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. Silva is an incredible doctor and was a breath of fresh air after leaving our last clinic. He explains things in great detail and is careful to separate clinic reasoning from emotional reasoning. He is even keeled, even in times of great distress (like finding out my miscarriage was molar and I may have cancer). He knows each patient and treats them like a person.

Don't be afraid to ask questions! He never takes offense and is very good at breaking down the science.

IUI #1 was kind of a joke and Silva refuses to recognize it as a real cycle. We were referred to SGF after our previous clinic, USF, abruptly closed. We had our consult on CD5. Given the PCOS diagnosis, we opted to start a cycle late, rather than possibly wait 40 days to start another. We did 5mg Letrozole on CD5-10, the follicles were maturing, but slowly, and my body surged before we were ready to trigger. The cycle failed. IUI #2 we started 7.5mg of letrozole on CD3-8. Monitoring went well, we had a 23mm dominant follicle and a second at around 17. This IUI was successful, but we lost the heartbeat in the 9th week. It appears that we had a tripoloid, and post D&C, the pathology report revealed a molar pregnancy.

Cash IUIs typically run about $3000. We do not know what we paid for the D&C

Doctor to patient I would love to see her face to face more. I think in a total 2.5 years we have seen her 3 times. I haven’t seen her yet this year and I’ve done a IVF cycle, retrieval and ERA with transfer approaching. I understand with covid-19 now but I don’t think we met up her her face to face last year either. Would love more of that.

To compile all questions and concerns up front in your consultation because even though Dr. Li has a team of nurses it’s always better to hear your concerns coming straight from your doctor.

The overall strategy was what came from my baseline and test of bloodwork. I believe my baseline for estrogen is not high enough so I was on Menopur 75 which moved up to 150 on the 7th or 8th day, Gonal stayed at 250 both retrieval’s. For my second retrieval Menopur went up to 150 right away (maybe on day 3) this was successful I believe because we got 17 eggs, 15 mature. Whereas first cycle was 12 eggs, 9 mature. My protocol for my second IVF was to do a ERA and PGS testing since we had 2 failed transfers on good lookin embryos. Waiting on ERA results and PGS testing gave us all 5 genetically normal embryos. So happy and would say my protocol has been successful.

My monitoring appointments are always consistent I know what to expect and know I will always get my results within a few hours of the appointment.

Global package IVF #1 $8,000 Storage $1,800 last year fee plus $35 every month FET #1 $4,600 Shared risk program IVF #2 $20,000 Medication total $5,000

No I completely understand, I’m under 35 I know the risk.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Dr. Kallen is a very smart man. He knew from the very beginning what my problem conceiving was. He put me on the perfect protocol and even though I wasn't very sure at first I trusted him and sure enough everything turned out exactly as he expected it to. I felt confident I was under the right care from the very beginning. He is an excellent doctor!

Trust him, he knows what he's doing.

He put me on the antagonist protocol. Started me off on a very low dose of gonal and menopur as he expected my ovaries to react well. They weren't initially responding the way he expected them to so he monitored me very closely and adjusted my doses as needed. I stimmed for about 13 days and ended up with 18 retrieved, 17 mature, 12 fertilized and 9 embryos. He was very confident that even though my ovaries didn't respond the way we initially thought the were going to we would still end up with good embryos (which we did!) I'm very happy I trusted him as we were very happy with the results.

insurance coverage

His stance on single embryo transfers vs multiple embryo transfers is very clear and understandable. One healthy baby is the goal! If single transfers aren't working then he isn't opposed to transferring more than one.

For as many patients that Dr. Singer had, I felt like I was the only one. He was available as needed and was always there to help guide me throughout the entire journey. He was very involved in the process and wanted to make sure I felt like I was in good hands.

No other clinic to go to!

My journey started with an in person visit for bloodwork to understand my AMH levels and a sonogram. Based on those results, Dr. Singer was able to formulate the right plan for me, including medication. I started off with two injections and a pill and then introduced a third during day 4/5. I then triggered on day 7/8. I went into the office frequently and Dr. Singer adjusted my medication intake as needed.

Monitoring was super easy - I always expect to wait around at doctors office and I typically get super impatient. I was a little worried about this going into the process knowing how frequently I would need to go into the office for monitoring. SGF never made me wait. I was always in and out and it was very easy. Again, made the process that much more enjoyable (without it actually being enjoyable, haha)

I believe it was around 7K for the procedure and then additional funds for the medicine and anesthesia.

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.

Dr Silva is very verbose. He had a lot to say and is also extremely busy and getting an appt specifically w him was not easy even after we were patients. He was rather blunt, but did not lack compassion. He was not my perfect doctor, but I would and will continue to go to him bc I find him very knowledgeable and feel, whether or not it’s true, that he cares about me and my husband.

Be ready w a list of questions. Right down the answers bc he talks very fast. He does not sugar coat things, but remains optimistic at the same time.

I am over 40 w decent numbers. My husband does not have a low sperm count, but he doesn’t have great sperm. We did one IUI and 2 rounds of IVF w our own eggs. My numbers were decent for my age so the same medications were used for our second round of IVF, just w slightly higher doses. We did ICSI and also did PGT testing. I would not suggest doing the PGT testing. There are too many studies out there that show it is t a perfect science and that perfectly good embryos are actually being discarded bc of the testing. Shady Grove will not transfer any abnormal or mosaic embryos. I understand that not transferring them can save the patient from some heart ache, but after much thought, I think the heart ache is better than the results of the PGT. Especially when it results in zero embryos to transfer, as it did w us.

We spent $32,000 on two rounds of IVF w ICSI, medications, and PGT testing. The cost was due to me being over 41.

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!

Dr. Kulshrestha is very warm, approachable, and friendly. She listens to patient concerns and is great at drawing diagrams to really drive information home. She has made this experience at lot less daunting.

Be patient. Everyone's treatment is specifically tailored to their needs so that the best outcome can be reached. There is no "one size fits all" approach with Dr. Kulshrestha.

Femara 2.5 mg, increased to 5 mg daily to help with follicle stimulation. Ovidrel (trigger shot) and IUI 48 hours later. Progesterone suppositories to maintain uterine lining. 2 week wait for blood draw pregnancy test. We attempted timed cycles prior to IUI #1.

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.

I highly recommend Isaac Sasson. He wants to get to the route cause of my infertility and has been very supportive and compassionate through the whole process. He tweaks protocols and walks me through each diagnosis in terms I can understand.

Book soon because it take a little time to see him. Everyone wants him to be their doctor

I started my first several rounds on clomid. Trying to get me to grow a few follicles and ovulate. Clomid effected my lining so we switched to Gonal F. I had the best results with this and it allowed my lining to grow as well. After almost a year, we decided to try IVF. Turns out I have poor egg quality so the protocol will be changing to a lupron, Gonal f, menopur cycle.

For times intercourse cycles the cost was around $1500 a cycle (including meds). For IVF, our shared risk with PGS testing was about $26,000 (not including meds)

Isaac is in the baby making business but also wants to keep mom and baby healthy. He will only transfer a single embryo unless there is a particular reason why the patient is requesting 2.

Dr. Chason has always treated us with respect and felt like our concerns were always valid. For example our recent miscarriage at 15 weeks resulted from a genetic disorder. She gave us all the options going forward. Dr. Chason called us before our telehealth visit to order labs for us ahead of time.

Ask all the questions whether or not you think it's silly. Dr Chason will always answer it to the best of her ability.

IUI we used clomid for 3 cycles and switched to Letrozole with HCG trigger shot. She thought based off of my age and diagnosis we would have success. We ended up not havimg success so we started IVF. For IVF Dr. Chason chose an agonist protocol with Gonal-F and Menopur. She decided on a dual trigger Lupron and HCG to try and avoid OHSS due to my small weight/ follicles. She was very attentive to adjust my meds and I did not have OHSS. On egg retrieval day we had 15 eggs, 9 were mature, and we ended up with 5 embryos. We transferred 1 fresh 5 day blastocyst which worked. Although we ended up miscarrying at 15 weeks due to a rare genetic disorder. We did not PGS test due to our ages. I am 30 and my husband is 33.

We had to pay for some of our medications. Most of our appointments had a copay. We had to pay for embryo freezing and will need to come out of pocket for PGS testing of our frozen embryos.

My Dr prefers eSET. We never discussed transferring more than one based off of my age.

While we interviewed another fertility doctor/clinic, we ultimately made the decision to work with Dr. Plosker, which was an easy decision for us to make. Given my complex reproductive history, it was clear from the first consult that Dr. Plosker had taken the time to review my history before our meeting, as he had a very good understanding of it - which was not my experience with other doctors. My husband appreciated his straightforward delivery of information, which was always discussed with optimism and a plan for next steps. I personally left each appointment in a better mood than when I arrived - he has a way of making each step seem less daunting without dismissing the difficulty of the process. I had 2 sedated procedures and a laparoscopy, each of which was done by Dr. Plosker, and had great experiences with each.

Write any questions or concerns down and review at each appointment, he will take the time to go over them with you.

N/A, we are not pursuing treatment at this time.