Weill Cornell Medical College

Strengths: clinic physically is clean and spacious. They have a separate area for doctor's appointment and during "monitoring hours". During monitoring hours, They also have a "card" system where you just swipe your card and let them know you have arrived. You don't have to fall in line to "register". The egg retrieval and embryo transfer are done in a hospital setting. What I also like it that they have a "pre-op" class prior to the egg retrieval, they check your labs, vitals". Weakness: Speaking to billing might not be private. Clinic could get crowded during the monitoring hours. Some receptionist in the front could be more friendlier.

I rate my experience is neutral. I like Dr. Schattman - he called us personally to discuss test results; he will also call back if I leave any messages. When you see him during monitoring, I don't feel rushed to ask him questions. However, the nurse communication/instructions could be better. They have different numbers for appointments, Main office # and nurses. For the nurses, there will not always be someone to pick up your call. You will have to leave a voice message. Although they will call you back before the end of the day when you leave a message, during this stressful journey I feel that having someone answer your phone call (may it be to relay a message) feels more "human" or less anxious provoking. Also, sometimes you also gets a voice message thru Dr. Schattman's office. When I leave a message, there is always that thought what if my message get deleted by mistake or the voice mail machine acts up. What now? Just my thought. In terms of their monitoring and appointments, they have a different section for both which I like. You don't feel the crowdedness in the morning during monitoring hours if you have an appointment with your doctor.

My primary nurse at Weill Cornell is very knowledgeable about fertility treatments. Although I had difficulty communicating with them. I feel that since they have many patients, sometimes they could loose their "patience". They would always return your phone call but you most times have to leave a message in an answering machine and waiting for their phone call. I also feel that sometimes, they are rushed when you are in the phone with them or in person. This infertility journey is as stressful as it could be and we need someone from our team to be there for us to help us get through his journey. I remember one time during in this clinic during monitoring, the doctor (not my primary doctor) told me to give ganirelix since some of my eggs are growing faster than the rest. I thought she would repeat the instructions before leaving. I didn't ask again, I thought I could just ask a nurse. I went and asked for a nurse but the nurse (not my primary nurse) told me, if the doctor told you to do it, do it; "nothing yet is written in your file so I don't know what the doctor said". I left and cried but went back to the doctor that did the monitoring. This could have been avoided if the nurse just had asked the doctor what was said! As a nurse myself, I try to bridge that gap between the patient & the doctor. If something was not clear to the patient, I will make sure and even take "strides" to ask the doctor about the plan of care. I also feel that they could have an email sent to patients for "instructions" during monitoring as to avoid confusions.

Strength: he tries to see his patients during "monitoring" hours. This puts me at ease as he knows everything that is going on with me. He will also try to call back your phone call by the end of the day. What I like about him is that he calls us personally with results of tests and what are the treatments. I liked that I don't feel rushed when I asked him questions after ultrasound during monitoring (which could be awkward for some). Weakness: I have had 2 failed embryo transfer with him. The last one was devastating as I transferred 2 of my last remaining embryos but I didn't receive any phone call from him. Even just to say, "sorry it didn't work". The only call I received was from my nurse that my pregnancy test was negative. I had to do a follow up appointment to speak to him about the next step. I know he might be busy or might be away during that time but days/weeks passed and still no phone call.

Be prepared with your questions during your initial consultation. Do your own research also as to what IVF is. Be an advocate for yourself - if you don't understand something or want to discuss something with him don't be afraid to do so.

I don't know that protocol Dr. Schattman used but he started me with Estrogen patches (after a positive ovulation using ovulation predictor kit) changing it every 2 days, till the 4th patch and getting my period. He then gave me letrozole for 5 days together with follistim/gonal-f and menopur. After a few days on those (I forgot exactly), I needed to get ganirelix to prevent "maturing" of my eggs. I had 1-2 that is growing faster than the rest. Then they gave me a Lupron trigger prior to egg retrieval. I have about 24 eggs retrieved with 3 embryos making it to freezing. I had one blastocyst transferred in October 2018 but failed and 2 morulas in April 2018 which also failed.

Weill Cornell's monitoring hours was from 6:30 am-8 am so it was convenient for me. I will still be late for work since I start 7 am but I will just have to come to the clinic at 6:30 or earlier. It is a well oiled machined will lots of people taking blood so we move quickly. Dr. Schattman will also try to see me during monitoring hours for the ultrasounds which I liked since it also gives me opportunity to ask him questions.

for regular appointments with Dr. Schattman, I only paid my copay with my insurance. For IVF cycle, please be advised that this clinic might be more expensive that the others. their IVF cycle for 1 fresh transfer: 10,500 for any frozen embryo transfer: $ 4,260 ICSI: $ 2, 630 Cryopreservation: $ 1,050 (storage $ 262. 50/quarterly); 1st 6 months waived Anesthesia fee varies if your insurance covers it but they have a facility fee $ 1005.84 during the day of egg retrieval which is an additional expense.

Weill Cornell Reproductive team has a sheet where you can put it who many embryos to transfer. The recommend embryo transfer for my age was only 1 but my second transfer since the embryos are in the morula stage, Dr. Schattman decided two embryos transfer but it also failed.

Cornell has a research profile and reputation that is nearly unmatched, as far as I can tell. And I know colleagues who have found success there. But I experienced it as a large, impersonal practice, which very little investment in whether or not I personally had a successful outcome. At the beginning of this process I thought I didn't need compassionate care if the research chops were there, but over time and repeated failures my needs changed, and I completed treatment elsewhere.

Cornell is a large cattle-call practice. I was monitored by a different attending almost every time. I didn't have a consistent nurse. I felt like my treatment plans were by the numbers, rather than tailored to me specifically, and I had real problems with pain management after egg retrieval. Over two years, they never even pronounced my name correctly. It wasn't great.

I had a different nurse every time, so it's hard to say. Once I had to request a different phlebotomist because she was having so much trouble taking my blood. Honestly, my experience with them wasn't great.

I went to Dr. Davis because of his reputation as a researcher, which is impeccable. However, he has so many patients that our interactions were very brief. By my third cycle I felt like he had lost interest in my case. During my fourth cycle - a protocol that I requested - I neither saw nor spoke to him once.

Go prepared to ask a lot of questions, and do not expect hand holding. I thought I didn't need personalized attention if I was seeing someone with incredible research chops, but discovered that this is a more emotional process than I realized.

3 IUI with Clomid, no success. One IVF cycle with estrogen priming and high doses of Follistim and Menopur, canceled due to nonresponse. One IVF cycle with estrogen priming, Clomid, and low doses of Follistim and Menopur, resulting in 3 day 3 fresh embryos transferred, no success. One IVF with estrogen priming, Clomid, low doses of Follistim and Menopur, plus endometrial co-culture, which was painful and not covered by insurance, 4 day 3 fresh embryos transferred, no success. One IVF with estrogen priming and Lupron flare (my request), 2 day 3 fresh embryos transferred, no success.

It was a cattle call with a line around the corner. I regularly waited at least an hour, and once was forgotten in an examining room waiting for an ultrasound.

I had insurance coverage. My out of pocket expenses were $1000 for endometrial co-culture, several trigger shots, and misc.

Dr. Davis was a strong proponent of fresh day 3 transfers, and one time we transferred 4 of them, which made me pretty nervous. He felt that embryos had a better chance of success in a woman's body than in a petri dish. I ultimately had success with a fresh day 3 transfer with another doctor.

Weill Cornell Reproductive Medicine is a top center for infertility. As I said we traveled from PA to NY to be a patient and it was worth it in every way. I only wish we had done this from the beginning instead of wasting a year with a different RE in PA. Dr. Reichman's Tribeca office is absolutely wonderful. The office seems newer with state-of-the-art equipment and the most friendly staff. His staff are extremely helpful, especially if you need support dealing with prior-auths and insurance - they stepped in and before I knew it everything was handled.

Dr. Reichman is an extremely personable physician. He makes his patients feel like they matter. He takes time at every appointment with you, answers every question you have, and does not make you feel rushed. There were a couple times he suggested we set an appointment for a "strategy meeting" - his words - which we loved. He knows every detail about his patients. He remembers everything, even asking about how our trip to Chicago was when we had a follow-up appointment with him. His front-desk staff are the nicest and sweetest team members. They remember your name, ask how you're doing, and are always on top of everything.

My primary nurse that I communicated with was Hannah. She always showed compassion during every interaction or phone call. She answered every question and made sure you understood your directions and next steps before hanging up the phone. Even when meeting in person about something Hannah never rushed you and was very thorough in her care and explanations. She also replied very timely to emails.

Dr. Reichman is like no other. We traveled from Pennsylvania to New York and it was all worth it. From the moment we had our initial consultation with him he gave us hope and made us feel like he truly cared. I have not had an easy journey with fertility - 2 natural pregnancies both ending in miscarriages, being told by a previous RE my lining was too thin and so never even getting to a transfer attempt, retained products of conception after a D&C by my OB. But Dr. Reichman never gave up. I remember starting my IVF cycle with him in March 2018 and during a saline sonogram is when he discovered I had retained products of conception and told me he would have to go in and do surgery after I completed the IVF cycle and retrieval. I started crying in the exam room. Dr. Reichman was extremely comforting, telling me "I am in your corner," letting me know that he would take care of me during the surgery as I was worried about my lining, and that together we would get through this and meet our end goal of having a baby. He is an extremely compassionate and caring physician, but he is also a realist - he is very straightforward with what he thinks. This is a quality my husband and I appreciated; we wanted someone who would be direct and honest. Dr. Reichman is always thinking about what is best for his patients; he individualizes every plan of care to each of his patients.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. He answers every single one of them without making you feel rushed or that it's a silly question.

I was on Gonal-F, Menopur, and Cetrotide, with an HCG trigger shot before the egg retrieval. I can't remember the exact dosages but he had me on a low dose of Gonal-F. I only had 5 antral follicles. We retrieved 5 eggs, all 5 fertilized, 3 made it to PGS testing and all 3 were PGS normal! We did not expect this and were thrilled, as my last miscarriage was confirmed due to chromosome issues.

Monitoring appointments were very efficient. You have a window of time they do "morning monitoring" and you don't have to wait very long once you arrive. Once you are pregnant, the 2-3 ultrasounds you have to have are via appointment after monitoring hours.

I was lucky as my insurance covered IVF 100%; the cost of the medications were mostly covered as well. We did pay a few hundred dollars though for some genetic testing and other blood work to be done as I had two previous miscarriages.

From my experience, I believe Dr. Reichman prefers single embryo transfer.

The Tribeca location is fantastic. It is calm, comfortable, and all new. It can get a little crowded during monitory hours but never too bad and they are really organized. The nurses are all very nice. It's so much better than the UES location! The receptionists are also very nice and helpful

Dr. Reichman sees me every visit (unless it is a weekend or he is off for a holiday), which I appreciate. He always seems to consider my case and our next steps carefully. He doesn't have the warmest bedside manner, and doesn't seem to plug into the emotional toll this takes, but he does lay out the numbers and realities and stays positive.

Dr. Riechman's main nurse is fantastic. She always answers my questions and when I wanted to order fewer meds since i had to pay OOP as I hit my insurance limit, she worked with me on ordering just what was necessary. She's a pleasure every time I speak with her. Any other nurses that cover for her are also great.

I came to Dr. Reichman from another doctor only because my insurance changed and it now covers IVF and the other place I was going doesn't take my insurance. Dr. Reichman agreed with the assessment of my other doctor (age-related infertility). Although I feel I got more compassionate "bedside manner" from the first doctor, I appreciate that I see Dr. Reichman for every monitoring visit (at the Tribeca Office). He may take a day or so to email back, but he always always responds to email. His answers are short but to the point. He's gives it to you straight so you have to be able to take that, but I have no doubt he knows that he's talking about! I feel I am in good hands for sure.

He can be blunt with the reality of things, but he does care about you getting success and knows his stuff. If you want someone with a super compassionate bedside manner he may not be the one for you, but he certainly takes his work seriously and is always positive yet realistic. If you are paying out of pocket, he also understands the great cost of IVF and takes that into account when recommending next steps, which I really appreciate.

2 stimulation cycles. Both times mostly 150 menapure, 300 gonal f, then leuprolide added in. Egg retrieval and fertilization with ICSI using fresh sample. Waited the 5 days to see which embryos survived and did genetic testing on those that did. Cycle 1 - 10 eggs retrieved, 8 mature, 6 fertilized, 4 embryos genetically tested, 1 recommended for transfer. Cycle 2 - 7 eggs retrieved, 6 mature, 3 fertilized, 2 genetically tested - awaiting results. Still have not yet done an embryo transfer.

In the Tribeca office it is a very pleasant experience even when crowded -- and it's never that bad. I don't think I have waited longer than 30 min to be seen and sometimes i get seen within 10 min.

My insurance paid for up to 40K of my expenses. After I hit my limit, I have to pay OOP. Approx 10K for egg retrieval (all monitoring included), 1K for ICSI fertilization, 4K for PGD/PGS testing. 1K hospital fee. Not sure what frozen embryo transfer will cost. Meds were covered by insurance but i think it cost 10K

The reputation for this clinic is extremely strong in the NYC area. I know many people who have gone to this clinic and had success. I feel like if you have a more common issue or case and can follow standard protocols, you'll be good. The lab is also supposed to have a great reputation and rates of success. I felt like everyone was competent and I was in good hands but often felt like I was being shuffled along due to the amount of patients.

This is an extremely busy practice and while it is run as efficiently as possible, I found the experience to lack personal attention. The front desk employees are not overly friendly. The doctors handing ultrasounds for follicle growth always seemed to be in a rush and I would need to ask questions quickly to get an answer before they left the room for the next patient. I never had a dedicated nurse assigned to my case while I was a patient. Every call would be from a different individual which made it difficult if I had questions on my treatment....there was no consistency. For my egg retrieval and transfer at the hospital, it was one big waiting game. The room was full of patients and you were filed into the operating room one after the next. The process was quite long and there was a lot of down time while waiting your turn.

This is an area that could be greatly improved upon. There should be consistency in the person you speak to during an IVF cycle. I felt like I needed to give color on my case or background information given I was always speaking to a new person. For my first failed transfer, the lack of compassion I received from the nurse who called to tell me my test was negative was very upsetting. There was no emotion or feeling of empathy as she spoke to me and the call last all of 2 minutes. At times nurses had attitudes and made you feel like you were bothering them if you called with a question. You would always have to leave a voicemail and someone would eventually call you back.

Dr. Spandorfer was pleasant during our consult and took an extensive history for both my partner and I. He acknowledged the emotional toll infertility takes on a woman and highlighted the psychological/counseling resources that are available at the clinic. While I had a basic understanding of my diagnosis from doing research on my own prior to my first consult (my OBGYN had completed basic hormone level testing which indicated severe diminished ovarian reserve and high FSH and referred me to the clinic), looking back I feel that Dr. Spandorfer could have been more specific and blunt about my chances of success doing IVF and using my own eggs. At no point would he give us an estimated chance at success given my young age and diagnosis. He explained that while I would likely only produce 2-4 eggs per retrieval, there was a good chance that due to my young age, there was a chance I could produce a good quality egg within that cycle. As we progressed with treatment and moved on to second and third rounds of IVF, I often found that he would present options (ex: medication protocols) and I would be left to make the decision on which path to choose. I would have preferred the doctor to have more conviction and state "we should go with XX option given this will give you your best shot". I received a lot of "well we just don't know..." in my time with this doctor.

Be your own advocate. Do your research and be well prepared for your consult and appointments. You will need to speak up for yourself and not be afraid to ask questions about your plan of treatment.

Cycle 1: estrogen priming/antagonist protocol- 300 units Gonal F and 150 units Menopur; eggs retrieved: 3 Cycle 2: low dose medication protcol with clomid-> (150 units Gonal F and 75 units Menopur; meds were eventually bumped up due to lack of response) we tried this approach given my body will never produce a large amount of follicles and I had been told by other parties that this is a good approach for poor responders/diminished ovarian reserve patients. This protocol unfortunately did not work at all and I was left stimming for approx. 18 days without any follicles growing past 10mm and cycle was then cancelled. Cycle 3: returned to original protocol- estrogen priming/antagonist protocol- 300 units Gonal F and 150 units Menopur; eggs retrieved: 1

The clinic has the flow down for monitoring appointments and is run efficiently however, there can be long waits due to the number of patients if you decide to go at "peak time". It is best to go when monitoring hours open or if it works for you, to their Tribeca office.

From what I recall, an IVF cycle with ICSI was approximately $20K.

For my first transfer, we transferred two embryos. The doctor gave me the choice if I wanted to transfer 1 or 2 embryos. He and the doctor performing the embryo transfer explained that there was an increased chance of twins by transferring 2 embryos.

Let me start by saying that I hated pretty much everything about the way this clinic is run. it is impersonal. It is a factory but not a well oiled machine. All REs love to talk about how their labs are teh best. Literally every single RE will tell you they have the best lab. And while there are some labs that may be better than others in some ways, for the most part i think it's negligible once you get past a certain threshold of care. So I think Cornell hides behind "we have the best lab" argument to avoid actually providing quality continuity of care. The waiting room holds 100 people. You check in with a swipe card. It is incredibely impersonal. They do not run on time. When you get called in you will see random blood draw person- i swear I never saw teh same person twice. Then you will be assigned a room and random young dr will do your scan. I seriously had to ask a few of tehm if they were med students or not becuase tehy looked so young, and again, I never saw teh same person twice. This is a problem becuase everyone measures follicles differently and you are relying on their measurements being given to your dr to decide on what next steps are needed. So if you are deciding when to trigger and someone measures either generously or conservatively it can actually have a major impact on your outcome. I hated that I literally never saw Dr. Davis and they drs doing the scans were so clearly like- whatever- about their job. It is a factory. I also really, really have a major issue with how they handle retrievals. First of all, EVERYONE is required to come to a 6am class and sort of group blood work the day before your retrieval even if you have already done multiple retrievals. They come out with a clipboard and the order that your name goes on teh clipboard is the order that you are seen. So you sit around a conference table with all the women who are being retrieved the next day. Too bad about HIPPA and expectations of privacy- there are NONE. You could end up sitting there with your boss, or your sister in law, or your hairdresser. I actually can;t believe it's legal. Then they call yuo back one at a time to do blood and sign forms. I then refused to stay for the class ofw hat to expect becuase this was going to be by 4th or 5th retrieval which I told them. The nurses were not nice about it all and threatened to cancel my cycle if I messed up anything. I was like- you are handing me a piece of paper with the extensive instructions of what to do. i can read and I will follow them . And then I left. Then the next day I showed up at 6am again- for a 10am retrieval- which is just obnoxious. Then again, you are called by name and given scribs to change into they put the IV in your arm. And then you are put in a waiting room with all the same women AND their partners, parents etc... in scrubs... with an IV sticking in your arm. And you wait. Again. And then they call you by name in groups of 3 and take you to a tiny waiting room. There one at a time the anethesiologist pulls you into the hallway (i swear) to have a private converastion about any anethesia you may have. I had 2 very lovely girls I was sitting with and we kinda chatted a bit but honestly, what if you don't really want to be in scrubs with strangers having a convo right before your retrieval? Then they take you one at a time and you see whoever is on call for retrievals that day- you may or may not have ever met them. Then you go to recovery. They wake you up with mandatory pain pills and send you on your merry way. They do tell you how many eggs were retrieved and thats it. Having had a a fair amount of clinic experiences by the time I got there I had a lot of comparisons to other clinics and this model is by a loooong shot, my least favorite. I ended up moving my 10 frozen 2PNs to another clinic because I refused to ever cycle with them again.

Dr. Davis is a very nice person. He was very patient and available on the phone and reassuring. I absolutely hated the clinic and that was the reason I only did 1 cycle there. But I liked him as a Dr and respected his approach.

I remember Dr. Davis's manager a lot more than his nursing staff. His office manager was excellent. The way that Cornell organizes their clinic make me so aggravated that I honestly don't think I had a main nurse. You literally never see teh same person twice- nurse or even phlebotomist. They were all.... fine. It really is truly a factory so the nurses respond to the culture that they are a part of and have no power to change.

Dr. Davis was the 4th fertility doc on my long list. i came to him because i was told he would do day 2 or 3 freezing and fresh transfers if desired and appropriate. This was the first time that those options had been offered to me and given the fact that i cannot get an embryo to day 5 in a dish this was comforting. We had one initial converastion to make a plan. It was extended and I never felt rushed. I asked him about the reason that nothign ever made it to day 5 in the dish and he said probably egg quality but not necessarily. He is not didactic in his approach to treatment and has been doing this long enough to remember the days before automatically pushing to day 5 blasts and pgs was the norm. We ultimately decided on a freeze all cycle with the plan to do another cycle immediately following which I ended up not doing because I hated the clinic so much. I told him I thought I had been way overmedicated in my previous cycle and he listened and dosed lower as a result. We ended up having a very solid outcome of that cycle with 10 to freeze. Ultimately the one pgs normal was in that group but it ended up not taking in transfer.

Be aware that you will probably never see him in person again after your initial consult. He was available by phone as was consistent in returning phone calls and I never felt rushed in our conversations.

It was lose dose- i think it was 25 clomid on cycle days 3-7 and then 125 follistim. He likes double ganirelix on theses low dose cycles, but I thouht it may have been over-suppressive so i actually just did one and a half ganirelix instead of 2X a day.

100% a cattle call. See above. I walked in one saturday and there were literally 75- 100 people waiting to be seen. It is the worst model for monitoring.

I paid OOP for this whole cycle. I think it was around 20k?

NA

Amazing clinic- super kind staff, very prompt ‘service,’ extremely clean and modern facility. This is one well-oiled machine, with a very uncommon level of care and humanity. I really appreciate how quickly I could get in and out of the office, esp given the frequency of appointments.

Though Dr. Reichman is a busy doctor, I always felt like our questions were answered, issues clarified, etc. I was fairly active on email and he was super responsive.

Worked with Hannah during the IUIs, she was fantastic. She then went on maternity leave and we worked with a new nurse, who was less familiar in the lead role. Had a few hiccups along the way, but got better as went went.

My early reaction, and continued perspective on Dr. Reichman, is that I wish every doctor I had was like him. He’s super intelligent, passionate about his work, focused on results, data oriented, and a caring, communicative doctor. From our first consultation, he provided us with assurance that we had previously been lacking. The road wasn’t always smooth (2 failed IUIs), but we knew that the likelihood of getting pregnant that way was much lower than with IVF, given the data he presented in the first consult. When we had a hiccup with meds/insurance while starting IVF, he personally found a way to get us what we needed, allowing us to begin the cycle in what was a good month. I can’t ever say I’ve had a doctor that has gone so above and beyond. He was always very receptive to our thoughts and questions, to some concerns we had along the way, dedicated to making sure our experience was as good as it could be.

If you’re results oriented and respond to data and a logic-based approach, he’s your guy.

2 IUIs, first cycle with Clomid and second with Letrozole. Second cycle elicited a larger egg count, but ultimately, both cycles did not produce a pregnancy. For IVF, we did a frozen transfer to allow for timing flexibility on the transfer (to evaluate the lining of my uterus) and the option to genetic test the embryos. Got 12 oocytes, which led to 10 mature eggs. 8 fertilized, and 6 were viable after genetic testing. Meds prescribed pre-retrieval were Gonal F, Menopur, and Cetrotide. Did the trigger shot the night before the retrieval. Followed the transfer with progesterone inserts.

IUIs cost about $400 with our insurance, not sure about the actual cost. Our insurance didn’t pay for ivf, so we paid out of pocket. We did ICSI, genetic testing on the embryos, and a frozen transfer. Including the cost of meds, anesthesia for the retrieval, and the aforementioned choices, we spent about $25K on IVF.

Thought it was smart and strategic that we transferred one, given my age, the number of viable embryos we had, and the potential risks posed with multiples.

Cornell is known to be the best clinic in NYC and even the country. While it is no secret that the Hospital Waiting room can feel cold and "factory" it is a small price to pay for what expertise they have

Dr. Melnick and her staff are all extremely warm, personal but also direct. They care about their patients but also value honesty which meant a lot to me in the process.

Holly, Lindsay, Connie and Jersey are the best. The treat you like family and not just a number. They care about your success and are always positive even when you are going through the worst

Dr. Melnick is at the top of her field. She is young and up to date on current advice regarding infertility treatment. She has a protocol she follows but knows when to adjust to meet patients needs. She is extremely smart and confident in her abilities which as a patient helped me with so much of my anxiety.

Book an appointment as soon as possible!

When I saw Dr Melnick I was 1 year into TTC with 1 miscarriage (first month trying) because my labs / test showed no reasons why I couldn't get pregnant again we started with natural cycle IUI. The first cycle was negative and then we tried clomid + IUI for 3 rounds which resulted in 2 chemical pregnancies and 1 full miscarriage. At that point I was certain nothing would work however Dr. Melnick suggested IVF with PGS testing (which was confirmed recommendation by 2 other second opinions). We started IVF a few months later and had a very successful round with 23 eggs resulting in 12 embryos, 6 of which tested PGS normal. Because of my history, Dr Melnick had me take baby aspirin and increased doses of Progesterone during my transfer and early pregnancy. I had a healthy baby boy and am now starting to think about round #2!

Insurance covered but roughly $20,000. Dr Melnick takes Aetna but the Hospital sadly does not

Dr Melnick did not suggest multiple embryo transfers given that mine had been through PGS

Generally great, reception is polite although a bit hasty and patronizing - I assume because of the volume of emotional women they deal with all day. Wait times can be up to an hour but for the most part were very quick and I felt the clinic did all possible to mitigate waiting. Facilities were clean and modern. Staff was all professional and friendly.

I did understand what tests were being done, nor the outcome or meaning. I would have liked to better understand what he/ we learned from each test and cycle. I often felt in the dark and my questions were answered but curtly and without elaboration.

Generally great but I had one major problem with billing that was in contrast to what the nurse told me.

I felt he was competent and knew exactly what he was looking for and observing - I wish he shared more insight. I still do not understand why none of our attempts worked or if he had any understanding. Our first consultation was jarring because he assertively suggested IVF immediately (at 38 years old), but I can't blame him for my shock. Throughout, he was very matter-of-fact and direct. There were no elaborations, explainations were as minimal as necessary, he seems busy but always made time for pleasantries and to ensure I was OK. There were a few times I had to call nurses after the appointment for clarity on next steps.

Do your reserach before seeing him to understand potential outcomes, alternatives and questions to ask. He will competently answer all, but not necessarily offer excess info.

We attempted three IUI, first two with Clomid and third with Letrozole. We monitored frequently (expensively) and I gave blood and had an ultrasound for consecutive days prior to procedure. Each time I recieved conflicting recommendations for when to have intercourse following the IUI. Each IUI attempt was unsuccessful and if there was any suggestion of explaination, I never heard it.

IUI was apx $5K per attempt, including monitoring.

N/A

I am still in my fertility journey, and after many IUI and 7 IVF, I would consider myself experienced. I have used multiple clinics for IVF and have sought multiple second opinion consults. BY FAR, my experience at Cornell with Dr. Davis has been the best.

With my complicated history, Dr. Davis clearly reviewed my extensive fertility records prior to our visit and was prepared to lay out a well formulated plan. He was honest but extremely informative.

Cornell is a huge and busy clinic. Nursing care was not personalized for me, but most were nice and helpful. Sometimes I felt there was some miscommunication, so I felt it was important to advocate for yourself as a patient.

Dr. Davis was by far the best RE I have ever worked with. He is the most knowledgeable and I truly trust his clinical judgement. He provided clear and concise recommendations, and I always understood the plan. He was readily accessible for questions, and always called me after a failed cycle. I was referred to him by a physician after multiple failed cycles for a second opinion and I believe he is known to take complicated cases. I completely understand why. He provided a very personalized treatment plan, incorporating my complicated history. I had received multiple other 2nd opinions at other prestigious clinics, and only received generic "cookie cutter" recommendations. I was extremely impressed with the care I received from Dr. Davis at our very first meeting. My husband was also impressed (and trust me, it takes A LOT to impress him!) I would give Dr. Davis my highest recommendation!

Have a list of questions prepared, because you will get every single one answered!

Antagonist protocol with estrogen patch. I had a history of asynchronous follicle development, so Dr. Davis chose this protocol. I had some of the best quality embryos to date, but unfortunately it did not result in pregnancy. He did recommend a protocol that they do at Cornell where they do an endometrial biopsy and grow your embryos on your own endometrial cells - which requires extra visits.

Cornell is a well oiled machine. They are efficient and organized. However, they are extremely busy so a wait time is expected. I was there over a Monday holiday weekend, and my wait times exceeded 1 hour and there were no chairs left.

I paid out of pocket for IVF, which was around $15K.

I did not have strong preferences on the number of embryo transferred, and took his recommendations which were based on age and prior transfer history for me.

Considering the results, the embryologist and the lab were excellent. I would assume that my rate of conversion from egg -->embryo-->blast is on the higher range of success for any clinic. Weekend monitoring on the UES was painless as the wait time was quick and the nurses always pleasant.

Dr. Elias is great listener and thoughtful about his approach to treatment. I had previously seen another RE that had discouraged me from IVF due to my age, and relative AMH and AFC; however, Dr. Elias had a positive outlook from the onset which made a huge impact in the process. He assessed HSG records from specialists that I had seen previously and where others failed to, he educated me on the results with his recommendation. He has a great bedside manner and is highly responsive to any concerns or questions.

Lisa and Jane were great and communicated with a lot of positivity and high energy. They were consistent and very considerate with regard to advice for my medication as I was paying out of pocket (advising on the more cost effective pharmacies). I received very quick responses to all my emails. I also loved going to the Mt. Kisco office which was much more intimate and the team there is fantastic. It felt like a family practice.

Dr. Elias offered a lot of guidance throughout the process, and took the time to explain his diagnosis, recommendation, as well as what to expect during the various stages of the cycle. He was highly compassionate and very human. I was fortunate to see him for almost every monitoring and he performed the retrieval. He was committed to delivering the best results and based on his protocol, his initial assumptions were spot on. I really felt that I was in the best possible care with his knowledge, ability, and expertise.

Dr. Elias is more than happy to share his knowledge - ask questions!

Estrogen priming antagonist protocol with 150 Gonal-F, 150 Menopur and Cetrotide. Trigger with HCG/Lupron. 8 mature eggs retrieved, 6 embryos, and 5 day 5 blasts. Shockingly positive results for my age and have to acknowledge the excellent work of Dr. Elias, his team, and the lab. All were aneuploidy and unfortunately in this case, I was a statistic of my age group. However, Dr. Elias still had a very positive outlook given the results and I appreciate that he had developed a strategy for the next IVF round during our follow up after the genetic results.

No insurance coverage unfortunately. IVF Cycle Fee $9463, ICSI $2630, Freezing $1050, PGS $4850, Medication $4500, Hospital Fee $1000

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I had issues with prior authorization for one of the medications I needed/ they totally dropped the ball on it- telling me it would take 2 weeks for an answer; when I already waited 2 weeks and needed the meds already...I needed to follow up multiple times for that to be resolved. Otherwise, I had an overall positive experience w the clinic.

At times it is easy to feel like a number when waiting in the Cornell waiting room, but now that they take appointments for monitoring it felt more human- I knew who I’d be seeing, and have a general sense of how long I’d be waiting. Additionally, once in the room with Dr Goldshlag I felt understood and well taken care of.

I didn’t always feel like they were the best or most efficient communicators. I often waited until 5-6pm to get instructions; and even waited till that time for results of a pregnancy test. When I called and left messages w questions they typically called back within a few hours. There were times I was given misinformation and had to push/ask them to clarify w the doctor because the nurse told me something different than he said earlier that same day.

Dr Goldschlag always seemed positive and hopeful, yet is realistic in discussing options and recommendations with me. He is supportive and kind, and I trust his insight. I liked that I could typically see him for monitoring, and if he was in the clinic on the day of IUI he would certainly do the procedure once requested.

Ask questions! He seems willing to discuss and give info about any questions I have- I just need to be prepared with them :)

I had a successful (yet complicated pregnancy) IUI cycle using Follistim and Ovidrel I. 2016-17. When I returned for continued treatment we attempted first to use clomid and letrozole to lower the chance of multiples. I didn’t respond to those so now I’m back to using Gonal F. So far, I’ve been responding but unsuccessful.

So far insurance has covered all of my procedures, and I’ve needed to pay a copay for each visit.

I haven’t yet done IVF but in consultation about it, i was told that it would depend on embryo quality.

Strengths: Office is beautiful, Dr. P and the nurses are great. Location is easy to get to. I always felt like I had access to nurses and Dr. P. Dr. Pereira also takes early appointments, I could go before work! Weaknesses: wait times depending on when you go. The earlier the better.

Dr. Pereira is amazing in every way. He is knowledgeable, warm, and considerate. He has high standards, as does his staff. After I became pregnant, I did not want to leave his care because he was such a great doctor. The office is clean and beautiful and I never dreaded having to go see Dr. Pereira. If you want results and a doctor who is transparent and considerate, definitely go to Dr. Pereira.

Karla and Kristin were wonderful, as were all the nurses. Past experiences have left much to be desired, but not at Dr. Pereira's office. They were kind, understanding, patient, and knowledgeable.

Dr. Pereira is smart, transparent, knowledgeable, and has a wonderful bedside manner. He had a consultation with me before we started our work together, which I really appreciated. He got to know me and my background and what I wanted out of this experience. If a question popped up in my head later, I could email him and receive a response in 24 hours, this was a first for me, I have never experienced that before.

Know what you want out of the experience, ask lots of questions because Dr. P will take the time to answer them. Be honest with Dr. Pereira.

timed conception, letrozole.

I paid a copay, which I knew I had to. I paid a copay every time I saw Dr. Pereira because with my insurance, he is considered a specialist. I found Dr. Pereira because he was in network with my insurance, so besides copays, I paid nothing out of pocket. As for medications, I had one expensive medication, but I didn't have to take it every month, it was more of a one time prescription.

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The clinic itself was great and had a pleasant and clean atmosphere. My only criticism was the morning wait was often extremely long. Several times I waited over an hour for them to call my name for bloodwork and ultrasounds.

Dr. Chung always treated me and my husband in a very warm, caring and genuine way. Even though I wasn't able to conceive under his care (probably due to circumstances out of his control), I have zero doubt that him and his staff/team tried their absolute best to help us reach our goal of having a baby. Dr. Chung always listened patiently to my long list of questions and never made me feel rushed or silly for asking them. His assistants, Lily, Liliane, Phoebe and Alice were also always available to talk to me and assist me, and extremely helpful at all times.

The nurses (Cheryl Sabatino, Sarah Fricke, Juliana Shen, etc.) were all very capable, knowledgeable and efficient. They got back to me within a reasonable amount of time and responded to my questions in detail. The nurses who drew blood, in the mornings, were also very professional and caring. These nurses (who were part of the monitoring staff in the mornings) are some of the only nurses I've met who consistently were able to draw blood on the first try, instead of poking me repeatedly to find a good vein.

I could not have asked for a better physician than Doctor Chung. His genuine goal was to help me succeed, and I sincerely felt that he cared about the outcome more than your average Doctor would. I spent a span of six years (2013-2019) under his care, freezing and retrieving eggs and transferring embryos, and could not have been happier with the quality of care and treatment he provided me. There were several occasions where he took the time, outside of office hours, to call and explain things to me or console me when I received a negative pregnancy test. He is a true gem and a very kind doctor, in addition to being most knowledgeable about his area of expertise, fertility.

To a prospective patient of Dr. Pak Chung, I would say "don't be afraid to ask many questions". Dr. Chung is the type of doctor who appreciates questions and has the patience and knowledge to answer them well.

I would say that Dr. Chung started me with the basic protocol and modified it, when he saw that it wasn't working. With each round that did not succeed we would trouble-shoot to see how we could do things differently in order to increase our chances for success. Dr. Chung even conferred with my gynecologist several times, in order for me to get the optimal results out of a hysteroscopy, performed by my gynecologist.

The monitoring appointments were mostly organized, except for the very long waiting process (sometimes 1 1/2 hours). The monitoring hours were a little early, but I understand why they needed to be, so that they can have your blood work results back by that afternoon.

I paid, out-of-pocket, $60,000 or more for costs including, egg retrieval and freezing, embryo creation, frozen embryo transfers, doctors visits, special ultrasounds, etc. The breakdown of the costs was very hard to keep track of, so I had to write diligent notes and create charts to stay organized and be financially prepared for the bills to come.

Dr. Chung was always direct in telling me his concerns regarding pregnancy of multiples He gave me all of the statistics, but when push came to shove, he allowed me to put in two, even though he objected to it.

Weill Cornell is a very streamlined operation. They have their processes down and are very efficient and organized. The professionalism of the office is comforting during this complicated process. Make sure to get one of their cards so you can check in yourself in the morning.

Dr. Spandorfer is very direct and is pretty good with the dad jokes (in a good way). I had a lot of questions and he sat down with me and addressed them all, even when they were beyond basic. I unexpectedly had to halt my treatment when I learned I needed surgery to address another condition, and Dr. Spandorfer was great and was prepared to alter my treatment if needed given the new condition. He has called me personally on a number of occasions.

So far they have been very responsive, returning my calls within hours.

I was referred to Dr. Spandorfer by a friend who became pregnant after two IVF cycles under his care -- she was very happy with him and his level of knowledge and professionalism. My experience thus far has been overwhelmingly positive. He dealt with an unexpected (and unrelated) medical situation with care and compassion and has answered all of my questions every time. My one note is that he has not been proactive about discussing what my test results have meant in detail and relied on the clinic's class to make sure I understand drug protocol and administration for egg retrieval. But I trust that he knows exactly what he is doing based on my interactions with him and my friend's successful pregnancy.

Come prepared with your questions and make sure to ask him about anything you need to know to feel comfortable.

The clinic at Tribeca is filled with the nicest people I have ever met. However, because of the volume at their other office at York, the same treatment is not found there. And as a patient, you will need to visit both offices. At York, the woman at the front speaks too fast and seems uninterested in speaking with others. She called me on the day that should have been my third IUI at 10:40 AM claiming that she called me and left a message at 8 AM and if I was still coming in. I never got any missed call or message (because I was hoping the clinic would call me back in time and had my phone on my person all morning) but once 9AM hit, I told my husband to just go to work because we couldn’t wait all day, plus the follicles were very small and the doctor (Dr. Reichmann) when he did my ultrasound, had no impression that I would be ready for an IUI. I was annoyed that the woman was more interested in proving she was right than realizing that I missed my third IUI. I did not express that to her, but just said that my husband had to go to work and we would not be coming in that day. I have not gone back for treatments at Weill Cornell, or any clinic for that matter, because this very last experience left me discouraged and very stressed. This is pretty much the experience I have had at every ob/gyn before switching over to a fertility clinic. I will try another fertility clinic when I am ready again in a few months, but I think all the heavy lifting needs to be done by the patient.

Her bedside manner was great. She was really good at listening to me and not telling me only what she knew.

The nursing staff was always patient, answered all my questions, and very compassionate. I once met Crystal, and she was very kind and always explained things very well to me.

I was very happy with Dr. Pfeiffer until for one cycle, when we were setting up the IUI appointment she said “remind me for next cycle that you ovulate early” and it just showed me she did not have faith that this cycle would work. I already felt like it was a waste of time. At my consultation, one of the recommendations was laparoscopy and when I went in to try that as an option, she said if I was open to IVF then that would be the better option. However, when she discussed the IUI, I felt like she just felt that IVF was going to be what I did and was dismissive of other options. I thought she was a great doctor, and very thoughtful and compassionate, but I did feel like what she truly believed was not what she wanted me to do. It was as though I was rushing through the IUI’s so that I could be eligible for IVF. Also, there was only one cycle of the 4 cycles I was there that I saw her throughout the entire process. I really wanted her to be my doctor but she was often out of the office.

Be mindful that she is not always available and you will need to see other doctors quite often

First cycle was clomid 50mg only but no timed intercourse or IUI. My husband had a viral infection and Dr. Pfeiffer was not sure if his sperm would be okay to use for the IUI. Second cycle was clomid 50mg again with an IUI (this is the cycle I saw Dr. Pfeiffer throughout). Third cycle was clomid 50mg with an IUI. My follicles were very small and I was already surging when I was told to go in for my IUI the next day. Fourth cycle was clomid 100mg with timed intercourse because the IUI was not scheduled on time. The two follicles were small (13-14) and I was again already surging when I was to schedule the IUI the following day. All four cycles resulted in negative pregnancy tests.

All costs were paid by my insurance except some medication and copays. I paid for Clomid, Sperm wash, and IUI through insurance.

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The downtown office is smaller. Very clean and organized. You will usually always see your Dr when you go. The staff is friendly and knows your name. They always get your meds in on time. They only issue I found is it takes forever to get your records. So if you need them quickly you will have to stay on them.

When i initially saw Dr Reichman in 2016 after 2 losses he was nothing short of amazing. He was kind, empathetic and really took the time to discuss treatment, calm anxiety and let you know he was there to support you. When I saw him again in 2018/2019 everything changed. He was blunt, short, easily annoyed and combative. I really felt like I was dealing with a completely different Doctor. He was no longer willing to try different things or think outside the box. It was very his way or the highway. I did not feel the comfort and support I once felt with him at all.

I only ever spoke to Hannah and Christine. Both were good and responsive. However they will never really answer questions for you and will tell you to email Dr Reichman.

I first went to him back in 2016. He was empathetic, concerned and took the time to walk you through everything and also made sure that you were handling everything ok mentally. He was the kind of dr that would call you from vacation or on his way home to check in and explain things. I will add that we did get pregnant during that time at his practice, however it likely would've happened regardless. When we returned to him in 2018/2019 for baby 2 it was a very different experience. He was overly blunt, cold and got extremely upset whenever he was questioned or I advocated for myself. He just seemed like he was too busy too care anymore. Emails would go unanswered for days and you never received phone calls when requested. It was like I was dealing with a completely different dr.

If you tend to ask questions and advocate for yourself do not work with him.

We only got as far as letrozole and timed intercourse with him. He also missed my ovulation twice.

25k+ for IVF before medication, IUI 1.4k and trigger shots $100 if not covered by insurance.

He will never implant more than one embryo at a time. Or at leas that is what he said. He is extremely conservative.

Strengths: After going to another clinic first, I was extremely impressed with the organization of this clinic. Everyone is vey nice, they are efficient. Hours are great. Never have to wait long. Weaknesses: They have so many patients, which sometimes makes me feel like a number.

He was very down to earth in our initial consultation. Asked my husband and I personal questions, which I liked, as it made me think he wanted to get to know us and cared. Always speaks to me like his equal, rather than a patient.

She is extremely responsive. ALways answers my questions in a timely matter. She is organized.

He is thoughtful and thorough, Always explains everything so I understand. If I need clarification for something, he explains it. He is realistic. I am currently still under his care and only starting round #2 of IVF, but he always comes up with a plan with me, rather than for me, and explains his rationale.

He is not warm and fuzzy, but he is thoughtful and reasonable. If you are looking for hand holding, he is not for you. But his knowledge and his confidence are very impressive.

For my first round, I used Gonal F 300 and night, then added Menopur 75IU and Cetrotide (can't remember specifics). I only had four follicles from. 5 eggs were retrieved. Only on embryo made. Sent for genetic testing. Embryo was not recommended for transfer (can't remember reasoning). For my second round (just started tonight), I am using Micro Lupron twice daily and adding Menopur 150IU and Gonal F 300 in the evening.

It was convenient. Hours start at 6:45 and end at 8:30 so it did not interrupt my work schedule. The earlier the arrival, the less I had to wait. There were often many people there (especially on the weekend, where we had to go to the main central location), which again makes me feel like a number.

I'm lucky that my insurance covers 15K in fertility medication (per lifetime) and 3 rounds (per lifetime). For the first round, we reached out 15K in medication! We still had to pay out of pocket almost 3K for medications on top of that. We learned that pharmacies charge insurance companies insane amount of $$ for meds. If you are paying out of pocket for medications, there is a significant discount. For the second round (new med protocol and paying out of pocket, we have spent about $3100 so far, significantly less than previous. I do not know the cost of specific services. Genetic testing is not covered under insurance and is about $4100 out of pocket. Even if not embryos are recommend for transfer.

busy office and you have to come in early, sometimes a wait but never more than 30 minutes. And usually they take you within 5 mins of your arrival. ALso sometimes you have to wait in the room for the doctor to come in for 10 mins but not more. usually very fast. eveyrone who works there is really nice and friendly.

Dr. Reichman is always extremely responsive to emails (answers usually right away) and questions I had while at the office for ultrasound appointments and bloodwork. However usually when I am there for ultrasounds the visit lasts less than 5 minutes and he doesn't ask if I have any questions and doesn't always explain what he's seeing in the ultrasound. However, when we first started seeing him, we had an hour meeting with him to discuss the plan and we just had another hour meeting with him to discuss potential IVF, in which he took the time to explain everything to us and answer any questions. He definitely treats me like a human and not just a number.

They were great, really responsive and nice and friendly.

Dr. Reichman is a great doctor and he clearly cares a lot about his patients and is very responsive. Also extremely bright and has a nice bedside manner. However, he overlooked something that could have saved my husband and I months of trying to conceive. Since I was diagnosed with PCOS on my first visit to him, he assumed that the problem was me and therefore did not recommend that my husband get tested as well. After 6 months of Letrozole (which worked very well for me and got me to ovulate on the first try) and not getting pregnant, we finally pushed for a semen analysis (although he didnt recommend it yet) and found out that my husband had a low sperm count, at which point Dr. Reichman recommended IUI. After 3 IUI's and still not pregnant, WE asked Dr. Reichman if he thought it would be a good idea to see a reproductive urologist and he said it couldn't hurt and gave us a recommendation. We ended up seeing the urologist who told my husband that he had a double varicocele on both testicles and he had surgery to remove them. Now it has been 3 months post surgery and still not pregnant but at our last IUI a week ago, his sperm count had trippled. Howeevr, no we are finding out that there may be another problem with his capscore (ability of sperm to fertilize the egg) and the only way to deal with that is through IVF, however we want to wait at least until 6-7 months post-op to start IVF. In my opinion, Dr. Reichman is a great doctor, but he should have told us from the start to get my husband tested, because you never know if its just one persons fault or both until you get tested. If I had a freind going to see Dr. Reichman, I would recommend that she push to have her husband get tested on the first visit to avoid any further complexities and to make the process go faster.

get your husband tested on the first visit even if he doesnt recommend it

fFirst I just did letrozole and since i have PCOS I reacted really well to it and began ovulating on the first try. Did this for a couple months. Dr. Reichman says normal couples TTC have a 1/5 chance of getting pregnant every time so he thought we should do that for 5-6 months. 7th month we did IUI after finding out that my husband had low sperm count, although he probably wouldve waited to do another cycle or 2 without IUI if we hadnt done semen analysis of my husband. Then we did IUI for 6 cycles. last 2 IUI's I was on clomid instead of letrozole so I would ovulate more than one egg and have a better chance of conceiving

normal co-pay for ultrasounds, price depends on your insurance. my insurance didnt cover IUI, so we paid $750 out of pocket every time. Also HSG was around $250 that we paid out of pocket, but depends on your insurance and fertility benefits.

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The Tribeca office is great - nice staff, efficiently run, and very comfortable environment. I was always seen on time. The UES, where you will have to go for IUIs and on the weekends when Tribeca is closed, is less so - there's a higher volume of patients and so there's longer wait times, more anxiety in the waiting room, etc. Also know that if you're doing IUI that Dr. Reichman most likely won't be doing the procedure unless he happens to be on call - it wasn't a big deal to me and I had the same doctor do the procedure both times who was lovely.

Even though he was likely seeing dozens of patients a morning for very short periods of time, I could tell that Dr. Reichman always prepared himself to see me, knowing the details of my treatment and even remembering personal details about my job, husband etc. The front desk staff at WC are extremely friendly, and very quickly remembered my name which I was always impressed by.

Hannah was who I mostly spoke to during my treatment. The office ALWAYS called with results and instructions on time, and she is just genuinely a warm person. I didn't have all that many needs for frequent communication but I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience.

I loved my experience with Dr. Reichman. He's very direct and to the point, which can come off as blunt but I appreciated because he was always very honest and helped manage my expectations. He only tells you what you absolutely need to know, and monitoring appointments are very quick, so if you're like me and prefer to be over informed, know that you should come to your appointments prepared with questions to ask. Dr. Reichman really knows his stuff - I always had full confidence in his plans - and appreciated how he would always explain his plan of attack, including recommending that I schedule a "strategy session" to discuss next steps if I was not pregnant after 3 rounds of Clomid. He always answered questions via email very quickly and encouraged me to email him directly at any time.

Ask a lot of questions and try to prepare for your appointments in advance because he sees a lot of patients. Go in for monitoring appointments on the earlier side (before 8am) if you want to get seen without any wait. Put your faith in him and do as he says and stay off of Google!

After he diagnosed me with mild PCOS, he recommended Clomid as a starting point as it appeared I only needed help ovulating more regularly based on bloodwork. He didn't push me to get other tests done right away (other than genetic screening) as he could sense I was hesitant, but after my husband decided to get a SA and it came back with a lower than average count, he recommended IUI to improve our chances of success. After the first round of Clomid didn't result in pregnancy, he recommended an HSG to make sure we weren't facing any additional obstacles, and he also recommended back to back IUIs for the 2nd round of Clomid. I got pregnant on that 2nd round, but if I hadn't we would have had an appointment to discuss our next steps and I believe he would have recommended moving on from Clomid after the 3rd round.

I have Cigna and all of my procedures and appointments were 100% covered, except for genetic testing (that was around $350 - they have a deal worked out not to exceed that if your insurance doesn't cover), so I mostly just had a specialist co-pay each visit of $40. Since there are a lot of monitoring appointments, all in I'd say I was spending $200-250 a month on co-pays or so.

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Upon initial consultation I met with the patient coordinator, Amanda, who explained all the steps I would need to take in order to begin the process. She was very patient and informative and guided me throughout. As a new patient the process can be quite daunting but she always took the time to explain everything to me thoroughly. Make sure to coordinate any insurance issues with the billing department, as that is a time consuming process.

Dr. Reichman took the time to ask me exactly what I wanted out of the process and tailored a plan specifically for me, and treated me with precise care each visit

The nursing staff was always available to answer questions, speak through concerns, and show kindness through the whole process. They returned calls in a very timely fashion and explained anything I didn't understand. They were professional and skilled in performing any tests required.

Dr. Reichman is a skilled, highly educated and kind doctor. I always felt that he was attentive to my needs and gave me straightforward answers. When we got a few embryos after the first retrieval he advised me to do a second one before doing a transfer, as I had told him at our initial consult that I wanted as many kids as possible,and if we waited it would be more difficult in the future, based on my age. I appreciated that he took me at my word and advised me according to what I wanted out of this whole process. He is completely informed on the latest technologies available and always treated me with complete kindness. I have recommended him to many people already.

Trust him and do what he says!

Estrogen patch for a week before period 150 menopur + 300 FSH first few days, then added Cetrotide, HCG trigger shot

Monitoring hours are in the early morning and I would make sure to arrive pretty close to when they opened. A typical wait for me was 10-15 minutes tops, they work quite efficiently there.

~$11,000 for the retrieval ~$10,000 for the PGS testing ~$3,000 for medications (insurance covered some) ~$4,000 for the transfer

I initially asked Dr. Reichman for a multiple embryo transfer, I thought it would be fun to have twins, he explained the risks involved and as we were doing PGS testing on the embryos the chances of success of one implanting were higher

The facilities are great. The waiting area has nice light and comfortable seating. The clinic is quite big and feels very different from seeing Dr. Melnick at her office, which is a few blocks away and quite small (but, also new and very nice!). Even though there are comfortable couches, due to it’s size - it feels like a hospital. I have had to wait quite a while a few days. My first trigger shot, I somehow ended up waiting for like 2 hours (there was a class - it is a teaching facility). After that, my husband always gave me the trigger shot. All of the staff are very nice.

Dr. Melnick and her team are very warm and very efficient. Most of my appointments have been in the morning before work (as it seems with most of her patients). She teaches and has surgeries during the regular hours I would have possibly been able to go in. My experience was always one of an efficient morning with caring people getting things done (reminded me of a family environment getting ready to go school / work in the morning).

Holly the nurse who helps with prescriptions and such is super helpful - responds well to emails and is very informative. The other staff - Connie (manager?), Lindsay (nurse who assists Dr. Melnick and takes bloods), and Jersey (front desk) are all very nice and work really well as a team.

Dr. Melnick is very smart, sensitive, and efficient. Early on (maybe our first meeting), she told us that she likes to take the stress off of her patients and that they will be monitoring all of my hormones, etc.. I think she made this statement after I had asked about or shown my ovulation testing (urine strips vs. temperature). My husband and I have relief with this statement for sure, but we also want to know and wrap our heads around things. My first bloodwork was uploaded onto MyChart (Weill Cornell uses this system), which was great because we could go in and see - but all of the following results were never uploaded. I think Dr. Melnick’s philosophy is that unless we ask for details about things or have specific questions, she will continue with the next course without giving a lot of details or explanation. (Maybe this is standard practice because nothing was alarming in any of my test results) This has worked out well for us as it has taken the stress away at times. It has also made us gather a list of questions to ask before a visit. Dr. Melnick was recommended to me by a friend and I see why. For me (and I’m sure others), she’s been a great balance of warmth and cool / calm / efficiency.

Morning appointments have always been really easy to get in and out for me and come with specific questions to ask as your meeting with her will be quick.

I have had 7 rounds of Clomid and 4 IUI’s. My body responded well the first month to Clomid (I believe it was 50mg), but the second month only 1 or 2 follicles so the third cycle the prescription was increased to two tablets. This worked well for the last 5 cycles. Everything she prescribed made a lot of sense. Our insurance does not cover IVF - and, if it did we probably would have tried IVF after 2 IUI’s. She told us that the percentage of IUI working goes down each time, but she worked with us with what made sense financially. Because our insurance deductible was paid, we continued with IUI’s and Clomid through the rest of the calendar year. Now we are gearing up for IVF in this new year.

I now am out-of-pocket that I’m starting the process for IVF and I just paid $600 for my sounding. The IUI procedures along with all the bloodwork and ultrasounds were paid by insurance and I saw some very bizarre negotiations between the clinic and the insurance so I don’t have straight numbers for them. All of my medications needed pre-authorization and I would pay out of pocket mainly due to timing for Clomid, which is quite inexpensive.

I haven’t really gotten to a conversation with her about this yet. She said that it’s most efficient for the clinic to fertilize all of the eggs that are extracted and freeze extras - but we didn’t talk about how many would be transferred.

Weill Cornell has a large volume of patients, and it's not cheap. But hopefully you get top notch treatment and that will make it all worthwhile. For daily monitoring, come as early as you can (ideally before 7 AM) to get in & out more quickly. Also, it seems in 2019 they have enhanced their financial collection efforts - I had not even invoiced yet for coinsurance from my 1st cycle and they were asking me to pay the balance prior to starting my 2nd cycle.

Based upon the process thus far, we are happy we chose Dr. Kang. She has a nice demeanor, and is very easy to talk to but also professional & clinical. I've been fortunate to see her for all my monitoring ultrasounds at CRM except one (which was with an RE fellow). Given the volume of patients they have at the clinic, she is good with remembering our specifics and has been helpful in keeping our spirits up during what can be an emotional, difficult process.

Thus far in my treatment at CRM, I have not felt like I had one particular assigned nurse or clinical coordinator. Would be really helpful for them to establish a single point of contact up front for clinical questions/issues, and in particular if you could communicate with them more directly via email, secure message etc. Sometimes you are not in a workspace conducive to being on the phone talking about your treatment, and at those times having an alternate method by which to communicate with their staff would be invaluable.

Dr. Kang has been great thus far - I appreciated that she did not immediately push us to IVF and instead took a more pragmatic approach of trying IUI. She did my first IUI, and then the 2nd cycle I asked to do a double IUI, both of which were performed by nurse practitioners. One thing I will say is I feel like the timing of the IUIs may not have been ideal. First cycle was only 22 hours post trigger (which seemed early), and 2nd cycle had IUIs at 26 & 51 hours (2nd seemed really late). I would prefer they teach you how to administer the trigger shot at home on your own so you can get the timing closer to 36 hours (my IUIs were all in the morning about 9:30-11). We're still awaiting results of 2nd cycle, but if it didn't work I'm going to push for that.

The clinic is busy and they talk fast. Be prepared with questions for each visit with her, or you can call & talk to her assistant (Diana) or the nursing staff. Especially when it's your first cycle I feel like you need to do this or you may wish later on you'd done things differently (it's expensive you want to maximize your odds of success each round).

First cycle, I went in for baseline bloodwork & ultrasound on Day 2, then took 100 mg Clomid/day for Days 2-6, monitoring bloodwork & ultrasound Days 12, 13 & 15, and trigger shot on Day 15 with IUI next morning (22 hours after trigger; 2.25 hours post collection). Had 3 mature follicles (16, 20, & 21) on day of trigger. Did not work and Dr. Kang said afterward that clomid had resulted in thinning of the uterine lining (endometrial stripe was 6.8 when triggered), so we would try letrozole/femara next round. Second cycle did baseline bloodwork & ultrasound on Day 4, with 5 mg letrozole/day for Days 4-8, monitoring bloodwork & ultrasound Days 11 & 15, and trigger shot on Day 15 with double IUI next 2 mornings (26 hours after trigger, 1.5 hours post collection, & 51 hours after trigger, 2 hours post collection). Had only 2 mature follicles (21 & 14) on letrozole but better uterine lining (9.4), but given my age if this cycle doesn't work she recommended going back to clomid to increase our odds with more follicles.

Our insurance has a $30K lifetime max for infertility treatment so I've been tracking costs of everything really carefully. Would recommend putting it in a spreadsheet right away because there will be A LOT of insurance claims and it can get very confusing. Here's how it breaks down thus far (total for both husband & myself): o Diagnosis (physician consult, bloodwork/ultrasound, semen analysis & HSG test) = Billed charges ~$5,700; after discounts our insurance paid ~ $3,200; our cost sharing (deductible & coinsurance) ~ $900. o Genetic Testing (through Mt. Sinai Genomics/Sema4) = Billed charges ~$20,500; after discounts our insurance paid ~ $1,400; our cost sharing ~ $500 ** I think the billing staff at CRM said if the genetic testing was not covered by insurance it would only cost a few hundred dollars each, so was completely shocked by the enormous amount billed to our insurance. Wish they would have told us about that in advance (and fortunately our insurance confirmed genetic testing would not go toward our $30K lifetime maximum).** o IUI cycle #1 (medical) = Billed charges ~$4,600; after discounts our insurance paid ~ $3,300; our cost sharing ~ $300; o IUI cycle #1 (Rx-clomid & ovidrel) = after discounts our insurance paid ~ $70; our cost sharing ~ $130 o IUI cycle #2 (medical-estimate) = Billed charges ~$4,700; after discounts our insurance paid ~ $3,500; our cost sharing ~ $400; o IUI cycle #2 (Rx-letrozole & ovidrel) = after discounts our insurance paid ~ $50; our cost sharing ~ $120

N/A - have not discussed since we are only doing IUI so far.