Althea O'Shaughnessy

Hands down, the most insane moment we had with Dr. O'Shaughnessy was when she flat out refused to answer my question of "if this transfer doesn't work, what is the next course of action?" I asked three times and by the third, it got awkward and I finally let it go. Her answers were all along the line of "don't worry, it will work!" Well, it didn't and not only were we devastated, we didn't know what was next. Another time, I mentioned to her that a procedure I had just had was terribly painful and maybe they should look at options to make patients more comfortable. Her response was that there was nothing they could do. Upon switching physicians at the same clinic, I learned there was a LOT they could do to make it a more pleasant experience and, frankly, it was for me when I had to have the procedure again. We only met with her twice during the entire treatment plan. Both times, we found ourselves apologizing for taking up her time as she seemed annoyed that we were in her office. Only after did we realized how messed up that is! Lastly, I've read feedback that she is condescending to her patients and I would 100% agree with that. She made condescending remarks to my husband and myself after we had asked her to clarify dosing protocols since she wasn't making any sense.

Don't be a patient of hers! This process is too expensive, stressful and demanding to be seen by a bad doctor.

Dr. O recommended a single transfer for me based on my size and that it was our first transfer. There was no reason to doubt this course of action and we were in full support/alignment.

Dr. O is wonderful with providing the hard facts but still making you feel like she cares. She has been so patient with my husband and I and the long list of questions we've had at every visit. At times when I've been upset, she has shown compassion. And at times when we've needed it, she hasn't sugar coated the details. I've always felt like I was in expert hands at each visit. And at every visit, she always makes sure I have her contact information and take a business card, just in case we have more questions or need anything. Are there maybe more personable Doctors out there, I'm sure there are. But she is a great balance and I respect that about her and would recommend her to anyone.

Don't expect bubbly, sugar coated. Expect the facts, expect to be told the truth, and know that there will still be compassion when necessary. Ask any and all questions that come to mind, she will answer them thoroughly.

I am just at the beginning of our protocol (stims starts this week), but was told that we are approaching my protocol strong due to my age and endometriosis. I am on an Antagonist protocol which unfortunately, i don't understand but intend to ask my nurse tomorrow. Since being told this is our protocol, I have not seen Dr. O so I haven't not had the opportunity to understand the rationale, nor do i know the potential results.

Thus far, we are expecting a total of just over $18,000 for our Conceptions care, plus medication.

Dr. O has communicated that due to my age, she only recommends single embryo transfer due to the impending risks of multiples. She explained the potential risks of 2 babies as well as the extreme risk of transferring 2 embryos and should those embryos split. My husband and I trust her opinion and expertise and will absolutely follow her recommendations.

She was very blunt and to the point, did not sugar coat anything and was a little cold coming off. However I did appreciate that as it is the kind of info I would rather have opposed to having someone beat around the bush.

Don’t be offended by her confidence and strait forwardness.

Estrogen priming cycle before start. High dose menopur 2 vials in the am with omnitrope 0.7ml for 9 days and high dose gonal f 450 in the pm. Cetrotide toward the end. Stimmed for 14 days total 7 follicles at my last us 8 eggs retrieved 7 mature 3 fertilized 2 look good still on day 3.

I was lucky enough to have bits and pieces covered by insurance, but even with that we paid a lot more then we had thought. I do feel like dealing with insurance coverage and getting credits was a bit difficult to figure out as we had several credits and I had to specifically ask and remind people about them.

As far as I remember dr didn’t have a strong opinion either way. But we will only do 1 frozen when the time comes.

I would have liked to see her more before and during my treatment just to have her check in with me and reassure me on any of my hesitations or concerns. I spoke directly with the nurses who were the middlemen for any questions I had.

You should expect to be someone who has a basic knowledge of the egg freezing process as she does not give an introductory overview of how your body functions and what the full process is like. Expect to be the one who initiates the questions to fully understand everything.

I am currently in my second round of egg freezing and the doctor recommended I do a short stint of estrogen before my cycle started. She wanted to try a new approach to get me to produce more eggs. It seems to be working so far as I am producing more eggs this round than my first round.

I only compared the costs of Conceptions with one other clinic and Conceptions was less expensive. They also offered me a discount with my second round of egg freezing, and ordered my drugs from a different pharmacy that was providing the lowest costs.

My doctor stressed to me the importance of doing a single embryo transfer as opposed to a multiple embryo transfer. I asked if it was still possible to do a multiple embryo transfer, and she responded that they really only encourage a single embryo transfer. When and if the time comes for me to do an embryo transfer, I believe I will request a multiple embryo transfer.

Dr. O is very smart and that is apparent in the initial meeting with her. She has a lot of experience in her field. My husband and I appreciate this aspect of her and that she gives you information bluntly and will answer all your questions. The reason for my negative ranking is as follows: She is very opinionated, knows what she is thinks is best and wants to stick to that plan only. Some examples of scenarios where we disagreed and we were met with opposition are the following. 1. We denied karyotype genetic testing during our initial testing because as believers in Jesus we would not change our plans to try to conceive naturally or transfer an embryo based on a positive result of having a higher chance of having a child with multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, or other perceived "genetic abnormalities" (Dr. O was very aggressive in pushing back and challenging this decision and that there are options to test embryos so that we wouldn't have a child with CF - which entails testing an embryo and then throwing it away if it is positive with one of the "genetic abnormalities" 2. Similar to #1 we do not want to do PGS testing in a potential IVF round for similar reasons that relate to our strong beliefs about the value of life and Dr. O's views on this are very apparent from the beginning (She wants to create and transfer ONE genetically perfect embryo for highest chances of success) 3. She is very strict about only doing a frozen transfer and only transferring one embryo at a time (we would prefer to transfer 2 embryos at a time due to the desire to not do PGS testing and we do understand that there is a high likelihood that 50% of embryos will be abnormal and either miscarry or not implant altogether but we are committed to transferring all potential embryos at some point in our life). I mainly feel that my personal faith based beliefs are not respected by Dr. O. I do understand she has gone through a lot of education and is aware of all the statistics and best practices but as Christians I care about more than just the "best practice" and want to move forward in a way that honors what I know is true about the value and gift of life. I don't mind that she presents all the facts but I do wish we were treated differently with regards to our views. For all these reasons, I would caution my best friend of going to Dr. O due to her aggressive, and sometimes hostile nature, regarding anything that does not align with the "medical best practices" of genetic testing and selective embryo transfers. As previously mentioned, there was some confusion around if I was truly diagnosed with PCOS or not and I dot not understand why she wasn't blunt about this from the beginning like she is with all of her other information that she delivers.

Be prepared with a list of questions to ask her and be well researched. She really appreciated that I knew the language and had done preliminary research on testing and treatments. When she walks you through an IUI or IVF process she talks quickly and matter of factually so you could get lost in all the details if you haven't at least read about it or discussed it with someone before. Also you can be blunt back to her and hold your ground if you have strong opinion or convictions about any part of this process. I strongly recommend researching the moral and ethical implications that accompany certain fertility treatments so that you know what you are agreeing to.

My husband's SA came back with low morphology at 1% (everything else was great!) and he started using Theralogix's conception XR as prescribed. Dr. O recommended using Letrozole instead of Clomid for medicated IUIs because I have a high resting follicle count (later officially diagnosed as PCOS) and they believed I would easily hyper stimulate. IUI Cycle #1: 5 mg of Letrozole (or Femara), CD 12 sonogram - L ovary: 18 mm R ovary: 18 mm, triggered at 9:30 pm, IUI 36 hours later on CD 14, sperm (post wash): 34.7 million, motility 89%, prometrium CD 16 through pregnancy test 14 days post IUI. Negative pregnancy test. IUI Cycle #2: 5 mg of Letrozole (or Femara) CD 12 sonogram - L ovary: 16 mm, 15 mm. 12 mm R ovary: 22 mm, triggered at 9:30 pm, IUI 36 hours later on CD 14, sperm (post wash): 18.4 million, motility 88%, prometrium CD 16 through pregnancy test 14 days post IUI. Negative pregnancy test. IUI Cycle #3: 5 mg of Letrozole (or Femara) CD 11 sonogram - L ovary: 17 mm, 12 mm R ovary: 19 mm, 15mm and 13 mm triggered at 9:30 pm on CD12, IUI 36 hours later on CD 14, sperm (post wash): 25.8 million, motility 92%, prometrium CD 16 through pregnancy test 14 days post IUI. Negative pregnancy test.

Initial fertility testing (with some insurance coverage): $1,100 Each IUI cycle: CD1-3 ultrasound and bloodwork (out of pocket): $402.16 Letrozole: $10 (with Good RX coupon) CD12 ultrasound (out of pocket): $167.20 Trigger shot: $92 (Mandell's specialty pharmacy) IUI (out of pocket): $353.76 Prometrium: $30ish (With Good RX coupon)

I have not decided yet if we will move forward with IVF at this clinic or at all, however, see previous comments regarding initial discussions regarding genetic testing and selective embryos.

My experience as a patient of Dr. O'Shaughnessy has not been ideal. The entire group / Clinic is very cold when it comes to their doctors. I feel like it's missing a personal element. I'm thinking about finding a new doctor.

I would go into any consultation or interaction with her knowing that it's going to be straight and to the point. There isn't really any comfort or hand-holding. Not a ton of compassion. She comes off just very direct and a little bit brass.

after my consultation I did blood work and found out that I had a chemical pregnancy, it was not a result of anything to do with conceptions. They induced a menstrual cycle when my HCG levels dropped below 5, which means you're no longer pregnant. After that I did several rounds of timed intercourse with letrozole and clomid. During each of those Cycles I was on estrogen and prometrium. Everything was monitored via ultrasound. Trigger injections (ovidrel) were done it home. They all resulted in negative pregnancy tests. Dr. O'Shaughnessy wanted to try an IUI because my endometrial lining was so thin, but that never happened. We tried to grow my eggs with injectables instead of an oral medication and my eggs never grew past 9 mm, but my estrogen levels were through the roof so Dr. O'Shaughnessy said that it was unsafe to proceed or up the dosage of injectables because I would grow too many eggs at once and she wouldn't be able to trigger me. During the course of the injectables my lining was the perfect thickness. After that my husband and I took a 2 month break of trying and we regrouped was Dr. O'Shaughnessy and she suggested IVF. We have yet to pull the trigger on that because the cost is so high.

My insurance only covers $1,200 of diagnostic tests. Everything else is Bill to insurance and then I am given a bill when I show up for my next appointment for it comes in the mail. Basically, we're paying for everything out of pocket. Insurance doesn't cover a whole lot. My average visit is $200 and sometimes that several times a week.

In our meeting where we discussed the possibility of IVF she told us that the clinic has a policy where they only transfer one embryo at a time. She said if I really really begged her she would consider putting in 2 embryos, but she would extremely advise against it because a multiple pregnancy is a high risk for mother and child and my health is the most important thing.

Dr. O'Shaughnessey has proven success rates and is very knowledgeable. She knows her stuff and will communicate all of the options to you. However, she seems to treat every case as a factual puzzle to solve and struggles to show compassion for how emotionally difficult infertility can be. I feel like I am just another chart to look over and not a person with real-life broken dreams.

Check your heart at the door. Meetings with her are about the facts.

Dr. O's strategy is to share all of the information about the options with you and then let you choose what to do next, without a specific recommendation. It makes it feel like we have to figure it out all on our own.

All diagnostics tests and medications were covered by insurance and I only had to provide co-pays.

I only met with the doctor during my initial consultation and then during my re-group after the canceled cycle. Every other appointment and call was with a nurse. Several times, I asked to speak with the doctor about her instructions, and instead received communications back from the nurse who said she had spoken with the doctor. Dr. O put me on a priming protocol that was questionable for someone with DOR (estrogen and birth control). I only had 2 follices during my AFC, and was put on a maximum (very expensive) dose of medications (450 follistim/150 menopur/.7 cc omnitrope). Even though I started with only 2 follicles, my cycle was canceled 5 days later due to not growing more than 2. This did not make sense to me, and wasted thousands of dollars on medications. After my canceled cycle, Dr. O basically did not have any alternative protocols to try, and wanted me to go directly to donor egg. I have since received second opinions that this suggestion makes no sense, given my relatively young age and the fact that someone with DOR should not be expected to produce a lot of eggs in the first place.

If you are in Denver, it is worth spending a bit more money to go to CCRM.

Primed with estrace for 7 days , starting 7 DPO. Birth control pill for 5 days to delay start of stimulation medications. 450 iu follistim, 150 iu menopur, and .7 cc omnitrop for 4 days; increased to 300 iu menopur on 5th day. Canceled after that.

Initial consult: $325 IVF coordination of care: $986 IVF with ICSI and PGS testing, including 1 FET: $17,354 (most of this was refunded due to canceled cycle) PGS for greater than 8 embryos: $250/extra embryo (did not actually incur this) Anesthesia: $400 (did not actually incur this) Mock transfer/hysteroscopy/doppler: $870 (did not actually incur this) Subsequent transfer: $5,100 (did not actually incur this) Additional rounds of IVF: $9,895 (including ICSI & PGS, but not transfer) (did not actually incur this) Drugs (paid to MDR pharmacy): $6,378.76 (this did not include all drugs, but cylce was canceled before ordering all) Cycle cancellation fee: $3,350 (did not actually incur this; instead, paid $1,475 for services rendered)

I had a very bad experience with Dr. O'Shaughnessy. I came to the clinic and opted to go to the Rose office for a quicker visit to see the doctor versus waiting for the clinic closer to me and another doctor. On our first visit, we were explained that we would have a lot of testing and come back to regroup with her. We had ultrasound, labs and a semen analysis. When we met with her to regroup, we were told "everything looks fine" and that my resting follicle count was over 20. Come to find out from seeing another doctor, all of this information was false, there was in fact something very wrong and my resting follicle wound was 7, not over 20. We did two IUI's with Dr. O'Shaughnessy and should have never even attempted this due to my lab results showing I have premature ovarian failure. I feel as though we were treated as a number, she was not compassionate and didn't care about her patients. I came in to my second followup after a miscarriage after an IUI and was absolutely hysterical and she just stared at me and got very angry when I asked for an ultrasound. It was overall a horrible experience and I do not recommend this doctor to anyone.

Don't see her unless you enjoy being treated poorly and essentially laughed at. There was no compassion when I was upset over a pregnancy loss, no explanation or further attempt, I felt as though she was simply after my money. Go see another doctor in her practice.

Two IUI's, one with Letrozole which resulted in a chemical pregnancy and another IUI with follistim which was negative.

I had no contact with billing office at the Rose location.

No.

She was caring, compassionate, and professional. She is a great communicator, easily reachable via email for questions/concerns. She performed every procedure and saw us for 99% of our visits.We felt like we were seen and heard and treated like individuals.

Speak up! Be your own advocate because she is more than happy to listen and follow your lead.

We were IUI patients. I believe I took follistim and the ovidrel for a trigger shot. I also tested for having elevated natural killer cells (NK) that could have been causing miscarriages so after the insemination I took steroids-- about 10mg/day of prednisone-- to help combat that.

I do not recall; they participated in my insurance at the time so we only had copays.

Dr. O'Shaughnessy is very experienced and authoritative. She made me feel at ease after a bad experience at another clinic. She is very matter of fact, which for me, works well. She gives the facts and doesn't necessarily add much color commentary. She is responsive by email and also makes time available to talk on the phone.

Don't expect warm and fuzzy or humor. She's very pragmatic and straightforward.

1 IVF - Gonal F (150) / Menopur (75) / Omnitrope protocol. Day 5 of monitoring showed only 3 follicles. Decision to convert to IUI cycle due to low response. - IUI not successful. Diagnosis - diminished ovarian reserve 2 IVF - Estace pre-cycle // Letrazole / Gonal F (150) - "estrogen primed cycle" - introduced Menopur later in the cycle. Ganirellex. Trigger shot. 5 follicles retrieved. 3 fertilized (donor sperm) // 1 arrested at day 3 // 2 arrested at day 5. None made it for PGS testing. 3 IVF - about to begin // will use Ganirellex prior to cycle day 1 in hopes of getting more even growth across follicles.

I have $25k Lifetime coverage through United Healthcare which Sher accepts. I gave a $1k deposit to cover all office copays at the start of my cycle. My medication is coverage through my medical insurance - minus $3k deductible.

My experience with SHER- NY was amazing. EVERYONE, from nurses to receptionists are welcoming and sensitive to your needs. Dr. O was always readily available via email, even responding on weekends and vacations. The ONLY time another doctor at the practice treated me, Dr. O called me just before the appointment to go over everything 1 more time. She is wonderful.

Trust her. It's an emotional process- but try not to be too emotional. See it as a goal to be met and take care of business. Follow her orders and pray for the best!

Standard hormone injections for egg retrieval, Lupron treatment for slightly abnormal lining, and cleaning out of uterine fibroids. The Lupron treatment normalized my lining to produce a successful pregnancy.

I know they offered package deals for multiple cycles, but cannot remember how much they cost. I do know that they accepted our health insurance which meant we were only responsible for 10-20% of total cost, and some uncovered things (genetic screening, additional testing, prescription copays etc)

The doctor was very reachable and seemed very open in her communication. I cannot fully trust that the large number of tests that totaled more than $5,000 were only driven by necessity and not by the clinic's desires to make additional money ( tests were not covered by insurance). My cycle at the institute (which was my third IVF - and i"m a normal 35 yo with no known problems) did not succeed, so I have mixed feelings about the Dr., who seemed to be very convinced of success rates. Also, she put me on lupron depot which was probably the worst kind of medication for my body so far. I never was told of the side effects , and in my case happened to be quite bad.

Ask as many questions as possible and fully understand what you are actually being tested for - what the purpose is and how the results are being interpreted.

She ultimately gave me the same treatment for the IVF as the past doctors. She used a lupron protocol. However, we did a genetic test on the embyos so we had to continue with a frozen cycle. Because the endometrial function test showed some slight abnormatlities ( a test debated by many) - she put me on lupron depot. This was followed by an FET cycle - one embryo out of 5 tested was deemed good - and we transfered it. I was put on nightly injections of progesterone and delestrogen. Ultimately the cycle failed.

Monitoring appointments were scheduled generally early in the morning, but everyone was put on a waitlist with desired times. Usually if i requested lets say 8:30, i would get that time. So the appointment process was quite easy to manage.

$11,000 (+/- a few hundred) - it was so expensive that I actually did a spreadhseet. Also i had insurance cover the IVF - this was only for tests, and FET.

Dr. O'Shaughnessy is a great Dr. She has years of experience and I felt very confident from the beginning that the protocol she was using was the best for my case. She was not a great communicator, but I was a satellite patient so I never met her until my retrieval. Dr. O can be very blunt in her tone, but she wants the very best outcome. She is very direct and honest regarding your chances and your results. I consulted with four Dr's I had recommendations for. She was the only one who went thru my bloodwork thoroughly. If you are a satellite patient (meaning your doing all your monitoring at another facility) you just have to make sure you stay on top of your results, and ask a lot of questions. From a surgical stand point, I felt very confident with her and her team.

To make sure you are prepared with your questions during the monitoring phase. From my experience, I felt Dr O was not as attentive during this stage because its not as important to the dr. despite every day being important to the patient.

I did not do any monitoring here. I did my monitoring in Virgina at RMSVA, which I have to say was wonderful. They treated me like I was their patient and they sent my results on a timely manner.

Dr. O'Shaughnessy spent a lot of time answering our questions and confirmed many things our previous doctor had said. She outlined the course of testing and began it immediately. She wasn't familiar with the clinic's CDC data, so she couldn't answer questions about that, and she also didn't have information about financial pieces - she said we'd have to make an appointment with the billing office.

We're still in the testing phase, so costs aren't clear yet.

One thing that we asked about was whether she was willing to transfer abnormal or mosaic embryos. We'd heard that many clinics refuse, but she told us we would have that option with additional waivers and genetic counseling based on specific PGS results.

She is a little blunt, and keeps her consultations quick and in and out. I could’ve stood for a little more compassion. But she is very smart. I did trust her with my treatment. I will use her should I opt for a second round.

Prepare for cut to the chase straight forward answers. You’ll get them.

Gosh it was the most convenient ever. I went in at my leisure, and was immediately seen.

One round of egg retrieval, and FET was upwards of 20,000 plus meds. We cannot afford to do this a second time, sadly, and we only got one embryo.

Dr. O is very knowledgeable and knew exactly The perfect course of action for my husband and I. She explained our course and our test results. She respected leaving the sex of our embryos a secret. She was genuinley excited about our successes and reassuring when we faced an obstacle.

Have a list of questions before you go in to ask.

I have gone through so much, specifics have long passed out of my mind. I know a positive attitude by the couple goes a long way with the physicians protocol.

$15,000 around the final total.

We were advised to transfer 1. The possibility if the embryo is high. She didnt want to transfer 2 at a time die to increased risks for babies and mother

She was very knowledgable and thorough. Also seemed to enjoy her job. My husband and I actually discussed it and felt like she was somewhat like an aunt in nature- providing compassion, yet with direct facts.

Genetic testing- because it seemed a standard practice there. Egg retrieval and embryo transfer.

Mostly covered by my insurance. But we had to pay 20% out of pocket. Came to around $3000 per cycle.

I met with Dr. O'Shaughnessy once. There was an unexpected obstacle to an impending IUI. This was our first effort at treatment, so we were understandably worried about the problem. Given the remainder of our fertility efforts so far, I would no longer be super concerned about that outcome; however, Dr. O'Shaughnessy didn't help us understand the lack of need for concern. The most unpleasant part of the interaction was that we kept asking about a potential solution, and she was extremely dismissive while also misunderstanding what we were suggesting. Combined with the lack of consistent care, it gave the impression that no one in the clinic was actually following our case carefully.

IUIs with letrozole.

She was fine. Not particularly warm, but I didn’t need that at the beginning. I only saw her at the beginning of the process—once I was in a cycle, I didn’t see her at all. Because of that I don’t have anything else to write so now I’m filling up this space with characters: swrtuioppjdsacvnmiytdsc luresshhjoutrdcnkitenkouv jjdyikkbcefhjklmnbcrylmbverjklmn frdxsllyrscbb. Hhhhfffvkkvfdcbn hbjnfffg bgcckkbgyvxzchjm ggcxxkkggydxv vfgjnvfxxxhj gfcxxxxjjktsscv fdzbjig b jfsxbbutfcb vfxcbb

Be prepared to be your own advocate

I was prescribed Letrazole to build my lining and estrace and progesterone as well as a trigger shot. The first time, the trigger shot made me horribly ill

I believe my first round ofIUI was $1200, not including sperm. My insurance covered a portion of this moving forward

She was always kind and compassionate. Answered all our questions with honesty. Treated us like people and made us feel like she wanted this for us as badly as we wanted it for ourselves. Easy to talk to and get in contact with.

Be open and prepared for her to be candidly honest

Medicated Cycles of timed intercourse with Clomid and trigger. IUI was not done due to me only having one tube. Given the unpredictable nature of my cycle, Dr. O thought it best to not waste time, resources or money on that treatment option.

All was covered. If we do IVF, it will be around $13000

Not Applicable