How was your experience with David Frankfurter at George Washington University?
Dr. Frankfurter is highly ranked for a reason. He's very thorough. He's a bit matter of fact in his manner, but he laid out all the pros and cons of our options and never once did he make us feel like our chances were hopeless. He also took the time to answer any questions we had. The only time I felt a bit dismissed by him was when I showed him my BBT charts and he told me that they weren't useful in helping TTC. When I panicked over misunderstanding the dosage on my trigger shot, he was the on-call dr and was so nice and patient, explaining to me what to do, and then telling me I did exactly what I should have done (calling him for help), and that it would all be ok. I feel that he's meticulous, and he really listens and cares.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of David Frankfurter at George Washington University?
Dr. Frankfurter is high in demand, so making appointments with him can be difficult. He books up fast! Expect at least a month wait before you can get a consultation appointment.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with David Frankfurter at George Washington University?
The staff are incredible. They were very patient at explaining things to me, even when I'd keep repeating questions. Dr. Frankfurter was candid about our situation and our options, but comes across as very knowledgeable and concerned. On procedure days, Dr. Frankfurter and all the staff were so kind, understanding, and helpful. They joked around with us to help lighten the mood when they knew we were nervous. The nursing staff are really wonderful people too, as they come to know each individual patient from the daily monitoring. They listened to my fears and emotions, and never made me feel less of a person.
Describe the protocols David Frankfurter used in your cycles at George Washington University and their degree of success.
I don't remember the specifics for egg retrieval, but I was on birth control and lupron (for suppression) for a month before the transfer. I was also on progesterone suppositories and vivelle estrogen.
Describe your experience with your nurse at George Washington University. (Assigned nurse: Venecia Williams)
They clearly had a large case load and were sometimes slow to follow up, so I just had to be on top of the communication. But they were always courteous and helpful, never made me feel bad, talked down to, or less of a person. My assigned nurse even sat down with me to give me an impromptu tutorial on injections after I'd already taken a class, when I was nervous about the first injection.
Describe your experience with George Washington University.
They aren't the most expensive, but not the cheapest. I chose them for the doctor and overall clinic feel. I like that they're in a prestigious university setting, and have a great relationship with the university hospital and medical team. Being in this setting means they're very up-to-date with current research. They are less likely to turn away patients too, from what I understood when researching them originally, because of their university/teaching mission.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at George Washington University.
It was efficient but a bit factory-like. You stand in line for your blood draw than you stand in line for the ultrasound monitoring. There's an unspoken rule about when to keep the door to the changing room open/closed (open if any of the 2 changing rooms are available, closed if both are occupied) and who sits in the chair by the door (whoever is next waiting for a changing room). Since the two lines are right next to each other, sometimes it got confusing and frustrating when a new, uninformed patient sat in the chair waiting for a blood draw because they didn't want to stand in line, or someone closed the door when there was a changing room available.
Describe the costs associated with your care under David Frankfurter at George Washington University.
The first time we had insurance coverage, so I believe we paid less than $7000 for egg retrieval, ICSI, embryo storage, and egg transfer, but more with medications. This time, we don't have insurance coverage and are paying out of pocket, so the expenses are more. We haven't calculated our costs yet for our treatment yet.
Describe David Frankfurter's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at George Washington University.
Dr. Frankfurter is very responsible and wants to limit the chances of multiples whenever possible. He told us he preferred to only transfer 1 embryo, which was fine with us.