David Tourgeman

He is very compassionate and nice. I can't complain about him or his care. I am a very analytical person, so would have liked to understand more of the "why"s around my course of treatment -- why one protocol vs. another, and whether or not that is due to his professional philosophies for treatment or due to my specific case.

Ask questions. If you feel rushed, slow it down.

I definitely felt like a human - the Dr. and staff were very caring. I would have liked more explanation and details around my care.

They were never explained to me. At least, the rationale behind why. I don't know what my protocol was called, but i was on: Gonal-F 350/day Menopur - 1-2 vials, depending Added something else toward the end of sims Not sure what i triggered with First round, retrieved 5 eggs. 3 fertilized. All tested abnormal. No transfer 2nd round, retrieved 3 eggs. 1 fertilized. Never grew. No transfer.

My care coordinator was a little robotic. Nice, but not super compassionate. Not a very good communicator - i had to chase via email for answers to a lot of things that were unclear.

Everyone is very nice. Appointments are a breeze - they either get you in early, or right on time. Surgical facilities are beautiful and the staff there is great. Just ask a lot of questions. Sometimes i felt rushed or unable to ask, or even felt like i was supposed to know things, when in reality i didn't know what was happening and why at certain times.

First round with meds (and some insurance coverage) was roughly $15k.

We never got to transfer, so we hadn't discussed it.

He is a kind & compassionate man. But that's all the positives i have to share. He fumbled my case entirely. I only wish i had realized it while it was happening. On my first IVF, we were transferring 3 embryos. I was 39. He never: 1) told me about PGS or PGD testing. I wouldve done this in a heartbeat. He almost acted "against it". He was not aggressive at all. On my 2nd IVF w/him, it was ME who insisted on PGD testing - lo & behold, all my embs came back complex abnormal. He absolutely shouldve suggested this for my 1st IVF considering my age. He wouldve saved me crucial time (and money). Everything for me is out-of-pocket expense :( 2) i have thyroid disease. Before we transferred that 1st batch of 3 embryos, i asked him to re-check my thyroid. Both he & the nurse said it wasn't necessary as they had checked it 1.5 months earlier. I INSISTED & explained that my thyroid could go erratic at any moment. So they did a blood test & a week before my embryo transfer he called me and said "wow - you were right. Your thyroid is off. I'm calling in a new prescription for you right away! Start taking it today!" I did so & all 3 of those embs failed. Since then, two other doctors have read my chart. They both said, "he should've never transferred those embryos. Thyroid meds take a couple of months to have effect. He should've held off on transferring those embryos to make sure your thyroid levels were healthy first." Both doctors also said "and those were healthy looking embryos too." It makes me SO mad i could cry. 3) he never did genetic testing on me or my husband. I have since learned that this is the FIRST thing competent fertility doctors do. He never even mentioned it to me. 4) he never talked about supplements or vitamins either (Coq10 or DHEA). When i went to my 2nd doctor, she put me right on these vitamins. And guess what? Within 1.5 months, I was NATURALLY pregnant for the 1st time in my life. I miscarried (the baby had downs syndrome :(...but bottom line, that baby was still chromosomally healthier than anything Tourgemann was able to get me with his "high dosage recipe". I almost want to cry re-hashing all of this!!! He was incompetent & a colossal waste of key years for me in regards to my fertility.

Don't go. Much better doctors out there. Find one who customizes your medicine protocol to YOU specifically. Also, when my first transfer of 3 embs failed, he didn't even change my meds to try something new. He went back to his lazy, usual "recipe". Disaster. The two other doctors pointed this out to me.

He was the 1st fertility doctor i went to; this was all new to me. All my friends were referred to him too so i felt like i was in the right place. All of my embryos w/him came back complex abnormal. He told me i should use donor eggs or adopt. Then i went to a new doctor. She looked at my chart and was surprised at the high dosage of meds he gave me. She said "i'm gonna give you much less meds. And while i can't guarantee you a perfect embryo, i CAN guarantee you the embryos i get for you will look much better than these do." On my 1st round w/her, she got us a chromosomally normal embryo! And to think Tourgemann told me to adopt...i then canvassed my friends who had also gone to him & they all were given high dosages. He has success at times for patients, but in my opinion he just plugs women with similar high dosages & hopes for the best. He doesnt thoroughly look at your chart & customize things for YOU. Its as if he has 1 "recipe". & if his recipe doesn't work for you, then he'll tell you to adopt. I wish i hadn't wasted 1.5 years on him. I was 39/40 back then...i would do anything to get those years back :(

See previous responses. Too angry to discuss any further...

Rishona was fine. She's smart. I found nurses at other places to be much more sweet & compassionate...but Rishona did her job fine.

Already explained earlier. Lots of weaknesses!

I probably spent about 12k on two ivfs (24k) & maybe 5k on each IUI ( hard to remember). I spent about 30-35k cash on this wasted cause.

Explained earlier...

My first cycle in 2012 that resulted in my son, Dr. T was amazing, attentive, listened. We g above and beyond to help me achieve pregnancy. In 2018, I don’t know if it was because I was a returning patient. I didn’t feel like he was giving me 100%. Sometimes we would talk about a plan, then next time we meet he would say something totally different. I still think he is a great doctor I just didn’t feel confident this last time. Made me more disappointed when it didn’t work.

Ask a lot of questions. Take notes. He forgets what we talk about.

Dr. T is a genuine person. He truly cares about his patients. He has a calm and soft tone that makes us feel confident.

2012- follistim, menopur, ganerelix, progesterone. 2018- gonal-f, cetrotide, menopur, progesterone

When she would talk to me about my meds she would refer to them as different medications. Confused me. Sometimes when I ask her to check on stuff she would forget. When I asked about my remaining embryos she didn’t call about updates and i was stressed out for an entire weekend after transfer.

They are prompt. Communication with coordinator could be better. Doctor should not assume about returning patients I feel I should have acted as though I was new and not be pushed under the rug in a way.

Monitoring is throughout the day. Dr. T was not there all day. But there is another doctor that will do it.

2012- 15k 2018-13k We had utilize their military discount which was offered in 2018

My choice if I wanted it or not. Always transfer 2. In 2012 after 4 cycles didn’t work he did transfer 3 embryos when I was 24 years told.

The first time in 2013 he was godsend. Everything was just amazing. When I recently saw him this year I didn’t feel the same. I felt like everything was vague. Maybe because I already went through s cycle and he knew me he didn’t need to be more attentive as I was a returning patient.

Just make sure you are aware of everything. Ask lots of questions and he is ok with your opinions too.

He is very kind and gentle as a doctor and also went through IVF for his son. I knew he would be compassionate

First cycle I had follistim with more eggs and second time we used gonal f and less eggs. Not sure if it made a difference but also I aged. 5 years from 24 to 30. I wasn’t confident with medication change.

My nurse was quick to answer questions and emails. Towards the end of the cycle I felt that wasn’t the case. She would forget to do what she said she would. Make a phone call, follow up on certain things.

Weakness would be communication. When I changed my number they didn’t update everywhere. When it came time for updates after retrieval they called a disconnected number. Dr.T is great and I still think highly of him. Just this past cycle I lost a little bit of confidence.

Dr.T is there in the afternoons sometimes it was hard to get an early appointment which made my appointment last the entire day including drive time.

Sometimes they billed my insurance differently and in turn the insurance said I was responsible instead of them covering.

He believes that 2 is a good number to transfer for under 35.

Dr T was very professional and intelligent, yet still able to maintain friendly bedside manner. I felt like he took the time to review my case and adjust each cycle as needed. He always kept me in the loop and warned me of possible side effects.

Ask questions! Advocate for yourself if you don't understand or need to clarify instructions. Dr T is amazing and I fully trust him, but always remember it's your body, trust your instincts.

Saw Dr T at every appt, willing to sit down and answer any questions I had, empathetic and friendly.

Unsuccessful clomid round with ObGyn. Moved on to IUI with stims with Dr T, but unfortunately had to cancel due to producing too many follicles. Currently finishing IVF with results tbd.

Never had to wait long for appointments, easy scheduling, and on the ball insurance/billing staff. Loved chatting with the blood draw ladies! Saw Dr T at every appt and he was readily available for questions. I had to contact the on call MD on the weekend once, and was rapidly responded to in a friendly manner.

~15-20k

Dr. Tourgeman was a great communicator throughout our entire process. I always felt that he was proceeding with my best interests in mind. He always made sure my husband and I understood everything that was being planned and he was great with follow up.

To have your questions and concerns prepared to ask. Also if and when you do become pregnant through HRC, to ask about any follow up or whatnot that should go to your OB/GYN. That is the one thing I did not think to ask.

Dr. Tourgeman is a wonderful doctor who explained everything calmly, respectfully and his bedside manner is definitely treating each person like a human going through a very difficult journey.

Vera was wonderful! She is a great communicator and very nice bedside manner. She held my hand so many times during the frustration of this. Truly a lovely person.

The West LA clinic was great. I can't recall anything that was a weakness. The front desk was nice, responsive and even keel, given the emotions that can run in the waiting rooms of fertility clinics.

Dr. Tourgeman recommended a multiple embryo transfer (after doing a 5 day blast). I wanted 2, he recommended 3 because of the statistics. Husband and I agreed with 3. Two ended up not taking but one did.

Dr. T was only available for some of my appointments. Generally I was seen by a nurse or his PA (who I didn't really like or trust). I had surgery with him and got really ill afterwards. He didn't seem concerned so I left his practice and went to another clinic.

Go see someone else

I did 3 IUIs, two with CLomid and one with injectables. I feel like they always missed the timing of the trigger shot and the timing of the IUI. It was always so stressful.

She always seemed distracted and not paying attention. Also, I saw her give free medication to other patients, but when I asked for assistance of medication she said they don't give any away.

Receptionists were nice. Always long wait times, no one was every on time. Very stressful protocols and procedures. Dr. T wasn't available for important questions and they never seemed to get back to me in a timely manner.

$2000 IUI with Clomid and $3000-$3500 IUI with injectables.

He had great bed side manner. He answered all questions and took his time to listen to any concerns we had. He took charge and told us what we needed to do next where my previous doctor did not and left us unsure if next steps. When issues came up he knew how to handle them.

To trust his advise

He was very attentive and spent time explaining everything we were going through.

We first had to remove some tissue from my uterus to ensure the embryo could attach. We then tried IUI a get time. To be more aggressive we moved to IVF and did the genetic testing

She communicated very well and I always understood the plan. She took time to show me how to administer all the medication and called me frequently with updates.

Great clinic with great staff

My insurance paid most of it. I had to pay 5000 for IVF and had several other bills as well

I wanted to try one first since we did th genetic testing. If that didn't work we were doing to put two in the next time

He was very compassionate and never made me feel rushed. Cautious about promising results but optimistic about outcomes. It helped to have his opinion and I trust him and his medical judgement

Ask questions but don't let the Internet stats get you down. Set realistic expectations for potential risks

Dr.T took the time

Parking is a major let down for west LA- for the price of treatment parking should be covered. Strength is getting appointments and time with staff for questions is not a problem as an active patient. Inactive patient, found that I should have been able to connect with the Doctor prior to setting up an apt or be able to email him before an appt

Dr seems knowledgeable but doesn't really personalize solutions. He also isn't involved in the process much. I often see nurses.

You need to know what you want and stay on top of things with the office otherwise details will slip through the cracks

Careless errors and decisions made felt formulaic not personalized

I am horrified at the lack of attention to detail and the lack of follow through. If I didn't manage my care, nothing would have been on track. Had to remind nurse to order meds for ivf 3 times. Also never received call backs when I had a medical concern. Sometimes when I had questions I was told to refer to paperwork I had signed.

I am partially insured for fertility but have heard his fees are cheap.

Strengths: caring, compassionate, knowledgeable, personally relatable in the IVF process as his child was conceived through IVF. He's incredibly attentive, kind and humble. Weaknesses: he seems tired all the time but that's to be expected in his line of work!

Eat lots of mono unsaturated fats! Like avocados and nuts

Dr. Tourgeman has a special gift of making you feel golden and like you're his only patient. His kindness, care and bedside manner is extremely comforting during an incredibly delicate and difficult time

Strengths: guidance not to panic regarding at home medication mis dosage etc Weakness: seemed distracted

They seemed disorganized at times but were prompt to try to resolve it

He advised as he saw appropriate for our situation and diagnosis and we chose to trust him and follow his suggested protocol.