Carolyn Kubik

Very intelligent and knowledgeable about the ivf process she uses but not willing to try anything outside of her general treatment plan. Dismissive of any research you might do yourself... nice and calming to speak to, but it kind of feels forced.

Ask a lot of questions and more important be your own advocate. Do your own research so that you know what to ask bc if you don’t ask questions you won’t get answers. Also so you can get as much information as possible.

Felt like treatment was not individualized, and that things were not always discussed in a way that made me feel like my specific situation was important. I received “generalized” email responses that contained incorrect/opposing information from what I was verbally told in the office, and when I questioned it, I was made to feel like I was annoying or a bother to them.

I have pcos and complex atypical Endometrial hyperplasia. We Started with ovulation induction. Had a polypectomy and then at the suggestion on my oncologist, an inserted to keep the hyperplasia reversed for ivf. Stims meds were menopur, Ganirelix, and lupron trigger shot. Doses were super low, trying to avoid ovarian hyper stimulation bc of pcos and high levels of unopposed estrogen.We did a freeze all cycle as the iud was in place for the stim cycle. Retrieved 32 eggs, and had 10 embryos, 6 made it to freeze. We waited about 4 weeks, biopsied the endometrium. When the biopsy showed negative results, we removed the iud and started b.c. To prepare for the frozen embryo transfer. Used Lupron injections and the progesterone suppositories. Transferred 2 embryos each time over 3 Transfers. All failed.

Again, I felt that my concerns were dismissed. We didn’t know anything about ivf when we started, and I was scared. I felt like I was bothering them, and felt like I was meant with attitude.

The lab techs (blood draws, ultrasound) are the nicest people I encountered at the clinic. You see them the most, sometimes everyday...and they were so friendly and compassionate and easy to talk to. They were caring and reassuring and professional at the same time.

Approx 20k, before meds

She explained the risks and benefits of both.

Strengths- she is very encouraging when you talk with her. She is thorough when going over test results. Weaknesses- it seems like the facility treats a lot of patients, so you deal more with staff than the doctor directly.

Do you own follow up and be proactive. Be your own advocate. Make sure you are ready to talk about everything and contour own research. Bring questions to the table.

We only got to talk to the doctor once so far. Everything else was handled by a nurse or a nurse practitioner. Even the IUI was performed by a different employee. I don't think we saw the same nurse more than once. All results were provided through a patient portal and no phone calls; no face-to-face meetings. No follow up on how we want to proceed after the IUI failed.

The treatment strategy is to run all of the female testing during one cycle which results in a lot of visits in a very short period of time. Test results were provided via a patient portal. Then a doctor visit to discuss the results and our options. IUI was scheduled for the next cycle based on at-home ovulation testing. I didn't get a positive ovulation result within the typical window, so they scheduled for day 14 regardless. IUI was performed but unsuccessful. We opted to hold off on future treatment until further male factor testing could be completed.

Strengths- they are professional and good at getting you in and out. Good at taking blood. Thorough with all procedures. Weaknesses- the facility seems to see a lot of patients so you may not get the same nurse every time which is disappointing when your concerns are already heightened. The patient portal is insufficient. Sometimes a phone call is better than a message via the internet. It's easy to forget to update the portal so then the office doesn't follow up.

Primary mode of communication is their patient portal which is good if you enjoy that type of thing, but I think with such a sensitive topic phone calls are more appreciated and more information can be passed along.

All testing up until diagnosis was covered by my insurance except for co-host and co-insurance. Most of the tests were run on-site with the exception of one which was sent to an outside lab. The clinic and the outside lab have an agreement for reduced fees. The IUI was out-of-pocket but their cost was reasonable when compared to other facilities.

She is warm during her initial consults with you, but when you begin to have setbacks in therapy, she becomes appethetic. The only way to talk to her, was via messages through her nurse or during phone/face to face consults. She really downplayed the diminished ovarian reserve. My husband and I were in total shock when she suggested canceling the cycle on day 4 because of lack of results. Ultimately, the cycle was cancelled before egg retrieval due to DOR and I was told by her nurse that she would not try another cycle with my own eggs. The nurse said the doctor would only move forward with IVF if I did donor eggs. It was horrible that the nurse was communicating this to me. I had so many questions, and she just kept suggesting that I make an appoint,net with the doctor to discuss donor eggs. After my husband and I gathered ourselves together, we began researching IVF clinics that specialize in DOR and have had better success at Shady Grove with Dr. Bromer.

If you find out that you have diminished ovarian reserve, RUN! Find another clinic. Don't waste your time and money at RHS. Look outside of Pittsburgh to find a doctor that is willing to work with your condition. PGH, is a conservative market, look at clinics on the east coast.

300 Gonal F and 50 Menopur. In talking to other clinics and having further labs run, I was prescribed DHEA 75mg and CoQ10 1200mg. When beginning IVF 2, I was put on Gonal F 450 and Menopur 375.

In all honesty, I think the nurses were overwhelmed and so care and communication suffer. i felt rushed anytime I had questions and received inadequate answers. Also, I hated having to communicate via a nurse to get answers from the doctor. Also, when we decided to have our escorts transferred to other clinics, we were given a hard time and they charged us on a few occasions.

RHS won't allow you to monitor anywhere, but there, so it's a pain to go for IVF monitoring if you don't live near Penn Hills. RHS is very protective of their numbers. There's a reason they have such high IVF success rates. They don't take chances on candidates that may not be successful. Don't be fooled by those high rates. All RHS doctors worked or studied at UPMC, so they are all pretty similar in their decision making and treatment protocol. If you're unhappy with one doctor's treatment plan, then I doubt another doctor from that clinic would do anything much different. Most doctors in Pittsburgh treat patients conservatively, if you are looking for different approaches that are more aggressive look at east coast clinics. We interviewed 5 clinics before settling on Shady Grove and Dr. Bromer. Each clinic offered a unique treatment plan that was different from RHS.

I think 1 IVF session cost $8,000. There were cost sharing packages, but I don't remember the particulars.

Dr Kubick was incredibly nice, and took time to explain things. However, she was not open to trying anything new or changing my treatment. After my 3rd chemical pregnancy she gave me the exact same speech in my regroup as she had given me four times before. No explanation, no new ideas, no suggestions to try something new. She just wanted to do the same thing again. My other complaint is that I believe I was over stimulated in my first cycle and that was the only transfer that was a complete negative (all others chemical). I asked her if I was overstimulated and she said 'no', but my next retrieval with her she just used the same protocol but stopped me earlier, resulting in less eggs. After sending my medical records to 3 doctors for another opinion, they all independently said that my estrogen was too high for a fresh transfer (both times). Two of the three doctors questioned if I had PCOS or PCO-like ovaries. The doctor I switched to put me on a different protocol that was more beneficial to me because of how many follicles I had (lower dose, longer stim), something dr Kubik never considered. Dr Kubik was nice, but nice doesn't mean you will have a baby. I feel like they have a set protocol and if it doesn't work for you, you are probably out of luck with dr Kubik.

Don't do more than one cycle with her! If you aren't an 'easy' case, then definitely look elsewhere. Don't fall for her kindness and 'try try again' attitude.

She was compassionate and good bedside manner.

She was amazing! I truly consider her a friend to this day.

All of the doctors collaborate, so I'm assuming my experience would have been similar with any of the doctors. I think it's a flaw of the clinic.

Approx $13k for IVF w ICSI incl fresh transfer. Approx $4k for a frozen transfer.

My first transfer was an eSET bc they were confident it would work- saying my eggs retrieved, fertilization and blast report were all above average.

She always answered all my questions. Sometimes blunt, but very specific and made sure I understood everything. Always took the time to explain things and felt confident in her treatment plan for me.

Be your own advocate, do research and come with an idea of what you want your treatment to be.

All of my questions were always answered in a timely matter. No question was very dismissed or ignored.

We started with clomid only. I asked about using a trigger shot and was quickly given the option, we spent many months using clomid and the trigger shot with timed intercourse. Prior to treatmeant I was only getting a period once every 4-5 months. After 6 months of timed intercourse she recommended IUI. Due to scheduling conflicts this wouldn’t take place for another few months. On our first attempt at IUI (with clomid and trigger shot) we got pregnant with 1 baby. We are currently 6 months pregnant!

Wonderful nursing staff. They were always quick to answer my questions and supportive when I needed their support.

Very clean and inviting. Lots of pictures of success stories. Sometimes the pictures made me feel uncomfortable because I wondered if I would ever be lucky enough to have my baby’s picture hanging in their office.

Cost was always discussed up front, and I felt they were fair.

I loved Dr. Kubik and would recommend her to anyone. She has a warm bedside manor and was always honest but kind. She never makes guarantees but gives all possible outcomes. I didn't see her at every appointment but she was always available via phone or through the patient portal.

Don't stress over everything but let Dr Kubik guide you through the process.

Dr. Kubik was always compassionate and explained everything thoroughly. I felt like she took my feelings and struggles into consideration during my treatments.

I had 9 failed IUI's before I switched to IVF and got pregnant on my first fresh transfer. The first 3 IUI's were natural while the remaining 6 used different fertility medications (Clomid and Femera) to see how my body would respond best. The failure of the IUI's were just bad luck.

The nursing staff at RHS is amazing- everyone one of them was kind, compassionate, flexible, and showed the upmost respect for us as patients.

This clinic is owned and operated by mostly women and many of them were patients at one time- this means they understand what its like and can sympathize with the struggles and difficult results. Because they are so busy, they do leave most communication to the patient portal which doesn't always seem personable but effectively gets communication to each patient.

Don't remember

This clinic stresses the importance of one healthy baby so they are conservative with their approach to as to produce healthy embryos.

Dr. Kubik was great! She never rushed me through an appointment. She was honest and kind. She gave me the facts but seemed hopeful and understood the costs and emotional challenges with moving forward. She was never pushy.

You won’t see her every visit but she is there when it counts and she is one of the best!

Dr. Kubic was very compassionate yet honest. She didn’t give false hope but was enthusiastic and caring.

Because my AMH was very high, she didn’t use menopur on me. I still overstimmed so we do a Lupron shot before the egg retrieval and then I had to wait 2 months before I could do a frozen transfer but it was successful!

The nursing staff was my favorite. It felt like they had become my friends. I knew about their families, where they were going on vacation, etc. they were supe friendly and very educated!

Strengths - friendly, experienced staff. High success rates. Always got into appointments on time. Convenient schedule for working women. Weakness- couldn’t think of too much - maybe just more time with the actual doctor. My 2 IUIs were not Done by Kubik but I wish they had been.

We spent about $18,000 total including medicine for IVF. I believe the IVf with ICSI was about $13,500

My doctor recommend one embryo for transfer and due to many preemies in my family, that’s all I wanted. She felt that due to my age and it being more male factor, one would be best for me.

Dr. Kubik was extremely knowledgeable and answered all our questions thoroughly. She also treated us with compassion and understanding when we hit stumbling blocks, like having to convert our IVF cycle to a freeze-all when I developed symptoms of OHSS. Our daughter was conceived from a FET cycle two months later and was born last month after 4+ years of trying to conceive! We are so in love with this baby girl and can't thank Dr. Kubik enough for helping to bring her into the world.

If you have questions, ask! She knows her stuff and will give you an honest answer.

It sometimes took them a few hours to respond to online or phone messages, but when they did they were so compassionate and helpful.

RHS has a very personal approach to care. It was nice to have the staff remember me and know my name when I walked in the door and had various tests and procedures.

About $25k for a shared-risk IVF program, not including tests and about $2k in drugs. Each of our 3 IUIs was $295.

Unfortunately we did not have a successful IVF cycle with RHS. The nurse called to give me the negative results. When I asked to speak with the MD I was told I had to schedule a phone appt, which took 5 additional days. When she called, she was short and lacked empathy. This was off putting to me especially considering on my initial appt she spent a lot of time with me and appeared compassionate. At the end of our conversation she said I could make an appt with her face to face if I wanted to discuss more options. I would have appreciated a face to face conversation to discuss the results of my IVF cycle but that was not offered. Therefore I chose a different clinic to proceed with and I am now pregnant with twins :)))

Be as compassionate when delivering negative results as you are when convincing the patient to chose your clinic.

All communication is thru a portal and it takes time to get a response. Then if you call, the nurse isn't always familiar with your case.

Dr Kubik took the time to walk us through the reciprocal IVF treatment for my wife and I. She treated us with dignity and respect. As a Lesbian couple, my wife and I were concerned how we were going to be treated during this journey, but Dr Kubik and her staff were very welcoming and kind.

Know that she is not warm and fuzzy. But she is knowledgeable and understanding.

Dr Kubic took the time to speak with my wife and I and answer all our questions. She and her staff were very kind to us and made us feel safe and wanted there.

The nursing staff have been great at answering any and all questions we have. They are friendly and informative.

The clinic is clean and professional.

Pre Testing - $2,000 Egg Transfer & IVF Cycle - $13,500