Ashim Kumar

Dr. Kumar takes his time for every consult, monitoring appointment, and procedure. I've never felt rushed. He seemed super serious at first and a little intimidating but we've warmed up to him. He's funny and friendly. Very knowledgeable, empathic, and skilled. During our first consult he assured us that we WILL get pregnant, which I was surprised by because nothing about fertility treatments are a guarantee.

Go in for a consult. The initial consult was very informative. I thought I was pretty informed about infertility and IVF, but I learned a ton from him in that 1 hour meeting. Definitely worth the consultation fee.

Follistim, Menopur, Ganirelix / dual trigger (hcg and lupron) / same protocol for both egg retrievals / 2 egg retrievals = 40 total retrieved, 8 blastocysts

Nurse and nursing staff are fantastic. Knowledgeable, caring, responsive, friendly. I've never had issues getting in touch with my nurse - call the clinic, they pick up right away, and I'm transferred to my nurse within seconds. They've also been empathic when delivering not-so-great news (poor-ish blastocyst rates). Nursing staff will chat with you during blood draws, which is a nice distraction.

I like that the clinic is small enough that I don't feel like Patient #XYZ. The doctor, nurse, and nursing staff know my name and treatment protocols, but above that, they know and remember things that I've shared with them about my personal life, like my career/job and hometown. For example, I had to schedule an additional monitoring appointment that wasn't on my original schedule and the nurse remembered that afternoon appointments are hard for me due to my work schedule. Another time a nursing staff asked how my work's been going since I shared that with her a couple of appointments ago. Front desk staff are also very friendly. Note that this clinic only has one doctor. The longest I've waited was an hour (this was on a Sunday when they have limited staff), and I'm usually in and out within 30-45 min, which I think is reasonable. So you won't be seen immediately all the time, but you get to see your doctor for every monitoring appointment.

initial consultation, 2 egg retrievals, 2 frozen embryo transfers, genetic testing for up to 10 embryos, medications = $30,400

Overall good experience. However, wish if there was either a booklet (or email PDF) was given to us or nurses needs to be trained better to explain/educate steps of the treatment in more details - such as what exactly includes and NOT includes in a treatment, and the benefit of added features ( other tests, procedures, such as PGS, etc). Since it's a large investment ( emotional, physical, & financial), patients cannot afford to repeat with new features/tests. They should have the aggressive attitude of providing ALL necessary info in the first round to avoid regrets lateron.

Very knowledgeable doctor/specialist/expert, however very busy, so you must do your research and ask plenty of questions to discuss all info you need. he'll provide enough meetings ( free) for your additional concerns/questions.

Weaknesses : Usually we have to call and remind/ask about things. We were not given the option for a "fresh" transfer, as she was on "vacation" ... days/week went by, not a single call from the facility after our egg retrieval. Universally speaking, a smile is freely given, but no so with her... She had difficulty smiling. She usually rushed through instructions... and felt bothered when asked to repeat or explain further.

Decent facility, with affordable / flexible pricing packages for treatments, Doctor is well knowledgeable, but do alot of your research on your own, and ask questions of different treatment methods as the doctor will not be able to give you all info, and get alot of tests done, so you'll spend your money efficiently. And makesure to interview your nurses to see if they meet your needs.

Dr. Kumar was one of the best doctors myself and my husband have ever worked with. Our initial consultation was extremely thorough and he spent a great deal of time with us. He did all of my ultrasounds and would explain everything he did as he did it. He diagnosed me with PCOS and explained why things weren't working. I asked lots of questions and he never made me feel like I was bothering him or my questions weren't valid. He genuinely takes the time to reassure his patients. I enjoyed working with him so much that I have contimplated flying back to see him for baby #2 (out of state now) . He is so knowledgeable. He caters his treatment to the individual and not just a general basis. I know several people personally who have had success with Dr. Kumar, myself included. I trust his opinion completely and with full confidence. I never once felt like it was about money. I truly felt like he wanted to help grow our family and that was his only motivation.

He's an extremely sought after doctor with a lot of people to see. You will more than likely not see him at your scheduled time. He does his best and never rushes his patients....so this means a wait. It's always worth it.

Dr. Kumar came highly recommended. His office was always full, but I never felt like I was rushed or left feeling uncertain with unanswered questions. He spoke extremely calmly and carefully. I never felt like a question I had was the wrong question. He would always ask me if I understood everything before we would move onto something else. If I didn't understand we would go over things again. He just took to the time to make me feel like I was important and my treatment was important. It was catered to me and my needs. He did all of my ultrasounds and gave me all of my results himself.

I was very lucky that my journey with Dr. Kumar wasn't as involved as other women struggling. I started with a round of Clomid and timed intercourse. An initial ultrasound was done to diagnose my PCOS and given my history with no periods/no ovulation he started me on Clomid. Clomid is known to thin the endometrial lining so I was also put on estrogen and progesterone (both taken vaginally). Dr. Kumar explained that he's seen much better absorption and results when the medication was as close to where it needed to be as possible. I took the Clomid for 5 days and then went in for an ultrasound to check my follicle growth, as well as a blood draw for hormone levels. I waited 2 days (per orders) and then gave myself and injection into my abdomen to trigger an ovulation. My husband and I were instructed to have sex on specific days in hopes of catching the egg. After 10 days on the last day of timed intercourse I took a pregnancy test-negative. We tried again with another round of timed intercourse, but instead of Clomid, I used letrozole. Dr. Kumar explained it does the same thing as the Clomid without the major thinning of my lining. I still took estrogen and progesterone. This round worked! I became pregnant with my daughter. My lining was the same thickness level with Clomid and Letrozole, interestingly enough. My stress levels and pressure on myself was way better for my second round.

I was with Dr. Kumar when he was in an office transition and the level of care never changed. Everyone was always extremely helpful and kind. They knew waiting was not ideal, but would come in and give updates.

Honestly, the only downside to the clinic was the waiting, but we we're never rushed once we we're seen. Dr. Kumar took the time to take great ultrasound photos (once pregnant). He always answered our questions and before leaving he would double check to make sure we didn't have any last minute thoughts we wanted to go over. The receptionist/nurses/phlebotomist/billing we're all effective communicators and everything was done with the utmost care and respect.

My insurance at the time covered 50% but it was still expensive for all ultrasounds/lab work/diagnostic work and then they covered 90% once I was officially pregnant. That being said, I expected to spend anywhere from $200-400 every time I went into the office. The initial consultation was $300 and that included an hour of conversation/history followed by blood work/ultrasound.

I never got this far with Dr. Kumar

I can remember my first attempt of IUI and receiving a negative pregnancy test, walking into that office was heart wrenching. As I sat in the exam room with tears in my eyes, Dr. Kumar walked in and immediately sympathized with my feelings and assured me, I would get pregnant and I did 3 cycles later!! His compassion that day meant so much to me. I immediately knew, he was someone I could trust throughout the process. Unfortunately, we tried 4 years later with no success and no more money BUT I know at some point, I'll see Dr. Kumar again and he'll help get me pregnant again.

Trust him! He will not stir you in the wrong direction!!

He was very caring and sincere throughout the entire process. Not once did he make me feel like a number!

Initatially, I started with Clomid but Dr. Kumar immediately recognized this wasn't the best approach so he had me start injections to which we saw progress in what we were achieving. Dr. Kumar monitored my progression and highered/lowered my medication based off of every scan. Clearly he knew best as he got me pregnant.

Great people from what I can remember.

Pricing! They don't provide general pricing over the phone. Not to mention, they have HUNDREDS of clients, why not lower the cost to make it affordable for ALL people like myself! At the time I received services, my provider didn't have a fertility doctor available so they offered to send me to an outside source which is when I found FSA. I no longer have this insurance carrier and cannot afford treatment as I don't have $20-$30k sitting around!

Fortunately at that time, it was covered by my insurance carrier. NOW however, the cost is absolutely ridiculous and out right unaffordable unless you are rich! I'm working/middle class and cannot afford $20-$30k for 1 cycle!! Sad because I'm longing for another child and all these doctors see is dollar signs! They take advantage of those who desperately seek a child and it breaks my heart!!

When I was able to speak to him he was very compassionate and caring. But he would miss phone appointments or would be too busy a lot of the time and I had to go through his nurse who would take a while to get back to me. I was scared to keep bugging them after a while as I thought that could affect my treatment t and care if I became annoying

It's not a hand holding clinic

Difficult to communicate with dr kumar without going through his nurse who didn't give much information

Three week cycle to stim. No embryo glue. He prefers single transfers but will do double. Everything is done through Arlene his nurse. She makes the calendar. Not too many adjustments to the calendar after it's made. I felt I should have had another week of injections to thicken my lining instead of the 3 weeks that resulted in only 7mm upon transfer (of course or failed)

Arlene is a woman of few words. Apparently she's very experienced and knows her stuff. She's not warm or fuzzy and very little hand holding. I felt that maybe she didn't like me but maybe she's just super busy

I hand holding!

He strongly prefers set due to seeing people mc with multiple

He Did the initial exam. Said I had diminished ovarian reserve as he looked at my ovaries through ultrasound. left the room. I cried. Came back after he looked at my bloodwork and said he was wrong. That’s what I remember from my visits

Make sure you look completely through your patients chart before assuming a diagnosis. Multiple times I had to remind him why we were there and our diagnosis.

There were A LOT of couples in the waiting room. It seemed like a revolving door. One came in one came out.

Did follistim injections. Trigger with ovridel. Had multiple large follicles but were always on my right side where I have no Fallopian tube.

The nurses were good. They answered all my questions. We’re very thorough with instructions when discussing treatment plans and medication schedules.

My husband complained about the the collection rooms. He felt they weren’t private enough. And made him feel uncomfortable. The amount of people in a waiting room should be better controlled. Maybe better scheduling.

10,000

I had no idea how to go about the idea of getting pregnant with my then, female partner. We were referred by Kaiser, and the moment we sat down w/ Dr. Kumar, he was able to answer all of our questions with full detail.

Before insemination, he's open in letting you know the sperm count and if you should do a second insemination w/ a more potent specimen

He explained everything thoroughly, followed through when I was on medication, answered all my questions

At first just Clomid was used, didn't get pregnant the first cycle. 2nd time, Dr. decided to use a more aggressive method in which I was on injections to help me ovulate, and it was successful.

I don't really remember them, but they were very caring and attentive.

The clinic was very clean, friendly staff, and organized. They treated my partner and I very nicely considered we were the same sex. At first thought the paperwork I had to fill out was a bit much, but they honestly just needed to know every detail about my health and past.

Kaiser pretty much covered most of it except medications. I'd say my partner and I spent about $1400 each try, and that included meds and sperm vials.

Dr. Kumar is simply amazing he sits with you as long as needed to discuss and makes sure you understand. His bedside manner is wonderful and you leave feeling accomplished and wonderful about where things are going.

This office treats their patients like family and you will truly miss them once your parents!

I felt human because we became like family he was invested into my journey and cared about us! He was sad when we were and happy when we were.

My nurse gave me her cell phone number to call if I needed anything even when she was going out of town! She always made sure I was good and taken care of.

Clean, organized, friendly always saw a range of people all happy. They made sure things were kept private and made sure environment was good! Rosie at the front desk is such a friendly face to see and call each time!

I really liked him. I feel like he was upfront and honest about our options but probably pushed us into IVF when we could have tried other options. I had a complication during egg retrieval and I didn't think he addressed it appropriately afterwards

Be your own advocate

I met primarily with the same nurses and always the doctor. However for being there every day the office staff never knew me by name or at least pretended not to and I felt like Kumar had to stand outside the door and read my chart before he came in.

They were all pleasant but could be rude on the phone or if you asked too many questions. They didn't return calls in a timely manner. The bottom line is the clinic has too many patients