Brad Swelstad

Dr. Swelstad is a pleasure to work with. He is caring and compassionate but also tells you how it is, not just what you want to hear. He will give you all the facts, good or bad, and allow you to make your own decisions. He is easy to understand and always has charts and visual aids to help explain things in an easy to understand way. Even though we have not yet had success, I believe he will get us to our goal and trust that he knows how to get there.

Listen to what he says, even if it is not what you want to hear. He will give you options but also give his opinion. I wish I had listened to his opinion earlier even though it would mean moving to IVF sooner.

Dr. Swelstad took the time to get to know us and talk to us about our lives outside of fertility. Our visits are always personable and enjoyable and he takes time to just chat instead of being in a hurry to get to the next patient.

We started with Dr. Swedlstad after 3 rounds of medicated cycles (clomid) with two of them including IUIs. Dr. Swelstad instantly switched us to Femera and did 3 cycles of that with IUIs. After this, we took a break and moved to combo cycles with 5 days of Femera and 3 days of Follistim injections followed by a trigger and IUI. The last 2 cycles, we also used suppository progesterone. All cycles failed.

The ARNPs at Pacific Northwest Fertility are amazing. They are the ones that have done all my IUIs and ultrasounds. They are always pleasant and compassionate. The nursing staff and MA staff are okay. Sometimes they are hard to understand on the phone but they always call when they say they will and are more than willing to get answers to questions they don't know the answer to.

PNW Fertility is a great clinic. They are accommodating when scheduling procedures, testing, and ultrasounds. They are open every day and it was never an issue to get in when necessary. They are a smaller clinic so it feels like they get to know you and you never feel like a "number". The clinic is clean, organized, and welcoming.

Overall we were very happy with Dr. Swelstad. The only negative thing we encountered was the way in which he approached his recommendation that we use ICSI in our first IVF cycle. According to my husband's sperm analysis all his numbers were above average, except for morphology, which was at the low end of average, but still in a normal range. To me, this indicated that there was no male factor, or at least not one that had been proven. Dr. Swelstad's rationale was that because we had unexplained infertility and had never conceived, it was possible that the sperm were having trouble fertilizing the egg despite the numbers being normal. He recommended that we use ICSI and gave us a ballpark figure of the price (not included in our IVF cycle plan) that turned out to be significantly lower than the actual price. Though he apologized for this later with the usual "I'm a doctor, I'm not in billing," we felt that if a doctor is going to strongly recommend an optional and expensive add-on treatment, that he should be informed about current pricing. After discussing it on our own and discovering the real price of ICSI, which seemed to be exorbitant compared to some other clinics we looked into and the national average, we decided we did not want to do ICSI. Dr. Swelstad then proceeded to call us to make the case again. In some ways we appreciated the personal attention, especially as he made the call at 5 pm, but we also felt quite pressured to proceed with ICSI. In the end, since we only had 7 eggs that were mature enough to be fertilized at all, we were glad we did ICSI, which resulted in 6/7 being fertilized. However, if we had had more eggs I don't think this procedure would have been necessary at all, and the clinic would not give us the option of making the decision after the egg retrieval. It is a fine line since the clinic does, of course, have a vested interest in achieving success, but we did feel pressured, despite Dr. Swelstad's generally kind demeanor and obvious commitment to getting us our positive outcome.

I felt very good after our first consultation with Dr.Swelstad. He was a great conversationalist and seemed interested in our situation in both a professional and personal way.

We did a fresh IVF cycle using my husband's frozen sperm and my own eggs. I was on fairly standard doses of follistim (increased from 300 daily to 375 when I wasn't responding enough), mini HCG, and later Ganirelix. My follicles weren't getting big enough, thus the increased dosage. If I did it again I would want to be on the higher dosage from the beginning, as I believe this was the cause of our relatively mediocre-average egg retrieval count. But at the time there was no way of knowing how I would respond, and we definitely didn't want to over-stimulate. I needed a few extra days, and therefore extra doses of ganirelix, but it all worked out well in the end, and I experienced almost no side effects at all from the treatment. 11 eggs retrieved, 7 were mature, 6 were fertilized using ICSI, and 5 survived to day 5. We transferred two and are now pregnant with twins.

Alyssa, who no longer works at PNWF, was awesome at communicating with us by email while we were still overseas and trying to get everything organized to start our cycle. I contacted multiple clinics and never got a better or more prompt response than from her. This was crucial to our decision to go with this clinic and her continued support and communication made the whole process very smooth.

The quality of care is great, very easy to get appointments at times that work for you, overall atmosphere is very welcoming. The downside is it is extremely expensive when compared to the national average, especially for extra things like ICSI.

We opted for the refund plan, which, once you added the extra fees for ICSI, anesthesia, etc came to over $20,000. The terms were that if you used all your embryos in 12 months and still hadn't sustained a pregnancy to 12 weeks, you would be refunded 80% (not including those extra fees and add-ons).

There was no option because we chose a refund plan that required us to transfer two at a time, and we were fine with that.

Dr Swelstad was very honest and open through the entire course of treatment. Despite the variables that couldn’t be controlled, he continually updated us on the direction of treatment and answered all of our questions very clearly. Dr Swelstad was sensitive to the needs of our family and was helpful in directing us with our choices to have a healthy successful cycle. He wasn’t shy about conveying the risks of treatments but also allowed us autonomy to decide which was to proceed. He was accessible and very friendly. I would definitely recommend him to anyone looking for treatment.

Don’t be afraid to voice your opinions, fears and dreams. He is very willing to work as a team and they will be very well received.

Every time I came into the office, even if it was just to make a follow up appointment or to have a follicle check and wasn’t even scheduled to See Dr. Swelstad, he greeted me by name and asked how things were going. He remembered my medical history and did a great job at answering all my questions.

We used an antagonist protocol for our IVF Cycle. We were successful with a 28 egg retrieval. Our fertilization didn’t go well and we ended up with 3 eggs for transfer at day 3. We transferred the two with the best quality and had a successful Singleton pregnancy and birth.

Our nurse and staff where incredible! They were always accessible for any questions or concerns through the process. They were compassionate to our situation and very knowledgeable about the procedures and protocols.

This clinic did a fabulous job of focusing on me as a person and patient, not just a number. They were timely and accommodating to my schedule. One weakness is that this clinic is not open for some procedures and that required driving to their other location about an hour away.

There were many options of IVF treatment with RCC. We opted for a single "fresh cycle". The cost including medication was just under $14,000.

Dr Swelstad did encourage us to transfer only 1 or 2 embryo. He did explain the risks of high order multiple pregnancies and births.

My experience was unique...we ran into one problem after another and had many set backs. In the end I felt like he avoided doing additonal testing that could have diagnosed my issues sooner and saved me a great deal of greif simply because I didn't fit the standard age or weight for certain issues to be likely. I would have gladly undergone and paid for more testing upfront. I was not diagnosed with endometeiosis until AFTER an ectopic pregnancy AND a heterotopic pregnancy due to the issue. I really think that is something that should have been found and looked for instead of finding PCOS and thinking that was the answer to all my problems. I was also diagnosed with endometeial hyperplasia but not nearly as soon as I think a more througho eval would have found it.

Ask for more testing if you feel its nessacary. Be your own adovate.

He was always busy and rushed but overall he seemed to care.

3 cycles on any one thing was recommended before moving on. I did Femara for 2 with trigger shots due to still not ovulating. Next 3 rounds of clomid, surgery, found hyperplasia, northendrone, biopsy problem not solved, was sent to oncologist, put on m- something as last resort, biopsy all clear, 3 more rounds of clomid, 3 rounds of clomid plus shots 3rd was ectopic pregnancy, wait, another 3 rounds of clomid plus shots, after third planned IVF. 3rd round was heterotopic pregnancy, tube burst lost tube but baby in uterus survived. I dont remember doses now but I way over reacted to the clomid plus shots and kept going down in amounts month after month. The lowest # of mature eggs I ever recall was 4 and I was advised to cancel cycles each time.

Jen always seemed annoyed. Too busy to be bothered with questions and getting phone calls returned was a nightmare. I dreaded calling with questions or concerns and she was very cold when dealing with ending my first pregnancy which was ectopic and devasting for me.

Getting an appoinment to sit down and talk to the doctor was always hard but scheduling other than that was usually not difficult. Their insurance lady, Michele, was horrible. She was horribly rude every time I spoke with her and always seemed so inconvienced with questions. One time I called her with a quick insurance question, a week and a half later she had not called me back. I called again and she informed me that she was busy and my question was not important so that is why she did not respond. This alone would make me recommend people not go there. Being as a lot of infertility treatments are not covered by insurance and its a sensitive subject matter I think the insurance lady should be expected to be kind and sensitive just as the nurses and doctors should be.

A lot, particularly when it came to shots and having to order them from another state. $7000 plus for each surgery Swelsted did.

Swelstad left the clinic right before we were going to start IVF so I dont recall discussing that with him.

Dr Swelstad is a very knowledgeable doctor. He really knew what he was talking about. He talked in a very clinical way and I understood all he was saying because I have a medical background, however it was hard for my husband to follow everything he was saying. He was not very compassionate. More just to the point about treatment.

If going to Dr Swelstad just know that he is very straight to the point and not overly compassionate.

I never really spent much time with the doctor after our initial consult. He was very scientific and too the point and somtimes lacked that human side of things.

We were only under Dr Swelstad's care for a few months. He ran a few blood tests on myself and a sperm analysis on my husband. He dismissed some of my concerns about pelvic pain and other cyclical symptoms. My next fertility doctor dug a little deeper and found that I had endometriosis. He also told us that my husbands sperm analysis was great even though his morphology was low. He told us that should matter because he had a high enough count. After switching doctors we have found out that the low morphology could be a major cause of our infertility. Dr. Swelstad performed an HSG in which everything appeared to be clear. He then had me take Femara for 3 months since my OB had me on Clomid for 3 months previously and it was not successful. None of the cycles with Dr. Swelstad were successful and we left with an Unexplained diagnosis.

The nursing team was very compassionate and nice. It was really hard to get a hold of them and they didn't always call back unless I left multiple messages.

The clinic was nice. It was a small clinic, but was warm and inviting.

I had costs related to mostly the office visits and blood work. The most substantial cost was for the HSG.

This was not applicable for us.

You go into your first appointment feeling crazy emotional and he had the right amount of empathy coupled with data that made me hopeful. He gave us a plan (both short term and long term) and we left feeling like there could be a light at the end of the tunnel (or at least we could affirmatively do something instead of just having unexplained fertility and doing the same thing every month).

I did my homework before I met with Dr. Swelstad and I think it made our first appointment much more productive because I was able to ask more detailed specific questions instead of having to cover the basics of fertility. If you're going to spend the time and money with a specialist, you might as well get your moneys worth and use his vast knowledge.

MY ob had previously done my fertility workup so I showed up with a big binder of test results and 19 months of cycle charts. He was very patient and listened to all my questions (and answered them).

Very response when I called with questions.

Takes a long time for the initial appointment, but once you're in then getting seen is a breeze. If you are having issues TTC and think you will need to see a fertility doctor, get the appointment on the books (under 35 so they say wait a year - I'd call before a year because it will take 2-3 months to get the initial appointment).

Dr swelstad was very nice and easy to talk to. He explained a lot to us and figured out a treatment plan that we both thought was great. We are happy to be working with him. He seemed very caring and not just as another patient but like he really cares about his patients. It was nice because we were so nervous.

Just relax you are in good hands he is very nice and easy to talk to!

My husband and I both really like dr swelstad! He was very nice and professional yet caring and we talked and figured out a plan for us within our means.

My husband and I had done 6 rounds of clomid and two rounds with iui. Nothing had worked. So dr swelstad switched me to femara with injections of follistim and trigger shot with iui and progesterone

Amber is amazing. She always calls me back in a timely matter and always emails me or responds to my emails in a timely matter!

Beautiful clinic. Everyone there was very friendly and nice from the front desk to the ma and nurse to the dr and the phlebotomist. I also Love that the lab is in the clinic. I wish I lived closer so I could always just go to that clinic and not have to go to a separate dr where I live for iui and ultrasounds

Everything is spendy with infertility it doesn’t matter where you go. I wish there was insurance here to help with infertility but pnwf does there best to help from billing what they can to insurance to helping you go through a fertility pharmacy so you can get your medicine at a better cost

Doctor swelstad was an amazing doctor, we have no complaints and we have a beautiful set of twin girls because of him. He was down to earth, didn't judge us, and we felt very respected. He was patient, calm, I would highly recommend him to anybody needing any infertility treatments. If I could do it again I would go to him.

Be open and honest

He was very down-to-earth, likable, professional, knowledgeable, and you could tell he cared about our situation.

I just remembered doctor swelstad being so respectful when we found out that we had to do ICSI. He was honest with us and open and respectful of our financial situation. When it came to medications he didn't over-prescribed but he also was honest about making sure we had enough medication to begin with to eliminate any stressors throughout the IVF cycle.

Nursing staff was overall pretty good, I felt that their compassion lacked a little bit. And their organizational skills was a little bit weak as it would sometimes take me awhile to get responses to emails and or phone calls

100% completely satisfied, I was always greeted with a smile and taking back in a timely manner. The financial part was done smoothly and emails were sent as well as appointment confirmations. The environment was welcoming, it felt like home

Overall I think we spent about $14,000 that included the IVF cycle, and medications

He was very kind. I just felt like I was a number, in that he didn’t remember certain things about my previous treatments/appointments. He tried a few different treatments and none worked, and encouraged to try IVF when I felt ready. I just felt like there was other things he could have tried/could’ve dug a little deeper.

Push for further investigation in your diagnosis.

Femara treatment for several cycles along with IUIs - I had unexplained infertility, so there was no rationale for trying these treatments-just kind of a shot in the dark. No results came of these treatments/cycles. He also did an HSG to try to further diagnose.

There was one nurse who was awesome and always showed compassion. I always felt well-cared for and listened to. There was another nurse (not sure of her name) that didn’t want to come in on a weekend to do an iui, so she just told me that the IUI’s don’t work well anyway (small chance of effectiveness). It was very disheartening.

Their secretary was so so great! I always felt she had amazing compassion! I think the overall course of the treatment depends on the physician employed at the location. I don’t think the physician I saw works at that location anymore.

IUI for the first time was $500ish-which included a sperm test. IUI $350 ish Any ultrasounds $200

Being Dr Swelstad’s patient has been a pleasure. We are mfi & somewhat unexplained and he always took the time to explain everything, never pressured us into expensive treatments without exhausting accessible treatments first, and was always on top of our treatment. I think we had a fairly good result in terms of ivf (I know many wish for 8 embryos out of the first retrieval) and I’m particularly happy he recommended pgs so we avoid heartbreak - 5 out of our 8 beautifully looking embryos were not compatible with life. Overall, I fully recommend dr Swelstad - he was caring and competent throughout the process.

Our numbers were not great, but not terrible either. We started with Femara timed intercourse cycles, moved to IUIs, then IVF (1). The antagonist protocol, with frozen transfer, resulted in success (so far).

The clinic has been great so far - everyone is on top of everything that’s going on and I never had any issues with scheduling, billing, etc. my first intake appointment was approximately 3 months out, but I’m not sure if this is normal or they were just very busy at that time.

Strengths: knowledgeable in the treatment needed. Friendly and compassionate. During my first cycle I found out that the embryo attached in the wrong place and my body wouldn’t miscarry it. Dr. Swelstad was very concerned and took good care of me making sure that everything went well. Weakness: sometimes too chatty. Always mentioned the possibility of needing a sperm donor which we were against.

He remembered our names, talked about our jobs, and our hobbies.

When it came to medication dosage it changed day by day depending on how the body reacted.

They always called as soon as they got blood work results. Returned any phone calls promptly.

Sometimes you had to wait a long time to get in to see the doctor even when you have an appointment. They offer discounted cycle upgrades and different times during the cycle. They are friendly and personable.

Medications $2100-3500 ICSI $1900/cycle About $17000 for 2 cycles