Shady Grove Fertility

Dr. Amrane did a pretty good job of explaining my specific situation and laying out possible treatments, etc. I only saw her in a couple of virtual visits (and in person once during the initial consultation, which was for egg freezing). She answered my questions and was understanding about what I was trying to accomplish. She wished me luck during the IUIs and was sympathetic when I didn't get pregnant. On the down side, she focused a lot on "what can go wrong" and it definitely gave me more stress instead of being reassured. I think she doesn't have enough experience in dealing with anxious patients.

Don't look for a super-warm bedside manner. Ask specific questions to get specific information.

I did four IUIs; the first was a natural cycle, because I was hoping to avoid chemicals, etc. She was very willing to try different things (i.e., a natural cycle) and said it's worth a shot. When the first 2 IUIs were unsuccessful, she said I should consider moving on to IVF. She did note my lower ovarian reserve, and I think that was a big reason for her suggestion. I used clomid for one cycle (which didn't end up going all the way to an IUI, because I got sick), and letrozole for another cycle. I was switched to letrozole because I may have had visual side effects from clomid, so they wanted to be on the safe side. For the IVF, I had menopur and gonal-f, and ultimately cetrotide; also, Dr. Amrane had me do a final boost of those meds before the trigger shot. I wasn't told the rationale for that... but currently I'm waiting to see how many of my fertilized eggs turn to blastocysts. I had 3 eggs fertilize.

I think IUI was approximately $1,500 a cycle. (I paid out of pocket at the time.) Ovidrel was $68. My IVF charges are still being processed, but... I was so far billed about $6,500 by Shady Grove (which includes about $3,600 for PGT testing). This does NOT include an embryo transfer - but allegedly does include the cost covered by insurance. I have also been charged, at this point, roughly $6,000 just for medications. But everything is still going through insurance, so I'm not sure how this will all shake out.

Haven't gotten that far

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 Doyle was warm, compassionate, and nonjudgmental. He was a good listener and never made me feel rushed or pressured to make a decision. He followed up with me on a concern I expressed after hours one time too. He clearly relies heavily on his nurses and NPs to do the majority of the actual direct procedures, and he just handled consultations and approving the course of treatment. So over-all high quality provider with low quantity of actual interactions. I definitely appreciate working with him though and would recommend him to others, especially if they are going to be seen at Shady Grove Fertility.

Ask questions- he’s great at explaining things and giving answers, but he doesn’t necessarily talk a lot about things unless you ask for specifics. The nurse gives more of the details.

Ovidrel + IUI + monitoring of bloodwork & ultrasound x1 cycle resulted in 1 mature follicle, no pregnancy 5 pills of 2.5 letrozole, ovidrel + monitoring of bloodwork and IUI with donor sperm x1 cycle for PCOS - 2 mature follicles, no pregnancy 5 pills of 5 letrozole, ovidrel + monitoring of bloodwork & IUI with donor sperm x2 cycles for PCOS- resulted in 2 mature follicles and one mature follicle before IUI was scheduled Told me that with our next cycle we can do 5 pills of 7 mg letrozole for PCOS -

My insurance covered the consult with just a copay, but IUI out of pocket was ~$1600

N/a

My husband and I have always felt comfortable and heard when we meet Dr. Chason. She's eternally optimistic yet realistic. We feel hopeful, supported and confident whenever we leave our appointments. Even with setbacks, she gives us feedback we can use to make decisions and move forward. She has remained receptive to our concerns and open to adjusting our cycles when needed.

Bring questions! She will provide answers and resources.

(2017-2020) We had 11 IUIs using donor sperm; 3 rounds were medicated (Clomid x2, Femara x1). I am sensitive to medication and prefer to limit it's usage. I had an allergic reaction to Clomid during our second medicated cycle. We had our first positive test with our 6th round. However, I miscarried a few days before our first ultrasound. (2021) We opted to try a round of IVF. We used estrogen patches, Menopur, Ganirelix, Gonal-F, Crinone and Estradiol. We had a fresh transfer on day 5; we opted to have our remaining embryos tested (PGT-A). Our cycle resulted in a positive pregnancy test, but the pregnancy was ectopic. We have not yet started preparing for our first FET.

Under our previous insurance, we paid for 5 IUIs out of pocket. Our current insurance covers services. For the majority of visits, I was charged my copay. IVF was applied towards my deductible in addition to copay charges. However, embryo testing was 100% out of pocket ($3600).

Dr. Devine is the director of research and I trusted that she had up to date, accurate, and thorough information to guide us. She presented options and answered our questions. All the while, she was reassuring about our prospects. She is direct, so we felt that she would have told us if she weren’t optimistic. Dr. Devine seems busy - we had 3 zoom appointments with her and then met her in person when she came to do our second transfer (which was a pleasant surprise)! We would go back to her for baby #2.

Know that she is direct and appointments feel quick - come with questions ready and prioritize their importance.

We were not quite at a year so Dr Devine recommended starting with unmedicated IUIs. We did 3 without success. At that point, we were at a year and she gave us the option of medicated IUI or straight to IVF. She did not push us either way, but told us why a couple might opt for one or the other. We went straight to IVF because of its higher likelihood of success. My stims cycle was pretty straightforward, with a Lupron trigger prescribed over hcg due to worries about OHSS (which I didn’t ultimately get). I opted for a freeze all cycle and we did PGT-A testing for our 9 embryos, 5 of which came back normal. We did two medicated transfers, the first of which failed and the second of which has resulted in a current pregnancy. The first cycle, we did estrace 3x daily plus PIO every third day and endometrin inserts twice daily. For the second cycle, I think dropped the inserts and did PIO daily (my preference). She offered us a modified natural cycle which we would have tried except that we had a lot of travel that precluded it. That would have been our next choice of transfer 2 had not worked.

IVF was about $7000 after insurance. FET cycles were about $1000 plus a $645 “thaw fee” not covered by insurance. Embryo storage is $60/month per retrieval cycle.

Dr Devine almost always recommends eSET vs multiples. Multiples was not an option for us, which we didn’t mind.

Dr Doyle is a very empathetic, compassionate, and knowledgeable care provider who explained treatment options very well and took extra time and care to address all of my questions and concerns. He showed empathy when communicating disappointing news such as when one of my IVF cycles failed to produce a genetically normal embryo. Dr Doyle helped make adjustments for a second IVF cycle that was successful and he personally implanted the resulting embryo which resulted in a successful pregnancy and love birth and my currently healthy baby. Overall, I was very happy with the treatment and care that I received from Dr Doyle.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions because Dr Doyle is very knowledgeable and understanding and he will take the time needed to answer all of your questions and make you feel comfortable with treatment options and plans.

I can’t recall specifics, however I did do two IVF cycles which resulted in two genetically normal embryos.

The monitoring appointments were very easy to schedule and staff and technicians are friendly for the most part.

About $30,000 but my insurance covered 80-90% of the cost, minus embryo storage costs.

I believe that Shady Grove only permit transfer of one embryo at a time and Dr Doyle recommended to me to only transfer one embryo at a time.

I would recommend Dr Nair to any close friends or relatives. She is an expert, but she is also very compassionate. She cares about her patients like her own family, not some cold numbers on the balance sheet. We had one failed transfer, but she encouraged me, adjusted the whole protocol, and was on top of each procedure. I respect her opinion and trust her judgement and professionalism. I finally got pregnant under her care after almost four years of trying. My husband and I thank her with our whole heart.

If you are looking for a down to the earth, no fluffy and compassionate doctor with great expertise, she is your doctor to go.

I was put on antibiotics to repress my immunity before transfer. She also used Lovenox to help with implantation. I think these two things finally helped me conceive.

The monitoring appointments are generally easy to schedule and on time. Occasionally it runs late.

My insurance covered main costs, but I still paid about $12,000 including treatment and medication.

I was advised to do eSET because I had a high-risk pregnancy before.

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.

We felt well guided under our care of Dr. Moon. She is frank, to the point and is usually quite clear in her prognosis and decision-making, though we had a bit of an oddball case (says everyone dealing with infertility). I would've liked to have Dr. Moon at our retrieval and transfers but frankly, that's not how Shady Grove works and we understood that clearly before we began. I would like to see more clarity on communication with regard to the pandemic, the clinic, not necessarily Dr. Moon herself, waited a long time, gave unclear directives and made the experience much more unclear; we understand no one plans for this, but the clinic gave very little clarity on action plans for us when it all happened mid-transfer. It was really hard to deal with that uncertainty and I hope communication for Dr. Moon and others improves to reassure patients within each person's portfolio.

No direct advice; continue to give each person time on the feedback calls; we really loved after our retrieval that we didn't receive the numbers we assumed would happen and Dr. Moon took a Sunday call with us to sort through it and give us feedback on how we would approach it moving forward!

Antagonist protocol - Lupron not HCG to lessen risk of OHSS; stimmed for 11 days with Gonal-F, Menopur, and then Ganirelix/Cetrotide. 29 eggs collected, 17 mature, 7 fertilized, 4 made it to blastocyst (1AB, 3AA). Transferred 4AB embryo, pregnant but likely will be ending in a miscarriage (hcg not rising appropriately on second blood draw).

Yes, total cluster 45 min wait times for some days. Not the best way to start and there is then no point to providing monitoring appointments if it's first-come first serve open-ended whenever you want to show up!

Covered by insurance

N/A

Dr. Moon is well educated and seems to be a numbers person. During our consult for our second IVF cycle with her for a second biological child, she ran our data from our cycle 2 years prior through a spreadsheet they had to predict likelihood for success with unexplained infertility and our age and the numbers were so-so. I pushed and asked why we only ended up with (1) blastocyst when I had 21 retrieved and 17 mature/fertilized. She responded that to her that points to male factor infertility bc the cells live off the maternal protein the initial 3 days and then once getting past 4-cells they live off the male DNA. Since we still had 10+ embryos after our Day-2 update and then only 1 come day 5/6/7, she deducts there are some MFI issues and referred us to the urologist in her practice if we wanted more information. If we had decided not to go, then we never would have learned about the Sperm DNA Fragmentation test that is available. I don't know why this test wasn't recommended after our initial 2-failed IUIs or when his semen analysis in initial work up was so-so. The results came back that 36% of his sperm had DNA fragmentation and success for frag over 30% isn't good. For our IVF cycle in 2019 to attempt for our second baby, the urologist recommended he perform a TESE procedure on my husband to get to the source of the sperm before they get fragmented in ejaculation. Again, we had 21 retrieved and 17 mature/fertilize but only 2 make it to blastocysts (day 5 & 6). They were tested and both came back abnormal. At that point, Dr. Moon and the board reviewed our case and decided we could not continue in the Shared Risk program, unless we used 50% donor sperm and 50% of my husband's. While I get they want to protect their data and pregnancy rates, this felt like a blow that they didn't have faith in our future outcomes. We want a full biological family and we know it is possible since we have our son; we'd think they would come up with ways to help overcome this DNA fragmentation. They moved our deposit for Shared Risk over to a Multi-Cycle program (2 tries) and then I don't know what we'll do if those two don't work..... After that failed cycle, I read up on whatever studies I could find and put my husband on supplements for 3-months and he was trying to work on getting his BMI down since the clinic didn't have any recommendations on what we could do to make a difference. Sadly our March 2020 IVF cycle had about 20 retrieved; 18 mature and fertilized and only 2 made it to blast again and both came back abnormal again. We have a teleconference with Dr. Moon this afternoon to talk about next steps, I guess. Curious to see what she'll say....

Don't be afraid to do your own research and schedule calls with her to get questions answered.

I don't recall the treatment protocols for my (2) IUIs, but for my (3) IVF cycles she had me on an antagonist protocol with 225 Gonal-F and (3) vials of Menopur. I am slower to respond, esp. my right side, so my 3rd cycle I was started on these higher doses and stayed pretty steady throughout cycle. Only (1) IVF cycle in 2017 was successful with producing (1) blastocyst (our son). Have a tele-consult with our Dr. this afternoon and am curious if there is another protocol we can try for our final cycle.

Shared Risk for my age was $22,500.00 Multi-Cycle (2 cycles) was $18,500.00 PGT-A Testing - $5,000.00 TESE - $5,000.00 Sperm Analysis - $50.00 Sperm DNA Fragmentation Test - $250.00

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I believe that all the doctors at SGF are required to follow strict guidelines so there is not a lot of experimentation that I've seen so far but I have a fairly straightforward case. Dr. Osborn has always been friendly, considerate and willing to answer any questions that I've had. She has been the one to share good and bad news with me and will always contact me if I've requested to hear from her. She is realistic and clear with what she expects from treatment.

She is much more willing to share and elaborate if you ask questions. She doesn't talk just to talk so be prepared with what you want to know.

Antagonist protocol for retrieval which resulted in less embryos than I expected but exactly what SGF predicted for me.

I had insurance coverage so I do not know the total amount of each procedure.

eSET is recommended.

I liked that he took the time to explain the results fully to me during the testing. My husband also felt comfortable with him. He was positive and easy to understand and trust. I had read reviews about the clinic that you don't ever see your doctor or talk to the doctor but that is not my experience.

The testing will take awhile to time everything correctly.

The pre-screening tests were covered by my insurance (I did have to pay a few rather large co-pays). All other costs are out of pocket.

Dr. Devine was very warm, but also straightforward. She actually listened to how my past experiences had shaped my anxiety about treatment and made adjustments to accommodate me. To the extent that was possible, she had her staff schedule my appointments for when she was on the monitoring floor and she came to my monitoring ultrasound appointments. She was warm and reassuring and made me feel confident in her decisions as a provider.

Be very honest about any of your treatment concerns with her.

My diagnosis was an anovulation due to PCOS. Dr. Device prescribed 7.5 mg letrozole taken on days 3-7 with follicle monitoring starting on day 11. When the follicle was mature, she had me do an Ovidrel trigger shot followed by timed intercourse, and then progesterone suppositories for the remainder of the cycle. She was able to successfully induce ovulation three times and I got pregnant on the third month.

My insurance covered only 50%, so every single monitoring appointment was approximately $115 out of pocket, and there are a lot of monitoring appointments.

N/A - I did not do IVF

Dr. Beall is obviously very bright and knowledgeable in the field. She was very patient and always answered all of our questions. She never made us feel rushed when we were with her. She always changed the course of treatment when we didn't have success which was our preference. I felt like because the clinic had certain rules in place she couldn't be as creative in treatment as maybe she would have liked considering our difficult case. She is very professional and doesn't really engage in any kind of chit-chat. I knew she cared about us as patients but sometimes it felt hard to connect with her. Still, this didn't change our feeling about her ability as a doctor.

Don't expect for her to be chatty like some doctors. She is very professional and business-like. However, she will be very thorough on the medical side of things. I would warn that after 3 transfer attempts, even with a different protocol each time, I would seek a second opinion.

When I wasn't responding to letrozole we tried clomid. When I wasn't responding to clomid we moved to injectable IUIs. We tried both Folistim and Menopur during separate cycles to see if one would be better than the other. For IVF we used a combo of Folistim and Menopur plus Cetrotide and a Lupron trigger shot.

I went mostly to the Columbia location for monitoring as it was closer to my place of work. It was always jam-packed and took a long time. I always tried hard whether at Towson or Columbia to get there first-thing so that I could be one of the first people seen for monitoring and get to work mostly on time.

I happened to have had excellent insurance coverage so I am really not sure what the costs ended up being for us but significantly less than most.

Dr. Beall strongly recommended eSET and I believe it was the policy of the clinic that they only did DET or multiple embryo transfers at once if you had DOR, untested embryos, and/or multiple unsuccessful attemtps.

I have not had a chance to do the prescribed treatments with Dr. Doyle yet, but it seemed clear we will not have a lot of opportunities for further interaction unless somethingdoes not go right. He is young, smart and friendly. I definitely got the feeling that he knows his stuff. He diagnosed an issue for me that others didn't. On the other hand, he was obviously touchy when pressed for additional details and further information about why a certain treatment was indicated or not. He joked about it but clearly did not like it. So if you like what he proposed, and trust him - go with it. If you have a lot of questions or disagree, he's not going to adjust to you.

Advocste for yourself with SGF and your nurses.

Did not start treatment yet. Will begin with IUIs before progressing to IVF.

Consultations were covered by insurance as was most testing (some semen analyses were out of pocket to the tube of $150 per). IUI will be abour $450 out of pocket after insurance, and simplest medications about $150 per cycle.

Clearly concerned about multiples.

He gave us a realistic expectation, that it would take a few transfers to get a sticky embryo. We've had two transfers and still lost them both. One thing I struggle with is getting a thick lining and he changed up my medicine protocol unlike my previous doctor who just kept doing the same drugs and said I had a naturally thin lining. Dr. Mottla was able to get my lining at a 9. We've really enjoyed working with him.

Shady grove is a huge practice and the doctors are spread thin; however, when you are with your Doctor they give you 100 percent attention. I recommend CCing him on every email back and forth with nurses.

Efficient well oiled machine. We live in Raleigh so I would fly in and out same day and they always accommodated me. I was also able to do some monitoring at my GYNO locally and my doctors worked very nicely with them.

We paid 30,000 for a package that includes 2 retrievals, as many transfers as we want and covers some PGS testing. Some tests are partially covered by insurance or we had to pay our deductible. Our medicines are very expensive and not covered through insurance and one thing that does frustrate me is that they over prescribe.

I haven't found a doctor that is pro multiple embryo transfer. Everyone has said its too dangerous.

Dr Levens spent a lot of time with my husband and I during the few consultations we had with him. He answered every question we had and was empathetic to the difficult time we were going through. I built trust for him over the process of our IVF cycle since I saw that he intervened when it was important to do so and made sure to call or email during critical times.

Dr Levens is a good doctor and wants to do best for his patients. He is open to listening if you want to try something new or tweak your protocol within the parameters of what is safe and reasonable. Make sure to advocate for yourself and speak up when you feel necessary.

We did one IVF cycle with Dr Levens. He did an antagonist protocol with the highest doses of Gonal F (450) and a medium dose of Menopur based on my AMH and FSH. He also had prior information from my first cycle we undertook at a different clinic with a different Dr (GW) and tweaked my protocol based on the outcome of my first cycle. The one thing that I asked him about and he rightly investigated was sperm factor issues. The first clinic did not follow-up on the male side after our embryos stopped growing after day 3 on the first cycle. Dr Levens recommended a sperm DNA fragmentation test for my spouse and it came back with a large percentage of fragmentation even though his standard test parameters all came back normal. The DNA fragmentation test is not a part of the standard work up for men during their fertility testing. We were coached on a number of things we could do to try and improve it. We think some of those things helped. We got better results with Dr Levens in terms of the number of 5 day blasts we ended up with vs the first clinic (4 vs 0). We have yet to achieve a viable pregnancy but I have no doubt he will do everything in his power to try and help us get there.

We purchased the shared risk program at $22k and medications are all out of pocket costing $5k each fresh cycle.

Dr Levens recommends the appropriate number of embryos for transfer based on age, embryo quality, and past cycles. He recommended a transfer of two embryos for our FET (to happen in a few months) after the first round with one embryo ended in a chemical pregnancy and I am turning 37.

He is very straightforward and clear, which I like. If you want a very gentle bedside manner, that's not really him, but he's not rough either. Somewhere in between. Very realistic, but he clearly cares too.

Be prepared and do your research. Ask lots of questions - he is happy to answer. Expect realism but not coddling.

I am in a same-sex marriage, and I'm a good candidate for IUI so the one cycle we've done so far has been natural with trigger shot. He gave me the option to go without trigger, but I wanted it. We may change protocol next time, but we'll see.

We have some coverage, so each office visit was a $40 copay. Counseling with a social worker for using 3rd party genetic material was out of network and was $300. Natural Cycle IUI is $1200 per cycle, but we were approved for the Shared Help Discount at 15% (income based), so natural cycle IUI for us is $1020. Medicated is $1800/cycle ($1530 for us). Sperm is separate. We do not have insurance coverage for IUI. HSG was covered, as was all lab work.

Dr. Beall is very practical and candid with providing information, provided that you ask the appropriate questions. She doesn't often offer up additional information, but will answer all questions honestly. She gives unbiased information, details, and facts, which I like, without pushing you to choose a specific path or process. I do wish she proactively offered up information or additional facts without being asked, as sometimes I don't know what I don't know (or don't know what to ask).

Be sure and have a list of questions and have done a little research on your own. Talk to others who have gone through this process. I've learned a lot of helpful tips or things to ask from other women who have used fertility doctors.

I did two rounds of IVF with a sperm donor. Both treatments were very similar. I used birth control for three weeks before stopping and then starting daily injections. I injected menopur and follistum daily for approximately 10 days, and added in a daily injection of ganarillix for the last five days or so. I went into SGF for an ultrasound and bloodwork every other day until about day 7 or 8, and then went daily. My hormone levels responded well to the hormones, and the tests all went well. Dr. Beall adjusted my medicines throughout the process, as needed, based on my hormone levels. The final trigger shot, given 36 hours before egg retrieval, was pregnyl. Egg retrieval went smoothly, with no adverse reactions to the anesthetic. The first round of IVF, I did PGS testing on the two embryos that reached blastysis, and both were found to be abnormal and were not transfered. The second round of IVF, I chose not to do PGS testing and did a fresh transfer of the two embryos that reached blastysis. In preparation for that transfer, I took a daily pill and used suppositories three times a day for progesterone and estrogen (estrace and estridol I think were the names). I stopped all medicines two weeks after the transfer, when my blood test was negative for pregnancy. Currently, I am looking into using an embryo donor or egg donor.

They were easy. I was in early and didn't have to wait long. No complaints.

I paid for a multi-cycle IVF program, which gave a small discount for paying for two IVF cycles at once. That cost $23,500 including the PGS testing I elected to do ($18,500 without PGS). In addition, medications were approximately $4,500 per IVF round, or $9,000 total. And the sperm donor cost about $2,000 total (two vials). In addition, I had to pay for a therapist consultation ($300, insurance partially covered and I think my cost was $125) and a few other bloodwork and ultrasound tests that insurance generally covered. I also elected to do acupuncture during this whole process, and that was $45 per visit (found the practitioner on my own and not through SGF). Overall, the cost of two IVF rounds cost me about $37,000 out of pocket. I am not pursuing donor embryo or donor egg for my next step.

No. Given my age, my doctor recommended transferring two embryos. I was in agreement with her.

She is extremely intelligent and a wealth full of information. She does explain things in a way that makes sense, however she covers a lot of material very quickly. I'm always so glad that my husband is present when we meet in person, because we do always leave having to "compare notes" in a sense that we need to combine what each of us understood. That would be my only complaint - that she talks and moves so fast through the material. That being said, you don't feel rushed. You can ask as many questions as you want. It's just a matter of can you keep up to ask the right questions. I always take lots and lots of notes when we meet. The times when she has called to give me the bad news herself have always meant a lot to me. She really does seem to care, which is nice.

Take notes. Ask lots of questions. Don't be afraid to slow her down and ask for clarification/repetition if you need it.

3 unsuccessful IUIs. Then 1 IVF using antagonist protocol. Then microdose Lupron protocol with PGS for the 2nd. Then microdose Lupron without PGS - could only do a fresh transfer for the 3rd. Getting ready to start a Lupron stop protocol.

They have appointments very early in the morning so I have managed to have 6 fertility treatments without having to reveal to my work what is going on, because I can get in and out of there without being late every day.

$1500 out of pocket max per year through my insurance plan. Plus cost of meds which was usually less than $500 per IVF treatment with my insurance.

Haven't encountered this situation yet.

Dr. Saffan shows he cares his patients. On several occasions he called late in the evenings or on weekends to check in on me. He explains the procedures, risks, and makes recommendations based on specific situations. On all but one occasion, I've felt positive about the direction I was headed after speaking with or meeting with him. I've been seeing him for almost 2 years, and I've learned that he is an eternal optimist. I struggle with his seemingly endless optimism sometimes.

Be prepared for data-driven analysis. He will make his decisions based on the data. Also, if he seems overly optimistic, question why.

For my first IUI, I was put on Follistim. This resulted in pregnancy and miscarriage. Dr. Saffan then recommended IVF. We jumped right into that after waiting a month. I was put on birth control for less than 3 weeks. I was put on typical medications. The cycle was converted to IUI due to only 1 follicle. After a negative test, I went right back into round 2 (no birth control). This had the same result. I took time off then went back to a Clomid cycle to see how I would respond. Same result on a side with no tube so we did TI. I took time off then started another IUI cycle with Follistim. My response was better than any other so it was converted to IVF. 6 eggs were collected. 1 day 6 embryo that didn't take. I took more time off then went for another IUI, this time with Menopure. It was unsuccessful.

Each monitoring appointment is about $200-$300 but was covered by my insurance. IUI was covered with insurance. One cycle of IVF is about $11,000 not including medication.

Dr McKeeby is a straight shooter and will not waste your time. He is very knowledgeable and direct but at times it comes off as you are an annoyance or that he lacks compassion. I think that because he has years of experience and has had success in treatment plans that when you walk through the door give your age, he glances over whatever you give him regarding your medical he has determined the course of action for you prior to testing. In some cases that’s great, but in mine not so great.

Be tough, he does not mince words or facial expressions when he talks to you.

I had multiple rounds of preliminary testing for chromosomal issues, hsgs, but I never actually had the Chance procedure done.

Roughly $500 for tests not covered by insurance. I couldn’t afford IVF at the time but that was roughly 10,000 per cycle.

As a single woman I was nervous about judgment from the doctor and there was none of that. She takes the individual circumstance and recommends treatment based on that, without judgement. I only see or talk to Dr. Osborn periodically and most communication is with the nurses.

Have a lot of questions prepared in advance. She is very patient about answering them but might not provide all the information YOU want unless you ask.

As I am a single woman, without any known fertility issues, she started me with two unmedicated IUI cycles. These were unsuccessful so then we talked and I said I wanted to be more aggressive so the next cycle I went did Clomid, Follistim, trigger, and Progesterone. This was also unsuccessful but will try another cycle with the same protocol.

Unmedicated/unmonitored IUI was $295 Medicated IUI with monitoring, blood work, IUI is $1800 - not including medications

Dr. Devine is very knowledgeable in her field of practice. It is clear that she wants results and hold herself to high standards. She is direct and no-nonsense while still offering hope and I really appreciate this quality in a doctor. Because of these strengths I found it really disappointing that I had almost no contact with her. I had much more contact with the nurse assigned to me-Sheila Ormond who is a phenomenal nurse and support to me during my cycles. When I walked in for my first IUI cycle I was dismayed to see a woman I had never met. I asked her where my doctor was and she said that Dr. Devine would not be performing my IUI. I really wanted to see Dr. Devine and get her real time insights on my cycle. Same thing during my 2nd IUI cycle. Doctor Devine was nowhere in sight. I was assigned a Physicians Assistant who did the IUI. During my 2nd cycle I ran into some complications --my trigger shot did not work! I was sure of it and I needed to speak to Dr. Devine desperately. The nurses did not seem concerned by my pleas to speak with her. They told me that they would handle it and that I should speak to her through them. At that point I reminded them that I am a self-pay patient and I deserved to speak with my doctor. After several hours, she called and we talked at length and she was able to devise a new plan of action. Again, I respect Dr. Devine and her expertise and it is this respect that I have for her that leaves me wanting more contact with her, especially during a complicated cycle.

Have all of your questions written down in advance. She does a great job answering them but you must offer them. If not, she keeps it short and sweet. Also feel free to contribute your thoughts and ideas, after all you are an expert on your own body. She is willing to work with patients when devising treatment plans.

1st cancelled IUI cycle protocol: Clomid 100 mg CD 2-7, Gonal -F 75 CD7-9, trigger, vaginal prometrium 200 mg twice a day. Result: cancelled due to overstim 2nd IUI Cycle: Femera CD 2-7, Menopur CD 7-8, HCG trigger,Estrace due to thin lining, prometrium 200 mg twice a day. Result BFN 3rd Cycle: Femera CD 2-7, Menopur CD 7-8, HCG trigger (trigger failed), 2nd trigger novarel administered intramuscular, Estrace due to thin lining on femera, prometrium 200 mg twice a day. Result TBD I was started out on a high dose protocol due to an elevated day 3FSH, I overstimmed and I also had strange visual side effects with the clomid so I was switched to femera. Not sure why I was switched to menopur but my nurse said something about it being helpful to my lining? (not sure whether that is coming from any real wisdom or if it was a way to get me to stop asking questions) I was switched to novarel trigger during my 3rd cycle because I did not respond to the Ovidrel.

base IUI fee $1800 Meds: $500

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.