Eric Chang

So while at this practice I have been in the care of 3 out of the 4 doctors in the practice. Dr. Check has only consulted on my case. I adore Dr. Chang. He has been a great communicator. My situation is very rare and from my research and time at other clinics before this, I do think I am at the right practice for my situation. I'm 30 with a diminished reserve, low AMH and high FSH with low LH. Dr. Chang is younger and seems to explain things better for me. The nurses, eh. There are good ones and not so good ones. I love the girls who take my blood. Overall, the nurses could do a better job greeting people or explaining appointments, etc when new patients come to the clinic. I once "got in trouble" for having a full blatter at an ultrasound, but I had got to the bathroom. I almost bit the tech's head off (injectables! haha) Overall, no one explained the entire process to me when I was first diagnosed. I was so overwhelmed. They could have done better job, consoling me or offering therapy options to deal with the situation.

Ask for a consult with Dr. Chang or Dr. Cohen instead of Dr. Choe. Dr. Check is very smart. He was one of the first researchers in this field, but the delivery of Dr. Chang is better than Dr. Choe from my experience.

The way the waiting room is set up and ultrasounds are administered seems like a cattle call, especially in the morning before work. Many of the nurses are apathetic, but not rude. You can't call your nurse directly, you have to leave a message and someone calls you back.

Because of my situation, I was unable to do IUIs. My insurance wouldn't let me do IVF without having 3 failed IUIs first. The doctor advocated for me by writing a letter. After that, we tried a combo of Menopur and Follistem injections. I created 2 eggs which were retrieved but did not fertilize. The next month, we only did Menopur. I created ovarian cysts. The following month, Dr. Chang increased the amount of Menopur I was taking. I created 4 eggs, 2 were retrieved. 1 fertilized and did not implant.

It would be helpful is each patient had a "go-to" nurse. Here, you're rotated. I can't tell you how many times the ultrasound tech asked me "only menopur?" and I had to re-explain the situation. It's taxing. Some of the nurses are sweet while others hate being there I think. When they deliver bad news, they offer condolences but no next steps. If patients were assigned to one nurse, the nurse could consult the doctor before calling the patient.

Strengths - The lead doctor is backed by knowledge and proof. He has been researching and writing white pages on fertility treatments for decades. The practice is a boutique firm handling the most unique cases. My Primary Care Physician speaks highly of the practices. The Younger doctors in the practice have good bedside manner. Weaknesses - Staff is sometimes not the most polite.

The IVF cycle out of pocket expense cost us about $6000-$7000 each time. The first cycle, our meds were covered by insurance. At that point we met the "lifetime" max for meds. Which is funny. The actually IVF is covered, but the meds to get me there aren't. Menopur is approximately $80 per vial (I have a great pharmacist!) but I will be taking 4 vials day to stim - and that does not include the gonal or other meds like the premarin/provera to bring on my period to even start the cycle. Plus estrogen, endometrium, etc.

The embryologist at this location is great. She always explains things in lames terms to us. With that said, I have never had the opportunity to transfer more than 1 embryo and cannot comment on that.