How was your experience with Edward Ramirez at The Fertility and Gynecology Center?
He told me my 2 miscarriages were insignificant in the grand scheme of miscarriages and I needed to get over them. At the end of my 2nd egg retrieval, a previous coordinator said she thought the pressure of the incubator was off because everyone was having slow/bad results with their embryos. When I asked her about it the following week she retracted her statement and left the practice the nest week. The last round I did was just awful. After my egg retrieval and being told the next day how many fertilized I had to call/text to try and find out what was going on without getting any calls/texts returned. It wasn't until day 6 I was contacted to respond to my inquiries. Previously, they updated every other day. Day 7 yielded no confident answers and I never heard from them again until I emailed a question about a huge bill I received. The bill was an error because, as the billing person told me, they don't always communicate. I was left for a long time with no answers, no conclusion, nothing. It was extremely aggravating, disappointing and lonely.
During the later part on in my journey, anytime I went to appointment alone they would make comments and facial expressions that were indicating I was on this journey by myself. Making it seem as though my partner was not supportive of the process, I don't see why she would need to take time off work for a blood draw. Looking back, lots of moments where red flags and I should have stopped and found another doctor to work with on this journey.
It's also important to note to do research on cost. This dr is way more expensive then a lot of other doctors. I had to have a blood test in LA at one point of a cycle and the test was HALF the price. If I was starting out now, I would do a lot more research. Somethings I would look at include the lab- it is state of the art? Are there more then 1 embryologist? Only 1 leaves them with all the responsibility of looking at every single egg, finding the mature ones, doing IVF or ICSI meaning they are finding the best sperm to use then watching them over the days. 1 set of eyes. If the cycles are done in batches 1 person is looking at hundreds of eggs. Is that something your comfortable with or should there be more than 1 to help and support, be back up if 1 gets tired or isn’t in the right mood for the day. So many factors. Are cycles done in batches with specific dates or are they done following your body and what it needs and that’s all that matters?
I also feel I was mislead in supplement information to help with the possible quality of eggs. After finishing my 3rd and last round with him I decided to do my own research and found research suggested taking supplements for 2 months. I had taken them for 3 weeks before my egg retrieval. Extremely disappointed.
They have definitely gone from a supportive, let's make a baby/family to money hungry. More of a push them through service. With my experiences, I feel like I was taken advantage of just to bring in $10,000+++ another time. They also don’t give refunds so if you don’t make it to retrieval or transfer you still pay for it.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Edward Ramirez at The Fertility and Gynecology Center?
Don’t go for convenience of location. Go for a dr and clinic that fits your needs best. My new dr was 100% different then this dr.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Edward Ramirez at The Fertility and Gynecology Center?
He does his IVF cycles in batches so it doesn’t matter what your body needs, he is keeping your cycle within his dates. When I first started working with him in 2013 it felt more human but by 2017/2018 it was all about money. He didn’t seem care. Just push them through.
Describe the protocols Edward Ramirez used in your cycles at The Fertility and Gynecology Center and their degree of success.
Each round of IVF I used follistim and menupor with ganerelix. The follistim dosages varied slightly but the menupor and ganerix was always the same. My first round yielded 10 eggs/5 blastocysts. My follistim was upped for round 2 and I had 16 eggs/0 blastocysts. My follistim was taken down for round 3 and I had 18 eggs/0 blastocysts. Nothing else was changed. The only extra tests ran were to make sure my chromosomal karotype was normal and to see if I had an MTHFR mutation. Those 2 were only done after my chemical pregnancy and miscarriage of twins with my first IVF cycle and I had to beg for them to test for something.
How competent was Edward Ramirez at LGBTQ care?
They were welcoming and respectful HOWEVER in between my 2nd and 3rd egg retrieval he told me i am very attracted and it would be cheaper if I just slept around, that I would eventually get pregnant. I AM HAPPILY MARRIED TO A WOMAN. He also did nothing to try to figure out my unexplained infertility. No extra tests. Nothing.
Describe your experience with your nurse at The Fertility and Gynecology Center. (Assigned nurse: Yes. Karen was with my for 2 cycles. I don’t remember the name for the 3rd cycle. )
Karen was incredible. She communicated regularly and was always available to answer questions, be there to listen to concerns or anything we needed. The new coordinator I had for round 3 was awful. She had no idea what she was doing. Showed no compassion when sharing not so good news and was not responsive at all.
Describe your experience with The Fertility and Gynecology Center.
The location is ideal because it’s the only one within an hour of the area but as I have learned location doesn’t matter. Don’t ever chose a clinic because it is close to your house. The clinic is ok. They haven’t changed the inside sitting room (chairs), paint decorations in the 6 years I went to them. There were chips and marks on the walls. When in the room for ultrasounds you could hear everything else going on in the clinic- people talking, walking down the hall- at times it was unnerving. They do have water and a Kuerig in the sitting room. He does everything there. Upstairs are consults, blood draws, ultrasounds, IUIs etc. Downstairs is where the egg retrievals and transfer occur. He has had the same nurse for over 15 years and she is incredible. The best part of the entire clinic. She was the hardest part to leave. The billing is done by Melissa and she just seems miserable. Complains all the time. Not very welcoming or friendly. She has been with the practice an extremely long time as well.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Edward Ramirez at The Fertility and Gynecology Center.
There were a lot of hidden costs. We had to pay a flat rate up front of over $10,000 but that did not include any ultrasounds or blood tests. So it was surprising to get the extra bills that were quite high.
Describe Edward Ramirez's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at The Fertility and Gynecology Center.
I have always transferred 2 embryos. Due to age and them not being tested it was ok to transfer 2 according to the quote lines.
How competent was The Fertility and Gynecology Center at LGBTQ care?
They were welcoming and respectful. I just felt like over the years that went away and it felt more judgy and isolating. It was not a comfortable place to be.
What specific things went wrong at The Fertility and Gynecology Center?
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to call with results
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information