The Fertility Center of Michigan

Dr. Dodds is very caring and experienced. He founded the clinic, and I believe he has been a reproductive endocrinologist for approximately 30 years. In addition, he specializes in PCOS, my fertility issue. Therefore, I have a great deal of confidence in his ability to maximize my potential to be a parent. The only negative comment I have about Dr. Dodds is that I think is so knowledgeable that he sometimes forgets that I (as a patient) am not. He is always happy to clarify any confusion, but the first time he explains something, it is not always clear (e.g., certain details are missing or he mentions a term we had not previously discussed).

If you have any questions or need clarification, please ask. Dr. Dodds wants to ensure all his patients have a clear understanding of their treatment.

I did 4 IUI cycles. 3 were with Femara (5 mg for 5 days) and Estrace (vaginally) because of a thin uterine lining on ultrasound. Estrace was taken before and after IUI. For one of the cycles, I did a stepwise Femara cycle, as the first 5 days did not produce mature follicles. This resulted in the production of mature follicles after the stepwise administration. For the 4th IUI, I took Femara (5 mg for 5 days) and Gonal-F (75 IU) injections prior to IUI. For all IUIs, I did an Ovidrel injection 48 hours prior to the IUI.

Each IUI was ~$250.

Dr. Shavell is so empathetic she almost comes off as meek in the consult room, which might be good for some people, but I prefer a doctor to be blunt and tell me like it is. She did perform surgery when I had an ectopic pregnancy and she's much more to the point in the operating room so I was happy with that and she did a great job.

I would suggest going into an appointment prepared with lots of questions to ask. I've done a lot of my own research and make lists of things I want to ask her about.

I've done 4 IUI's under Dr. Shavell's primary care. At the Fertility Center you basically see whichever doctor or nurse is available during your procedures though so a lot of these protocols were assigned by other providers. Each IUI cycle started with Clomid cycle days 3-5, midcycle ultrasound ~day 10-12, IUI ~day 13-15. The first two were negative. The third IUI was positive, but resulted in an ectopic pregnancy found at the 6 week ultrasound. Dr. Shavell recommended methotrexate to terminate the pregnancy. That was followed by two weeks of Beta HCG blood tests every few days and my numbers weren't going down. She recommended a second dose of methotrexate over surgery and that was also ineffective. Two weeks later I finally had surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy and my fallopian tube. After methotrexate you have to wait 3 months to conceive so we did a 4th and final IUI that was negative. At that point we jumped into IVF and prepping for egg retrieval. I can't remember the protocol, but it involved Menopur and Ganirelix, etc. The ER was very successful with 18 eggs retrieved, 17 mature and fertilized, 14 made it to day 3. We did a 3 day fresh transfer with 2 embryos and froze the remaining 12. The result was negative. We waited a month or so and then began to prep for frozen embryo transfer. It was a long lupron protocol. We transferred 2 embryos, which resulted in miscarriage at ~5.5 weeks. We waited another month and began the same long lupron protocol again. We decided to thaw all frozen 10 embryos to grow them out to blastocyst with the goal of weeding out some that may be weaker. They all survived thaw and made it to blast. We transferred 2 and refroze the remaining 8. This cycle ended in a chemical pregnancy. We were getting ready to do some additional testing (hysteroscopy to check for fibroids, etc. and chromosome mapping) before moving forward with the next cycle, but everything is now on hold due to Covid-19. We will also do an ERA cycle prior to the next FET.

I would estimate that each IUI costs around $1500 including drugs, ultrasounds, and procedure. They don't bill insurance for the male portion, but they've billed my insurance for everything else and majority of it has been covered by Blue Care Network. We've paid 100% out of pocket for IVF as our insurance does not cover. We paid around $35K in 2019 for 1 IUI, 1 egg retrieval + fresh transfer, 2 FET's, meds, labs, etc., etc.

Dr. Shavell has had no problem transferring two embryos each time, but has made sure to ask that we are ok with the higher chance of having multiples.

Dr. Shavell is very nice and soft spoken, easy to talk to. We were diagnosed with unexplained infertility though and given a packet of pre-determined steps with none ever working for us. Our care is really left in the hands of nurses, we never hear from the doctor or see her during/after procedures and ultrasounds unless we want to pay out of pocket for another consult.

You're just one of many. She is kind and knowledgeable but don't plan for her to actually be involved in your care unless you're doing IVF.

HSG that came back normal, 3 rounds of clomid, 4 rounds of Femara in attempt to see if any of these things would produce more follicles to increase chances of pregnancy. I was already ovulating on my own and ended up with multiple follicles twice. Also went on estrogen and progesterone to thicken lining when Femara thinned it. No success from any treatments.

Expensive, my insurance doesn't cover most of it. Ultrasounds are frequent and usually cost $175-250 depending on limited or complete (although even when charging for complete ultrasound the cervix isn't evaluated and a VERY fast sweep of the uterus is performed that's not very diagnostic). IUIs were around 700 each time, the HSG was probably closer to 1000 but I can't remember the exact numbers for sure. Consults are over 100, and then another 50 every time I talk to a nurse in the clinic after ultrasounds.

Not to that point yet

Dr. Shavell was fantastic from the very beginning. I've done three IUIs, one egg retrieval, and three transfers that have resulted in my two children. We are currently under her care for another transfer for hopefully baby #3. She doesn't rush to the next treatment unless she feels it's the right move, included us in the decisions as well. She's performed two laparoscopy surgeries on me and has been very attentive to an issues or questions.

She is a bit softer spoken. But she answers all questions thoroughly and is extremely empathetic.

We did three IUIs while knowing that one tube was blocked and the other was damaged. It felt okay trying this before going to IVF. Before IVF, she removed the blocked tub because it had hydro in it. We did an egg retrieval and fresh transfer of two embryos that resulted in a singleton pregnancy that resulted in a miscarriage at 11 weeks. We did a fresh transfer of two embryos that resulted in a twin pregnancy, but we lost one baby at 9 weeks, but it resulted in my healthy first born daughter. We returned two years later and did another frozen transfer of two embryos that resulted in my second healthy daughter. We are currently under care for another transfer. One week before the transfer, we discovered my remaining tube now was blocked and had hydro. She did another laparoscopy to remove it. And we are waiting for Covid to be stable before doing the transfer our last two remaining embryos.

IUIs - a couple hundred each IVF retrieval with fresh - $8000 plus meds frozen transfer - $4500 plus meds

She seems to prefer two embryos while giving the risks of multiple pregnancies but letting us know that the success rates are higher with transferring two vs one.

Dr. Young has always taken us seriously from our first meeting. He encouraged us to try options that were not as financially difficult since we were so young and had only tried clomid before meeting him. He made us feel like we had control over what treatments we would be doing, yet we knew he would not put us in a situation that did not make sense. His humor and social skills are a bit dry, but he is so smart and knows what he is doing. He took time to get to know us and made sure we left the office knowing exactly what to do and what to expect. For our IVF cycle, he would not add more treatments to our plan without asking us and explaining the benefits. We have always trusted Dr. Young to help us make the best decisions for us to start our family. Although we did not see him at every visit, he was always available via phone if needed.

Trust that he will help you make the best decisions for your personal and unique situation. Also, that he may not seem as personable/warm in person, however his actions speak wonders of how much he cares and desires for his patients to start their families.

Dr. Young started me on metformin right away due to my pcos. I started at 1000mg and worked up to 1500mg. I continue to receive 6 month blood work checks for this med. When we first started at the fertility center, we had only tried 50mg, 100mg, and 150mg of clomid at our OBGYN. Dr Young suggested clomid along with metformin and ovidrel. We tried 100mg and 150mg, not timed intercourse with no success due to no follicle growth. He then suggested femara 7.5mg with ovidrel. I responded to that and tried that for a few months with timed intercourse. Eventually I did femara, ovidrel and IUI with no success for about 2 months. I then moved to injections (gonal f) and did this for a couple months with IUI with no success. When then decided on IVF. I had my retrieval but was close to overstimulation, so my fresh transfer was cancelled. Our frozen transfer is in October. Dr. Young told us after the first few months of IUIs, that we may need to look into IVF, but he never made us feel pressured to jump into it until we gave it a few more tries.

My ultrasound and blood work was covered by insurance. IUIs were about $500-$600. And IVF cost roughly $9,000 with the extra cost of FET at $2,000 and meds around $3,000. Time lapse photography was around the upper hundreds to $1,000.

Dr. Young told us the benefits and pros/cons of transferring 2 vs. 1. He let us decided based on our preference after educating us on our options.

I think she is compassionate and caring, but until you are a committed patient and on the schedule I did not feel taken seriously. Now that I’ve gone through a few cycles I feel that we have a doctor patient relationship built.

Ask questions.

I feel the protocols for cycles are explained but not alternatives or other options. It’s more of a this is it unless I were to press. I also have yet to hear risks associated except regarding OHSS and multiples.

They seem competitive, although I wish the ‘case management’ fee was explained more because it seems quite steep without explanation. They do give a discount on FET’s following a failed cycle.

Simply told me that I could have no more than 2 transferred but I was given many many handouts on single embryo transfer.

We had to cancel an egg retrieval which was so disheartening after finishing half of our shots/medications. She personally took time out of her day to call me and apologize for the situation even though it was not any fault of her own.

Be open minded through the process as things change often. Be more prepared to talk to all of the staff and nurses and ask many questions. You truly don't talk to the Dr often.

We decided to do a full IVF cycle. My body decided to produce one very large egg (many other small eggs that just would not be able to catch up) which resulted in having to postpone our IVF. After 3 failed IUI attempts and 2 additional rounds of femara that also failed, it was so heartbreaking! We just started our 2nd round of IVF. We will be doubling all of our dosages for injections and taking a stronger approach. Nothing like watching your dreams being crushed 6 different times. Still we remain positive and continue on. We are definitely praying for a healthy miracle.

We have personally spent over $25,000 and counting for fertility treatments. It is extremely overwhelming financially when you're constantly getting a bill for treatment plans and services. It hits harder after a failed attempt where you have to pay for more injections or medications. IVF and fertility are extremely expensive at this center. It is our closest option for being able to make appointments on a regular routine basis.

We thought it best to do a multiple embryo transfer after much discussion with our Dr. This next month feels like a standstill for time.

Dr. Shavell has always honestly and thoroughly discussed my treatment options with me while demonstrating kindness and compassion. I was impressed by how thoroughly she reviewed and understood my particular infertility history prior to my initial consultation. She keeps in close communication with me and has always made me feel I could speak openly with her about my treatment plan.

Dr. Shavell has a very gentle and patient bedside manner. She has a way of putting the anxious mind at ease and is very accommodating to any special needs.

Overall we had a great experience with Dr. Shavell. She has a very calming personality which is a huge positive for those undergoing something that is already anxiety-provoking, such as fertility treatments. She is thorough, knowledgeable, and always took the time to speak with us. She answered all questions no matter how big or small. We left every appointment feeling like we knew what was happening. Anytime we didn't get the result we wanted, she immediately came up with a plan of action which left us feeling confident, and in the end, got the result we wanted.

If you are looking for a doctor who is calm, warm, sympathetic, and attentive, Dr. Shavell would be a great fit for you. Her quiet nature is immediately calming and reassuring. If you prefer a doctor who is a little more firm or hard-lined, she would not be a good fit.

We tried a natural cycle for our first IUI. Actually, I miscalculated my ovulation and when we went in for our mid-cycle ultrasound, we learned that I had already ovulated and it was too late. Dr. Shavell reassured us that we could try again the following cycle, which we did. She had me come in earlier, and quite often throughout the week, to track follicle growth to ensure we didn't miss the window of opportunity this time. I was prescribed the trigger shot (Ovidrell) to administer at midnight on a Saturday so that we could do the IUI on a Monday. Dr. Shavell was the one to perform the IUI. It was a simple and quick procedure. Unfortunately we did not get pregnant from that try. A few months later we tried for the 2nd time with similar protocol - ovulation tracking through an OPK in the mornings and then tracking follicle growth via ultrasound as the time grew closer. There was no need for a trigger shot this time; I ovulated on a Thursday morning and went in right away for the IUI (which was performed by a nurse, not Dr. Shavell). The nurse inserted a mesh plug after the procedure. Two weeks later we got our positive result!

We used all of the money from our wedding to cover our costs, so we did not have to pay out of pocket. If I had to do an overall estimate of the total cost, it would be about $10,000.

As a patient, I would highly recommend her. She is well educated and compassionate. She has an awesome bed sideanner and you truly feel like she is listening. She also has so e a great job of trying to figure our case out by tapping into the knowledge of her partners and other fertility clinic.

When you do get time with her, ensure you write down all of your questions before hand so you don't forget anything. She is great but you don't get a ton of one on one time with her.

Round 1 -Egg retrieval and fresh transfer using Gonal F, Menpur, and Cetrotide. - chemical pregnancy Round 2 Frozen embryo transfer using Lupron, Estrace, Progesterone. - negative Round 3 - Frozen embryo transfer using Lupron, Estrace, and resistant uterine protocol of ibuprofen, Xanax, prednisone. - negative Round 4 - Frozen embryo transfer, stimulation cycle using gonal. Thought was that I responded better to stimulation rather than suppression - negative Round 5 - Did an Endometrial Receptivity test prior to frozen embryo transfer. Showed I needed 12 less hours of prednisone if following previously used stimulation protocol. Negative Round 6 - Full retrieval with PGS testing of embryos followed by a frozen embryo transfer with previously suggested protocol from ERA. Negative Round 7 - yet to transfer. We are on our second round of testing through Yale doing the Endometrial Function Test. First round showed potential endometriosis and that I was taking too much progesterone. With this second round of testing we are treating the endometriosis by doing 2 months of Lupron prior to testing month. We are also adjusting estrogen and progesterone doses.

For all treatment thus far, we have spent almost $80,000.

Dr. Shavelle has always been very honest about how many embryos are recommended. It seems that the office has protocols as to how many they are willing to transfer in which situations.

I believe he is a very compassionate caring doctor. Very knowledgeable and truely cares. Will do what is best for the pt and he listens to what you have to say. Will come to a conclusion that works for everyone involved.

He is great. And easy to talk to. Do not be afraid to ask questions or tell him how you really feel about something.

I used Menopur 75,Gonal F, (do not rememberdose)and added cetrotide and then a trigger shot. On the first round we only ended up with 1 frozen embryo. So with the second and third round we did the same dosage of Menopur decreased the Gonal F and grew the follicles bigger due to the fact I had a more immature eggs duing the first round. The first round 5 retrieved 1 frozen. Second round 7 retrieved 3 frozen. Third round 14 retrieved 10 frozen.

Monitoring was always done in the morning so if medications needed to be changed they would call you in the afternoon to let you know. It went like a well oiled machine in my book.

Well we are around 24,000 which includes 3 rounds of IVF, monitoring, medications, and some of our gestational carriers things are paid for.

No he said it was up to me and my gestational carrier.

During my time at The Fertility Center - Grand Rapids, Dr. Thakur has take incredible care of me through the many delays I've experienced. There were multiple surprises along the way due to my health, not any reflection of my clinic or doctor, such as surgeries to better improve my chances of pregnancies (tube removal and endometriosis removal). These issues were diagnosed by Dr. Thakur and she was able to change my medical plan to suit those needs. Dr. Thakur has been incredibly informative and empathetic. I feel Dr. Thakur truly cares about me and my opinion with my best interest and safety in mind.

If you are looking for a fertility doctor that will cover all aspects of your health, (physical, mental and emotional) Dr. Mili Thakur is the right doctor for you. Her knowledge of the field and compassionate bedside manor will give you confidence that you are in the best hands. She wants nothing more than success for all her patients on the safest path.

Dr. Thakur encouraged me to take multiple vitamins such as prenatal, CoQ10, folic acid, vitamin C, fish oil, D-3, vitamin E and Metformin. There were multiple injections I used such as Lupron, Progesterone, and other standard medications for IVF treatment. We discussed ICSI and Blastocyst as the best options for my pregnancy success.

For an egg retrial, fresh embryo transfer and the medications associated with it, I spent roughly $14,000.

Dr. Mili Thakur has guided me through the process to the right decisions. Due to my age, medical diagnosis and preference, we have chosen to go the route of multiple embryo transfer with not more than 2 embryos.

Dr Dodds I did recommend to my best experiencing infertility. Reason is that he is knowledgeable and can run several test that may determine a solution. He always makes sure we fully understand the steps in the plan and what are options are .

This process is overwhelming . Your head is foggy with anxiety , sadness and negativity. Before you go to the appointment, write down your goals and questions

when we first met Dr Dodds, I had miscarried three times. he understood getting pregnant was not an issue for us , but staying pregnant was . He had us try clomid for 6 rounds. unsuccessful. we then trying to set my body my body up for ivf, where my body did not respond to the drugs . this is when we found out that the D&C damaged uterus lining. he did everything to make sure we could have our family. he performed a surgery to attempt to restore my lining . unsuccessful.

I think that being drugs for me, ultrsounds, tests, consultations,egg donor. We are well over 50k

He was very good at describing our treatment in easy to understand terms also providing pictures when necessary. He always made sure we understood before moving on to the next area. He took time to ask about what we do and got to know us a little bit and also joked around with us. It helped for us to both feel comfortable and we left feeling like we had some control over the situation again.

Doctor Young will go over everything you need but I think it is always good to know a little background on fertility treatments.

Before we had met Dr. Young my obgyn had already had me try 4 rounds of clomid because of my irregular cycles. With that and my husband's low motility, he had us start with IUI, first having me take Femera so I would ovulate on time and possibly produce more then one egg, then going to an ultrasound to make sure an egg had formed, and then using ovidrel so they could time the IUI treatment even closer to ovulation. He also gave us ways to increase our chances such as reduce alcohol use, exercise, eat well, etc.

I don't remember the cost of the initial consultation appointment but the ultrasound and meet up with the nurse was around $250 and the actual IUI was $600. They gave me resources to get the ovidrel at a more reasonable cost, which was around $35.

Strengths-I do believe he truly wants to help his patients achieve the end goal of bringing home a baby Weakness-I believe he is a very busy man and I didn't feel as supported by him as I would have liked. I think he focuses the majority of his support on IVF patients

Speak up about your wants and if something doesn't sound right or applicable to your case

We did 2 rounds of IUI with femara and Ovidrel. The rationale was that due to my husband's lower sperm count and motility, having more eggs and putting the sperm closer to them would increase the chance of pregnancy. I had one negative cycle and one pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage/ possible ectopic

Each round of IUI ended up being around $800. IVF is expected to cost around $10,000 plus meds, anesthesia, etc.

N/A we did not do IVF

We felt she was thorough and helping us identify the issues as well as solutions. She followed up with us personally when she found out from the nurse that I was hesitant about the retrieval based on tests. She followed up directly when I had some slight concern of overstimulation (turned out I wasn’t ohss but she wanted to call to chat anyway). She called when she’d heard I was sick from the meds to see about adjusting them even though I’d commented I’d tough it out. She was available when we needed her by phone or office visit and was just really great to work with.

Don’t hold back on questions because she will draw pictures and explain everything you just have to ask. In the beginning I don’t think I asked as much, with nerves etc and so wish I had as she was so great at taking the time to explain things to us.

We started with femara lightly and an IUI because we weren’t sure how severe the sperm motility was. She switched us to clomid and objectively gonalf to grow additional eggs and grow them more friendly to penetration by softer sperm as we didn’t have a lot of strength on our side. We tried different variations of that. We learned I react very very poorly to any progesterone and in the end canceled my retrieval to see what else could be tried safely before we did a retrieval and transfer.

Iui’s were broken between the lab and the insemination itself. Lab was $350, procedure $250 for a total of $600. Meds were usually sent to freedom pharmacy unless you requested otherwise. Consults were $350ish even though the nurse will always say on the phone 200 they always bill at the higher coding rate. Sperm analysis are $200, genetic testing is $100 for each spouse.

We had heard the field was cutting back on transfers but our doctor said that they still transfer two if we really wanted it or if we’ve down more than one IVF already.

Dr. Dodds made me feel very comfortable and confident with his treatment plan. He told me all of the details and made me hopeful. The only thing that I wish could have done differently is that he would have suggested the hsg test before I started the Femara.

Ask every question you can think of! There are no stupid questions!

I had an ultrasound done and Dr. Dodds could tell that I had pcos. Because of the multiple cysts on my ovaries and infertility as well as some other symptoms he was confident with the diagnosis. He started me on Femara 5 mg for the first cycle. It worked but the second cycle we decided to add the trigger shot to take out the guess work of when I ovulate. Now this third cycle because I only had one follicle the previous two we increased my dosage to 7.5 of Femara with the trigger shot. I had one large follicle again. I have a consultation scheduled in a couple weeks if I am not pregnant to go over the next options.

I paid everything out of pocket. Consultation $250. Ultrasound $200 Nurse consultation $75

Dr. Shavell was very thorough from the very first consultation. There was a lot of information to take in but it provided me with everything I needed to know and to further research myself. Any questions resulting from my research and conversations with others in similar situations were always received positively and answered appropriately no matter how silly some questions may have sounded. She was more available to the nurses than me, however. She did not conduct the 7 IUIs but still communicated with the nurses before starting the next round. Although she was not available to conduct my laparoscopy, she did my pre-op and post-op and made sure I was very comfortable and doing well. Most recently she did my sonohysterogram and mock embryo transfer and was very gentle and calming through the discomfort. She ensured all parts were in working fashion to proceed with IVF in the coming month.

If you feel like you need a face to face meeting, do not be scared to call and make the appointment. It can be difficult playing phone tag with the nurses who have to communicate with the doctors and then back to you. It can be time consuming, especially if you miss phone calls due to work or other daily activities.

The first test I had completed was an HSG. Everything looked perfect with no signs of obstructions. Dr. Shavell mentioned there is some research showing women getting pregnant in the following three months. Unfortunately that was not the case for me. We started a cycle of clomid in December 2017 with a trigger shot of Ovidrel followed with an IUI. A negative pregnancy was the result. We continued with the same protocol for 3 more IUIs. Dr. Shavell provided statistics that show IUIs increasing positive outcomes after 3 IUIs, again they all resulted in negative pregnancy tests. We had a meeting with Dr. Shavell to discuss the next steps. She stated she would like to see my egg quantity and quality response with a protocol of pills and injectables with IUI. We switched to letrozole pills as I started having very bad headaches and long lasting nausea with clomid, and added Gonal F 75 IU daily, triggered with ovidrel followed with IUI. We did this for 2 rounds and both resulted in negative pregnancy tests. However, there was an increase in the number of follicles and size. At this point I could not continue to see negative tests and chose to take a month off. We met again and discussed having a laparoscopy to inspect the outside of my anatomy. We had a good pre-op conversation consisting of laparoscopy information and IVF information. The laparoscopy resulted in finding and removing stage 2 endometriosis. Dr. Shavell wanted to try IUI again now that we found a potential cause. We did IUI with letrozole, gonal f, and ovidrel. Another negative pregnancy test. That was the final IUI. Being that I was provided with IVF information a few months prior, I decided to schedule an IVF consultation in January 2019. The meeting was with an IVF nurse and she provided all the procedures,medication, and protocol information Dr. Shavell wants me to do. I was scheduled for a Sonohysterogram and mock embryo transfer with Dr. Shavell February 7, 2019. Here she wanted to get a better view of inside the uterus to ensure there weren't fibroids, polyps, scar tissue or other abnormalities that would prevent implantation. Everything looked just fine for implantation and the mock transfer went smoothly as well. Dr. Shavell will carry out my egg retrieval and embryo transfer in March 2019.

We do not have infertility insurance, however we do have coverage for monitoring and some procedures such as the HSG and laparoscopy which resulted in significant savings. Ultrasounds performed at one of their smaller locations (Mason) were typically $180 or $75 after insurance. However, if it was one of the Doctors that did the ultrasound as an ultrasound technician wasn't available, an extra $30 was added. If they were done at the Grand Rapids office, regardless of who did it, an extra $30 was tacked on. The bill would show it as a meeting, even though no meeting took place, it was just the ultrasound. IUIs were out of pocket. For the semen wash and the procedure it was $500 per IUI, we did this 4 times. Pricing changed and the IUIs were then $600 per, we did this 3 more times. The laparoscopy was a reasonable and fair price. For IVF, we will be paying $9,867 just for the procedures. This price includes the $1,850 we paid for a case management fee. We have a $8,017 balance due at the end of February 2019.

Dr. Shavell provided statistics on the success rates of single vs. Multiple embryo transfer along with specific criteria as to why a two embryo transfer is ideal for me. As I do not meat criteria for increased high risk pregnancy, we both agreed a two embryo transfer is ideal. She made sure to discuss the possibility of selective aborting if there were more than 2 or 3 developing babies.

Upon meeting Dr. Dodds, he quickly explained to me that I had two options due to my age (39y.o.): 1) The "European method". He explained this as "...if you want a baby ASAP, I can get you one using IVF. I call it the European method because it's cheaper and used more often in Europe. It's like the deluxe package". Or we could go the 2). Conservative route. Which would be try more medicated cycles and then IUIs and see what we could get to happen. But that we had maybe a 15-30% chance of ever conceiving this way. I was, and still am, diagnosed as Unexplained Infertility. I do not have PCOS, endometriosis, or diminished ovarian reserve, I ovulate regularly, am healthy, and all tests have come back in good range. I believe the only reason he said IVF was my best option is my age. He in no way was interested in discovering why we are unable to conceive. At one time he used the phrase "Well it's a good thing that's how the good Lord made you!" when discussing female reproductive anatomy. He commented on how "great" my husband's sperm analysis was several times. He called him an "overachiever". I left feeling hopeless, pressured to spend anywhere from $10-25,000 for IVF with them, and that my body was a complete failure. I never met with him in person again. I went through 4 IUI cycles in which he supposedly read the monitoring reports and made recommendations. It took me changing Drs to get a new protocol. He would have kept running the same thing over and over, even though we got no better results each time.

Go in confident. Do not let him pressure you to make decisions. Ask questions, and ask them again. Ask that you see him in person once in awhile to check in. Ask if he personally is monitoring your cycle. I doubt he will, but I wish I had demanded it more.

My first medicated cycle, he had me do 100mg of Clomid days 3-7. I produced 6-8 mature follicles. They recommended we switch to timed intercourse rather than IUI to avoid multiples. Then, I used 50 and 100 mg of Clomid days 3-7 (alternating days), with transvaginal monitoring on Day 1, and then closer to ovulation. We hoped to get 3-5 follicles of good size. I produced these each time, with some of them getting to a very large size---38mm was my largest. Ovidril was used to trigger ovulation and IUI was performed around 24-36 hrs later. I used progesterone the day following and for the next 14 days. I was not told that progesterone could stop my period from coming and I needed to stop after a negative test in order to allow myself to bleed. This lead to quite a bit of disappointment and heartache right off the bat. By the time we came to IUI #3, my lining was severely thinning due to the Clomid. I then started using estradiol to help build my lining. No pregnancies resulted from all 4 IUIs I had done.

With medications, consults, 4 IUIs, etc. about $7,000. A 10 min conversation with the Dr following my ultrasound would cost me about $150 each time. Ultrasound: $120 ea. IUI: $1200 +.

N/A

He is very friendly and compassionate. Blunt but not too blunt. Good bedside manner. We haven’t gotten the results we have been hoping for yet but he is always very understanding and always adjusting my plan and listening to my needs/wants.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and tell him what you would prefer/want-he is good at listening to your preferences and then adding in his professional advice.

They were always in the morning and usually very quick. It worked for me because of my drive and then I just went to work afterwards.

Retrieval with transferring 5 day embryo with ICSI and embryo glue was roughly $10,000. My meds were around $3,000 and my montoring was roughly $2,500

We wanted to transfer 2 and he was okay with that, he never questioned it but I think it was because he knew I had poor egg quality and wanted to better our chances.

Dr. Young is slightly deadpan in his delivery or information. If you’re looking for someone who will tell you his honest opinion, he definitely will. It was comforting to me that he would tell me his thoughts or what would be beat for our treatment instead of laying out all the options and having me decide.

Know that you will not see him at every appointment. The clinic works so that whichever doctor is available is the one that sees you. They are all extremely capable.

I am in the middle of my IVF cycle now, so I am not sure the results yet. But I have appreciated that the medicine they wanted me to buy was almost exactly what I needed.

IVF with FET was 13,000 at the fertility center, 4,000 for meds (not including meds for FET), and 6,000 to do genetic testing with an outside location.

Dr. Dodd’s is a great person and doctor. He doesn’t rush through the appointment and thoroughly answers each question with years of experience clearly behind each thoughtful answer. He is understanding that this is a difficult and sensitive time for patients, especially the woman. He is kind and detailed, with every script and note written, never missing one single fact. At the first appointment we talked about our personal lives, careers, and families including both his own and ours - which set the tone for each future appointment, making it feel like we were just meeting with a friend. We also met in casual settings that didn’t feel like a “doctor’s office” which contributed to our comfort. He is clearly close with his staff, which helped us trust him and all the staff at the fertility clinic, knowing they were a team all together supporting us.

Great doctor- he has perfect bedside Manner and is excellent at his profession.

I had tried clomid prior to seeing Dr. Dodd, and he explained that IN femara studies it have been shown to work better than clomid for pcos which I have. We tried femara twice which I ovulated with based on occupations tests and a progesterone level. On the second round I didn’t get a positive ovulation test so I added ovidrel in the third and fourth cycles to ensure good ovulation. On the third and fourth cycles we did a mid cycles ultrasound Which showed that my uterine lining was getting smaller, and on the fourth round, which I had increased the dose of femara on, I was still only getting one follicle, so we have decided to move on to injectable with ovidrel and IUI which I am doing now. He explained that injectables will stimulate more eggs and thus increase chances of pregnancy. He also said iui doesn’t increase your chances by much, but we still wanted to try this during these injectable cycles as we will do 3 of them and then move to IVF.

$300 for each ultrasound - which were multiple in some cycles. $600 -iui. $500 - first months dose of gonal f. $50 - femara. $50- metformin.

Dr. Dodd’s suggested a 2 embryo transfer as that will increase our chances of success, with a reasonable chance of a multiple pregnancy. Also is it obviously a very expensive procedure, so that is to be considered.

I had no idea what to expect at my first appt for a consult. My husband's urologist said nothing was wrong with his sperm so I wasn't sure why we weren't getting pregnant. I also had a very short leutal phase and my own OB said it was only because my TSH levels were off. Dr. Shavell listened to our stories and looked closely at everything we had presented her with. She fixed my leutal phase with progesterone and had given us the blunt info that we needed to see that my husband's sperm was fine but definitely needs some help. She performed my first IUI and she was calm and explained everything. She is great

Make sure you listen, she's soft spoken and calm so you could miss something :)

I take Femara to help with producing more mature follicles I take progesterone 3 days after IUI to lengthen my leutal phase I was just prescribed a trigger shot this cycle in which I'll use in the next few days to make sure I ovulate all mature follicles She has me doing IUI once I get a positive OPK (when I wasn't using a trigger shot) So far IUI's #1 and #2 did not work. I am hopeful for #3, it's all a waiting game.

I guessed that our costs would be a lot higher than they ended up being. I wish they mapped out procedure costs a little better. I have pretty good insurance so that definitely helps with my journey

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We love Dr. Dodd’s he was able to change up our transfer each time it didn’t work to try something different to try and set us up for success. After a failed fresh transfer and a failed frozen transfer he never made us feel like we wouldn’t conceive. After our 2nd frozen transfer we conceived and carrier our son to term. The phone calls he makes when the news isn’t always great is so sincere and positive. I really appreciate the time he takes during appointments and phone calls he makes.

Ask questions he is more then willing to answer them

We used the resistant uterine protocol on our last frozen cycle. I believe that is what worked for us. Unfortunately I can’t remember the entire process or meds that were prescribed

There was not ever a line we waited in the waiting room as if it was a regular appointment. We scheduled the time we were able to make it

Around $14000 I believe with the retrieval and 3 transfers (1 fresh 2 frozen)

He was very set on not transferring more then 2. He did say the odds of successful pregnancy were slightly higher when transferring 2.

Valerie has always been very warm anf compassionate. In the beginning we did state we wanted to do embryo adoption right off the bat and were told to do 3 iuis first, which all failed which was discouraging. We wasted a lot of money and time for it not to work. But shavell has always been reassuring and positive!

She is almost overly kind sometimes, but thats important when dealing with such sensitive topics.

First IUI was a natural cycle and it failed. Second cycle we used clomid and trigger shot, it was very hard to get through my uterus and ended up having to do an ultrasound, that cycle failed. Third cycle was clomid, estrace, and trigger shot with ultrasound guidance, that failed as well. All 3 cycles were with donor sperm. I just started week 2 of lupron shots as we start our frozen embryo adoption cycle.

Expensive! But in Michigan most insurance doesn't over anything for infertility. Ive had 4 or 5 ultrasounds each being between $275-$350. 3 iuis each $550, multiple appointments ranging from $200-500 each time. Medications have been about $900 so far, male factor testing has been almost $2,000, my testing has been about the same at $2,000. We just paid almost $10,000 for embryo adoption.

Valerie recommended a single transfer due to my age but was VERY receptive that we wanted to transfer 2, and we will be transfering 2 hopefully in May