Dr.Fisher was responsive and personable on calls and always made me feel heard...polite, respectful, always greeted me with a smile, was patient with all my questions and never made the appointments feel rushed. He was always thorough in explaining procedures and next steps, comprehensive with his exams of follicle sizes, concerns and what to expect....
Shelby and Melissa [nurses at Spring Fertility] both went above and beyond when it came to communication, attentiveness and follow through. If they say they were going to do something, you could trust they would call you, follow up via email and make sure you were taken care of...Convenient location. Easy parking. Clean space, Offered snacks and drinks and all staff was friendly and polite. The environment was pleasant, equipment seemed clean and new...
How was your experience with Thomas Fisher at Spring Fertility?
Candidly, when I first approached Spring, I wanted a female doctor but the earliest appointment was with Dr.Fisher. Although initially hesitant, since day 1 of seeing him, I felt very comfortable and at ease. He opened up and shared his own story of how him and his wife also went through their own fertility journey. I think that makes him a lot more relatable and empathetic to his patient's journey. He was polite, respectful, always greeted me with a smile, was patient with all my questions and never made the appointments feel rushed. He was always thorough in explaining procedures and next steps, comprehensive with his exams of follicle sizes, concerns and what to expect. I really appreciated the attentive care provided whether it was via email, in person or follow up calls after certain procedures to update me on progress. I remember the day of my transfer, he rushed over to the SF clinic all the way from Danville just to make sure he was the one doing the transfer himself. That definitely re-assured me, made me more confident that the chance of success would be high and overall just put me in a more positive state of mind. We are now a month away from meeting our miracle baby and I am immensely grateful to Dr.Fisher and the Spring team. Overall, would recommend Dr.Fisher to any of my friends or family members looking for fertility treatment. Could not have asked for a better experience.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Thomas Fisher at Spring Fertility?
Come prepared with questions during your appointments. Dr.Fisher is thorough with talking through the treatment but also always leaves room for any questions you might have.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Thomas Fisher at Spring Fertility?
Dr. Fisher and staff were always friendly, on-time, patient with my many questions, understanding when I got emotional due to any results or drop offs from retrieval, day 3, day 5 survival and embryo quality. Dr.Fisher was responsive and personable on calls and always made me feel heard.
Describe the protocols Thomas Fisher used in your cycles at Spring Fertility and their degree of success.
I went through 2 IVF cycles and 1 frozen embryo transfer with Dr. Fisher.
For both retrievals, I was taking the following supplements: prenatal, Vitamin D, Fish Oil, and Q10. My diagnosis was unexplained infertility as I had done prior exams and blood work at another clinic before Spring.
In my first cycle, my antral follicle count was only 9-10. I started off with taking Estrace, got a bleed, went in for a baseline ultrasound and then started 225IU of Gonal F and then 150IU for Menopur. The dosage of Gonal and Menopur were dropped as they doctor tracked my bloodwork and the size and growth of my follicles every few days to try to get them to all grow at the same pace. I then started Cetrotide in conjuction with Menopur and Gonal F and eventually triggered with Novarel and Lupron. For my first retrieval, my body only yielded 8 eggs, 1 follicle was empty and only 1 egg was mature. That was devastating news and I remember crying for a long time thinking the odds of a healthy embryo was likely going to be none after the drop off from Day 3 to Day 5 to genetic testing. Dr.Fisher and the care team definitely set proper expectations and were also quite comforting in talking through alternatives for a second round. Miraculously, that one mature egg actually resulted in a 6AA Day5 Euploid embryo.
Given that my husband and I wanted at least 2 kids, Dr. Fisher also recommended having at least 2 healthy embryos per potentially viable pregnancy so we decided to pursue a second round of IVF egg retrieval before moving forward with a transfer.
In my second IVF cycle: I started off with Aygestin, had around 11 antral follicles, started same dosage of 225IU of Gonal F and then 150IU for Menopur which was adjusted slightly after every ultrasound and blood test appointment. Then started Cetrotide and triggered again with Lupron and Novarel. This time, 11 eggs were retrieved, 8 mature. I ended up with 4 that survived until Day 5 and then 3 that turned out to be Euploids.
For my frozen embryo transfer, I started off with Aygestin pills (this was mostly because we were thinking of potentially doing a 3rd cycle of IVF depending on results of the embryo genetic testing). However, once we confirmed we were moving forward with FET, I was put on Letrozole 5mg for 5 days. After a few monitoring visits, the doctor asked me to start Gonal F at 150IU. As monitoring progressed, I was then instructed to take Ovidrel at 250mcg and take Medrol 16mg pills for 5 days. I went back in for a progesterone level check and then was confirmed for transfer. Transfer was successful and I am now 8 months pregnant!
Describe your experience with your nurse at Spring Fertility. (Assigned nurse: Shelby Raley & Melissa Caponi)
Shelby and Melissa both went above and beyond when it came to communication, attentiveness and follow through. If they say they were going to do something, you could trust they would call you, follow up via email and make sure you were taken care of.
Describe your experience with Spring Fertility.
Convenient location. Easy parking. Clean space, Offered snacks and drinks and all staff was friendly and polite. The environment was pleasant, equipment seemed clean and new .
No weaknesses that I can think of.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Thomas Fisher at Spring Fertility.
Although most people including myself go in thinking we will perhaps only need one IVF cycle, it's always good to know your options and what pricing will look like if you needed subsequent cycles. Accounting for price of medication is also something that needs to be factored in. Alto Pharmacy was superb in terms of convenience of delivering the medication to my doorstep. Our cost was ~$50K for 2 IVF cycles and 1 FET.
What specific things went wrong at Spring Fertility?
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Spring Fertility.
During my embryo transfer, at one of my ultrasound visits, I was seen by another doctor. The reaction of the doctor made it seem like there was a strong possibility the transfer would need to be cancelled as I might have ovulated already. I panicked and started crying frantically. That said, Dr. Fisher called me shortly after my appointment to reassure me that he was not concerned and that I would be monitored closely for the next couple of days to confirm next steps. In the end, I was able to successfully complete the FET so although alarming at first, it all worked out.
10
Clinic
Spring Fertility
Danville