Washington University School of Medicine

Dr. Omurtag is extremely knowledgeable about infertility and fertility treatment. He has thoroughly explained everything we can expect with both IUI and IVF-down to the timing of ultrasounds and bloodwork. He is personable to talk to and we look forward to working with him more. My one disappointment is that we have only met him virtually up to this point-he has not been the one to perform any tests or procedures.

I have had one IUI so far with Dr. Omurtag. I did two previous IUIs with my OB where I was on 50mg of Clomid, so he upped my dose to 100mg to see if that would have a better outcome. The other IUI protocol was standard- follicle scan on day 12 and based on that scan, I triggred with Ovidrel that night for the IUI on CD14. The IUI failed but he was very clear about the low success rates with IUIs. We just had our IVF consultation and he was clear down to the days of the week I'd come in for monitoring. I believe I will have the standard protocol of medication due to unexplained infertility, good sperm, good AMH levels and consistently good follicle counts.

Before I met my deductible, the cost of ultrasounds and diagnostics did seem higher than my first clinic.

I appreciate his approach to transferring one embryo. To me that means my safety and the health of my baby is a top priority.

Kenan was very upfront and honest with us, from the initial consult to the last appointment we had before we graduated to my regular OB-Gyn. He was clear about the odds of actually conceiving, given our DOR/MFI and age issues, and did not get our hopes up. Our first retrieval/transfer resulted in a chemical pregnancy. We spent 30 minutes discussing how we'd change the protocol for the second attempt, and another 20 minutes talking about the pros/cons/possible necessity of donor eggs if we had a repeat issue with the second retrieval/transfer. Lastly, he was so excited when our betas came back positive - and after our graduation appointment - that he texted my regular OB-Gyn to let her know we were headed her way. He's a regular human being, who feels this process with his patients, and is with you every step of the way.

Just know that none of the docs within the WashU program are super patient-forward. You'll communicate with their nurses and receptionists, but these are amazing people who have no problem getting to the doctor, and getting back to you.

We started with an estrogen primer, followed by five days of Letrozole. From there, I added in 150 Follistim. Eventually, we added Ganirelix, with an HcG trigger.

We were ridiculously fortunate to have coverage through both my insurance and my husband's insurance. We paid under $3,000 for both IVF protocols.

Because of my age, we planned to do fresh 3-day transfers. We transferred every embryo we had at that point (4 the first time, 3 the second).

Dr. Jungheim cares for her patients. She has personally called me before, spending 30+ minutes on the phone, talking about diagnoses and the treatment plan from there. She makes me feel like she cares about me and my need to have a baby. My husband and I are both CF carriers, so we determined, along with Dr. Jungheim that PGD/PGS would have to be done to ensure that the CF gene is not passed along to our children. Long story short, insurance DENIED the PGD/PGS, however Dr. Jungheim personally called our insurance company and fought with them explaining why this step in the IVF process is medically necessary for my husband and I, to only have my insure company approve it. I strongly believe Dr. Jungheim would do this for any of her patients and I know that she cares for me.

See her, if you are facing infertility. She will not only figure out the best course of treatment for you, but will fight for you, until she finds something that will work. She is constantly willing to think of new ways to help my husband and I and she explains everything, in and out, regardless of how long it takes. There is never a rush with her, while she is talking to me, and that makes me feel so important.

First, Dr. Jungheim felt it to be necessary to get a genetic screening on me, as my husband was already a known CF carrier. We all thought nothing of it, that I would be fine, but the screening did also say I was a CF carrier as well. Dr. Jungheim is the one to make that call, and I can't think her enough for it, as we could have passed that disease along and it would've been awful. So, we are currently in the middle of the PGD/PGS development. We spoke with Dr. Jungheim about 3 weeks ago, regarding the details, as we cannot proceed with any cycles until we get confirmation that the development was complete, however it could be at anytime now. So, she put me on birth control at that time. This will help knowing right where I am in my cycle, so we are able to start/stop things if needed right away. She also put me on a prenatal vitamin just to help get my body ready. Once the development of the PGD/PGS is confirmed, I will start my medication for stimulation. cannot remember exactly which ones I will be on, but I know she said roughly I will be on meds for about 14 days before the egg retrieval. From there, the embryos will be made and grow for 6 days. At that time, the surviving embryos will be biopsied and frozen. The biopsies themselves will be sent to the company for the PGD/PGS and we will wait about 2 weeks to hear if any of those embryos are medically clear for transfer. If there are more than 1, we will keep them frozen, as we are only implanting one.

I am still in the procees, so no bills have come to us yet. I have had a Saline Sonogram, which the bill was around $2,000, but I only had to pay $35 after inuracne. I do know that the PGD/PGS development will cost around $6,000, meds will cost anywhere between $3,500-$4,500 and the IVF procedures themselves which also have to include ICSI, freezing of the embryos, etc will be about $10,000, if not more.

Dr. Jungheim, and the rest of her clinic, are very reluctant on transferring multiple embryos. Of course, it depends on the mothers age, and other health concerns, but for me, Dr. Jungheim explained that I am otherwise healthy and also with my husband and I having to go through PGD/PDS, there is a high likelyhood that the one embryo that we implant, will take. I fully trust herin this. Dr. Jugheim explained, that transferring 2 embryos does not necessarily increase the risk of pregnancy, as if one embryo wants to take, it'll take, but transferring two embryos does increase the chance for multiples, which then becomes high risk.

We had to do so many procedures and tests on top of IUI and IVF, he was always available for questions and explained everything in great detail. He was upfront about possible out of pocket costs and wanted to make sure we were prepared. He is a very visual person and likes to draw pictures to help you understand. But he really felt more like you were talking to a friend than a doctor.

I highly recommend him. He does follow ASRM guidelines very strictly so if you are someone that wants to transfer more than one at a time. This may not be the place for you

I did an HSG before starting anything. Then multiple clomid IUI cycles. Had to do a hysteroscopy with dilation due to difficulty getting the IUI catheter through my cervix. Then moved on to IVF. We did a long agonist protocol, with a fresh transfer which failed. So then did an endosee procedure. Then a frozen transfer than failed. And most recently transferred our last frozen embryo that stuck! For the frozen transfers he ordered estradiol three times a day and PIO daily.

IUIs were 500 without insurance. But 50 with it. A cycle with Egg retrieval and fresh transfer was 15-20k without insurance. I think I paid about 2k A frozen transfer without insurance was 4700 but with insurance was 200

They follow ASRM guidelines so they will not do an elective multiple embryo transfer unless there is a good medical reason to do so.

Dr. Omurtag took his time with us and never made us feel rushed. He always answered all of our questions and put our minds at ease. He never made us feel pressured. He would lay out our options, offer his thoughts and let us ultimately make decisions. He was compassionate, understanding and was on our team in ultimately wanting us to have a baby no matter how we got there. He was always willing to even talk through things over the phone when we had questions or concerns outside of appointments.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Dr. Omurtag is always patient and never makes you feel like any question is a bad question or concern.

Dr. Odem is very compassionate and competent. He has a lot of knowledge and experience and really cares about you as a patient. He takes his time and fully explains everything. He went out of his way to talk to me at length when the cycle did not go as planned due to my body’s response.

Ask questions for anything you don’t understand and he will explain things further!

For IVF he used an antagonist protocol due to me having PCOS. He had my medications at the lowest dose due to fear of OHSS but it took my ovaries longer than expected so I was stimulated for 16 days much longer than was expected. I think this was a downside to my cycle and I did not get as many follicles as I had hoped. The number of eggs was 20 but the number of mature really was only 11.

Monitoring appointments were super flexible and a well oiled machine.

IVF was 11,500 and a frozen transfer was $4,000 but BJC recently raised the prices to around $13,400 for IVF and $4,800 for FET. These are private pay prices

He really encourages only transferring one but will allow you to make that decision. We transferred one the first time and two the second.

He is incredible and amazing and no words to describe how good he is. I wish I would have known him 5 years before but after I met him I was only very short term with him less than 3 months. He is the best. I was confident with the first 2 visits itself the way he rule in and out the pros and cons. The best of him is he encourages to ask questions and so that we can feel free to express our doubts/questions.

just trust him and follow what ever he say regarding your treatment because he is the expert.

I am not sure but I think it is agonist protocol. I am with him for my first IVF Cycle which was successful and was on some birth control pills for 3 weeks and after that on lupron and in my menstrual cycle after start of lupron for 4 days. Then started follistim and couple days later on Menopur and on those injections for 11-12 days and ovidrel trigger shot 36 hrs before egg retrieval. and all the injections are done and was methyl prednisolone for 2 -3 days and on progesterone from egg retrieval day. Embryo transfer was on 5 th day after egg retrieval and blood test for B HCG WAS ON 14 TH DAY. I heard the news from the nurse that BFP. That was the best day in my life. I GIVE 100% CREDIT AND WILL NEVER FORGET Omurtag in my life. WHEN EVER I SEE MY BABY I HAVE THAT KINDNESS TOWARDS HIM.

n/a but i can confidently say he is wonderful

total cost including my pre screening tests and consultation is $ 17,500 out of this 15,900 is for IVF. THE REST 1600 IS MY consultation and ultrasoung and blood work prior to start of IVF. MEDICINES COST is $3700

He suggested which is best considering my age SET. I JUST FOLLOWED HIM.But also told if you want 2 we can do that but explained pros and cons.

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Dr. Odem LISTENS and tries to answer every one of your questions. He takes time and is not in a rush to see the next patient- you feel like he’s on your side and a friend. He ALWAYS called me back the same day with any questions or worries I had. I only wish I lived closer.

Be prepared to have a doctor who treats you more like a friend than just another number.

My situation was a bit different. I went to Dr. Odem only for Ashermans Syndrome. He worked around my schedule as I lived far away. He scheduled my surgery as soon as he could and helped arrange for care closer to home after the surgery.

We loved Amber as soon as we met her, she had a comfortable friendly feeling to her that helped us in return feel comfortable. She explained everything so in detail & explained every situation. We are still working with her (she moved to vios fertility, that’s where we are seeing her) right now & the ivf cycle we just did, did not work, however instead of saying let’s just try it again, she added a extra step to increase our odds.

Be open to everything & listen up, she has a lot of knowledge & she has the ability at vios to be creative with your treatment to give you exactly what your body needs

We added folistim to this cycle to help the eggs grow. While it helped, my egg quality was poor. So next time she is using testosterone.

The cost for ivf at vios is $14000 (not including meds)

We have not done a transfer with her yet.

Dr. Jimenez is always thorough. She discovered my Ashermans when an OBGYN had completely missed it in a previous hysteroscopy. She addresses my concerns and is compassionate to our personal needs. When my symptoms of scarring returned she performed another SHG and found my scarring returned and promptly scheduled surgery.

Always do the research so that you can ask thorough questions and be part of the decision process.

Initially when I started treatments to find out why I was struggling to conceive I saw an OBGYN locally who performed a hysteroscopy/laparoscopy and prescribed Clomid. During the surgery she missed my Ashermans and was unable to treat the endometriosis. I had an allergic reaction to the Clomid. When seeing Dr. Jimenez she was thorough and performed an SHG due to my symptoms. She discovered my Ashermans that the previous doctor missed. She then performed a hysteroscopy and when she was on maternity leave Dr. Odem performed another. I then had 2 rounds of letrozole that I had reactions too. I had a migraine for 3 months from the letrozole. When the symptoms of scarring returned she performed another SHG and hysteroscopy to remove scarring that had reformed. I then had an unmedicated IUI which resulted in a possible chemical pregnancy as I had positive urine pregnancy test with negative labs. I have had a total of 5 SHG. My SHG protocol was to take 800mg of ibeprofun and then after 30minutes they perform an internal ultrasound for baseline measurements. They then follow with putting the catheter in and filling the saline in the cavity. They then take pictures with the internal wand. Following the test Dr. Jimenez discusses the results with me and my spouse. My hysteroscopy protocol was to arrive for the surgery and do the routine process. They use micro scissors guided by ultrasound to remove scarring. A stent was placed during 1 of the surgeries. Then following the surgery an estrogen protocol was followed to prevent scarring from reforming and then progesterone for a withdrawal bleed. The balloon stent was removed after a week to 10 days. I removed the stent at home. Letrozole was given 5 days of the cycle and I monitored at home with OPK kits. We had time intercourse. No pregnancy resulted. My unmedicated IUI was monitored at home with OPK kits and then the morning after my positive OPK I had the IUI. I had multiple positive FRER but negative lab work.

I believe an SHG was around $800 after insurance. The clinic was good at getting diagnostic treatment covered under insurance. My SHG was $550, but I paid $1200 because I had to pay up all I had on payment plans.

Our next step is IVF. My nurse has discussed they limit the number of embryos transferred. They also do not offer mini IVF. Due to my Ashermans I would not want extra embryos that I may not be able to transfer. So mini IVF would offer less medication reactions and less embryos. My hope is to limit the eggs fertilized and freeze remaining eggs to fertilize later if I am able to carry another pregnancy.

Dr. Keller is very personable, knowledgeable and caring. She was very proactive in trying to find the reason Ikeep having miscarriages. Though no reason was discovered, I still have trust in her care and believe she is making the right decisions.

While Dr. Keller is very knowledgeable the fertility science is not absolute. She will work her hardest for the best results.

I have only used Dr. Keller for FETs. She ran multiple test for recurrent miscarriage on me and they all came back negative. For my frozen cycle we transfered 1 embryo. My protocol was: Day 1(March 2nd) start of period- start 2mg estrace 3x daily March 15- uterine lining check March 17- start 1/2ml PIO and azithromiacin (today only) March 18- Medrol 2x daily for 5 days and up PIO to 1ml March 22- Embryo transfer and continue 1ml PIO and estrace 3x daily Beta is 12 days after transfer

My FET was $3,800. My saline ultrasound and all other blood was covered by my insurance.

Dr. Keller prefers transferring 1 high quality embryo at a time. But for my next transfer I have a fair and poor quality left she recommended transferring both. She will go over the risks of multiples if you decide to transfer more than 1.

She was very sweet & caring yet had the experience that we were looking for with my condition. We also liked how she remembered us and everything we have done so far and helped us develop a plan for what the next step was, the only thing I was upset about was that we were doing IUI & she had us not take the next round of menopur because she was afraid of multiples but in exchange the follicles were not big enough to actually successfully fertilize. The IUI did not work. Overall she is a great doctor & I would refer anyone to her services.

Speak up to your wishes, they try to get everyone to do genetic testing but that often adds on a lot of money. If you are not interested in it, just simply tell them that you are not doing it.

We tried IUI first, using Menopur. We started out slow because she didn’t know how quickly my body was going to react. We ended up using menopur for 26 days & then did the IUI with the nurse. The IUI did not work, so we moved on to IVF. Her plan is to use Menopur again but at a faster rate. Around 10 days & then do the egg retrieval, we will be starting this process in a few weeks.

40 copay to see dr. 40 copay to see gen. Counseling Blood test billed $12000 ivf $500 for iui $4000-$5000 for menopur IUI/IVF $100 for trigger shot

Dr. Omurtag is friendly, knowledgeable, caring, and smart. It was nice to feel like you could ask as many questions as you needed to ask and he would answer them without making you feel dumb or rushing you out the door. I do wish he would be at the procedures. He said he would be at them a couple of times and never showed up. That was disappointing as we had really hoped he would perform the procedures and he said he would.

Feel comfortable asking questions and make suggestions. He's open to them all and will go through all possibilities with you.

For IUI, we did mainly clomid, then after three of those, went to a clomid with one u/s and trigger shot. Finally, went to an IUI with injectables and monitoring. For IVF, we did a short antagonist protocol for both IVF cycles with ovidrel trigger shots.

$30,000

He suggested we do multiple due to age and past records.

Dr. Omurtag was professional yet completely approachable, and was able to explain things in ways that were simple to understand while still being comprehensive. He patiently answered all of my questions - even during my first appointment, when I had an entire list of questions written down. He reviewed all of my test results, and would write comments once he had done so that I could read them on the patient portal. He made the whole fertility treatment process seem as easy and natural as anything in the world, giving us realistic expectations of success while reassuring us that he would be there to support and guide us along every step of the way. I have never had a doctor in whom I had more confidence and trust.

Come with questions, so you know what you want to know - and then rest easy, knowing Dr. Omurtag will tell you everything else, the things you didn't think to ask.

He reviewed my chart to see what I had done thus far with my local OBGYN, laid out the treatment options, and explained the order in which we would/could take them so that my husband and I could make informed decisions about our care. He started with the least-invasive option first, IUI, and promised that if it did not work within a few attempts, he would regroup with us to discuss what our next step would be. We ended up getting pregnant on the second round of IUI, but during the whole process he monitored all of my test results and sent messages to let me know his take. It assured me that he was a hands-on physician, who truly was taking an interest in my care.

Besides copays, I did not have any extra costs associated with my care from Dr. Omurtag.

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Kenan was warm and engaged. I remember my husband joking he was so young. In ways I liked that piece because I felt like I could relate to him as a human and someone our age who understands all the issues we are facing. He was always very reserved about being too excited or hopeful, but would say until the baby is out and in your arms. That could sound harsh, but I think that it was helpful to keep us in the moment and not attaching to an outcome. He also referred me to Dr. Odem when he felt my Asherman's was too extensive for him to do surgery on. I appreciated him acknowledging he has limits to his medical ability and wanted to support me in getting the best possible care.

Ask as many questions as you need to in order to understand things. He will answer them and it is okay to be reserved and not jump on his first recommendation. You are allowed to dictate your own steps of care.

He first gave me progesterone to see if I could bleed, I then had a dye test of my tubes to make sure there was no blockage and my organs were in good standing. He paired my cycle after progesterone with Letrosole and I ovulated and was pregnant on my first time. He stated that if we tried that given I had 5 failed rounds of Chlomid, he was going to recommend IUI.

I am a university employee so my insurance covers my fees. It was never expensive or unreasonable. Sometimes medications were very expensive regardless. However I understand meds and IVF are very expensive. They are very understanding of the financial challenge and work to support individuals in getting feedback and support from billing.

He’s like a father figure, he’s direct but warm. He is a straight shooter, has tons of experience and cares about your emotions. My best interest was always at hand. He did 5 rounds of high dose estrogen and 5 hysterscopies in 5 months. One each month. I never felt rushed, never felt like a number. He would sit with us until we understood everything. Outline what to expect our options. I even discussed transferring care to 2 different providers out of state and he was supportive but shares his opinion.

Ask as many questions as you need, be transparent, share all your thoughts. He’ll help you work it out.

So he was treating me for ashermans syndrome. He suggested hysterscopies to clear the scar tissue out. I did 3 under general anesthesia and 2 awake. I preferred being awake I recovered quicker. He would have me do high doses of estrogen for about a month and then stop, start progesterone for a withdrawal bleed. Then we would repeat.

I work for wash u so my copays are half and washu just put fertility on the benefits package so we get 10,000 dollars towards fertility treatment but it’s out of pocket cost.

From the first moment we met with Dr. Jimenez she was so nervous and made us feel uncomfortable. My husband was made to stand up for the entire appointment as he was uncomfortable in the chair that had arms on it and not once did anyone offer to get him another chair. When we expressed that we wanted 2 embryos implanted via IVF she continued to tell us she would only do 1 as that one might split (despite it being a 30% chance that would happen) and continued to press the issue of having multiples would make for an at risk pregnancy. She provided us with success numbers from 2-3 years prior and no recent numbers were provided. She insisted on re-running tests and procedures that I had already had completed prior even though they requested all medical results be sent to them prior to the first consultation. It's like she didn't even read any of the information provided to her ahead of time. I went through with one procedure a sonohysterography and it was the most uncomfortable experience I have ever had. They "exam table" is a chair and they literally lean you all the back to where the blood is rushing to your head. While doing the procedure the doctor and the ultrasound tech stood there for 20 minutes debating if they saw something or not. The she proceeded to tell me I needed a hysterscopy and if I didn't do it she wouldn't proceed with IVF. I was literally given no choice in my medical care. When I expressed my concerns to the doctor it seemed like she didn't even care that we were not happy with her. She has horrible bedside manner and communication skills.

Don't see her. Ask to see someone else in the clinic as from what I've heard there are better doctors within the clinic than her.

I never got any protocols besides doing one test and some bloodwork as I discontinued seeing the doctor.

The doctor did not listen when we advised we wanted multiple embryos transferred and is only willing to do single embryo transfers. Don't waste your time unless you only want a single embryo transferred.

She takes the time to answer all your questions and address all your concerns. If we got home and forgot questions or concerns she was an email away and always got back to us quickly either same day or next day if we emailed at night. She worked with us as far as timing for our IUIs. We drove 2 hrs to see her. She always made us feel more like family instead of a patient!!

Definitely be prepared to hear a lot of information. She covers everything and is very thorough! Take paper with you to jot down notes if you’d like.

Given we had no fertility coverage, we were always made aware of the out of pocket costs for everything. There was never any cost surprises. They made sure we had and knew all our options in regards to the cost and financing.

I’m 38 and she was comfortable with a 2 embryo transfer. It was more up to me to decide after considering risks and benefits.

Dr. Keller is very knowledgeable and an expert in her field. I've never felt she has pushed us into spending more money than we absolutely have to. She has not recommended PGS testing for our second IVF cycle, citing that it does not improve birth rates. She never rushes us out of the office and takes the time to answer all questions thoroughly. She often seems flustered or nervous and for that reason I would recommend other doctors in this practice over her.

Do your research. Ask questions. Tell her what's bothering you. Trust her plan of care.

In 2016 I did 3 clomid IUIs without trigger shot. None were successful and I was disappointed that no Ultrasound or hCG blood levels were obtained during any of the cycles. I didn't see Dr. Keller at all during this time and really felt like nobody cared if they were successful or not. Cycle 1 IVF was better. I do not have ovulatory dysfunction so Keller recommend an agonist protocol for my first IVF cycle. In retrospect I responded quickly to the medications, maybe too quickly because we got 10 eggs and only 2 5-day embryos. Our fresh transfer resulted in a chemical pregnancy and our FET resulted in a miscarriage at 7 weeks. Dr. Keller said that a quick stimulation can result in poorer egg quality. For cycle two she is doing a long antagonist which will hopefully allow slower development of my follicles and give better egg quality.

The line to check in can get long some days but once checked in blood draws and Ultrasounds are done quickly.

I think IUIs were around $350 each plus the copay for Clomid. For one egg retrieval/IVF with ICSI, a frozen transfer and fresh transfer we paid almost $13k and my insurance covered $4k.

Dr. Keller was open to both single and double embryo transfer for us. We elected single transfer to avoid a twin or triplet pregnancy.

I love have Dr. Rattes for a doctor. I wish a cycle would have worked, but she continues to look for ways to adjust the cycle. She is a caring human being would will have the difficult conversations when needed.

You will not see her for ever visit during an actual treatment cycle. The doctors work on rotation so any of the doctors could be doing the retrieval and transfer. I always fell on a different doctors rotation and absolutely loved them all.

My first cycle was a fresh 3 day transfer. I went in for many visits to monitor egg growth and lining checks. Once I had the retrieval, I was called in for a 3 day transfer to transfer 2 embryos. They gave us the option for 1, but we chose 2 on the doctors recommendations. The cycle failed. The next cycle was a frozen transfer. Not all our embryos made it to day 5. We had 1 left. Cycle was much easier. Took estradiol before and then progesterone after transfer. The cycle also failed. I did a second retrieval, 3rd transfer (2nd fresh). Cycle was much like the First only the stemmed harder to try for more eggs. More eggs were immature and didn’t get to be fertilized. 2 embryos transferred on fresh cycle day 3. Failed. No embryos survived to 5 days.

Costs for IVF range from 12-15,000 for a retrieval and fresh transfer. I went through a place in CA to finance and provide cost for 1 fresh, 1 frozen for less than in office. The second fresh, frozen we purchased I lost out on some of the $ I had paid in due to not having any embryos survive to 5 days for a frozen transfer. The clinic had the money but since it was contractually linked to the fresh cycle, it is not allowed to be applied to future cycles.

Dr. Omurtag is a very helpful and compassionate doctor. He helped us navigate through a very frustrating and disappointing time in our life, which ended up resulting in the birth of our son. He was very informative and straightforward, but also listened to our concerns and reservations. I can’t recommend Dr. Omurtag and his staff enough!!

Trust the process and try to be patient. Also, don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and ask questions.

First we tried a medicated cycle with injections and an IUI. I over responded to the injections and had to wait 2 months for my ovaries to go down. Didn’t get to the IUI that time. We tried again, this time with less dosage and an IUI, by resulted in a negative pregnancy test. After that, we were ready to move forward with IVF. I used injections for 4-5 days (Gonal F, Menopur, and Lupron). My egg retrieval resulted in 32 eggs, 19 were mature, and we decided, as a personal decision to only fertilize 10. We did a fresh transfer with one of our day 5 embryos and ended up freezing the remaining four embryos we had for future use.

Insurance covered our IVF treatment so I’m not sure. Medications cost us $3,000 out of pocket, and we had to put $600 (if I remember correctly) down to be financially clear.

Being a nurse, I have learned about effective communication. Having effective communication with physicians is always key to experience excellent care. After my husband and I miscarried our baby boy at 17 weeks, I learned to be an advocate for my care even more. I did not have complications after my D&C surgery after miscarriage. I however was diagnosed with an uterine arterial venous malformation which is very rare. I was under my general OBGYN at the time I was diagnosed and Dr. Keller which is my infertility specialist. Many doctors were consulted to see if they had an idea of how to treat the AVM in my uterus. A month or so after my diagnosis, I was told it would not be in my best interest to carry children for my safety and health. Dr. Keller was my main physician who helped me through my time of this diagnosis. She understood how hard this time was because we have never had any children and I was only 26 years old at the time. Every time I was seen by her, I felt as if she was fighting for answers for my husband and I, seeing everything in our best interest. Time went by and I ended up hemorrhaging, which is a complication of the uterine AVM, and admitted to the hospital multiple times in a months span. While the bleeding would start and stop, the doctors were trying to figure out how to save my fertility without doing anything to drastic. After failed attempts to do so, I ultimately had to make the decision to get a hysterectomy for my health and safety. Dr. Keller was always there, one call away, to answer all my questions and concerns. I wanted to make sure that this was the best decision for myself and that there weren't any other options available. I trusted her decision, as did my husband. Now, fast forward to a little over a year later, and were are about to do an IVF cycle to ultimately have a surrogate carry our baby. After a couple of months of trying to heal mentally and physically, my husband and I are ready for our next steps into starting our family. The first appointment we had with Dr. Keller to meet to chat about IVF was one I will never forget. After sitting with her, discussing all that is involved with IVF, Dr. Keller looked at us and said, "I want you to get your baby! That is my goal here!". It made me feel as if I wasn't alone and I felt as if my husband and I are in the best hands. She always asks how I am doing when I meet with her, how I am healing, and just how I feel overall. My experiences that I have gone through in the past year and half are something I never expected. I never dreamt of not being able to carry our children. It sure does make it easier having Dr. Keller sincerely care about my husband and I and our ultimate goal which is to start our family. There is nothing bad I could say about Dr. Keller!

That she is trustworthy and will fight for the best care for you. She will always listen and respect your decisions. Effective communication!

I am about 3 weeks away from our very first round of IVF.

I will know a more detailed cost estimate soon. Since we are just beginning our first IVF cycle, I am not sure of the overall costs. I estimate it being close to $20,000.

Dr. Keller has discussed her approach to both because of us needing to use a surrogate since I cannot carry. The decision mainly depends on the surrogate and what they agree too, but she does mention it is best to not do a multiple embryo transfer for surrogate to carry. It costs more and many more risks involve is my understanding.

Strengths- she knew our history and us as people. She was open to sugggestions of next steps in treatment and was very knowledgeable in statistics of different procedures like scratch test, assisted hatching, ICSI, etc and she explained procedures and set up expectations for us. She truly cared about us as a couple. She even talked us through next steps on another cycle right after her father passed away. She is selfless. The weakness- because of her compassion I think she was less direct than we needed about my diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve. She expressed the panel of docs at clinic would advocate for donor eggs but said we could continue to try. In hindsight I feel it would have been better to be more blunt about our chances with own eggs so we could have moved forward with donor eggs sooner. Overall, I think we had to come to that acceptance before anything. I’m glad she introduced the topic to us and moved ahead with lightening speed thereafter

Be proactive and know what you want. She will be there to support your treatment plan and advocate for you.

With DOR- we tried femara cycle day 5-9 plus follistim but had to convert to IUI. We did 2 antagonist cycles with gonal-f (225) and menopur (225) with one cycle doing an estrogen prime. Last cycle we did estrogen prime plus micro dose Lupron flare anatagonist

We had help with insurance. The largest out of pocket cost was donor reimbursement fees which were $5000 plus adminustrative costs which were $3000

She showed us her statistics at the clinic and discussed risks, benefits and chances with eSET & multiple transfers but left the decision up to us ultimately

Dr. Jungheim was very friendly and explained everything to me in terms I could understand. She even drew pictures to explain various steps. Before meeting with her, she reviewed my file very thoroughly and didn't offer any procedure she didn't think I would need considering I had been through so much before going to this specific clinic.

Know that you work with all doctors and not with just the one you see the first time. A different doctor did my retrieval and transfer because they work as a team. She is very understanding and will answer any of your questions without reservation.

I was on the long agonist protocol. I started Dec. 24 with my first shot and triggered Jan. 14. I started taking all 3 shots by Dec. 31 I believe. I felt bloated at times and had one headache, but overall I wasn't miserable. I am currently in the TWW so I don't have results.

It was efficient and I loved that they were first thing in the morning so I could still make it to work on time.

$325 just for the initial appointment consultation. $130 for the trial embryo transfer.... Those are the only two bills I remember the amounts of.

I felt rushed in this decision. We were thinking initially that it would be a single embryo, and when I went in for my egg retrieval and saw a different doctor, he said he was worried there is a cause other than my endometriosis and would recommend ICSI just to increase our chances of being successful this first round. At transfer and showed me two embryos and said the 3 wasn't looking good and probably wouldn't freeze. He said of the two was was a really good 7 cell and the other was a 6 cell but it appeared the cells were starting to merge so he wasn't as sure of it. Using the amendment logic he had with retrieval, and not wanting to live with regrets, we went with 2.

He was very straight forward during our tele conference. He was very friendly and seemed postive that we would have success without any issues. That was the only time we met Dr. Odem. Our phsycial visits to the office, which is a 3 hour drive, was always pleasant however we never met Dr. Odem face to face.

I was frustrated that because I have had a postive pregnancy in the past, that Dr. Odem and other doctor's I have seen, thought it would be easy for me to get pregnant, even after having multiple unsuccessful attempts.

The only treatment startegies we tried after my miscarriage were to try Clomid. Although I have always ovulated every month, we thought this might give the sperm an extra target. However, after several unsuccessful months of IUIs, Dr. Odem was unwilling to further evaluations because I have had a positive pregnancy.

There was a fee for our teleconference with Dr Odem, although I do not remember exactly how much, maybe around $100. The IUI itself was more expensive around $450.