How was your experience with Carolyn Givens at Pacific Fertility Center?
During an egg retrieval cycle, you see one of the doctors that's available when you go into the office. You are going almost daily if not daily for a week when your eggs are growing and I think I saw a different dr each day for the sonogram. I liked all but one. Her bedside manner was nonexistent and I think she laughed at one of my questions in a scoffing manner. I already felt like an alien growing eggs and full of hormone shots so I didn't need this dr I had never met acting that way. I gave that feedback during my "exit interview" after my eggs were frozen. They seemed genuinely interested in knowing how I felt about my interaction with that dr. Everyone else was great. I can't rem if Dr Givens or another dr harvested my eggs. I had such great results and felt so comfortable overall there that it didn't matter. I've met with her twice recently to discuss next steps (turning my frozen eggs into embryos and implantation to become pregnant) and she is open to answering any and all questions I have and new information I may have read up on that she hasn't heard about yet...things are happening quickly in this field.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Carolyn Givens at Pacific Fertility Center?
Ask a lot of questions and do your research. For the egg retrieval portion, it's pretty straightforward and takes up a month of your life. I've found that it's better to talk to as many people as possible when moving forward with the rest of the IVF process. There are many more moving parts and things to know.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Carolyn Givens at Pacific Fertility Center?
PFC does a lot of business. That's just a fact and it's obvious when you're in the office and when you call in. This is not really your friendly neighborhood doctors office with just your Dr or a couple docs, it's a practice and a center with a lot going on. I like that it was this way. It feels both high end (makes you think modern and successful in producing live births) and super professional.
Describe the protocols Carolyn Givens used in your cycles at Pacific Fertility Center and their degree of success.
The drugs I took were Follistim, Menopur, Ganirelix and HCG. I ended up going for a couple more days to let the eggs get even bigger so I needed more Menopur which I was able to pick up at the office (PFC). They keep drugs on hand for this last minute purpose as the rest comes in the mail ahead of your cycle. I ended up with 28 eggs retrieved and 22 were frozen. Given my age at the time of 39.5, I would have to think her protocol worked well.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Pacific Fertility Center. (Assigned nurse: I had a team and email stream with team on it. )
I don't think I had a specific nurse, but I did have a coordinator and team assigned to me. I was able to email my team specifically so the best person could always pick up my question and respond. When you are in your cycle, you are always able to reach someone and get really fast service. I think they work weekends. When I called after hours, a dr called me right back to answer my question.
Describe your experience with Pacific Fertility Center.
Strengths: professional, discreet, convenient location to get in and out of, highly qualified doctors, the office feels brand new, fancy fertility lab onsite surrounded by glass so you can see them when leaving, their own egg donation center across the hall from their offices, very responsive when you are an active patient, nice nurses and doctors, your own financial contact who handles your payments and answers any questions you may have.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Carolyn Givens at Pacific Fertility Center.
I think my total fees for egg retrieval in 2014 was $12,000. That included all of my drugs. I think the finance person grossly underestimated how much my drugs would be. The dr. Also added more at the end to let my eggs "cook" a bit more. On their price sheet in 2014, they list X-Cycle Fee as $8,345. They say this includes 4 of each of the following---office visits, ultrasounds, Estradiol as well as one of each of the following---anesthesia, egg retrieval, facility, lab, cryo preservation & one yr of storage ($600). Blood testing, ultrasound and at least one office visit were covered by my insurance as they will not cover fertility treatments, but do pay for "diagnostic procedures and tests provided in connection with infertility evaluation. Office visits and consultation used to diagnose infertility."