Shady Grove Fertility

Dr. Browne has always been the best choice for a fertility doctor for me and my husband. She truly is knowledgeable, kind and trustworthy. She is science and compassion rolled into one. I would definitely recommend her to anyone seeking fertility treatment.

Be open about your feelings and hesitations. Ask a lot of questions because she is willing to answer them.

After trying for 6 months my husband and I got a recommendation from our primary care doctor for Shady Grove. Having no idea what to expect when we called we were asked if we had a preference for which doctor we wanted and we did not. I feel we truly lucked out on getting Dr. Browne. After initial testing I was diagnosed with unexplained infertility and given the go ahead to keep trying naturally for another 3-6 months. After one very early miscarriage we started on Clomid through my regular OBGYN and without any monitoring. We did this for a few months and nothing happened. Once off of Clomid we contacted Dr. Browne to try IUIs. Right before we were set to start I had a chemical pregnancy confirmed. The next month we started IUIs and Dr. Browne was nothing but helpful throughout the process. I saw her for every monitoring appointment with the nurse. We tried four rounds of IUIs with two different doses of clomid, a round with Letrozole and then a round with both Clomid and Gonal (injectables). Only once with the higher dose Clomid did we get two follicles to respond. At this point we went for more testing showing my AMH and FSH levels were showing signs of diminished ovarian reserve and poor egg quality. Which was what they thought was resulting it early pregnancy losses. After the last IUI cycle we decided we needed a break and took a couple months off. Two months later we ended up pregnant again only to have another early loss. With no insurance coverage for IVF we stopped all fertility treatments for a little over a year. Then just a few months ago decided (with the help of family) to begin IVF using the multicycle discount (I no longer qualified for shared risk due to my levels). I went on birth control for two weeks and then I started on Menopur 150 IUs and Gonal 300 IUs. After three days of that dose they upped my gonal to 450 IUs. I did this dosing for 12 days (added in Cetrotide at day 11). However, due to my response to meds, my levels showing I ovulated and the current COVID 19 crisis my cycle was cancelled after 12 days of stims. Doctor Browne called me personally to apologize and explained everything to me. Then within the hour her nurse also called to check on me to see if I had any follow up questions. They also told me that they had some medication donations as well as different protocol for whenever the next cycle begins. (Switching from antagonist protocol to a flair protocol). They are hopeful that with my AMH and FSH levels this will result in me being able to actual make it to the retrieval stage. At this point it’s just a waiting to game for my period to start again so I can begin my next cycle.

$18,500 for two round of IVF which included all monitoring appts, two retrievals but unlimited transfers. Medication was separate cost.

NA

Dr Doyle is smart, well informed, kind, and shares plenty of information. He was with us from step one, always encouraging us that we'd have great chances at a pregnancy. Even when we encountered setbacks, he explained them well and helped us chart next steps. I can't be more grateful that we got Dr Doyle as a doctor, and genuinely believe our success was thanks to him.

Know that he will be there with you through the ups and downs, and don't be afraid to share with him if things outside of your treatment are impacting how you're feeling or how anxious you are. He wants to know, and will treat you and your partner with compassion.

We tried two IUIs, one with clomid and one with letrazole. I had a bad reaction to the clomid, so Dr. Doyle changed it up after our first failed procedure. We also found other issues along the way, and did two polyp removal surgeries. While initially we weren't certain if IVF would be necessary, as we continued to find polyps, Dr Doyle supported our plan of moving to IVF after just two cycles of IUI, and we got pregnant on that first transfer (plus we have many PGS tested embryos ready to go if we want to give this baby a sibling).

We're still waiting to see - we had some insurance coverage but some things were out of pocket, so we need to figure out our final bill. We didn't find billing to be incredibly transparent but that wasn't a huge issue for us.

Our doctor was quite clear that with our ages and lack of issues, a single transfer was the only good option, and we agreed with him on that assessment.

Dr Khan is on top of the latest science and was very hands on as we selected our egg donor. I felt I could ask about my protocol and he would get back to me with his rationale in making certain decisions. I felt the coordination level between SGF offices was high. I never had any issues or confusion. Dr Khan is detail oriented and will be realistic about your prognosis.

Dr Khan is willing to spend time answering your questions and talking to you about different options. Be prepared with your thoughts and it will be a productive conversation.

I am doing the shared risk egg donor program — we did 1:2 and anonymously shared the egg haul with another receipt(s). We got 12 mature eggs, 10 of which became blasts, 6 of which tested PGS normal. This is an incredible result so far. We got one blast in two retrievals with my own eggs. I am currently pregnant from our first transfer - although it is early.

We paid around $50k for all inclusive 1:2 shared risk program and PGS testing. Baby or money back.

Non-issue. I only wanted to transfer one at a time so it wasn’t something discussed at length.

We switched to SGF after a not so great experience with another clinic in Pittsburgh. We had heard so many wonderful things about Shady Grove and were so excited and full of hope to start treatment with them. Dr. Bromer is friendly, positive, and honest, but also to the point which we appreciated. He took his time with us at our initial in person consult. Prior to this, wewere even given a free of charge phone consult before scheduling our first office consultation since we lived 2 hours away from the clinic. Both times he was very knowledgeable, kind and answered our questions about treatment, PGS testing, ICSI, and medication protocols.

If you are a self-pay patient as we were, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the financial options offered. You will meet with a financial advisor at SGF as well, and she is awesome. But we went with the “shared risk” plan and probably could have gone with the “multi cycle” plan to save some $. Hindsight is 20/20, but be sure to ask questions about chances of success based on your particular situation or diagnosis before making that big decision!

I was treated with a high responder antagonist protocol. I believe the reason for this was that I don’t have any diagnosed fertility issues (although I *may* have some underlying problems, read below) and Dr. Bromer was confident that he could retrieve eggs. I am in a same sex marriage, which was the primary reason my wife and I chose IVF to start a family. However, I also have a substantially sized endometrioma on my right ovary which was likely getting in the way of IUI success and most likely points to endometriosis elsewhere, although I’ve never had the lap surgery done. As far as the treatment plan goes, I was on birth control for 18 days prior to starting 150 IUs of Follistim/Gonal F daily (after my first follicle check this was increased to 175 daily) and 75 IU Menapur, daily. I started Ganirelix 1x per day once follicles were >14mm. Triggered with Lupron. The results were: 16 eggs retrieved, 15 mature, 13 fertilized and 8 made it to 5 day blastocysts. Of those 8, 6 were PGS normal.

Our treatment was not covered at all under insurance. We chose the shared risk program ($22,500) through Shady Grove which included 6 stimulated cycles and unlimited transfers until 1 live birth. We also added the PGS testing for 5,000 for a total of $27,500. We became pregnant on the first try, after 1 retrieval and 1 transfer, so we overpaid! BUT, we probably wouldn’t have changed our decision. Hindsight is 20/20, but I think we would have gone with the shared risk plan ultimately for peace of mind and not knowing if we would have failed transfers or not. To help compare the other plans available...1 cycle at SGF is $10,500. With PGS it’s 14,000. The “multi cycle” plan allows for 2 stimulated cycles with unlimited frozen embryo transfers for $18,500 or $23,500 with PGS.

Shady Grove Fertility in general has a strong stance on only transferring 1 embryo in most circumstances. Personally, we were totally on board with this.

As unexplained infertility patients, it was really a bummer that we didn't find any answers or did any extra tests to have a more accurate diagnosis. Although I really appreciated that we went into the IUI cycle in full immersion, trying everything from the beginning. I wish there was more interaction with him, also if it was just via email

expect no special treatment

we did day 3 to 7 of letrozole since I already tried clomid with my OBG with no success. It follow with Gonal f on day 7 and 9 and then we went in for blood work at day 11, when they realized I had too many mature follicles. The dr who saw the result (no Swelstad), called me and explain that there was a high risk of multiple pregnancy, so it was protocol to stop the cycle. If we decided to go ahead and have timed intercourse (IUI was out of the pics at this point), we should have consider the possibility of selective reduction in the future. We agree that that wasn't a problem and went ahead. We are now in the 2 weeks wait

we didn't pay for the first appointment, only for the meds (around $300 +/-), second ultrasound and blood work ($150 +/-)

I gush about Dr. O'Brien every chance I get - and I don't have a baby yet! She's a wonderful doctor. She's generous with her time and knowledge, she's innovative and persistent. She's also very honest and open with sharing her thought process. She advocates for her patients. On many occasions, I've been in for monitoring and end up getting a surprise visit. When my first retrieval attempt canceled, she came in and told me herself - and helped me feel ok about it. The next time around, I saw her in the hall and she pulled up my results to review them with me in real-time. She's taken time out of her day to call me to discuss next steps (answering all of my questions for 20+ minutes!) and never makes me feel like I'm not important. She's even emailed me with updates or to let me know she'd call at a certain time. I feel so lucky to have found her!

Don't be afraid to ask questions - she'll answer thoughtfully and thoroughly! She is very transparent so that does mean she shares a lot of information and detail. The first time I spoke with her (phone consult) it was a little overwhelming but now that I know her and her style, I greatly appreciate that.

Retrieval attempt 1 - microflare. I took microdose Lupron for several days and then added in Gonal-F and Menopur. With only three follicles leading, she decided to cancel because she felt my ovaries could do better. Retrieval 1 - estrogen priming. This started with estrogen patches for several days. I added other meds later (forget the details!) and then Gonal-F and Menopur. The doses were pretty high, especially of Menopur. Towards the end I was taking 5 vials! Also added in Cetrotide to help extend the cycle and allow more follicles to grow. I ultimately had 6 retrieved, 4 mature. Retrieval 2- microflare - after the first cancellation on this protocol, she lowered the microdose lupron dose to ensure my follicles didn't grow too fast. This also allowed for lower doses of Gonal-F and Menopur. We were hoping for 8 eggs but only got 4. Lucky for me, 3 fertilized and became AA embryos. One has been transfered (fresh) and resulted in chemical pregnancy. The other two were PGS tested and are normal.

The majority of my first IVF cycle (actual procedure) was covered by my insurance. Dr. O'Brien did a lot to help ensure I was able to maximize that. Now I am doing Shared Risk which is EXPENSIVE - but it's worth it for the peace of mind. If you qualify, it's a great option if there's a likelihood that you'll have to do multiple retrievals and transfers.

Dr. Widra is blunt and this is what you notice first and foremost about him. However he is compassionate in his own way and he is extremely knowledgeable. He is also a leader in a large practice. If you you are looking for a straight shooter with a strong research background, he is your guy.

Don't be afraid to push back and ask questions. He is flexible and understanding but because he is a bit intimidating it can be a bit hard. But I think he respects and appreciates when you are your own advocate.

First cycle (fresh) : Vivelle patch, then Cetrotide injection, then pre eval, initial Dosing: 300 IU Gonal-F and 150 IU Menopur (2 vials), monitored follicles and finished with HCG Trigger injection. Retrevial two days later (7 eggs--> 2 embryos) and then 5 day transfer of 1 fresh and froze the other. Estradiol/Estrace and endrometrin during TWW. Negative preg test. Second cycle(ERA and FET): Estradiol/Estrace 2mg tablets 3 times a day, then lining check, then Progesterone in Oil 1 ml every third day, then 2 endometrin inserts 2x a day. ERA test showed late stage receptivity so timing of oil shots was shifted by 12 hours. Transfered 1 week ago and waiting for preg test.

In total for the fresch cycle, including meds, with 50% insurance we initially paid about $6000 for the first cycle. We were later reimbursed some of it due to a higher payout of the insurance. For the ERA and FET we paid I think around $2000 including meds with insurance.

Strongly recommended against multiple transfers.

He is very good at explaining the process, the good, bad, and ugly. He makes sure you leave his office understanding everything. Several times he called us himself after hours to check in on us whether it was after our retrieval, when I got OHSS, and after each of our losses. He is hard to schedule with because he is sought after which makes booking difficult but when you are able to see him, the wait is worth it.

Schedule now. Don’t wait too long because his appointments fill up fast.

Lupron Antagonist Protocol. I produced 30 eggs. We did ICSI due to make factor. He suggested a frozen transfer due to me showing signs of OHSS, and my medical history. When the second transfer ended in another m/c, he suggested uterine septum removal before doing next transfer. This resulted in successful pregnancy. He made sure to do a extra ultrasound because initial HR was low. At this time he was realistic with us and therefore, we knew our chances. Thankfully it was successful and next an revealed higher HR.

We were lucky. Our treatment was covered partially by insurance. So our max OOP was $3500. However, their financial department is one of their worst departments. They are very wishy washy and not clear as to what you need to pay and what your paying for. We actually overpaid by a couple thousand and had to be reimbursed but I had to fight to get them to send the check and finally had to speak to financial manager. The coordinator I was assigned was terrible and I felt like I was constantly fighting to get in contact with her. When I did, I felt like she didn’t know what she was talking about and certainly wasn’t making things very clear.

He actually works with NIH to prevent cases of negligence where fertility doctors are allowing transfers of 3 embryos (for example) and having sextuplets. He is advocate for only transferring one (based off our personal history) because we already had high risk factors for pregnancy.

Dr. Kallen is an incredibly talented, kind, compassionate doctor. He is up-to-date on the latest studies and values his patient's input. He takes the time to educate, inform and listen to all of his patients. He works seamlessly with his nursing and clinical staff, which you can tell through their communication. While he has a very calm and serious demeanor, he is incredibly caring and compassionate. When we received less than great news, he was the one who called us personally to share that news. He listened to all of our concerns and worries and thoughtfully shared his thoughts, while never once pushing us in any direction. I fully trust Dr. Kallen and know that I am in good hands.

Look no further! We came to Dr. Kallen as a second opinion and knew we'd found the right doctor upon our first consultation with him. Bring any and all questions and concerns to him and he will guide you through everything.

Since we had had diagnostic testing done at our previous clinic only a few months prior to coming to Dr. Kallen, we did not have to repeat our genetic blood screening. (I was not a carrier for any conditions the test screened for). My husband repeated his semen analysis and completed an infectious disease blood panel. I also repeated a complete blood work up. Prior to beginning our IVF cycle, I had an HSG done, a saline sonogram, and mock embryo transfer. This was our first IVF cycle, and we followed the Antagonist IVF Protocol. This entailed being on an active birth control pill for 21 days which commenced on the first day of my menstrual cycle. A few days before injections were to start, I came in for a baseline ultrasound and bloodwork. Once they verified that my levels were where they needed to be, 3 days later I started my injectible hormones. I began on 225 IU of Gonal F and 150 IU of Menopur daily. I came in 3 days later for my first monitoring appointment and my dosage of Gonal F was increased to 300 IU per day. Monitoring appointments became more frequent and my dosage of both Gonal F and Menopur increased. Once my follicles were large enough, I began Cetrotide and came in for monitoring almost daily. Then we got the go-ahead and exactly 36 hours before egg retrieval, we used an HCG injection. Egg retrieval was successful and we waited to see how many made it to Day 5 blastocyst. Since we were doing PGS testing, our blastocysts were biopsied and sent to the lab and embryos were frozen. PGS test results took about 2 weeks to come back, and in the meantime I waited for my next menstrual cycle to begin active birth control pills again to begin my frozen embryo transfer cycle. After we received our normal embryo results, I also began Estrace oral pills, three times daily. Then I began progesterone in oil injections five days before our frozen embryo transfer. Once the embryo was transferred, I continued both Estrace and PIO until 10 weeks gestation.

There are global fees for procedures. Global fees for IVF is based on maternal age and they have 3 packages - one cycle, multi-cycle, Shared Risk money-back.

Dr. Kallen prefers eSET, as there are now studies that show that transferring multiples does not increase the chances of success, rather the chances of multiples which is risky. He explained the risk of multiples and the probability of an embryo splitting. Due to our age (25 and 26) and this being our first pregnancy, he highly advised going with an eSET. We were planning on doing an eSET anyway.

My husband and I found Dr. Widra to be compassionate, but also frank. He didn't sugarcoat anything, but I certainly never found him cold. When trying for my first, we went through a number of retrievals and transfers and I appreciated feeling "known" despite being at a very large clinic that has a reputation for being a factory. I am detail oriented and Dr. Widra always took the time to answer my questions, whether in person or on the phone. While much of my communication was with my nurse, if there was difficult or sensitive information to deliver, he always called me himself and I never felt rushed off the phone. We ended up doing PGS testing and when I became pregnant, Dr. Widra told me to call him if I ever had any questions. We were indeed told at one point in my pregnancy that we should consider an amnio to rule out chromosomal abnormalities. At this point it had been a few months since I saw Dr. Widra, but I called him and he returned my call within hours. We went back to Dr. Widra when we were ready to try for our second, and unfortunately we did not have success. After two cycles, he recommended we move on to donor egg. While we weren't (aren't) ready to do that, I appreciated his honesty about how he views our situation.

That he may not be the warmest upon first impression, but you should not take his frankness for a lack of compassion.

I began with fairly low doses of menopur and bravelle, 75 and 150, respectively. But that cycle did not produce many follicles. In my subsequent cycles, I was using higher doses -- around 150 menopur and 300 bravelle. I did two antagonist protocols: bcp followed by stims, with cetrotide added when the follicles got to a certain size. While these yielded a decent number of eggs, Dr. Widra thought we might be able to get more with estrogen priming, so we did that for my last cycle when trying for my first. When trying for my second, we started with estrogen priming since that had yielded the most eggs when I was trying for my first. However, that did not result in many eggs, so Dr. Widra proposed a micro-dose Lupron protocol.

I found monitoring appointments pretty easy because there were multiple locations I could go. There were often multiple women waiting, but that didn't negatively impact my experience. I knew that the earlier I went, the less time I would have to wait. Very occasionally, I would be taken to a room and then had to wait for 10-15 minutes, but usually once I was taken to a room, I was seen within a few minutes.

I was part of shared risk, both times. That meant I paid an upfront fee (~25,000) that covered up to 6 cycles and I got my money back if it didn't work.

Dr. Widra had a strong preference for eSET given that we were exclusively transferring 5 day embryos. I appreciated this approach, given that it is safer for both women and babies.

Dr Tidey has an awkward bedside manner. He is a little socially awkward and more comfortable talking about the process and the procedure than he is making small talk and putting you at ease. He is very throughout and puts so much care into every decision and suggestion he makes. He puts his patients safety first and is very direct about what your options are. He doesn’t sugar coat the options and is very direct when making his suggestions about your car. He does a great job balancing your right and need as a patient to make your own decisions with not allowing you to spend too much time wasting money and time doing expensive treatments that aren’t going to work. In a truly emotionally overwhelming moment his direct and balanced insight and medical treatment is exactly what I needed.

Be prepared with your questions because he’s not going to over explain things unless asked. He will explain everything but he’s not “chatty” so it will be direct and brief.

I came in with unexplained infertility and so he had us try colomid and timed intercourse. After doing that for 3 cycles he told us that it was time to move along. He said we could keep trying but didn’t want us to spend all of our money and emotional currency on a potentially dead end treatment. We did 3 IUIs and none of them worked. I was on the fence about a 4th round and Tidey told me it would be a waste but he didn’t stop me and ultimately allowed me the choice. Ultimately I agreed with him that IVF was the best option. It was so hard for me to hear but he clearly explained to me while it made the lost sense. He suggested that we do both genetic testing and ICIS given my history of miscarriage. We ended up determining that I had bad egg quality and so out of 18 eggs retrieved 3 made it and only 1 was viable. We implanted that one and gave birth 9 months later.

IVF meds- $5000 IVF treatment- $30,000 IUI- $900

He doesn’t suggest multiple transfers the first time around. He has concerns about the health of the mother. Said he would honor our decision but wasn’t excited about multiple embryo transfer.

Dr. Chang was a great doctor to have for pcos and male factor infertility. He gave us both things to work on for about six months before retesting my husbands semen to see if we could improve our odds without further treatment. When that wasn’t the case, we moved forward with IUI and ultimately IVF when it became clear that we needed to do ICSI. He was very matter of fact about odds, treatment and protocol. He adjusted as necessary during cycles and had a kind bedside manner before and after our egg retrieval. We had a successful pregnancy on our first frozen transfer and we plan to transfer our remaining embryo this year. If that does not work we will not hesitate to use Dr. Chang for another round of ivf to have our second baby.

Ask a lot of questions at your consultations and appointments. He will answer everything thoughtfully.

Clomid for one IUI cycle (adding extra days of Clomid for further follicle development) with ovidrel trigger (negative pregnancy test) , Letrozole for one IUI with ovidrel trigger (negative pregnancy test- male factor), IVF cycle with menopur, final-f, endometrin and a lupron trigger. 20 eggs retrieved, 16 mature, 9 fertilized, 2 made it to blast. 1 fresh embryo transfer resulting in live birth, 1 embryo frozen.

We are very lucky to have good insurance so our coverage was excellent. We mostly paid copays and for some of our medications. Many of the tests were not considered “fertility” and fell under regular insurance coverage so they didn’t eat into our fertility coverage.

He strongly suggested single embryo transfer due to risk to mother and child with a multiple pregnancy, no added odds of getting pregnant if you transfer multiple and also due to our non-advances ages.

Dr Moon was great for the initial consult and we came to her from a recommendation. We never saw her again. She was thorough and explained things fine, but she felt more like a salesperson given that she never performed any medical operations.

Don't bother with Shady Grove - they are terrible. The doctors don't really matter in the end, you only deal with the clinical and administrative staff.

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$19k for egg retrieval $8k for drugs $1,500 for required social work $1,000 for genetic counseling $3,000 for miscellaneous fees

She allowed multiple embryo transfer but advised us against it.

Dr. Nair was direct and honest. Initial consult was very informative and she was incredibly positive at the idea of being a single mother by choice. She saw me in person when I started treatment and hormone levels were very elevated, she explained everything and I understood my process clearly. She called to deliver the final news as well for my successful treatment.

Understand that you will not be able to see the doctor every visit and that you are in good hands with the rest of the clinical staff.

Started with standard Gonal 112 and started Menopur 1 vial on day 4 perhaps? Needed to dial back the gonal down to eventually I think 25-50. I triggered a day earlier than anticipated. We didn't want to hormones to outpace the growth of the follicles.

Loved that it was very early morning. Basically walk in even though there are appointments, dependent upon how many people were there. Staff was friendly and moved as quickly as they could.

$11,000

Dr. Shah is professional and friendly and puts us at ease. He is very confident and explains things clearly. I like that he walked us through why he was recommending a certain treatment plan, and that he took the financial aspect seriously. He went over the standard treatment options and the average success rates of each, and didn't jump immediately to either the most expensive option that we might not need, or the least expensive option that wouldn't give results. He showed us clear data, answered all of our questions, and definitely made us feel more hopeful about getting pregnant! The only thing I wish he did differently would be his approach to genetic testing. He told us it was a requirement for treatment, but we were told by our care coordinator that we had the option to accept or decline testing. Based on our medical histories, genetic testing was the right decision, but I would have preferred that he put the decision in our hands. Overall my spouse and I appreciate his skills and demeanor and are happy with our choice of having him as our doctor.

Dr. Shah works at a clinic in partnership with other doctors. They take turns being on call for different procedures, and a lot of those procedures are based on your cycle. If you need a certain procedure on a specific day and Dr. Shah is not on call, another doctor will perform the procedure. I saw Dr. Shah for the consult and the follow up, but he didn't perform my HSG or ultrasound. I did feel he took care with my charts, so this didn't seem a disadvantage, and the doctors who performed the procedures had excellent bedside manner and told me each step of the process as they did it. My care was excellent and this did not seem to impact my standard of care, but it can throw you if you're not expecting to see a different doctor.

Dr. Shah recommended Clomid with IUI. My test results were all in normal range, and my spouse had low end of normal results for his SA, except for his morphology being at 0. He was prescribed supplements to enhance the quality of the sperm. Dr. explained the data - with minor male factor we have a 4% chance of conceiving on our own. Using Clomid with IUI will increase our chances to 12-14% by creating more opportunity and making the path more direct for conception. Since we are healthy and not yet 30, he recommended this course of treatment as having the best cost-to-chances of success ratio. If that is not successful after a few months we would talk about IVF.

Appointment with Dr. Shah (consult/followup) - $140 Transvaginal Ultrasound - $230 on site Office visit for Ultrasound - $65 HSG procedure - $1170

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The only thing that may be considered a weakness to some is that Dr. Durso can be a bit socially awkward when it comes to small talk or casual conversation. She’s a great listener, though, if you like to chat. Regardless, when it’s time to talk treatment she really knows her stuff and gives you a clear plan and predicted outcomes, and we leave comfortable with every appointment we have with her.

Be open and honest with her. She would’ve stopped us after our 3rd IUI and moved us to IVF but we weren’t comfortable without one more try. She listened to us and gave it a 4th and final attempt. Now we are comfortable moving into IVF with ICSI since our attempts revealed MFI in addition to my PCOS.

Because of my PCOS we had to use Provera to jumpstart the first treatment, as well as Letrazole tablets because previous attempts with Clomid (at my former OBGYN) failed. We did 4 IUIs using Gonal-F and triggering with Ovidrel. I was also placed on progesterone suppositories and Estrace, both taken vaginally. None resulted in pregnancy but male factor infertility was revealed.

We have not yet undergone our first IVF round but I did ask if we would be able to transfer two embryos. Dr. Durso highly recommends only transferring one because it will ultimately be safer for mom and baby.

Warm, honest, compassionate, and expert. I fully trust her advice and recommendations and feel like I could not have a better doctor for this journey. She truly cares about her patients, and can evaluate each patient’s specific needs to determine the best course of action. She tells the truth, shares empathy, and always strives for the best outcomes for each patient. She is a Godsend.

This is the doctor that you want to work with! She’s on your side and in your fight as much as you are.

During early processes for elective egg freezing at age 37, it became apparent that I had diminished ovarian reserves and might not have the outcome I wanted. Dr Nair delivered these facts gently and compassionately, and was willing to be as aggressive and patient as I was willing to be. It took a maximum amount of ovarian stimulation each cycle, and I took 4-6 days longer than average to get to the right blood level numbers (showing optimal ovarian stimulation) each cycle. Other doctors would have likely cancelled my first cycle when it took so long. Dr Nair did discuss this possibility and ramifications with me, but did let me keep trying a bit longer. Turns out, I’m just a slow goer; we successfully harvested 6 eggs the first round, which I was ecstatic about given my poor indicators. She helped me maximize each of 3 cycles, through medication decisions, and was my cheerleader throughout the process. We harvested 18 eggs over 3 cycles (over 2ish years) and froze 17 mature eggs. A few years later, my new husband and I are starting the process to thaw and fertilize and hopefully transfer an embryo! As with the freezing procedures, I trust and valie her recommendations 100%.

My medication costs were at the highest end of the spectrum, due to my situation. Dr Nair’s team gave me tips on how to find the most cost effective pharmacies to fill them. The per cycle cost was hefty, yes, but I truly felt that I got what I paid for, from start to finish.

Not yet!

His knowledge and competence is without question. As a doctor myself, I had to remind him that I wanted to know every detail without the sugarcoating or layman's optimism. Because he was not available without an appointment, it was difficult to speak with him about questions or concerns. This was frustrating because it was my first cycle. He is thorough and compassionate if the news is not as hoped as was our case. He has adjusted treatment based on our specific results and explained the next steps.

Patients have all different backgrounds and those who want to know more detail should be treated accordingly within reason.

Based on AMH, FSH, it was determined that my ovarian reserve was more than adequate and similar to someone approximately 5-6 yrs younger however quality was still unknown. The protocol was about 15 days and began with gonal f 150iu and 75iu of menopur. The menopur was increased up to 225 in the last week. I took doses of Cetrotide and used Leuprolide as the trigger. 17 eggs were retrieved, 13 of which were mature. 9 embryos were fertilized with 2 making it to day 6. Embryo testing of the 2 showed chromosome 21 trisomy and chromosome 21 monosomy. My husband and I were sent out for karyotype testing and awaiting results.

We did a multicycle package with a military discount and paid additional 5k for blast genetic testing. Altogether the services were 18k without medication.

Given our age and no children, we will be transferring more than 1 blast if available.

Dr. Sasson has been wonderfully compassionate, thorough and insightful so far. We absolutely trust his clinical judgment and reccomendations. We will be moving into IVF as soon as we are allowed by the state (treatments are currently paused due to COVID19).

I believe you are in good hands! Though we haven't had success just yet, I am very hopeful that we will through IVF.

I have PCOS and am completely anovulatory. Unfortunately, my condition cannot be managed by exercise and diet. We completed 3 cycles using letrazole which were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the fourth cycle I did not respond to either letrazole or clomid, so we moved onto Gonal F injections. Sadly, we were not successful on that cycle either. Since the cycles have become increasingly difficult for me emotionally, we decided that our best bet is to move forward with IVF.

We have spent an average of $1,800 per cycle since we have a high deductible plan. For IVF, we will spent am additional approximately $26K

We have not gotten to that stage just yet, however, Dr. Sasson did tell us that the chances of pregnancy are the same whether you implant one embryo or two. Therefore, I believe we will just transfer one.

I love that I see him for every visit, he is always very positive, unless there is a reason not to be, he is kind in bad news, but also very clear. He is always very matter of fact in his advice and treatment plans and is available and responsive.

Be ready to feel like part of the family, he is a wonderful man.

We have yet to start a treatment cycle with Dr. Singer, unfortunately as we need donor eggs and all donor cycles are on hold due to COVID-19 we are in a holding pattern. We are reviewing their frozen egg bank to see if there is a suitable donor there. He has us re-do all the testing from previous clinics with much additional to determine what protocols we should use including and ERA to determine exactly how much progesterone is needed for a transfer. None of the other doctors even suggested this test, we were planning to ask our last clinic. When discussing previous treatment protocols he is very clear about what is will and won't do based on science and his overall experience, other clinics have been very open to our suggestions which made us feel like we had to do the research and be the doctor.

We have been accepted into the Shared Risk Program with Shady Grove, but as we have not yet selected a donor we have not had to pay yet. If we do a 1:1 donor with the PGT-A testing the cost will be $77k excluding medications and that will cover up to 6 donors (and all the eggs that come from them) and all transfers until we take home a live child. If we don't or choose to give up then we get the $77k back. If we do the 2:1 then it would be $53k with the same as above except we would be splitting the eggs with another couple.

He has advised us that he would be most comfortable with eSET, but open to discussing the transfer of 2 embryos. Mostly because we would like to have two children. However, he is not strongly in favor due to the risk of the embryo and myself if a twin pregnancy does occur.

I can't answer this in full yet because I'm still undergoing treatment. She is extremely intelligent and cares for her patients, I have no doubt she's a leader in the field, but I do have some outstanding questions on how involved she was every step of the way.

Be educated and ask questions up front. Ask questions and get specific answers and talk statistics.

I don't remember the specifics.

it went through insurance, so i'm not sure of the negotiated rates.

Dr. Devine recommends SET, as does Shady Grove and we followed that guidance.