How was your experience with David Ryley at Boston IVF?
Dr. Riley knows his stuff, and also knows I am a scientist who understands the background research and statistics. It took us a couple of tries to fully understand one another's styles but once we did we had a great report and he is always well-prepared having reviewed my particular history and needs, and willing to listen carefully to any of my questions. We joke around and I now never leave without feeling like we have fully discussed everything I had hoped to and that he has tailored his answers and advice to my situation.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of David Ryley at Boston IVF?
Try to self-reflect ahead of time on your needs and what you are hoping to get out of any particular appointment, and make sure you can clearly express those. He seems very willing to adapt his general style to fit those so you can have the best, most informed experience possible.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with David Ryley at Boston IVF?
Dr. Riley knows his stuff, and also knows I am a scientist who understands the background research and statistics. It took us a couple of tries to fully understand one another's styles but once we did we had a great report and he is always well-prepared having reviewed my particular history and needs, and willing to listen carefully to any of my questions. We joke around and I now never leave without feeling like we have fully discussed everything I had hoped to and that he has tailored his answers and advice to my situation.
Describe the protocols David Ryley used in your cycles at Boston IVF and their degree of success.
Dr. Riley is an award-winning Medical Professor with Harvard Medical School, and up to date on all relevant research. He explains the stats and rationalization for each protocol and step suggested, but I never feel like he wouldn't consider other options if I requested them and they were within the range of approaches he feels are medically appropriate. GIven my age (41 when I started IVF) and not great numbers, we started with an aggressive cycle of estrogen priming, Gonal-F, Medipur, and Cetrotide, along with Ovidril to trigger. The first cycle could have been worse but we decided to change things by trying low dose HcG in place of the medipur. This cycle worked better. For the third we decided why mess with what had worked about as well as we could have expected so we kept it the same, but it went very poorly. Given my age it seems this is not uncommon. If I do another cycle we will try a Lupron Flare protocol, which he figured has about a 50/50 chance of working better but we can't know until we try. I had the option of sticking to the prior plan if I wanted to. We also always have a plan in place for how many embryos to transfer and on which day (as I'm doing fresh cycles) ahead of time. For example, if I have less than four embryos on Day 1 the plan would be to transfer two-three on Day 3. If I have four or more we go to day 5 and transfer 2, and freeze the others if I get more (so far I haven't). If I have extras I have elected to do PGS testing, but I can change my mind at any point if I choose not to. (Though I have given a deposit.)
Describe your experience with your nurse at Boston IVF.
My primary nurse (and former primary nurse) have been wonderful in just about every way. Occasionally when someone else has filled in there has been some confusion where they are telling me something different than what I understood from my primary nurse and doctor.
Describe your experience with Boston IVF.
Boston IVF is a large fertility center with several locations, though only one (or a few?) do surgeries. Some folks don't love that it feels like a factory and that it may never be your own doctor doing your retrievals, transfers. etc. Personally I love the clinic and after about a month of understanding their whole system I settled into a good routine with them and knew who to call when for what. One benefit of using such a large IVF-only clinic is that they are open 7 days a week no matter what. You can schedule your labs and ultrasounds before work. Your results are posted on the patient portal within a few hours and your main nurse (or very occasionally doctor if it's bigger news that might involve a decision) calls you. I am in and out of appointments in minutes and the majority of the staff including phlebotomists are wonderful and get to know you once you've become a frequent flyer.
Describe the costs associated with your care under David Ryley at Boston IVF.
Massachusetts is extremely lucky to require some infertility coverage through insurance, though policies can vary. To date then, there have been relatively few costs (PGS testing deposit was the main one) but as I may be aging out of my current insurance, I assume the numbers will be similar to those at other big clinics around the country. I have not yet done all the pricing but I am sure it is available.
Describe David Ryley's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Boston IVF.
He bases his suggestions on the statistics available for patient's ages and numbers. So for someone like me over 41 with not great hormone levels, an SET is not recommended. The stats of having multiples with multiple untested embryos are so small, and the risk of trying to freeze, test, and thaw the only extra one or two embryos doesn't seem worth it. That said, and I have asked, if I preferred to only do an SET he would.
What specific things went wrong at Boston IVF?
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Boston IVF.
Just the very occasional hearing from a nurse filling in for my main nurse giving slightly different information that it sounds like are more in line with their usual doctor's orders than mine. I have followed up with my own nurse and doctor to clarify.