Dr. McAvey is a fast talker. She is warm and friendly. If you come in with a list of questions (you can prepare in advance and email her), she will respond to almost all of them. She listens to your ideas about protocol changes and will work with you to try to find the best results....RMA's standard is to do single ET, but we requested to do 2 embryos during one of our transfer cycles. They reluctantly complied with our request. Regardless, the result was negative anyway.
At times, it was difficult to get a straight answer from the clinic [RMA]. It is a well-oiled machine. Yet sometimes, you feel rushed during appointments (monitoring or consultations), phone calls, or other interactions. There was one week I had to call every day to get a call back regarding the IVF plan and ordering appropriate medications. Medications were ordered last minute before a trip and I nearly missed a cycle due to the poor response. I never got an apology for their carelessness/disorganization/lack of responsiveness.
How was your experience with Beth McAvey at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF)?
Dr. McAvey is a fast talker. She is warm and friendly. If you come in with a list of questions (you can prepare in advance and email her), she will respond to almost all of them. She listens to your ideas about protocol changes and will work with you to try to find the best results.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Beth McAvey at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF)?
Do some research - as people what questions you should ask her. Have all of your questions listed in advance. Do not be afraid to speak up for yourself (by asking questions and advocating for what you want).
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Beth McAvey at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF)?
At times, it was difficult to get a straight answer from the clinic. It is a well-oiled machine. Yet sometimes, you feel rushed during appointments (monitoring or consultations), phone calls, or other interactions. There was one week I had to call every day to get a call back regarding the IVF plan and ordering appropriate medications. Medications were ordered last minute before a trip and I nearly missed a cycle due to the poor response. I never got an apology for their carelessness/disorganization/lack of responsiveness.
Describe the protocols Beth McAvey used in your cycles at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF) and their degree of success.
We did 4 cycles with Clomid (some where cancelled due to cysts). Due to my response to Clomid (and my concerns about elevated risks for breast/ovarian cancers), we changed to Letrozole for IUI. We did 3 cycles of IUI. Since research does not show additional benefit after 3 cycles of IUI, we discussed moving on to IVF. We did 2 cycles, first using an antagonist-protocol, the second using an estrogen-priming antagonist protocol (which adjusts for my high estrogen levels early in the cycle). Both had a high number of oocytes retrieved, but poor egg maturation/embryo blastulation rates. After 2 retrievals, we did 2 transfers. Neither resulted in a pregnancy, so we did additional testing and I sought additional opinions to make sure we were not overlooking anything. The testing revealed my husband had a balanced translocation. To potentially improve my embryo quality for the 3rd retrieval we changed to back to an antagonist protocol using an additional Letrozole flair during treatment. However, that cycle was the least successful - 2 embryos after 1 week but PGS testing showed they were both abnormal. Dr. McAvey then had a frank conversation about what to consider going forward and encouraged me to seek other opinions.
Describe your experience with your nurse at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF). (Assigned nurse: Olga & Anna)
Olga is cold, disorganized, provides inconsistent instructions to Dr. McAvey and Anna (for instance, she will say you have to take a HPT on Thursday instead of on Wednesday, she sometimes says incorrect medication dosage, she's not personable). In contrast, I saw Anna less frequently but she was always much more friendly and her instructions were more in line with Dr. McAvey.
Describe your experience with RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF).
The strengths - RMA clinical team includes financial resources (if you have insurance, they will do all of the calls for your benefits, bills, authorization for medications). All you have to do is call to authorize your insurance for the IVF benefit. They do have an organized system. However, at times that same organization is a detriment. RMA treats you like a number. On one of my retrieval cycles, a new Dr (I had never met before) did my retrieval. He barely introduced himself to me. Then after the procedure was done, I had to ask multiple times for Tylenol to treat the pain and for the oocyte count. In addition, the nurses rushed me out while I still felt groggy and confused from the anesthesia. On another visit, a transfer cycle - I requested to transfer 2 embryos. The dr. nearly bit my head off, he was nasty/short. It made the rest of the transfer an uncomfortable experience and hard to relax after.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF).
First come, first serve. The LI office was usually quiet. There was a wait only a couple of times.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Beth McAvey at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF).
Insurance covered most. Copays for medications ranged from $20-$190
Describe Beth McAvey's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF).
RMA's standard is to do single ET, but we requested to do 2 embryos during one of our transfer cycles. They reluctantly complied with our request. Regardless, the result was negative anyway.
What specific things went wrong at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF)?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF).
Sometimes they are on top of things. They call with results by lunch time, call in prescriptions etc. Other times, it's 5:30pm and you're wondering when you will hear from them and don't want to wait until 6pm (when they close) to see if you've been forgotten. I've had to call them to find out if I'm getting a call with my instructions for that day or to find out what's going on with my prescriptions. I've had to double check if instructions in my phone voicemail match the emails or my notes that I had from my monitoring appointment earlier that day.
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Clinic
RMA Long Island IVF (formerly Long Island IVF)
Garden City