Dr. Sessions has really fit the bill for what I’ve been looking for. She tells the truth about your situation, gives options if she can’t help, isn’t just there for your money. She’s the only doctor I’ve gone to that is logical and realistic. Given me all my options and more...I really found her intelligence, knowledge on the subject, and willingness to change our plan if needed a strength
You are given a lot of information and sometimes it can be overwhelming. But you can email them [Vanderbilt Center for Women's Health nurses] and they answer all your questions. If they don’t know an answer, they will look into it for you...The weakness is that it’s very hard to contact the clinic via phone. But you can email through their online system and they will get back to you eventually. I don’t think it’s the best for a individual who likes to get on the phone to discuss your procedures before going. Also, if you miss a call, it’s hard to get ahold of them again. But they do have a dispatcher to help facilitate emails and calls.
How was your experience with Donna Session at Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic?
When I first went in to see Dr. Sessions, I had been to countless other clinics before, she really took the time to assess my case. She actually interrupted the accounts receivable’s lady to change my plan. We were chatting egg freezing before a surgery I needed to do. Instead, she gave me a great specialist who could do my surgery and told me I didn’t need to do such things. I could do this without and proceeded to make a different plan for me. Because I’ve seen my fair share of doctors, I really found her intelligence, knowledge on the subject, and willingness to change our plan if needed a strength. I haven’t really experienced any weaknesses but I can understand if your needing more comforting and extremely warm, this is probably not the doctor for you. But she’s always been positive and helpful when I needed her to be.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Donna Session at Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic?
Get ready to be told a lot of information. Be ready to jot it all down and follow her instructions. Also come in with your own questions and research, she’s very good at answering all your questions. Also, make sure to ask her all your options. There are many out there. She’s not going to give you a hug, but she is a book of information and is very helpful in this very complicated circumstance.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Donna Session at Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic?
Dr. Sessions has really fit the bill for what I’ve been looking for. She tells the truth about your situation, gives options if she can’t help, isn’t just there for your money. She’s the only doctor I’ve gone to that is logical and realistic. Given me all my options and more. Not everything is looked at through rose color glasses and I appreciate that especially when dealing with infertility. She’s also very nice and gives a lot of details. I felt she was also very educated in her field and knows about new technology that I didn’t find in other RE doctor or fertility clinics.
Describe the protocols Donna Session used in your cycles at Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic and their degree of success.
After my surgery (endo, fibroids, polyps), I needed to wait a second to heal. I tried on my own first and then we decided to do Timed Intercourse first because that’s what I was most comfortable trying. We did two months of it and then COVID-19 shut them down. But during that time I first went into the office to check my ovaries and make sure I didn’t have any cysts. After I was okayed, I then took Letrozole for 5 days. Went back into the clinic to check to see how many eggs I grew and then did the trigger shot (Ovidrel) that day. We planned on intercourse that day and the next and the next and then I used vaginal progesterone for the rest of the cycle until I took a pregnancy test. We are going to IUI next.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic. (Assigned nurse: Erin)
Everyone knows your name and is very empathetic. There have been a couple of hiccups but that’s mainly my fault. You are given a lot of information and sometimes it can be overwhelming. But you can email them and they answer all your questions. If they don’t know an answer, they will look into it for you.
Describe your experience with Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic.
The clinic is part of the college Vanderbuilt so I think the strength is that the doctors are required to be updated with the newest technology. The weakness is that it’s very hard to contact the clinic via phone. But you can email through their online system and they will get back to you eventually. I don’t think it’s the best for a individual who likes to get on the phone to discuss your procedures before going. Also, if you miss a call, it’s hard to get ahold of them again. But they do have a dispatcher to help facilitate emails and calls.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Donna Session at Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic.
It’s the same as everywhere. My insurance barely covers anything. It all goes to a portal and I pay through there. I do have the option for payment plans through the portal.
Timed Intercourse:
Ovidrel - $95 at the Walgreens on Galiton in East Nash
Letrozole- $10
Ultrasounds - $30 -$1500
IUI:
Procedure ~$450
Sperm wash ~ $200
Ovidrel - $95-$200
letrozole - $10
Describe Donna Session's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic.
Not there yet.
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Clinic
Vanderbilt Fertility Clinic
Nashville