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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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.

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

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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

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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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!

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.

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.

We had issues with communication and did not feel supported when we had to make serious decisions. It would be difficult to get a complete overview of the facts of my case from Dr. Nair. She always seemed too busy and in a rush to answer our questions. She would often describe my result in vague terms, and we had to push her to get actual numbers - for example what my fsh/amh levels were. When she advised that we were going to be withdrawn from the shared risk program she joked, “now you guys can take the money and go buy a boat!” She meant it to be a joke, but it was quite hurtful in the moment and revealed that she didn’t seem to be really in touch with the pain that we were going through.

Try to work with a different Dr.

We were told a fresh transfer was the best way to go, and at the time we didn’t have the knowledge to question this. We tried clomid and I “over responded” once leading to a cancelled IUI cycle. We next tried IVF and when I asked why we didn’t try clocks in conjunction with this, it was brushed off. I now understand this is done by other clinics, so I’m not sure why it was disregarded. For two cycles of IVF, I was on Lupron, Gonal, and Menopur.

IUIs: approximately $10,000 IVF cycles: approximately $40,00

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.

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. Reh is very professional and sensitive to how emotionally fraught infertility treatment can be. She always treated us and our decisions with respect. She was understanding when we initially sought treatment at another clinic for financial reasons and also understood that finances affected other decisions like opting out of PGT-A testing. I also appreciate that from the beginning she emphasized that my behavior or diet or supplement regimen was not contributing to my infertility. I was confident that she was trying the treatment that had the highest odds of success.

Don’t expect to be able to reach her directly. I have heard that other doctors in the practice are more accessible. She would call to give important results but otherwise all communication is through her nurse.

Lupron stop protocol yielded 1 abnormal embryo, antagonist with estrogen patch protocol yielded 1 embryo and miscarriage, micro lupron flare yielded 2 embryos and miscarriage. The goal with each was to increase my low number of mature eggs but changes in protocol did not yield a different outcome, despite trying different trigger times/types.

22,500 for shared risk plus cost of medication

eSET is preferred but two embryos transferred due to multiple failed cycles.

Dr. Doyle is the kind of doctor that feels like family. He cares about you and your well-being. He is very interested in achieving a healthy pregnancy while keeping you healthy as well. He is upfront and honest. Dr. Doyle is gentle and understanding how difficult this process can be. He is very attentive. I have had to have multiple surgeries but I have always felt safe because of Dr. Doyle. I trust him with my body and my future family.

Be honest with Dr. Doyle. He will listen to you and understand. He will create a plan that will be in your best interest. If you need to talk to him, call him. He may not be available at the time but he WILL call you back...even if it is late at night. He is committed.

I had a surgery to unblock one of my tubes. I have been on clomid, injections and the trigger shot. I then had 6 IUIs thus far with donor sperm.

IUI is a few thousand and IVF is about 10 thousand.

Dr. Widra was always pleasant, kind and compassionate, and every appointment I had with him felt judgement-free. I felt like Dr. Widra cared about my well-being and truly wanted to help me reach my fertility goals. I communicate in a very matter-of-fact fashion, and Dr. Widra was able to take my fertility vision and put it into a medical protocol that made sense to me and was appropriate for me.

Just be yourself and be honest with your goals.

I am a single mother by choice. My fertility numbers were good enough to start with an unmedicated IUI, so that's what we did. I had one IUI that didn't take (not uncommon). I have since changed course because of my desire to have multiple children so I will be undergoing egg freezing. Dr. Widra was very open to this and immediately set a new protocol in action to determine the best course of action for my changed goals.

My insurance covered a lot of it, so fortunately I haven't paid a whole lot. I've only gotten one IUI done thus far though, so my costs will increase as I have more fertility treatments.

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I have been a patient of Dr. Devine's for several years. First, in my late 30s I was diagnosed with an early stage breast cancer. I saw Dr. Devine to undergo a round of egg freezing before beginning a long-term medication to prevent a recurrence. I had a successful round of egg freezing at that time. Several years later I returned to Dr. Devine with my husband to thaw and inseminate the eggs. At the time of our consultation, Dr. Devine presented us with the most recent statistics on egg freezing and let us know that our prospects of a successful pregnancy with the frozen eggs were only just above 50%. Although this was disappointing news, we truly appreciated Dr. Devine's ability to be direct, honest, and clear about our chances, while remaining compassionate and cautiously optimistic. Unfortunately, this set of eggs did not result in viable embryos for transfer. My husband and I then decided to proceed with a new round of IVF. Again, Dr. Devine took the time to walk us through the statistics and provide us with guidance. Ultimately, this round of IVF did not result in embryos for transfer, but Dr. Devine was with us through each step. She took the time to personally call us as results were coming in about the growth of our embryos and discuss what this would mean for our future options. In particular, we have truly appreciated how Dr. Devine never tires of our questions (sometimes with both my husband and I on the phone line) and always takes the time to provide detailed answers. We had planned to continue to the next step in our fertility treatment with Dr. Devine until we were interrupted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

You should know that you are in extremely good and capable hands with Dr. Devine. She is not "selling" fertility treatment to you. She wants you to have the agency to make choices with her guidance. This means that she has a very science-based approach - meaning to say, she is personable and has a good sense of humor, etc. but she will ensure that you know the facts and chances you are dealing with, even if they are uncomfortable to hear. Given how much financial and emotional capital you are about to spend, that kind of no-nonsense honest approach is extremely important.

Femara, Gonal-F/Menopur, Cetrotide

Monitoring appointments are pretty convenient. Although a time is set the day before with your nurse, I've found that earlier appointments require a lot less waiting then appointments in the later part of the morning.

Costs at SGF are high. Unfortunately, we do not have any insurance coverage for fertility treatment so the expenses have been extraordinary.

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

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

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

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

$11,000

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

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

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

She allowed multiple embryo transfer but advised us against it.

She was nice, but we only interacted with her twice during seven months of treatment, once at the consult, and once in a video appointment after our first few rounds of treatment failed. She was very optimistic, which when everything failed made us feel like the optimism was unrealistic.

Insist on a frank and realistic explanation of your chances of success.

We did seven Clomid cycles, adding Gonal F after the first few failed, but it did not help the number of follicles. In six of the cycles we did IUIs, all failed.

My insurance covered half of most costs. It added up to thousands of dollars out of pocket. Our treatment failed, but we’re still getting bills for $100 here and $130 there, and those will continue for months as they work through it with our insurance. The bills are depressing reminders of the failed treatment.

I will start this by saying that I have had a long and traumatic journey to get to my SGF graduation--I was a patient for over two years and suffered two miscarriages, a corneal ectopic pregnancy, and at least six negative pregnancy tests. And with every setback, Dr. Devine was sympathetic, encouraging, and confident that we would achieve success. And while I'm not sure when I'll stop holding my breath, I can close my eyes as I write this and hear the rhythmic thudding of my baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound machine. I am also trained as a psychologist and understand the value of evidence-based treatment; my husband is an attorney and finds solace in rules, numbers and facts. Dr. Devine is a researcher at her core--something we have both respected and appreciated throughout this process. She is consistent in her approach: compassionate, particularly during our repeated losses, and at the same time straightforward. She was also always available for a call (or, since COVID, a video call). I never felt like she was being anything less than honest with me. No upselling, no B-S. And when I wanted to explore my options, she was responsive--balancing her clinical opinion with a willingness to try it my way, if that's really what I wanted to do. For example, when I wanted to explore transferring two embryos, she shared with me the statistics (Yes, it would increase the probability of a live birth, but the probability a live birth per embryo was drastically lower.) and her clinical reasons for preferring singleton pregnancies, particularly for women with my BMI. We also explored the research on using more Progesterone (PIO) prior to/during transfer; Adding Prednisone and/or Lovenox to my transfer protocol (which may have been the magic bullet); and the risks of PGS testing on an embryo's viability. We were excited to say goodbye to Dr. Devine as we 'graduated' to an obstetrician--not because she wasn't a great doctor, but because we are elated to FINALLY be closing a door on what has been a painfully long chapter in our lives and marriage. Should fertility continue to be an obstacle (which I expect it will), we plan to return to Dr. Devine for any/all attempts at future siblings for baby M.

Do not be afraid to ask for her time and come to the appointment armed with questions. She will take her time to answer all of them.

IUI #1 - Clomid - Cancelled due to over-response IUI #2 - Femera + Estrace (lining support) - Not pregnant IUI #3 - Femera + Menopur (1/2 vial) - Not pregnant IUI #4 - Femera - Not pregnant IUI #5 - Femera - Not pregnant IUI #6 - Femera + Menopur (1/2 vial) - Not pregnant IVF Retrieval #1-3 - Follistim, Menopur, Gannirelix, Lupron, Zithromax --all produced 12-16 eggs; 6-8 embryos, 2-4 PGS-normal embroys FET #1 - Estrace (2mg) 3x/daily + PIO (50mg) - Miscarriage at 6 weeks FET #2 - Estrace (2mg) 3x/daily + PIO (50mg) - Corneal ectopic FET #3 - Estrace (2mg) 3x/daily + PIO (50mg) - Miscarriage at 5.5 weeks FET #4 - Estrace (2mg) 3x/daily + PIO (100mg) *for implantation support* + Baby asprin + Prednisone (7.5mg) *for implantion support / immunosuppression* - Not pregnant FET #5 - Estrace (2mg) 3x/daily + PIO (50mg) + Baby asprin + Prednisone (7.5mg) + Lovenox *for implantation support* - Currently Pregnant

I have amazing insurance. The vast majority of my costs have been for co-pays, embryo testing, and cryopreservation.

She strongly encouraged us to transfer one embryo at a time, citing the risks of twin pregnancies and preferring to give each tested embryo its best chance at survival.

Dr. Devine is also the head of research at Shady Grove so she knows ALL the data. Bring up a random supplement, and she can tell you ‘oh that was shown in one clinical trial to do XYZ’. I appreciate that rather than doctors shooting from the hip. She’s extremely current on national research, as well, so isn’t just working from a MD she got 20 years ago. She also predicted *exactly* the number of eggs I would get, based on this research! Dr. Devine took nearly an hour with me each time we met and never hurried me. She listened thoughtfully to my questions and adjusted my treatment plan as necessarily. I had a SUPER easy process all around. No post-op recovery besides laying low one day. No bonkers hormones, etc. Throughout the process, she set good healthy expectations so I wasn’t surprised by any of it or the results despite being completely new to this. I had been told several times she would be completely honest with me and she really was. Honest but compassionate - I think that’s the best kind of bedside manner. Any clinical questions that had to go to her were usually answered within a matter of a few hours, shorter if urgent. She also encouraged me to continue taking my mental health scripts which was a huge relief. If you want to go to someone who’s truly a subject matter expert and has likely read (and even conducted!) the most research on everything from typical egg freezing or IVF to breaking research on something relatively obscure that might relate to your situation, pick Dr. Devine. I think we underestimate the importance of being really curious and well-educated but in a field that is evolving daily, this would be crucial. Friends of mine across the country have had difficult IVF processes and I wish they were in DC and could see Dr. Devine. She would be real with them and would probably be MOST aware, of all the doctors in this space, if there was emerging data on something impacting their situation.

I believe she’s also a professor. I learned SO much about the human body in the process because I spent time researching myself in advance. Then I felt like when we met, I would get a personalized tutorial that helped things click. To make the most of your one on ones, come with questions and don’t be shy. She was happy to answer all mine and is fantastic at it.

Estrogen priming protocol with patches and cetrotide a few days before my period. Then stims which included gonal-f and menopur. Cetrotide halfway through followed by lupron trigger. (Btw If you’d told me 6 months ago, I’d be rattling these off easily, I would’ve been shocked!! Haha)

$7,500 for one retrieval cycle which seemed to include nearly everything. Insurance covered injections in DC! (Blue cross! Can you imagine?! I was shocked. If you live in DC with BC, use CVS specialty pharmacy and see if it works. Could be because I was 39 when I did it so geriatric in BC minds 😉 Id called and they even said no. But my nurses must’ve done something... I paid less than $200 in co-pays for allllll my meds.)

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