How was your experience with Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
He was kind, but not involved in ultrasound visits, and did not perform either my retrieval or transfer. I assume that he was involved in med changes behind the scenes during stims. After our IVF cycle resulted in a twin MC/ectopic pregnancy, he was in contact more frequently, and squeezed us in between retrievals so that he could do 2 last-minute ultrasounds to try to find the second embryo (after I had miscarried the first). He was kind and empathetic without being sappy; he told us what to expect if it was found to be an ectopic which is what we needed.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
Don't expect to see him during stims for either IUI or IVF. The doctors at this clinic monitor behind the scenes and have a rotating schedule for retrievals & transfers. There is very little contact with the actual doctor during a cycle.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota?
We had two consults with Dr. Campbell: one for the clinic & our first IUI there, then another pre-IVF meeting, with a year between. During those meetings, it was very much stats, numbers, step-by-step process for the treatment, nothing special or unique to us. I don't know that I really expected it to be tailored though, since they hadn't done the CD3 BW to determine treatment protocol at the times we met with him. After our IVF cycle, I had a twin MC/ectopic pregnancy. During that time, when I spoke with Dr. Campbell he was very kind and made me feel treated as a person. With that said, he usually calls to deliver IVF results, but was out of the office that day and a nurse called instead, which made me feel like a number.
Describe the protocols Bruce Campbell used in your cycles at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota and their degree of success.
Antagonist protocol: 2 vials Menopur daily + 150 Follistim daily for maybe 10 days, + Ganirelex for 6 days of that. HCG trigger. Our diagnosis is unexplained infertility; my levels are all good but borderline not good. The high levels of stims are due to that. He said at our WTF meeting that he would change to a Lupron cycle if we were to do another round of IVF, in hopes that we would get more blasts. (8 of 9 mature fertilized, but only 2 made it to blast.)
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
I saw different nurses at most appointments. They were fine. Not overly compassionate, but generally not cold. (Although the nurse who called with my IVF beta results could use a lesson in compassion, rather than saying "you're pregnant", then hedging on saying anything about the low level other than "well it's not good, you'll just have to come back.") The nurses called when they said they would to give me plans for the next day of stims, scheduling was good, etc.
Describe your experience with Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
The clinic has higher rates of IVF success, which is a strength that outweighs most weaknesses. However they see a lot of patients, which can lead to a bit longer waits for ultrasound appts. There are multiple REs and they have a calendar of who does retrievals and transfers, which rotates every 10 days or so. As a result, your RE may not do either retrieval or transfer.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Bruce Campbell at Center for Reproductive Medicine of Minnesota.
$10,475 for IVF cycle, plus meds. Meds were estimated at $3,000 for me based on CD3 BW results but ended up closer to $5,000.