Ellen Goldstein

My experience with Dr Goldstein as an IUI patient for four cycles was very pleasant. She explained all options and potential outcomes very clearly and helped us manage expectations. After my 4th unsuccessful IUI cycle, she reached out to see how things were going since I hadn’t booked another one, and the concern seemed genuine. I’ve since become pregnant naturally (I’m at 9 weeks and I became pregnant two cycles after my last IUI).

Ask as many questions as possible, no matter how off-the-walk they seem to you or if you feel you may come off uneducated. Dr. Goldstein will answer any and all questions with zero ego and a full intention to inform you of all details involved with your fertility journey.

Since my insurance covers nothing fertility-related, my partner and I could only afford to try IUI, not IVF. So we did 4 cycles. Each cycle was accompanied by a timed trigger shot and fertility meds (Clomid three times and Letrozole once because Clomid gave me headaches and hot flashes).

I believe each round of IUI was roughly $1,300 out of pocket since I have no insurance coverage for fertility visits. There was also a fee of roughly $100 for blood testing.

Dr. Ellen Goldstein's biggest strength is her willingness to communicate and openly empathize with her patients. Our previous experience with other fertility doctors, is that they have kept themselves partially detached, which made the process harder for us, as it was hard for us to tell if our concerns were being taken seriously. As such, having a doctor that gave part of themselves meant a lot.

Make sure that Dr. Ellen Goldstein and the finance person are on the same page. While we eventually got the correct information, there were times where we were confused with cost breakdowns because of the different ways which Dr. Ellen Goldstein and the finance person described things.

First FET: Endometrin suppositories starting 3 days prior to transfer - unsuccessful - Dr. Ellen Goldstein decided to start with a blank slate and follow my natural cycle using day 5 embryos. My previous transfers (4 unsuccessful day 3 embryos) were performed in Australia, with no success. Second FET: Estrace 2mg starting 2 weeks prior to transfer + Progesterone 100mg/mL IM starting 6 days prior to transfer - both continued for 10 weeks - successful - Dr. Ellen Goldstein's rationale was we should take a more controlled approach this time given the result of the previous cycle.

$7200 IVF freeze + PGS

Dr. Goldstein always had our best interest in mind. My husband and I never felt upsold or taken advantage of. She always presented medical advice that we agreed with and trusted her. I appreciate how she personally delivers sensitive information (good and bad news) either in person or over the phone. She never failed to display empathy and never said anything insensitive. I'm glad I was in her care during my first IVF experience.

She always tells you the pros and cons of the situation or a decision. I advise trusting her opinion because she's truly an expert and knows what she's talking about.

Egg retrieval and meds for that was covered. Embryo transfer was $4850, before medication cost. 4 vials of progesterone totaled $200, which lasts about 2-ish weeks.

When I was told by my OBGYN that I needed to see a fertility specialist, I was pretty heartbroken, upset, and honestly afraid. Dr. Goldstein was the first doctor I decided to meet with and I'm so glad that I did. From day 1, she clearly explained the cause of my infertility and mapped out a clear game plan. I appreciated her thoroughness in trying different a few different options before proceeding with IVF - it really made me feel she had our best interests at heart. I always felt crystal clear on the steps we were taking and my chances of conception. She also inspires a huge amount of confidence in her patients - when it came time for the egg retrieval during my IVF cycle, I was incredibly nervous. But as soon as she walked into the room, I instantly felt calmer and confident in the procedure. I've had nothing but excellent care under the direction of Dr. Goldstein and am thankful that my first experience with a fertility specialist was such a great one!

My fiancé and I are very private people. We chose to drive almost 2 hours to and from every appointment to see a female doctor, and Doctor Goldstein was worth every minute. Being that this was our first time going through IVF, my fiancé and I had so many questions and concerns regarding the process. From day 1, doctor Goldstein answered every single one of our million questions and continued to do so throughout our journey. She was very compassionate, yet straight to the point. I loved that she didn’t just tell us of all the positive outcomes, but also kept us in reality with the possible negative outcomes. At one of our appointments, we could tell that doctor was bothered by something although she tried hard not to let it show. Then after our ultrasound, she apologized and explained that it wasn’t a good week for her because one of her patients suffered a miscarriage. She didn’t give any details, but we could see the compassion and care that she has for each of her patients. This made me and my fiancé feel even more comfortable and trusting working with Doctor Goldstein. When we expressed wanting to transfer two embryos, she cautioned us of all the potential risks, but also supported us in our decision. Also, when we were a few days away from our transfer, Covid 19 started interrupting everyone’s cycles. Doctor Goldstein sat us down and explained how all fertility treatments were being strongly advised to be put on hold, but because we were only days away, doctor gave us the choice to move forward, or to pause our cycle. Of course we chose to continue, and she respected our decision. In March, our two embryos were transferred, and now my fiancé and I are so blessed to say that we are currently pregnant with twins. Throughout the entirety of our cycle, I constantly emailed doctor with question after question, and she would answer almost immediately. Even on the weekends. Whenever worries would arise, I would email doctor and she would immediately respond explaining in detail always settling my worries. My fiancé and I were sad when we had to move our prenatal care to Kaiser. We both miss her very much. In all honesty, my fiancé and I wish we could see Doctor Goldstein throughout our entire pregnancy journey.

Trust Doctor Goldstein. She is there for you every step of the way, and goes above and beyond to make sure you understand every step in the process, and also feel comfortable and safe throughout it all.

Doctor Goldstein is very particular about her process. That was one of the things that my fiancé and I loved about her. She has been doing this for many years, and knows what works and what doesn’t. Even though every patient is different, she has found a process that works for most. Because our cycle ended up being in the middle of the whole covid pandemic, my fiancé and I asked if we could move our transfer date up just in case the center was shut down. We explained our concerns to doctor, but also let her know that we trust her fully and her decision. She advised us to keep our transfer date so that our estrogen and progesterone cycle would mimic her normal process and the normal process of my body. She did not want to go against what has been working for her and her patients. So we agreed with her, and kept our original transfer date. Now, we are blessed with twins, and can’t wait for our little ones to arrive.

Doctor Goldstein always worked with us to try and keep our costs low. The entire cycle cost us about $14,000 with medications at about $3,000. It was worth every penny.

My fiancé and I started the IVF process already wanting to transfer two embryos. When we explained to doctor our wishes, she immediately let us know the risks of twins and multiples during pregnancy. She definitely gave us a lot to think about before our actual transfer, but we ended up going through with the two embryos and doctor Goldstein supported us all the way.

I had such a great experience with Dr. Goldstein. I live in Alaska and we don’t have REI, so we flew down to LA for our IVF. Dr. Goldstein and her staff made this journey so smooth and pain free, coordinating everything perfectly. Dr. Goldstein is very personable, hands on, and detail oriented. She also made me feel comfortable every step of this process despite my high anxiety level after experiencing multiple miscarriages prior to my IVF. The best part is that Dr. Goldstein does natural cycle embryo transfer, so no painful IM injections, which was one of the reasons I was hesitant about IVF initially.

Trust her 100%. She knows what she’s doing and very good at it!

I went through egg retrieval process after giving myself hormone injections and a trigger shot. We retrieved 13 eggs and from that 5 embryos. We did genetic testing on our embryos and got 2 normal embryos. We selected the best one and underwent natural cycle embryo transfer a month later.

About $23,000 for IVF and $8,000 for medication.

She explained to us reasons for why she recommended single embryo transfer based on evidence based medicine.

One of the things that stuck out to me about Dr. Goldstein is her balance of being frank yet gentle. We actually met her through the Maven app so we can get some questions answered about SART. It turned out that she was actually located near us, so we decided to schedule a consultation with her right away. At this point, we've connected with over 5 clinics. Many of them went through a series of questions to understand our issues, and a lot of them actually had similar suggestions for our situation: ERA, hormonal testing to see if I'm regular, thyroid testing, laparoscopy, etcetera. But because my records didn't show anything except unexplained fertility, she didn't want me to go through a series of invasive testing unless necessary, especially since I already had one successful pregnancy from a previous IVF cycle with another doctor. Instead, she offered to treat me like a clean slate and troubleshoot from there. It felt reassuring. She also offered a "natural" transfer, which involved no hormonal suppression and instead a transfer was made based on my natural cycle. After being so used to so many shots and drugs, I was nervous, but very excited about the idea. Unlike other experiences I've had, it really felt like Dr. Goldstein wanted to tailor a specific course of treatment based on my needs instead of offering a "standard protocol" that would be offered for every Jane Doe with unexplained fertility. Dr. Goldstein is smart, confident and compassionate making it very easy to trust her. And I'm so glad my husband and I met her through the app and chose her. She is hands down the best fertility doctor I've worked with.

If you were anything like me and looked at SART, culled the web for reviews, asked fertility consultants and coaches, interviewed friends and family, and maybe even looked at possible PR because you're crazy like me, you might want to just stop. Then, schedule an appointment with her. Seriously. You'll stop your crazy search. It's easy to trust her, feel at ease, and know you're in the best of care.

I started off with birth control to start a cycle, but then had a cyst, which postponed the cycle. So, we ditched the birth control and waited for a period naturally to see if the cyst would go away. It did, but then my ovaries weren't showing as much activity as other times, so we postponed it. I think after another month we proceeded with stims. After stims, she noticed that I wasn't producing as well as she anticipated. There were, I think, two follicles that were decent. So, she went over our options. Go with an IUI and start a new IVF cycle in the event the IUI didn't work, or proceed with the IVF cycle and roll the dice. She detailed our options, and we actually decided the roll the dice with the IVF cycle, because IUIs didn't work for us in the past. Fortunately, she was able to retrieve 9 eggs, and we ended up with 6 frozen embryos. We did a natural cycle transfer, and I'm now 7 weeks pregnant.

We had insurance that covered a good amount of our drugs and treatment... so it will be different for everyone. Drugs were $530 Treatment: $12,500 (included blood draws, ultrasounds, IVF cycle, egg retrieval, ICSI, genetic screening, and transfer)

Doctor Ellen Goldstein has been truly a blessing for me and my husband. She really stands out as a gem in her field with her level of knowledge and education. It is shocking how many fertility specialists out there are filled with misinformation and/or old & outdated medical advice. She truly saved us from wasting needless time, energy and money on things unnecessary, while at the same time, being sure to cover all our bases and giving us the best chance possible for a successful pregnancy. To give you an idea of how much we trust only Dr. Goldstein with our fertility... she was out of network for us (with our health insurance) and we still went to her because we wanted the best, and now we know we absolutely made the right decision. In addition to Dr. Goldstein’s great work as a fertility doctor with her knowledge and compassion, she is also extremely attentive. She answered all my (millions of) emails very promptly and called me immediately when needed. I am now in my second trimester of a healthy pregnancy and my husband and I have Doctor Ellen Goldstein to thank for it! It was even bittersweet “graduating” from Dr. Goldstein to my new OB/GYN recently. I swear we truly miss her. When it’s time for baby number two, we will definitely be seeing her again.

Be open and communicate everything with Doctor Goldstein

My husband had low morphology, so typically IVF is recommend to get pregnant, but in our specific case, Dr. Goldstein believed we still had a good chance trying IUIs first. And she was right... Given my good/average egg count at 32 years old, and not having any issues, also my husband had mild male factor infertility (not severe). We did two rounds of IUIs, both resulted in chemical pregnancies and were lost. We followed up with doing a saline ultrasound on my uterus which showed there was something that needed to be removed - we believe this may have been the reason for my two miscarriages - so we did a hysteroscopy surgery to “clean out” my uterus. The month following the hysteroscopy we did another IUI which resulted in a successful, and current, healthy pregnancy.

Dr. Goldstein was out of network for us, but we chose to go to her regardless. We were constantly made aware of costs beforehand.

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She was good. We came to her with secondary IF. I had a blocked tube. She explained the options we had and percentages of success. The plan was going to be 1 IUI and then we were going to proceed with IVF if that didn’t work. She sat down with both my husband and I and explained all our testing and options and I never felt like I was in the dark or couldn’t ask question. Or she wasn’t knowledgeable. Always friendly. Always answered questions. Demeanor was always friendly.

Not sure. Everyone is so different. Maybe don’t be afraid to ask all the questions you want to ask until you are sure about the procedure you’ll do.

Proximal Tubal Blockage. Medicated IUI. We went medium-aggressive with medication because we wanted to make sure I would ovulate from open tube. Took 100mg of clomid cd4-cd8. Came in on cd11 for follicle and lining scan. Had 3 follicles. 2 from open tube. Triggered that night with ovidrel. Timed intercourse directions were also given. Iui scheduled for 40hrs later. Beta on 14dpiui.

IUI was 1395 (included: US scans, IUI, sperm count and wash, two betas) Clomid - out of pocket was $36 Ovidrel - $110 First consultation was - $175 First Pregnancy Scan was $275 Plus, parking lot costs - roughly $50 all together.

Dr. Ellen Goldstein is an excellent doctor. She is calm, straightforward, but also extremely empathetic. She was my first dr in Los Angeles, but my third through this process. She stands out in individualized management of cases: her protocols are not cookie cutter; she is punctual and values communication: I never had to wait more than ten minutes for appointments or reach out to her for results—she called and emailed promptly; she understands the stress, fear and anxiety in infertility treatments, and as expert as she is as a clinician, her human touch made the process bearable. The result of the IVF was also successful, and my cycle with Dr. Goldstein yielded more PGD normal blasts than my cycle five years before.

Expect early appointments.

I’m unable to go into specifics without digging through my notes, but we canceled my first cycle with Follistim to switch to Menopur. The cycle went a bit longer than I expected, but the results were well beyond my expectations at 40 years old. My IVF at 35 produced to normal blasts. With Ellen, five years later, I had three.

I can’t remmber exactly, but within the normal range for LA fertility dr. ~$20,000 before rx

We froze for future surrogacy.

Dr. Goldstein is the best. I can’t recommend her more. She’s kind, empathic and sensitive. I appreciate how she personally delivers sensitive information (good and bad news) either in person or over the phone. I also appreciate how she manages to tell you the truth, address all barriers while also leaving a sliver of hope there. I always felt taken care of. Our appointments never felt rushed and she always took the time to ask how I was doing/feeling. She was also very accessible via phone or email for questions and concerns. She truly cares about her patients. When we got pregnant, she was just as excited as we were.

Don't hesitate to call her and make an appointment.

Dr. Goldstein is prompt and focused on you each and every appointment. She is always available to answer questions. I drove two hours, each way, to see Dr. Goldstein. Her care was absolutely worth it.

Have her as your doctor.