Southeastern Fertility Center

Strengths: Knowledgeable, ability to do IVF and not send elsewhere, friendly front staff, great lab tech Weaknesses: Communication, overwhelmed staff, limited schedule for IVF/FET, lacking bedside manner

Some of the staff were compassionate while some had very poor bedside manner. I did not feel like everyone on staff wanted the same outcome as my husband and I did. There was a lot of miscommunication which lead to a lot of frustration on whether or not they knew who I was and what my plan of care was.

The nursing staff was compassionate most of the time, but they seemed overwhelmed by the amount of patients and the responsibilities they were given. This resulted in what I felt like them not being able to do their job as well as they could.

I appreciated Dr. Keenan's medical care and input but was frustrated with the miscommunication especially when he was on vacation. I did not feel like he planned well for his time off considering his patients were still ongoing treatment. Overall I felt he did well with explaining things and making sure we fully understood the plan, but I did not always agree with his plan and I felt like I didn't always have a choice on how I wanted to proceed.

Educate yourself going into it because if I was not knowledgeable on the process prior to starting I would have easily felt overwhelmed and lost in all the information. Make sure you advocate for yourself and let them know what you want out of this process.

Clomid + IUI - no monitoring during the cycle. 3 Cycles with this protocol with no result in pregnancy. Egg Retrieval with Injectables. Hyperstimulated and unable to transfer. Unable to transfer after multiple failed mock cycles for FET using estrace and estradiol injectables. Due to only doing transfers certain months and only a few days within that month they were unable to accommodate.

Monitoring appointments for IVF went well, no issues. I was not monitored when taking clomid and doing IUI.

Comparable to other clinics.

The clinic's strengths are that they are the only clinic in the country that does not destroy embryos as all patients undergoing the cycle sign a consent form saying they will use all their embryos or donate them. Many clinics only know how to fertilize all the embryos and donate the leftovers or say something oversimplified like, "You can just implant two and have twins." This clinic can fertilize only a small number of embryos that you need have a child and freeze the eggs and has more experience with how many to fertilize that will make it to stage 3 or blastocyst. In a time when many clinics that offer egg freezing have never even thawed an embryo, they have also thawed over 1000 embryos in their embryo adoption program and are very experienced with fresh IVF cycles as well. They are also a holistic practice although not in an alternative medicine and herbs way. I also had to explain to them that I preferred to take my high dose vegan vitamin D over what they prescribed which they approved of after I explained. They have general advice on their website like how to lose weight that included going on an Atkins diet, but they told me I did not have to follow it as my BMI was fine and I am not a morning exerciser, don't eat a lot of meat based proteins, etc. Also they told me I didn't have to take prenatals. I really liked Sherry, the Phlebotomist, who gave me advice about how to inject myself so it didn't hurt and was really good at giving shots, and Taylor at the front office, who always answers the phone. Dr. Keenan is generally responsive to concerns, for example, agreeing to let me cycle with him even though he thought I should go to a local clinic, changing my protocol to use Ovadrel which is subcutaneous instead of intermuscular Pregnyl, when I told him it was painful, redoing my protocol to accommodate my vacation, asking me questions that indicated that he had read my emails after I was upset that they ask to sign the consent form, etc. I have never felt coerced into signing something. The patients in this practice are friendly and supportive. I became Facebook friends with a woman who was cycling with me and we had a retrieval the same day. A husband gave me a bracelet that said, "He >I John 3:30" and encouraged me that, "My wife and I wanted to remind you that God performs miracles every day" when I shared that there weren't as many eggs in ovaries as I had hoped. The weaknesses of the clinic are they work on their schedule, not yours as all patients are synced and they didn't operate super quickly as they are understaffed, but they are much better now than before. They only have egg retrievals on specific days in September, January, and May although they did a March one for me. Plus to be on those cycles you have to be taking birth control one month before. When I made my initial appointment in May, I asked if I could join their May cycle and they were like, "Oh no, these people have already been taking birth control for a month, etc." This may limit options such as going on your natural period and possibly certain protocols. Their reason for syncing has to do with cost savings supposedly. Even though it is only September, their November cycle for embryo transfers is already booked. Their office hours are 8 AM-4:30 PM with lunch from noon to 1, which means that they are open when you are working, although Autumn does take evening appointments and they do work weekends during their September, January, and May cycles. It really only matters for making the initial appointment though as when I filled out the web form I never heard back for two weeks and then after I didn't hear back about the second form called to find out it was broken. Once you visit the clinic for your initial consultation, you get access to emails, etc. But five days after my initial consultation, when I was waiting to hear back about whether or not I could get into their July cycle and should start taking birth control, I did not hear back the day before I was supposed to start taking it. Turns out, they were discussing my care and how they could fit me in, but I was not privy to the information. I still had all these unanswered questions which Lynda told me to email to her. Ultimately I needed more time to gather information, but by the time I decided it was too late even though it was still June. To be fair, I had lost the patient packet, which answers a lot of questions. I had asked about the September cycle dates and mentioned the dates that I had booked my hotel in e-mail and no one ever told me those were not the dates until my protocol came out. Also Dr. Keenan thought I had anxiety and I told him about how I went for acupuncture and the therapist told me I needed more information, but by the time he responded to me months later, it was way too late for me to seek counseling before my first cycle. I felt like I had to scramble for medication multiple times during my first cycle, but I did not run out of medication during my second cycle and got fast response during my third cycle. The first time, they moved my protocol 10 days early to accommodate my vacation with Lupron starting Sunday and I hadn't ordered my medications yet as I was still shopping around and did not realize that I would need it so soon. They emailed me Friday at 4:45 PM, but I did not check my email until after office hours and the doctor was on vacation. The doctor on call told me it was not an emergency even though the pharmacists at Freedom Fertility Pharmacy told me it was, but later Lynda called and ordered for Monday delivery as there was no Sunday delivery so I started my Lupron one day late. Another time, I had emailed Thursday night saying I only had 5 vials of Menopur since I was double dosing which means I would run out Sunday and asked about how many to reorder. I didn't hear back by Friday afternoon after calling and leaving message multiple times and waiting all day for a response, so I drove to the clinic to borrow more of their Menopur. Lynda had told me not to reorder Lupron as someone in the clinic had donated it, but then later when I realized it was the 28th day since piercing my Lupron and that is the shelf life and wanted more, there was none on hand in the clinic as the Lupron donated was a different kind of Lupron. Even though Dr. Keenan thought it was fine, Lynda ordered more for next day shipping but I still had one day expired Lupron. (But I should have given Lynda a few days notice as I did not realize my Lupron was expired.) Dr. Keenan said my trigger would be Thursday or Friday and Lynda told me on Wednesday that she wanted to know what pharmacy to fax to. I told Benita that I wanted it called into MRX pharmacy and it needed to be done before 7 PM for overnight shipping as I needed it Thursday and to let Lynda know. Benita assured me that she would tell Lynda that day and it never got called in as Benita left a note on Lynda's desk which she didn't see or had already left. I am hoping that Lynda knew that my trigger was on Friday so she didn't need to order it on Wednesday, but nothing was ever communicated to me about my care. You also get your estradiol results two days after the lab; it would be nice to know in real time.

I felt treated like a human when Dr. Keenan accommodated me and rebooked my appointments so that I could take my family vacation and still join his September cycle. He also does his best accommodate my schedule as he scheduled my baseline ultrasound to not conflict with when I needed to be on site at work and fit me into a March cycle. He also did answer my concerns before my first cycle and prayed for me when I asked and told me he would do everything he could to help me, so I think that he genuinely cares. But I felt treated like a number after my first cycle, because Dr. Keenan is super busy and has a lot of patients. He has a lot of responsibilities being on the faculty of University of Tennessee in Knoxville, directing the National Embryo Donation Center, taking on traveling and speaking engagements, member of the Christian Medical and Dental Associates, in addition to all his fertility and embryo adoption patients. While Lynda, the IVF nurse, worked 10 hour days and had to come in for weekends during cycles, the clinic is not open 365 days a year and outside of business hours except during active treatment cycles when they do monitoring and surgeries on weekends like some of the larger clinics. I understand that Dr. Keenan and staff need time to sleep and rest so they don't mess up their surgeries, but from a patient perspective, I still felt like it took longer than I wanted to get all my questions answered during my first cycle, get booked for cycles, get prescriptions faxed, and the appointment time is limited. They did hire another nurse recently two days a week and mentioned in the CMDA Christian Doctor's Digest podcast that they would like to hire another RE and have more affiliate clinics.

s my IVF nurse coordinator. There is another nurse Mari on staff who takes care of general infertility and they hired another woman, Sandy, two days per week. I thought Lynda was good about answering the questions that she knew via email or getting Dr. Keenan, but I felt that some questions fell by the wayside during my first cycle until I was asked to sign a consent form saying I had all my questions answered. For example when I went to the acupuncturist, he recommended an herbal medicine for anxiety and I asked her if I could take it since Dr. Keenan says not to take herbal medicine without approval. She told me she would ask Dr. Keenan and I never heard back until a phone conversation months later when I asked him and told me no, I need to be on SSRIs. To be fair, I had a lot of questions and didn't remind them. She told me I could swim in a pool, but not a hot tub and when, when to start taking baby aspirin, why I was given a prescription for vitamin D when I was already on high dose vegan vitamin D, referred me to the acupuncturist the clinic used, etc. But when they are in cycle, you don't get questions answered right away if it is about the new patient packet even if you are trying to decide whether to sign up as they think it is not time sensitive. But sometimes it is if you are deciding whether or not you need to start taking birth control or go to another clinic on your natural period or you are feeling anxious about the risks or birth defects. I do not think she is lazy, but more swamped. There was one time when she told me that I would get my prescriptions faxed Friday, but then after two Fridays they never got faxed. Turns out I didn't need it until the end of the month, but that was not communicated to me. She ordered Lupron for me from Village Fertility Pharmacy and the rest of my medication at ivfmeds and needles from Walgreens. But I did not order them before I left for vacation as I was going to have them shipped to my hotel. She gave me medication and told me to just have the meds sent to the clinic and put them in the fridge when they came. She also showed me how to use Gonal F and Menopur, but I don't remember her telling me to take them within a two hour time window and my treatment calendar only said AM and PM. But it was clarified two days after I started stimming. She also showed me how to break the glass ampuoles from the international pharmacy. Later in the cycle she was busy and I had to come into the clinic to get refill medication and to ask them to call in my Ovadrel and she did not have much time to price compare. On my second cycleBy the third cycle though, I felt like a pro and she was nice enough to let me borrow Menopur from the clinic and I could pay the clinic back with medications from ivfmeds. The practice manager, LJ, is newer so it is not useful for me to review the previous practice manager who quit before my first cycle. She was still coming up to speed so she was not that helpful at first. But she made a mistake and gave me discount on my second cycle which Dr. Keenan honored. LJ is also a registered RN and helped me prep for surgery during my second egg retrieval by taking my vitals, putting my stuff away and helping me get to the bathroom with my IV, etc. Sandy helped me prep and get ready for the surgery during my first cycle. She was good about walking me through the process and keeping me calm, playing music for me and discharging me, but she picked a vein for my IV that caused a lot of blood and left a huge bruise. My hand is normal now though. Sandy also did my IV for the second cycle and she had to stick me twice because the first vein did not work and she said that it was because I wasn't relaxed. She was going to ask Sherry to stick me, but then the second vein that she picked worked.

I picked Dr. Keenan primarily for ethical reasons as unused embryos are never destroyed. My first egg retrieval with Dr. Keenan was safe and I successfully got 6 eggs, 3 of which were mature and 3 which were intermediate to freeze. My second egg freezing cycle I got 4 mature eggs and 4 intermediate eggs to freeze. His patient packet said that you could get 8-10 eggs and 80%-90% were mature, and he told me I could get average 10 so my number of mature eggs was lower. Intermediate eggs make babies at half the rate of mature eggs. Dr. Keenan did all the ultrasound monitoring himself except on weekends when Autumn, the nurse practitioner did it or during a specially scheduled baseline ultrasound during my third cycle. I did not see Dr. Keenan during blood test only appointments. Dr. Keenan and I get along fine now, but my first cycle was tough. Dr. Keenan was good about answering questions about dosing and medications, but there was not a lot of time for asking all about what is happening with the protocol and the whys of dosing adjustments during my first cycle, although you can fit in a few. Prior to my cycle, I had an initial consultation with Dr. Keenan where he told me I would need two cycles to have a 50% chance of conceiving. I had more questions than time for the 1.5 hour appointment allowed. I also found that if I asked questions that had yes or no answers to, then I would literally get yes or no for an answer so over time I realized that if I wanted more explanation or whys, I had to ask explicitly. He is generally knowledgable about clinical practice, but doesn't quote lots of studies and stats although he did tell me that each egg has a 3% chance for survival given my age. After my first appointment, I asked a lot of questions about not wanting to have quadruplets if he implanted 4 embryos and he just simply said, "I have never seen that happen before." Or do people ever regret egg freezing and the answer was, "No." Afterwards, I found it hard to get ahold of him for answers. I had emailed the practice manager and the IVF nurse more questions about the long term risks of the procedure and didn't get very satisfactory answers. He said that the staff and him had already answered all the relevant questions, but then later he realized that I was evaluating other options, I did get concise answers. Also there was one time when I told Lynda there were changes in my family history and she said Dr. Keenan wanted me to get tested for Lynch syndrome. But it failed to come with the caveat that I could be denied life insurance and long term disability if I tested positive or recommendation for genetic counseling about the implications. After googling, I asked him. He said that it was up to me, but he wouldn't do it if he were me. Maybe he is legally liable to tell me to get tested. I finally got answers on long term side effects when the consent form came out and he was able to spend 30 minutes with me on the phone, but that was months later. Also he was concerned about my anxiety and suggested counseling, SSRIs, and other anti anxiety treatments, but when I talked to a therapist, they said that the issue was I needed more information. I refused to take SSRIs as they are habit forming and have side effects and as soon as you stop taking them the anxiety comes back so it doesn't treat the disease, but Dr. Keenan said he was not aware that you could treat anxiety with acupuncture. Later though after my second cycle, he thought that it worked as I was only stimming on one side during my first cycle, but was more balanced on the second cycle and got eggs from both ovaries. In his handout he says that if you are especially anxious to speak to him so that he can get you started on medications. He also says on his sheet about weight management to drink dairy so he has a more Western focus. While I trust Dr. Keenan for fertility and appreciate his concern, I questioned whether he should be telling me, I need to be on SSRIs when he is not a qualified mental health professional. Sometimes when I ask why he does or doesn't do things, he thinks I do not trust him. I asked him if I would experience any of the side effects on lupronvictimshub and he initially told me that I would drive myself crazy if I didn't stay off the internet and trust him. Later in the call, he did explain that he hadn't seen any of the long term side effects and as soon as Lupron left my body so would the side effects and addressed my concerns about the issue fully. After my first cycle he said that I had to limit my emails to five sentences per day and two questions and things have been better since. I think I was just writing too much and they were overwhelmed. I also did art therapy and acupuncture all of which helped.

Plan early as this practice gets super booked up. Schedule a fertility check up in your late 20s to make sure you can wait. The ideal age for egg freezing on average is 34, so call the practice to schedule between 8 AM - 4:30 PM but not lunch from noon to 1 when you are 33 or as soon as you are deemed infertile. Do your research beforehand so you can think and be prepared to ask questions that you can't find on google and if you want more than just a yes or no answer, ask specifically. Limit questions to 2 per day and keep emails short (5 sentences or less)

I was on the Long Lupron protocol with birth control, but during my first cycle I was down regulated for longer because I was on vacation. My protocol started with birth control along with 10 mg Lupron from 7 PM to 9 PM for about a week, and then just Lupron for 4 days before a baseline ultrasound and lab. Then another 10 days of just Lupron before starting 125 FSH (Gonal F and Follistim) in the AM and 1 vial of Menopur in the PM with Lupron between 7 PM and 9 PM for two days before lab. Menopur increased to two vials for the rest of the time. Lab Thursday and lab and ultrasound on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Lab only Friday. (Total stim time 12.5 days). No medication Friday night and Ovadrel. 2 Doxycycline Saturday night before retrieval. The long Lupron protocol was used because I was a woman of typical ovarian reserve for my age so that is a very typical protocol. My estradiol was not going up high enough so that is why I was given two vials of Menopur and not switched to Ganirelix. However my leading follicle was big 23 mm on Thursday and my ultrasound showed 9 total follicles. 8 were retrieved and 3 mature and 3 intermediate. My second cycle was the same except I did not take Lupron for as long and I started with 2 vials of Menopur to hopefully get more eggs. I stimmed from January 4th and had my retrieval the 17th. My second cycle I had 4 mature eggs and 4 intermediate eggs to freeze, but there were 11 follicles total in my ovaries. My third cycle is in progress and same as my second cycle except that we are planning to wait one more day in hopes of getting more mature eggs. Also because I had on site work scheduled, I had extra time between my baseline ultrasound and next lab.

$6350 for monitoring, egg retrieval and full anesthesia per cycle, medications cost me about $3000 on my first cycle, less on subsequent cycles because I did not have to order Menopur at the last minute from the US pharmacy, labs were covered by insurance which I am in network and the estimated payment is $50 for each weekday lab and the weekend labs were around $30-$63 each. I pay more for my health plan which offers Dr. Keenan in network. Otherwise the weekday labs are $90 each and weekend labs may be $300 if you pay cash. The mental health professional that met my needs was out of network and cost $200 for initial intake and $102 for subsequent weekly visits which is the discount price for paying cash. I also bought melatonin, asprin, and vegan vitamin D. For after my retrieval, I needed tylenol, crackers and coconut water to avoid nausea. After my first retrieval, I felt so terrible that I had to go to the ER for chest pain which turned out to be esophageal spasms from throwing up and I have a high deductible plan. I did not have nausea with my second cycle as Dr. Keenan and staff were aware of my nausea and prescribed a patch for me and took precautions. The initial consultation costs around $450 plus the costs of a vitamin D test and AMH test. You also need an STD test which insurance is supposed to cover, but my gynecologist charged me although I don't remember the amount.

Since unused embryos are never destroyed and it is really hard to only create one euploid embryo (my guess), this clinic has a higher rate of multiples compared to other clinics. But there was one woman who Dr. Keenan suggested implanting one and she told him she wanted to implant two so she could get it over with. He offers freezing embryos for a sibling though and I am not sure why people do not do that more. I asked Dr. Keenan if embryos are not good quality would you still implant them and he said yes because they might take with 10% probability. Usually Dr. Keenan implants two in his fresh IVF cycles and two to four in the embryo adoption because they might be lower quality.

The receptionist can make you feel dumb sometimes and she isn't very compassionate. The staff are mostly all sweet and helpful. I wish they did explain more, I feel they expect me to know what they mean when I don't. I always have to get them to explain more and feel ignorant.

They are all nice and helpful!

Mary isn't knowledgeable about all the things we do. She also was the person on call to do an IUI one month and couldn't get it done when I came in because she couldn't get the catheter in. I was highly disappointed that day and I still had to pay the full IUI price even though I didn't have an IUI done.

I wish he would do all my IUI treatments. The nurse and nurse practitioner always have trouble getting the catheter in and it's painful. Once Dr Keenan did it and he got it right in with no trouble. I do wish I saw him more and the nurse less. I also wish that they explained the cost more, I always have to ask the receptionist

Ask a lot of questions and if you are having difficulty with the nurse or nurse practitioner just ask for Dr Keenan instead.

I did clomid days 3-7 of cycle and did IUI the day after ovulation. They did not check to see how I responded to clomid the first 3 times. Finally this past appt they said they would do an ultrasound to see how I am doing on chlomid. If I'm not responding well they will switch my meds. I wish they would have checked the first time so that if I don't respond to chlomid I would have known and switched and not had to wait.

IUI cost around $400 each month. I have had to pay $60 each visit which is every 2 weeks for co-payment. I just had a laparoscoptomy in February and my insurance didn't cover it so had to pay $8000 out of pocket. I pay all blood work and chlomid.

They do not provide inspiration material in the sample room, so if you have to give your semen analysis or deposit in office (like we do, because of our physical distance from the clinic), then come prepared with your own stash. No TV or DVD player, either. They have free WiFi, but the signal ends about half-way into the room and a few feet from the chair. Cell signal is strong in the building, though. They have a phlebotomist on-site, which is really convenient. She's AMAZING, and always hits you on the first try, and there's never more than a 3 minute wait for her. No appointment necessary for blood work, either, which is great when your schedule is in flux. Also, they will email you the results of your blood tests as soon as they're in! Most of the time, I know my scores before the nurse ever calls me, so I can review the numbers and do some Googling about the analysis before I speak with them, giving me time to think up all the questions I have. The office is beautiful and very clean. The equipment is well maintained and they even have flat screens so you can see what's happening during ultrasounds. It's really interesting. They default to latex probe covers and gloves, so if you have a latex allergy (like me), be sure to let them know. They have non-latex available, so no worries.

I've felt like a human being throughout treatment. Dr. Keenan and his staff always take time to speak with me about any questions or concerns, no matter how minor or bizarre. When I lost my first pregnancy, the staff in the office treated me with kindness, warmth, and compassion. I honestly felt as if they were mourning with me. It was so helpful.

Mary is amazing. She always returns my calls within 3 hours, and gets whatever information I need. She's kind and compassionate, and confident in her work. She's a real blessing.

When Dr. Keenan enters the room with me, he is fully in that room with me. He listens to what I say, he responds fully, and puts me at the forefront of his attention. I never leave feeling as if I wasn't heard or understood. I never feel like "just another patient." I feel like I'm the only patient he's seeing, and the only one who matters. Even better, he takes a moment to review my chart BEFORE he enters the room, so that he's aware of my history before we even start talking.

I'd say to keep the first appointment brief, and read all of the literature he gives you on the first visit. You're going to be so overwhelmed with information, and the written literature he sends you home with answers 99% of the questions you think about when you walk out. You can always call them and speak to a nurse if you have any other questions. I felt like I asked a lot of questions that first visit that I didn't fully remember the answers to, but they were all answered in the literature I came home with, which was awesome.

The strategy was to try 6 months of IUI's using Clomid to increase the number of eggs released for a better shot at conception, and to increase my husband's motility through some lifestyle changes and supplements. My husband's motility has greatly improved, and I did get pregnant on the 3rd IUI. Unfortunately, I lost the baby at 6 weeks.

So far, I've spent approximately $3,700. That includes 3 IUI's, 6 months of Clomid, blood work, ultrasounds, FemVue, supplements, etc. Each IUI is about $400 and they charge an extra $25 if it has to fall on a weekend or holiday. I have insurance - BC/BS TN. The office always bills insurance before billing me (except the FemVue and first visit, which I had to place a deposit on because of the high costs). They manage to squeeze more out of my insurance than I ever thought possible. Their billing coders are amazing.

Strengths- very friendly, organized, helpful with questions. Weaknesses- returning phone calls, not explaining things thoroughly. Just assumed I knew what the deal was and this was my first iui. I go in tomorrow for the procedure and hoping it works. The other procedures I have had they were very nice and as gentle as possible.

Autumn is always so nice and answers all my questions

She was the one that was supposed to schedule my HSG test and called her for 2 days and left 2 messages, she didn’t return my phone call. I had to call the receptionist and get an half attitude for them to call me back.

Didn’t meet Dr. Keenan only Autumn his nurse practitioner. She was nice and helpful on answering my questions. But however, they didn’t really explain things well unless I asked. I had some blood work come back abnormal and no one explained it to me she said take these meds.

Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions. Write things down so when your in their office you can remember what you want to say.

Started charting temp every morning on cycle day 2. I used Clomid 100mg once a day on cycle day 3-7. Then started taking a steroid every night at bedtime to help my DHEA levels. Started taking Mucinex on cycle day 11. Started OPK on cd 10. Got a positive on cd 12. Called the office and scheduled to go in tomorrow for our ultrasound and first iui.

So far 1500

None