Shady Grove Fertility

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. 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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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. Bromer was very clear that our chances with our own eggs might be low, given our age, history, and diagnosis. Every step of the way, he was trying to save us time, money, and heartache. In all his communications, he was warm, compassionate, and candid. He incorporated our wishes into his own treatment recommendations, and listened carefully to all our questions and concerns. We eventually conceived using our own eggs (at age 42) in an IVF cycle with Dr. Bromer. We will be forever grateful to him for his guidance, treatment plan, and advice.

You can totally trust his guidance—he is up-to-date on all the most current research, and he truly cares about his patients.

I was 42.5 when my cycle occurred. Dr. Bromer used a standard IVF antagonist protocol with bcp priming for us. He also recommended ICSI due to the age of my eggs (we had avoided ICSI in a prior cycle because we had no MFI issues). Dr. Bromer also recommended a freeze all cycle, given my response in a previous cycle. He was also receptive and encouraging when it came to my own reading on supplements; with his approval, I took melatonin, myo inositol, ubiquinol, fish oil, and MTHFR prenatal vitamins. We did not use PGS. We had three 5AA embryos and one 5AB embryo to freeze. We transferred one embryo, which resulted in the birth of our first child at 43.

I was the one with the strongest preference for eSET, given what I had read about the risks of multiple transfers. Dr. Bromer was in agreement with our preference, and did not urge us to transfer more than one embryo, despite our age.

At this time I have only met with Dr. Reh once for my consultation. She made recommendations but also allowed me to make my own informed decision. Due to having endometriosis and one blocked tube IVF is the preferred treatment. My insurance does not cover IVF so I decided to begin with IUI for a few cycles. Dr. Reh moved forward with my desired treatment. Following initial ultrasound she reported to her staff that I would have to take birth control for one month prior to proceeding. I just started Clomid cycle with Gonal f injection

Have all documents in order to present to her so that she can review them with you in the room. If she has questions she can ask. Make notes of your questions and ask them at the end...once she is finished talking

Initial ultrasound, one month of birth control, Clomid (5 days) and Gonal f injection plus trigger shot, IUI. I am currently still taking the Clomid

Kaiser insurance: thus far $377 for Rx, $450 for IUI, $30 office visit

It was explained that single embryo is preferred. I am not at this stage yet so we will see what happens in the future

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.

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.

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!

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.

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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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

We saw Dr. McKeeby after our first failed cycle at another clinic. We were heartbroken, financially struggling and still, we clung to hope. He sat with us for over an hour during our first initial consult. He went thru every page (400 pages) of our medical records from our previous facility. When we tried to transfer our eggs from the other facility to Shady Groves lab, he called me personally to tell me the bad news. The old RE did not freeze our eggs appropriately and they would not be viable for thaw. He gave us devastating news, but he was calm and precise about his reasons. I respect him due to his honesty and compassion.

Ask a ton of questions, because he will absolutely take the time to answer them. When you leave all of your medical questions are answered completely, and you understand the treatment plans ahead.

We have not done a cycle with Dr. McKeeby yet, my husband is still on the medications to boost his count and raise his testosterone.

I do not remember specifics as we are have an appointment coming up to sit down in regards to IVF costs.

I always felt like she cared about the smallest details, and that she had my best interests at heart. She was fully present during our visits. She never rushed or seemed annoyed when I had a lot of questions. She treated me like an educated, informed adult (which is more than I can say for my prior doctor).

Have your list of questions ready, and she will answer all of them!

We did a pretty standard (antagonist?) IVF protocol for a fresh transfer. It was the first cycle we had tried, after 3 failed IUIs at another clinic that declined to let us try a fresh transfer. I did not take BCP because I’ve had bad reactions in the past, and Dr. Nair was supportive of me declining that component. I responded well to the protocol.

It definitely felt a little bit like a cattle call, but a well run one. I went in the morning before work and it was always packed but moved along fairly quickly.

I had really good insurance coverage for the cycle, including meds. I had already met my out of pocket max, thanks to IUIs done earlier in the year, so my IVF cycle cost very little. I paid an office visit copay when I saw the doctor. The most expensive part was the cost for a nurse to help me at home with my injections the first few days (I was nervous!!). And also the embryo storage, which insurance did not cover.

I was happy to do eSET, and Dr. Nair was fully supportive given my age and history.

I've seen Dr Doyle on 3 occasions; 1 consult, 1 follow-up after testing, and during 1 monitoring appointment for my 3rd IUI. He was very thorough in explaining the testing, the results, the treatment plan, and the odds of success. He was also very compassionate and positive when discussing the treatment plan and the failure of the first 2 IUIs.

I would say I recommend him. He is a great doctor and you should feel at ease expressing any concerns to him as he should be able to reassure you.

My treatment protocol is up to 3 medicated IUIs using Clomid (75mg for the first IUI, increased to 100mg for 2nd and 3rd) on days 3-7, Ovidrel trigger shot to induce ovulation, and Prometrium (progesterone) vaginal inserts after the IUI until the pregnancy test. The rationale is that we conceived our first child on our own in less than a year and the testing showed some mild male factors so IUI would bring the sperm closer to the egg. He prescribed Clomid because I am 39 so the hope was that 2 eggs would be released at ovulation increasing the odds that one of them would be of good quality and get fertilized. We are in the two week waiting period for the 3rd IUI. The first 2 did not work.

Each IUI cost $1800 plus the cost of the medications which was ~$250-260. My treatment is not covered by insurance. Most of the testing was covered. I think we paid ~$200-300 out of pocket for all of the testing procedures for copays/coinsurance/deductibles.

Dr. Steingold was recommended to us by a couple of friends, so we have trusted him from the start. He is personable, caring, open, and keeps things lighthearted. We have only done one round of just letrozole & one round of letrozole / IUI at this point and are not pregnant, but we are hopeful. He continues to ask us what we want to do and gives us his opinion, and then he adjusts treatment accordingly.

Don’t hesitate to ask him any and all the questions you have (even if you think they may sound silly); he’ll answer them graciously and honestly.

When we initially met Dr. Steingold for a consultation, we had already been through 3 rounds of clomid with my OB. So, we first completed the HSG and initial ultrasound. I also told him I noticed less cervical mucus with clomid, so he also did a post-coital test (although he said they tend to do less of those because they are more outdated/not as accurate). He decided it couldn’t hurt if it was something I was concerned about. HSG went well; Fallopian tubes were clear. Post-coital went well (it was really cool to look in the microscope!). Ultrasound showed something near / on my right ovary. (He was out of town for this, so it was another doctor who performed it, and he was very vague about it, but just told me I might need to get surgery which worried me.) Dr. Steingold followed up with a second ultrasound with him to see what was going on before starting any treatment. Second ultrasound proved clear, which was confusing, but he was very happy with. He said we will continue to do ultrasounds to make sure whatever was there was gone — and to monitor egg size. Third ultrasound was CD 14 proved to be clear again, and egg size looked good with one Letrozole pill, but got a negative pregnancy test. Fourth ultrasound looked good as well. This round was two Letrozole pills, a trigger shot on CD 16 for ovulation, and IUI on CD 17. Just received negative pregnancy test today, so we are entering into another 2 letrozole pill / IUI round before we change to different dosage or shots with IUI for third IUI round.

Initial consultation $216 / HSG treatment $380 / 4 ultrasounds $100 each / Post-coital $50

He has been very hands on throughout the process. Always willing to answer any questions or concerns that I may have. At one point there seemed like there could have been a "miracle" for my situation, and he was very realistic and practical with how often the miracle could happen. It let me know and see that he was hopeful and optomistic, but also being real about the situation.

Go for it- ask all of your "what if" questions- he is a straight shooter.

The one thing that initially made me a little sad, was he stated in the beginning that he is a fan of single births and that he would not implant more than one embryo. As someone hoping for twins, I was a little disappointed. He explained the health risks associated with the recommendation, so I knew it was coming from a good place.

Approximately 42k

He had a strong preference for single embryo transfer and essentially told me that multiple embryo transfers were not an option and something that he did not suggest. This was a little disappointing.

I would recommend him to anyone. He has gone through the process with his own family so he was able to understand our fears an concerns. We felt very safe with his medical choices and thought he was/is an outstanding doctor

Be yourself don’t be afraid to ask questions

We started with a questionnaire and an face to face consultation. He introduced himself and explained how the facility worked and what test he wanted to run on me and my husband so that we can get a better picture of what was going on. My husband did a semen analysis to check his sperm count and I was given an HSG test where they could see if my fallopian tube‘s were blocked or not . I had had one ectopic pregnancy and already lost one tube so he was pretty certain that my other tube was blocked with endometriosis but he did a test to be sure . My husband sperm came back a very high count so he was fine my test came back that my rate tube was completely blocked with endometriosis . At that point we had another sitdown meeting face-to-face with him which I liked he was with us every step of the way . He suggested that we do IVF and he explained the reasons why . We have been trying to get pregnant for over three years we had had one miscarriage and one ectopic pregnancy. Ivf would be the safest and best route for our family . I was given Esterase tabs and progesterone injections daily. We had to do several ultrasounds I was given a medication to have my follicles ready so that we can do an egg retrieval. Again Dr bromer was the one doing the procedure of the egg retrieval I was very emotional and nervous but he was so kind and right there with me the whole time explaining to me what he was doing . The lab fertilize my eggs and we had to wait to see if they took . Dr Bromer Called me himself to tell me that we had six that we were going to keep frozen. Then we did a mock transfer. And then we did the actual embryo transfer. The procedure was not painful but it was very emotional and it was cool how he let us see the picture of the embryo and we got to take a copy of The procedure was not painful but it was very emotional and it was cool how he let us see the picture of the embryo and we got to take a copy of it it home. We had to wait two weeks to see if the pregnancy took it was a very long two weeks we found out on December 26 that are pregnancy did take.

The monitoring appointments were ran very smoothly they were always done very early in the morning no later than 8 AM so that they could get your lab results back that same day which I appreciate . They work very well with your schedule even the receptionist was very kind and understanding . The doctor was there for all of my monitoring it was very reassuring to see his face and for him to take a look at everything and let us know how the progress was going

The cost for my medications was around $1200 . My co-pay was $20 for every visit . I had to travel three hours for the procedure so I had a lot of money in gas and food . I don’t remember the total cost of my IVF it was thousands of dollars . And now we’re starting the process all over for baby number two

I actually wanted to do a multiple embryo transfer and after talking it over with the doctor we made the decision together that it would be safer to do one transfer

He is awesome! He explains everything, he is there to answer your questions, and he has a great bedside manner. He also takes the time to listen during your appointment. I've never felt rushed. He also kept budget in kind when discussing treatment options. I really do not have any complaints with his care.

Definitely go for treatments with him! He has your best interest at heart.

We had an antagonist protocol. I did birth control pills to prime. Once we started stims, I was on agonal F and Menopur. Cetrotide was added later. I did a Lupron trigger. I ended up with 14 Mature Eggs, 13 fertilized, 6 day 5 Blasts and then 4 PGS normal.

I only checked other because when I started going there, i was given appointment times. Now they are trying out the monitering hours. The monitering hours are early, so I'm able to get in and out without being late for work.

We were accepted into a program through Shadh Grove that reduced some of the out of pocket costs, so our IUI was $1,200.00 plus meds. We also opted to do the Shared Risk program, which is a multi cycle program that clocks in at $19,500. We opted to do PGS testing, which was an additional $5,000. The medication cost about $2,900.

We haven't done our embryo transfer yet.