Craig Sweet

I had three wonder experiences with Dr. Sweet. He helped me figure out my infertility problems. He took care of me during surgery for endometriosis, and helped me get pregnant afterwards in 2016. We came back and now we are pregnant again. He is very competent and reassuring. I love his staff, they are always sweet and helpful, and answers all my questions. I highly recommend Dr. Sweet, he is wonderful and very experienced.

Don't be discouraged if you have a failed IVC cycle. With our first cycle, we had a negative pregnancy test. Dr. Sweet changed the protocol we used, since we did not respond as expected with the first protocol. And we had a successful second cycle.

Our first cycle we used the Lupron protocol. We did not produce many eggs on this cycle, and our embryo's were poor quality. we transferred 3 embryo's due to the poor quality and froze one. We did not get pregnant this cycle. On our second cycle we switched the protocols (I don't remember what it is called), we had more eggs and better quality embryo's. He wanted to transfer 2, but we convinced him to transfer 3, as with endometriosis the implantation rate is lower. We successfully got pregnant with twins this cycle. We froze 2 embryo's on this cycle. Once our twins turned 2 years old, we went back and completed a frozen cycle. The three frozen embryo's were of varying quality, so we transferred all 3. We are not pregnant again with twins, and are very happy.

He had a flyer for IVC cyles. First cycle cost about $9,800, second cycle around $8,450, and third cycle discounted more. Frozen cycle $4500. Not including medications.

He prefers single embryo transfer, but will be flexible based on the diagnosis. Endometriosis has a lower implantation rate, so he will transfer two at a time. If the embryo's are poor quality he will even transfer three to increase your chances.

As a patient of Dr Sweets, I often felt more like family. He was empathetic, non-judgmental, and very warm. I never felt like an inconvenience, nor did I feel like a failure when things didn't go perfectly. He did his best to normalize everything I was experiencing while also being supportive and understanding of my needs and concerns. Dr. Sweet is a gentle human being who is ethical and careful as a practitioner.

I would offer the advice of not being scared or hesitant to share everything you think is pertinent to your case. Regardless of the fears coming up for you, he is on your side.

My protocol was effective and easy to understand. It consisted of birth control to regulate my period, two baseline appointments for vaginal ultrasounds to assess the condition of my lining as well as lab work, estradiol, vaginal suppositories, and progesterone injections. The day of transfer went smoothly, and about a week and a half later, I had my first beta drawn.

Unfortunately, I don't recall specifics. I want to say my cycles using donor embryos cost about $6,500.

I appreciated Dr Sweets approach to deciding how many embryos to transfer because he was open minded and didn't make the decision prior to having adequate information. I liked the idea of transferring one if the quality was deemed "good enough" by him and the embryologist; however, I was happy to hear that he was open to transferring more than one if that was not the case. That type of flexibility was something that was important to me. I truly felt like he worked on a case-by-case basis, which I was grateful for.

Dr. Sweet can be very candid (almost blunt) when initially meeting with a couple to discuss their fertility health and treatment options. For us, it felt like he wanted us to have a clear and accurate picture rather than sugar coating our options. During treatment, Dr. Sweet has a surprisingly impressive bedside manner. He is gentle, caring and funny at the same time. Dr. Sweet knows when to pause for a joke, when to include an anecdotal story and when to quietly pause to allow you to process the emotional aspect of IVF and infertility. We sadly miscarried after our first IVF cycle. During our first ultrasound to hear the heartbeat, we knew that something was wrong. Dr. Sweet took the time to explain everything that was happening and ensure we understood the gravity of the situation. Dr. Sweet sat with us while we cried and grieved and simply provided emotional support. He was available 24/7 until our next appointment for any concerns, and allowed us the time to process the information and determine how to proceed.

First impressions are not always accurate. He can come off as a bit harsh initially because he does not sugar coat and is very candid when discussing fertility health. It comes from good intentions and he will be a valued part of your team.

Superovulation IUI: Menopur and progesterone supplement after the IUI. (**Negative HPT.) IVF: Long protocol, which is recommended for many younger patients or those with strong ovarian reserve (I was the latter of the two…). I was prescribed Lupron, Follistim and Menopur. Due to Advanced Maternal Age and no prior pregnancies, we transferred 2 Day 5 blastocysts. After transfer I used Crinone (progesterone gel). (**Inevitable miscarriage at 8 weeks (genetic testing after miscarriage revealed Trisomy 18, which is "incompatible with life")) Medicated FET: One of the main reasons we selected a Medicated FET was the ability to control the cycle and predict when the transfer date would occur. Since my job requires 2 months advanced notice for time off requests, and they weren’t as supportive during our first IVF cycle, we hoped that having some idea of when transfer would occur would let me rearrange my schedule without quite as much push back. For our medicated FET, we used estrogen pills, which was a nice change from injections! Our medicated FET protocol included both intramuscular injections and Crinone. I started the progesterone on cycle day 17 in preparation for a cycle day 22 transfer. Due to my dreaded Advanced Maternal Age, we planned to transfer two embryos again this cycle. (**BFN) Natural FET: After our first IVF cycle resulted in an early miscarriage and our first FET cycle did not result in a pregnancy, we had two remaining embryos from our egg retrieval. We previously discussed the benefits of a medicated vs. natural FET cycle, and decided that we wanted to try a Natural FET for our remaining embryos. Although pregnancy rates in natural FET cycles are equivalent to that of medicated cycles, these cycles are much more difficult logistically to perform. We were also a little concerned with monitoring ovulation, since I ovulated prematurely during our initial IUI. In order to monitor for ovulation, we began using home ovulation predictor kits on cycle day 10. Our first ultrasound was on cycle day 12. I actually had two follicles that were developing (16mm and 17mm) and my lining was great, at 7.7mm. My estrogen level was at 219. Since it looked liked I was pretty close to ovulating, our RE opted to have us do an HCG trigger shot the following evening. Our HCG trigger shot was the first medication (other than prenatal vitamins) during this cycle – what a change! Five days after the HCG trigger, I started using progesterone supplements to help thicken my uterine lining further. Unlike our previous embryos, our remaining two had actually started to hatch prior to transfer. (**BFN) We are currently preparing for our 2nd IVF cycle. This cycle, we will be using an antagonist protocol, including HGH to address poor egg quality. The antagonist protocol uses injectibles to prevent premature ovulation

Our insurance did not cover fertility treatment (including diagnostic testing). Dr. Sweet does offer a "Dream-a-baby" discount program for people not using insurance, which offered a significant discount on the base price of IVF and FETs.

At the start of our treatment, I was 37 (Advanced Maternal Age) with no prior confirmed pregnancies. Due to this, Dr. Sweet opted to transfer 2 embryos each time. We did not do PGS.

Dr Sweet is a genius at what he does. Very smart and knowledgeable. We have been a patient for 4 years of Dr. Sweets. He diagnosed me with stage 4 Endometriosis and performed surgery before we started IVF. My left ovary was covered with endometriosis and he wanted to ensure we had both ovaries to give me the most amount of eggs. He took 4 hours during my surgery to carefully remove the endometriosis rather then just removing the ovary. We had 7 embryos and each transfer (three) I did get pregnant. Unfortunately, with my last two, we had genetic testing done which showed chromosome abnormalities. Dr. Sweet was very understanding to my concerns when we would have our follow ups. Never made me feel as though it was my fault and never made me feel like he was rushing me. All though I am still not a mom, I know he will make me a mom one day.

Be prepared for him to be blunt as possible. He does not sugar coat

At first, Dr Sweet put me on Clomid to see if I would ovulate. Unfortunately, that didn’t work two cycles. So we just went to IVF. I used Gonal F, menapur, progesterone, and some other med that I can not remember. For my two frozen transfers, I did a medical assisted one to make my body act as if I ovulated (progesterone shots and other pills that I can’t remember the name). For my second frozen, I preferred a natural cycle with Letrozal.

The cost for IVF was about 12,500 for the fresh cycle. Then FET were about 4200 each transfer. Meds are pretty standard but all depends on insurance. When we do another cycle, we will receive a percentage off due to this would be our second full round

He is open to what you would like to say, but he is very firm with single transfers, unless you have certain circumstances. He has discussed how multiples can have high risks and such. With me, I transferred two fresh (resulted in chemical) then two frozen (miscarried at 7 weeks w no heart beat) and theee embryos on my second frozen (one attached but miscarried at 10.5 weeks due to Turners Syndrome). He allowed this bc of not PGS testing my embryos. But, we did discuss if we do IVF again, he would suggest PSG testing and would only transfer 1.

Dr. Sweet is not a touchy-feely doctor. His bedside manner is dry and blunt. He is very knowledgeable and up to date on research. He shows compassion and listens very well. While we were undergoing testing to find out what our problems were, I appreciated how he laid out everything he was going to look for and test in the order he would order things. After our first failed IVF cycle, he listened to my concerns about one of the injectible medicines I was on and adjusted my protocol for cycle #2 which had a huge increase in follicles for me and ultimately brought us our take home baby.

Look for emotional support in someone other than Dr. Sweet.

IVF Cycle #1, we used the long lupron protocol. I had lower than expected developed follicles and we only had 2 embryos survive to day 5. Neither of them made it to the blastocyst stage and my uterine lining was at the very minimum for transfer. We transferred both and it resulted in a chemical pregnancy. IVF Cycle #2 used the antagonist protocol and prepped with CoQ10 and DHEA supplements. Also took baby aspirin to increase blood flow. I had many more follicles and 3 embryos made it to day 5 and one was a blastocyst! My lining was much thicker as well! I got pregnant with one baby from this cycle.

We trusted his guidance in our situation.

Dr. Sweet is truely amazing. He is compassionate and so good at what he does. He takes time to understand the best options for every diagnosis and he never gives you false hope. He has always been upfront and honest with us about our chances. I can’t say enough great things about Dr. Sweet. We are still in the middle of treatments but we have confidence in him.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and understand all treatments.

Agonist Protocol. He used a low dose of stim medications because of my PCOS and decreased the risk of OHSS using a lupron trigger.

Dr. Sweet offers the dream a baby discount for those paying out of pocket which was a life saver.

We were in agreement with Dr. Sweet by only transfer one embryo given the risks and our ages.

During our initial consultation, Dr. Sweet was very warm and humorous. He explained everything in detail and made us feel comfortable. He tells things like they are and seems to be honest about our chances--no sugar coating. He can be a bit abrupt at times.

Don't expect him to tell you what you want to hear. He is realistic about options and chances.

Initially, it was believed our only issue was PCOS. Dr. Sweet put me on 4-6 rounds of Letrozole, along with a low dose of Metformin. Two HSGs (both difficult for the radiologists to interpret) have since revealed I may have a blocked tube. I may have surgery on the tube and we expect to undergo IVF in the coming months.

I went to Dr. Sweet because he said he wanted to be a miracle blessing to me & my husband and he could provide us Grade A quality embryos very quickly. He insisted that we travel to Ft.Myers to consult with him & have all of my medical testing repeated w him as he did not trust others doctors records & procedures that had verified my general health, uterine health & hormone levels. Even though I had just seen a very well respected doctor in St. Louis 2 months earlier with all of the same tests. He said his clinic needed the same procedures repeated 2 months later as they couldn't put trust in another doctors reports he wanted to be sure of the results to be most accurate. Being positive that this would work I paid the money cash & began treatment. He said it could take 1-2 attempts but not more than that because they had the best embryos of any clinic. I got to choose if I wanted 2 or 3 embryos but on the day of the procedure he & his embryologist said the embryos were sooo good that they couldn't possibly take a chance to put 3 in- they strongly urged me to only take the 2 embryos, they could not in good conscience put 3 in as I would have multiple births & at "my age" I could not afford that to happen for my own health (although women are having babies in their late 40s & early 50s today w healthy twins at that)! The pregnancy did not occur so we spoke on the phone as to what the next step would be. I decided to move forward w another attempt. I paid cash again for the services & he said I could pick 2 or 3 embryos & then again they said these embryos are even stronger than the last ones there is no way they could put 3 inside of me & they did not want to skew their numbers so high that they looked like they were not being honest on their records, as they have such a high taken rate on successful pregnancies. So I opted again against my instinct to only have 2 transferred. They were rated grade "A+" embryos. I was going to take a 3rd round & pay cash again but when on the phone again w Dr. Sweet said, "Jeanine I have a responsibility to these embryos to provide them the best chance at survival & to put them where they can have a chance to live. It's like real estate. you buy a piece of property & you have been sinking money into it & you come to realize that this property no longer is worth putting anymore money into. The property is not going to give you the return you are wanting. It is better to just cut your losses." I was so caught off guard & completely devastated by his comments I couldn't even respond. He said it was up to me if I wanted to move forward to another transfer but he could not in good conscience do more than 3 rounds w me because he wanted to put these babies in a place where they had a chance at life. I decided not to take a third round as I was really battling with emotional rebound about my own self. I sent the embryo pictures to 2 different embryologist, both clinics said AT BEST they might be a grade B. Six months after I decided not to come to the clinic for the 3rd time I received a bill for over $200 for that 20 minute devastating & degrading phone call. I called & emailed to Karina the accounting lady & she only responded with it is a phone consultation fee. My husband called & left a message and we did not hear back from them for another several months when they sent a bill & said it was going to collections- they would not talk to us until this time & she said he is not budging on the fee. You have a right to know. I was not told that he was charging me for a phone call to decide what the next step would be, as we did this on the last treatment and there was no charge, maybe because I decided to move forward w another treatment. We did receive a call from his AMAZING nurse that said she would have him waive the fee. Beware~

I understand that there are no guarantees in this field. We have been on this journey for almost 15 years and spent over $200,000 cash out of pocket. There are NO reviews good or bad of any of the doctors or clinics in 15 years from us. This was a very emotionally devastating experience to recover from. If you have been through this journey you hear all kinds of negative news, your eggs are too old, you're too old, you have less than a 15% chance to have a live birth etc. But to have a doctor make comments like he did not only affected my emotions, it had a major impact on our business with regard to performance. I have been very diligent on reading positive books, doing yoga, meditation healing and acupuncture and I am back on track. I would have never written this review if they had not sent a consultation fee 6 months after the treatment, then never returned the calls and then told us last week they were sending us to collections. I was so disappointed and also wanted to warn others. We have enough inner battles to overcome- it shouldn't be with our doctor! Warmest Regards, Jeanine

donor embryos

I spent roughly 8-10000 per treatment with all of the extra blood work, tests and meds needed

he said I could pick 2 or 3 and both times he changed his mind when I was on the table waiting for transfer and said only 2- they were "so good" he could not chance it- but 2 other clinics said they would rate them at best a grade b quality

Dr sweet is very blunt and does not sugar coat the situation. He has a unique sense of humor but is extremely knowledgeable in his field. He does not give treatment plans based on the masses but will find numbers and statistics that match your situation.

Do not expect to walk into dr sweets office expecting a warm and fuzzy feeling from him. He is very direct and uses other cases and studies to back up his statement.

When I first began seeing dr sweet for my pcos I was placed on letrezole. I did conceive after two months and sadly miscarried . I was put back on letrezole shortly after and have not conceived since. Although letrezole helped me conceive the cycles were not monitored. I was not getting blood work or scans done to see if it was working or not.

Dr. Sweet really inspired my confidence. He was to the point and specific about what we were going to do and what we could hope to achieve. I have a "difficult cervix" but they took the time to get everything done correctly.

He is a great doctor and will work with you to help you achieve your goals.

I did the first three IUIs with clomid, and when that didn't work, we went on to injectables. On the cycle that worked (number 6), I had about 4 mature eggs and that resulted in a single baby.

I think with medication the IUIs with injectables was around 5,000, around 3,000 without.

Dr. Sweet is a very direct doctor. There was no dancing around the hard truth. I liked that about him. He didn’t give me false hope and he let me know my options and potential outcomes for all procedures. I felt he was very respectful and knowledgeable about all practices that he offered. He was friendly and caring, but also very to the point with you.

Be ready for lots of visits to the clinic (I feel this is normal though).

2 IUI rounds with superovulation First round no success Second round successful pregnancy

I liked his no nonsense approach and honest and very professional demeanor. He always got right down to business and didn't waste time. He knew exactly what needed to be done and did not sugar coat anything as to give me false hope.

Don't be scared off by his sometimes dry bedside manner.

I did not have any eggs and was single do I needed speed too. I chose embryos I wanted. Continued on birth control pills until 20 days prior to transfer, then started Lupron injections, then closer I started taking Estradial several times a day along with progesterone injections and vaginal suppositories.

7,500

He is very knowledgeable and I like that he doesn't sugar coat details. He isn't warm and fuzzy but he isn't harsh either. He takes the time to explain all the options that are available with realistic expectations.

Write down your questions and take notes

Menopur, Follistim, Saizen, Ganirellez, letrozole, HCG, Crinone

Cycle #1 $11,000, FET $4000, Cycle #2 $9400

He's very considerate and genuinely seemed like he wanted us to be successful. We had a lot of questions and he spent a lot of time with us answering each of them in depth. He gave us a lot of options and didn't appear to be pushing the most expensive but wanted us to do what was right for us. He gave us a lot of resources to review so we were really educated

Ask a lot of questions, he likes to be an educator, he'll give you all the information you need if you ask for it

Dr. Sweet is straightforward, thorough and honest. He is very good at what he does and I would recommend him for this purpose. We had success on our first IVF round and appreciated his guidance throughout the process.

I would advise future patients to be realistic about their journey through this process as it is different for all.

We followed the doctors advice to do IVF and were successful after one round.

$10000 for IVF and $7000 for drugs.

Our doctor recommended what would be most successful for us and it was.

I can't say enough about Dr. Sweet. He is so dedicated and no nonsense. I would highly recommend him and his results are amazing. I would travel across the world to have Dr. Sweet as my Dr. Very kind, compassionate but most importantly skilled!

Do no go elsewhere. He is by far the best!

Donor Embryo, frozen transfer, first cycle success!

Less expensive than I had previously paid and very reasonable.