they were unable to reach her because it was before 9 am. I had to turn around and go back which was an inconvenience but not the end of the world.

There were times when Dr. Levy called me and helped me understand the process and there were other times where I felt that he could have been talking to anyone and lacked the proper bedside manner.

She was available by phone and email and usually got back to us within 24 hours, on rare occasions, it took longer. She tried her best to explain everything she understood and managed our case as much as she was able. She answered all questions and was always friendly.

He is so knowledgeable and it was clear from the minute we walked into his office that we were in good hands, medically. I never once wavered in his approach toward our treatment and had full faith in his ability to guide us through these murky waters. Simultaneously, my husband and I felt that he often rushed us off the phone, was not as compassionate as we had imagined he'd be, and was somewhat cavalier about our setbacks when we were visibly struggling.

Know that you will be in very good medical care and look for other members of his team (or your own team of family and friends) to lean on for emotional support.

We have spent around 40K thus far for IVF treatment (not including medication)

He told us that since I was under 39/40 he believed in singleton pregnancies as they are less high-risk in nature.

Shady Grove Fertility is very much a baby making factory that is interested in outcomes and not so much the care and treatment of the individual. But they get results....they just might not be the results you hoped for (pregnancy via donor egg instead of your own eggs) and the way you hoped (seeing your doctor verses the "on call" doctor).

Dr. Guarde is excellent in person and on the phone, and very relatable. My concerns are that she never informed me in advance when she would be unavailiable.....she was on vacation or otherwise not working during two of my three "own egg" transfers, which was very upsetting to discover in the moment.

Ashley was very caring and supportive when providing the results of my blood tests.

Dr. Garde is very personable and relatable, and is the only woman that practices at the clinic I was at. In hindsight she was a little too optimistic and her hopes for a pregnancy with my own eggs ended up costing me a lot more than I thought I would expend to get pregnant, finally only having a viable pregnancy through donor egg (and two separate donors at that). I only saw her in person twice, once for my initial consult and once during an early ultrasound with my first pregnancy. The rest of the time all comms came through the nurse. I did have several phone calls with Dr. Garde to discuss the outcome of my miscarriages and the way ahead. She was always very supportive, but I feel like almost too gentle without providing solid recommendations for the next step, ie when to move on to donor egg.

Ask her the hard questions, because she will not tell you unless you ask. If you ask, she's very forthcoming.

I did 3 cycles using an "antagonist" protocol, each with increasing doses of menopur and gonal F. My first cycle rendered the most eggs and embryos, but none of the cycles ever ended up producing a PGS-testable "blastocyst" and so embryos were implanted without testing, resulting in miscarriage or BNF. First cycle implanted 3 embryos resulting in week 11 miscarriage. Second cycle implanted 2 embryos resulting in week 7 twin miscarriage. Third cycle implanted 2 embryos resulting in BNF. Dr. Garde never explained the rationale behind the protocol or the increase in dosage or why she didn't want to use a different protocol. After the third cycle I moved on to donor egg.

I was a self-paying patient (no insurance coverage) and was provided a 25% discount for being active duty military. First 2 cycles were purchased as a group for ~$17000 (with discount) and 3rd cycle was purchased separately for ~$12000.

We discussed very early on my desire for a singleton, but was convinced that due to advanced age that more embryos needed to be implanted, and my decision was helped because the embryos were not of freezable quality, so it was either implant or destroy, so I did the multiple embryo transfers.

Definitely a factory and primarily about their profits. That said, some things do go more smoothly because of their corporate feel— easy appointment scheduling, lots of locations, work-friendly hours. I would be careful if you have need for confidentiality— while in the waiting room I heard front desk staff talking about patients’ files, including names (not in a gossip way, in a work-related manner, but more info than the waiting room should have heard.) This actually led to my being aware of a prominent person’s pregnancy a couple months before it was announced in the newspaper— presumably someone who definitely wanted her privacy on the matter!

Dr. Reh was great to deal with, I felt informed and respected in my conversations with her. That wasn’t always (or even mostly) the case with the nurses and support staff at shady grove, however— overall, I felt very much like a number.

The nursing staff was widely variable— some were fabulous, some seemed contemptuous. I definitely had the sense that they might be more engaged and on top of things if I were doing more expensive/involved treatment, but my IUI attempts weren’t at that level.

Dr. Reh seemed competent and was friendly and good to talk to. I did feel at times like she was obligated to try to sell extra services. However, this is only based on one in-person meeting, one phone call, and one voicemail. Most of my interaction were with other staff at shady grove, which were not always as positive.

Try to get more time and check in more with Dr. Reh herself— she seemed like she knew what she was doing, but it got lost in translation being relayed through multiple layers of staff.

I did three unmedicated IUI which resulted in negatives. (One of these was monitored, with a trigger and prometrium after iui, but I’m not sure Dr. Reh had anything to do with that protocol choice— it seemed to come from the nurse.) the next planned steps were/are a medicated iui and then she suggested an IVF cycle with PGD.

With 50% coverage on my insurance, the cost for appointments was $105-$135. (However, when the insurance snafu happened, I became aware that the self-pay option was actually about 5-6 times that amount.