Eric Widra

Dr. Widra is blunt and this is what you notice first and foremost about him. However he is compassionate in his own way and he is extremely knowledgeable. He is also a leader in a large practice. If you you are looking for a straight shooter with a strong research background, he is your guy.

Don't be afraid to push back and ask questions. He is flexible and understanding but because he is a bit intimidating it can be a bit hard. But I think he respects and appreciates when you are your own advocate.

Dr. Widra has many patients and isn't focused on day to day care. That being said, it's clear he knows who we are and the circumstances of our case. When we have worked with him directly he has not rushed us and been patient to answer all questions. Lastly, he has weighed all of our factors carefully as well as our financial planning, and helped us make decisions accordingly.

First cycle (fresh) : Vivelle patch, then Cetrotide injection, then pre eval, initial Dosing: 300 IU Gonal-F and 150 IU Menopur (2 vials), monitored follicles and finished with HCG Trigger injection. Retrevial two days later (7 eggs--> 2 embryos) and then 5 day transfer of 1 fresh and froze the other. Estradiol/Estrace and endrometrin during TWW. Negative preg test. Second cycle(ERA and FET): Estradiol/Estrace 2mg tablets 3 times a day, then lining check, then Progesterone in Oil 1 ml every third day, then 2 endometrin inserts 2x a day. ERA test showed late stage receptivity so timing of oil shots was shifted by 12 hours. Transfered 1 week ago and waiting for preg test.

Carrie is sweet, knowledgeable and typically available. She is our main POC and translates/communicates all information about our protocol. She has endless patience and is a treasure trove of information. She seems to always act on our behalf and has been a true reliable source of comfort and data. For monitoring, we see a revolving door of nurses and other medical staff. They are all nice, some more helpful than others, but haven't been dissatisfied with any. Just know that you really never have a singular person your dealing with on any given day, except our main nurse.

Shady Grove is a large practice and it is a business. They do their best to provide the best care but by nature because it is such a enormous practice you are constantly dealing with different people for all parts of the process. It would be easy to feel like a number but I actually don't. I think it does force you to realize you and your partner are in charge, and you must consistently speak up for yourself at every step. They appear to follow science to the enth degree and for that I respect them.

In total for the fresch cycle, including meds, with 50% insurance we initially paid about $6000 for the first cycle. We were later reimbursed some of it due to a higher payout of the insurance. For the ERA and FET we paid I think around $2000 including meds with insurance.

Strongly recommended against multiple transfers.

My husband and I found Dr. Widra to be compassionate, but also frank. He didn't sugarcoat anything, but I certainly never found him cold. When trying for my first, we went through a number of retrievals and transfers and I appreciated feeling "known" despite being at a very large clinic that has a reputation for being a factory. I am detail oriented and Dr. Widra always took the time to answer my questions, whether in person or on the phone. While much of my communication was with my nurse, if there was difficult or sensitive information to deliver, he always called me himself and I never felt rushed off the phone. We ended up doing PGS testing and when I became pregnant, Dr. Widra told me to call him if I ever had any questions. We were indeed told at one point in my pregnancy that we should consider an amnio to rule out chromosomal abnormalities. At this point it had been a few months since I saw Dr. Widra, but I called him and he returned my call within hours. We went back to Dr. Widra when we were ready to try for our second, and unfortunately we did not have success. After two cycles, he recommended we move on to donor egg. While we weren't (aren't) ready to do that, I appreciated his honesty about how he views our situation.

That he may not be the warmest upon first impression, but you should not take his frankness for a lack of compassion.

In the early part of my treatment, when I was doing the IUIs (2), I felt more like a number. But as we moved into our IVF cycles, I had increased interactions with Dr. Widra. After my first miscarriage, I felt Dr. Widra responded with genuine compassion and personalized care. From then on, I felt he really knew me and my history.

I began with fairly low doses of menopur and bravelle, 75 and 150, respectively. But that cycle did not produce many follicles. In my subsequent cycles, I was using higher doses -- around 150 menopur and 300 bravelle. I did two antagonist protocols: bcp followed by stims, with cetrotide added when the follicles got to a certain size. While these yielded a decent number of eggs, Dr. Widra thought we might be able to get more with estrogen priming, so we did that for my last cycle when trying for my first. When trying for my second, we started with estrogen priming since that had yielded the most eggs when I was trying for my first. However, that did not result in many eggs, so Dr. Widra proposed a micro-dose Lupron protocol.

I actually went through 2 nurses who were not good communicators, not organized, and with whom I was not happy. After my negative experience with the second, I spoke with my doctor and he had me transferred to another nurse, who was excellent. She was clearly so much better than either of the first two. I actually had a similar experience the second time around. I started out with a pretty subpar nurse, but spoke to the office manager and was transferred to a nurse who was incredible. So I think the bottom line is that there is a range of nurses at the clinic and I would recommend self-advocating if you feel unhappy with your nurse.

Shady Grove is huge and therefore has the expected strengths and weaknesses. Strengths: multiple locations, very good hours for appointments, usually pretty efficient monitoring hours Weaknesses: takes some time before various personnel get to know you. your doctor is likely not going to do your procedures

I found monitoring appointments pretty easy because there were multiple locations I could go. There were often multiple women waiting, but that didn't negatively impact my experience. I knew that the earlier I went, the less time I would have to wait. Very occasionally, I would be taken to a room and then had to wait for 10-15 minutes, but usually once I was taken to a room, I was seen within a few minutes.

I was part of shared risk, both times. That meant I paid an upfront fee (~25,000) that covered up to 6 cycles and I got my money back if it didn't work.

Dr. Widra had a strong preference for eSET given that we were exclusively transferring 5 day embryos. I appreciated this approach, given that it is safer for both women and babies.

I often got the feeling that my case was too complicated. I was made to feel like I was a set of illnesses, rather than a patient that was trying to conceive. It was very unclear after the first visit what I was supposed to do, as clear instructions weren't really given. I felt like just another number, and I really didn't feel confident in the care I was receiving. I didn't try switching doctors, it felt like that would achieve similar results. Instead I switched clinics.

Go in educated on your possible options, things are explained very quickly so you'll want to try to familiarize yourself with some terms if possible. Also bring a notebook and pen so you can take good notes. If you're using this practice expect it to feel like a cattle call, and don't expect much personalized attention. Be your own best advocate.

Due to a high patient volume, it felt like many people were given the same protocol and there wasn't much outside of the box thinking for a tougher case. Bedside manner was very matter of fact, and advice was very standard. It felt like if your numbers weren't as high as some other clients you would be automatically directed to donor eggs. I very much felt like just another number here, and not like a person.

I did not get to the point of a cycle as it was uncertain what option the doctor felt was best to use. I could have proceed with donor eggs, or waited to see if they could figure out my case. If I proceeded with my own eggs an antagonist protocol was mentioned, with BCP to start. It was a frustrating experience as we hadn't even done my day 3 labs yet, and already I felt very dismissed.

I felt like my nurse provided good communicator and she was the one good aspect of my visit/experience with Shady Grove. I would highly recommended her as she was clear in her communication and was very kind and available for questions.

The refund plan they offer is a great deal if you happen to qualify and I can get why so many patients flock to this location. Financial department is a mess to deal with, they always seemed to give different numbers, and on one occasion I had a phone call scheduled with them and they never called me and didn't really offer an explanation/apology. It became very frustrating to deal with them. They from time to time didn't provide me with an accurate representation of what my insurance would cover as I later found out through working with a different clinic.

Initial visit and initial testing were covered though i never made it to the initial testing. I want to say my husband's SA was around 300$. The shared risk cycle would have been 22,500 plus medication and a banking cycle was an additional 7500$ or so plus medication cost. Though to be honest how the financial counselor laid out the expenses was very confusing and she kept giving me different numbers.

eSET was preferred in general, but if you were using a surrogate a double embryo transfer was okay but unadvertised.

Eric is a smart doctor. And you'll see him for your until consultation to devise a treatment plan. But he's not a warm and fuzzy doctor. Neither is he's hands on, nor especially client interfaceing until things don't go as initially as planned. We barely saw him over the course of our three IUIs. He did not perform any of the monitoring appointments or procedures. Due to the clinic's large size, those tasks were performed by whichever doctor was available at the time. However, once we moved onto IVF cycles - we saw Dr. Widra more frequently. Still however, the procedures were completed by available daily doctors (not Widra). We finally got to experience Dr. Widra in a more hands-on and compassionate way after I began to experience unexplainable RPL of chromosomally normal embryos/fetuses. He took the time to meet with my husband and me as often as we felt we needed to come in and consult with him, and have him reassure us. He was not initially responsive to the additional testing I wanted to have done (Leiden V) or putting me on additional medications. But after the second miscarriage, he was amenable and willing to accommodate my requests. Through these difficult times he has been thoughtful, caring and respectful.

Make sure he's the right personality fit for you. If you're looking for someone who will be overly supportive and involved in every way (complete every procedure, call you directly with monitoring appointment information, hand holding) that's not how he or the clinic operates. But if you're comfortable with a more formal manner, direct, thoughtful and respectful manner - then he'll be a good fit.

During the IUI process I felt like a number. We completed 3 unsuccessful cycles. We met with the doctor before we began the process but after that initial meeting we were passed off to nursing staff and whatever doctor was on call at the time to complete the IUI procedures.

Diagnosed with PCOS and unexplained fertility issues. Completed 3 rounds of IUI with Clomid and ovidrel. Resulted in good egg stimulation for all three cycles but only one chemical pregnancy. He was not open to changing protocol as I requested to include metformin and femerra. Moved onto IVF. Egg stimulation and retrieval: Cetrotide 250mcg Gonadotropin FSH ( Gonal F 450 iu pen x 3) and 75 IU FSH&LH ( Menopur 75 iu vials x 15) Lupron 2 week kit with 1ml luerlock syringe, 27 g ½ “ needle - “Trigger” subcutaneous. Zithromax 1 gram - taken evening before egg retrieval Resulted in 18 eggs retrieved. 8 made it to 5-day blocyst; 5 remained after PGD testing. Froze all embryos. #1 IVF and FET Round: Birth Control Pills Prenatal Vitamins: 1 daily Del Estrogen injection (40 mg/ml; 1 vial has 5 ml; 6 mg = 0.15 ml): 0.15 ml IM every third evening Progesterone in Oil injection (50 mg/ml): 1 ml IM every night Resulted in pregnancy; SPL/miscarriage at 6 weeks; misoprostol abortion. Diagnosed as carrier of Liden V. Round #2 IVF and FET: Lovenox injections 40mg daily Prenatal Vitamins: 1 daily Del Estrogen injection (40 mg/ml; 1 vial has 5 ml; 6 mg = 0.15 ml): 0.15 ml IM every third evening Progesterone in Oil injection (50 mg/ml): 1 ml IM every night Resulted in pregnancy; SPL/miscarriage at 6 weeks; d&c abortion. Fetal tissue chromosomally normal. Diagnosed with PCOS and unexplained fertility issues. Completed 3 rounds of IUI with Clomid and ovidrel. Resulted in good egg stimulation for all three cycles but only one chemical pregnancy. He was not open to changing protocol as I requested to include metformin and femerra. Moved onto IVF. Egg stimulation and retrieval: Cetrotide 250mcg Gonadotropin FSH ( Gonal F 450 iu pen x 3) and 75 IU FSH&LH ( Menopur 75 iu vials x 15) Lupron 2 week kit with 1ml luerlock syringe, 27 g ½ “ needle - “Trigger” subcutaneous. Zithromax 1 gram - taken evening before egg retrieval Resulted in 18 eggs retrieved. 8 made it to 5-day blocyst; 5 remained after PGD testing. Froze all embryos. #1 IVF and FET Round: Birth Control Pills Prenatal Vitamins: 1 daily Del Estrogen injection (40 mg/ml; 1 vial has 5 ml; 6 mg = 0.15 ml): 0.15 ml IM every third evening Progesterone in Oil injection (50 mg/ml): 1 ml IM every night Resulted in pregnancy; SPL/miscarriage at 6 weeks; misoprostol abortion. Diagnosed carrier Liden V. Diagnosed with PCOS and unexplained fertility issues. Completed 3 rounds of IUI with Clomid and ovidrel. Resulted in good egg stimulation for all three cycles but only one chemical pregnancy. He was not open to changing protocol as I requested to include metformin and femerra. Moved onto IVF. Egg stimulation and retrieval: Cetrotide 250mcg Gonadotropin FSH ( Gonal F 450 iu pen x 3) and 75 IU FSH&LH ( Menopur 75 iu vials x 15) Lupron 2 week kit with 1ml luerlock syringe, 27 g ½ “ needle - “Trigger” subcutaneous. Zithromax 1 gram - taken evening before egg retrieval Resulted in 18 eggs retrieved. 8 made it to 5-day blocyst; 5 remained after PGD testing. Froze all embryos. #1 IVF and FET Round: Birth Control Pills Prenatal Vitamins: 1 daily Del Estrogen injection (40 mg/ml; 1 vial has 5 ml; 6 mg = 0.15 ml): 0.15 ml IM every third evening Progesterone in Oil injection (50 mg/ml): 1 ml IM every night Resulted in pregnancy; SPL/miscarriage at 6 weeks; misoprostol abortion. Diagnosed as carrier of Liden V. Round #2 IVF and FET: Lovenox injections 40mg daily Prenatal Vitamins: 1 daily Del Estrogen injection (40 mg/ml; 1 vial has 5 ml; 6 mg = 0.15 ml): 0.15 ml IM every third evening Progesterone in Oil injection (50 mg/ml): 1 ml IM every night Resulted in pregnancy; SPL/miscarriage at 6 weeks; d&c; fetal tissue chromosomally normal. Round #3 IVF and FET: Metformin 3 pills daily w/ meals Lexapro 10mg daily Lovenox injections 40mg daily Prenatal Vitamins: 1 daily Del Estrogen injection (40 mg/ml; 1 vial has 5 ml; 6 mg = 0.15 ml): 0.15 ml IM every third evening Progesterone in Oil injection (50 mg/ml): 1 ml IM every night Result: TBD

I've had two primary nurse coordinators over the past year and a half and they have both been phenomenal. They address all of my questions, calls, and emails promptly and thoughtfully. They get answers back from my doctor quickly. They are always on the ball - calling in all of my medications before I even ask. They are compassionate when breaking diasapointing news and never complain about being nagged by me or my husband. They do the daily hand holding and support needed during this process.

Shady Grove is a factory. And you have to know that and be 'OK' with that going into the process. You will not get a lot of attention or hand-holding from your primary RE. You will be seen for your monitoring appointments and procedures by whomever is on duty that day. Do not expect your primary RE to perform any of your procedures. He or she is there to oversee your 'case'. Your nurses are your rock. You are assigned one primary nurse and they do everything. And you have to be OK with that - otherwise Shady Grove is not the place for you.

Year 1: For 3 IUIs + shared risk IVF package + out of pocket meds + medical deductibles = ~$50,000

At first I was frustrated at my doctor's unwillingness to implant multiple embryos. But after he explained the potential risks and long term effects of the babies (developmental issues, under weight, early term, etc) I began to understand and agree with eSET.

I almost never saw Dr. Widra. He has a protocol and wants no part of answering your questions or making any changes to that protocol for your preferences. He hated that I did research and had my own opinions. There are still questions he hasn't answered that his nurse promised he would call and answer. The one time he did call he only wanted to talk about the good news from our retrieval even though i had been pressing to have a conversation about the transfer protocol. When things when wrong he never cared to discuss why or what could be done differently or to resolve the issue.

If you don't want to understand why decisions are being made or to have any input in your care, or to ever see your doc (which honestly didn't matter to me as long as i got the info i wanted) i suspect he would be a fine choice. But if you want information I would probably choose someone else.

Dr. Widra has no idea anything about my care in the few times i actually interacted with him. When i did speak to him about my protocol his answer was simply that is how we do it, when pressed about data i was told they had data i could not see. He had no desire to personalize anything.

I started with birth control which resulted in a cyst that we spent weeks watching grow (thankfully a PA suggested i push for a trigger shot to get rid of it!). After that i was on gonal-f 225 and 1 vial of menopur. After the first monitoring appointment they added cetrotide (1 injection) and doubled the menopur. I stimmed for 14 days (I think) then did a lupron trigger. My progesterone was too high for a fresh transfer so we had to do a freeze all. For the frozen transfer they tried birth control again, it didn't stop me from ovulating, which thankfully happened to coincide with our monitoring appointment and i got the natural-ish cycle i wanted. I did have to do progesterone suppositories (Dr. Widra refused to do the transfer without it and i was willing to give in since it was at least not the PIO injections).

Carrie was generally good. She was very sweet. She would generally provide information if she had it. My main issue was many questions she didn't have the answer to and the doctor NEVER responded to questions i had that were outside of her knowledge. I did have a major problem with information getting to insurance at the beginning and I'm not sure how much of that was her fault. She generally didn't know me from any other patient. My biggest complaint was when my fresh transfer was canceled (which i was devastated about frustrated they were not interested in why it happened) she multiple times said we are just going back to the original freeze all plan (it was NEVER the plan to do a freeze all - in fact, once the initial insurance fiasco was resolved it was put in as a freeze all, which I was very clear was never my plan).

Shady grove is a giant clinic which has its pluses and minuses. On the plus side they have a lot of patients, which means their embryologists have tons of experience. I trusted the lab completely. It was always easy to get the time you want for monitoring and generally they had that process down and things moved. The negative is they are not always organized. I received multiple bills for things i had already paid for (which always ended up working out but took time and effort to deal with). If you have insurance expect it to take a LOT of time and expect them to mess up the paperwork (my insurance company said they are notorious for that). For me their mistake resulted in my initially being rejected even though I should have been approved. Thankfully my insurance company had done a great job at the beginning of telling me what they needed so i knew right away something was wrong. Although i had emailed my nurse and financial coordinator the exact paperwork that was needed they still failed to send it in. The result was a LOT of extra stress and work for me. They were very willing to accept the rejection and only agreed to do the appeal when i pushed (thankfully the doctor was never required since my personally sending in the proper paperwork fixed the problem). They then put in for a freeze all even though i had multiple times made very clear i wanted a fresh transfer, which resulted in more stress and delay. They are very willing to accept bad news and very unwilling to look at what went wrong (from insurance to medical issues). You are a number, which for me was ok. There are people that actually care, but it's not most of the people.

You scheduled a generally time (I think they were done in 15 minute increments), you sign in and then it was a first come first serve for bloodwork and ultrasound. It was generally pretty well run and was usually timely (only once was it particularly long - a little over an hour) most times i would be out in under 30 minutes.

I was lucky enough to have insurance coverage so the rate i paid was the rate negotiated by the insurance company.

he suggested a single transfer especially since we were PGS testing but wasn't pushy about it.

Dr Widra is very business - like and straightforward. He is not warm and fuzzy, but provides ample time and explanation for everything. He i s knowledgeable about his field and talks to help patients understand. He always checked in and checked up on me after procedures or to review results. I did find however, that I wished for some more individuated protocols tailored to my specific situation. Or the willingness to try something new or different.

Feel free to push back and suggest other options if you have them. Know that you are going to get straightforward treatment and respect, but not warm fuzzy hugs from Widra.

Dr Widra and the staff are very nice and try to make appointments and conversations as comfortable as possible. However, I did find that the actual protocols were less tailored to me as a person and that they do the same for everyone. I like that Dr Widra is straightforward.

We started with IUI using Clomid, then added a Gonadotropin, then Ovidrel trigger. None of 5 times I tried the IUI worked. Then for my first attempt at IVF, we did an Antagonist Vivelle Protocol with Vivelle, Cetrotide, and Gonadotropin. Towards the end of the protocol, we were not seeing many eggs being produced so we changed the IVF to an IUI cycle which was unsuccessful. For the next cycle, I did a low dose minimal stimulation protocol with Letrozole, Cetrotide, and Menopur. This also resulted in only 2 eggs being produced. Both fertilized and we implanted both embryos. We did not test these as Widra said there were no options, so no need to test. This cycle resulted in a chemical pregnancy that quickly failed. For the final IVF cycle, I did the same low dose minimal stimulation protocol and only had two eggs, and only was was able to be retrieved. The egg fertilized, was implanted, but resulted in a negative pregnancy test. The rationale for using the low dose stimulation was that with the converted IVF cycle I had taken more medications and it hadnt produced more eggs.

Kristal was amazing. She always called promptly with results, was caring, and compassionate and provided accurate information in a timely manner. Kristal then left the practice and I was assigned Myasia Reliford who was good, but not quite as thorough or talkative/compassionate as Kristal.

I mostly went to the K street office of Shady Grove Fertility. The front desk staff, nurses who take blood and ultrasound technicians were amazing. They are so friendly, nice, gentle, and caring. I sometimes had to wait a while before being seen since the office is so busy which is not great, but as people, the staff is fantastic.

All in all, the costs were about $10,000

Dr. Widra was kind and direct, responsive. Sometimes hard to book appointments due to his busy schedule. He made himself available when there were urgent situations where we needed to be in touch. we would definitely recommend him.

He is factual and clear- if you need a lot of hand holding and warm and fuzzy he may not be who you want (although he is definitely warm and kind).

He is kind but direct

We started straight with IVF - due to my age at the time (42) we agreed not to 'waste' time IUI. I did one egg retrieval- we transferred 3- negative pregnancy test with none viable remaining to freeze. We then met with him to discuss next steps- he said we could try another round of egg retrieval- but given my age and odds- we decided to go to donor eggs. We had 9 embryos- did one transfer and Imiscarried at 6.5 weeks, then we did another transfer which resulted in a chemical pregnancy. The next transfer we transferred 2 embryos which resulted in a chemical pregnancy. We then did PGD on remaining 5 embryos since Dr. Widra felt the results seemed unlikely- came back that only one was chromosomally normal. We were scheduled for another transfer but the morning of the transfer it was cancelled bec. embryo did not survive the thaw. we then discussed options I had adenomyosis? in my uterus that were detected before my first cycle- we retested to see if it got bigger- it did. We talked about options- surgery, try again without surgery and we decided most likely scenario for live birth is gestational carrier. moved forward with new donor and gestational carrier.

They were very responsive and compassionate.

I liked the sibley location because it was quiet and not overwhelming.

it was a lot

With my eggs- we transferred three embryos given my age. With donor eggs we transferred one because of his urging- but he allowed two when we weren't getting pregnant. Given costs and complication with gestational carrier he allowed us to transfer two embryos.

I went through 9 cycles of various treatments with Dr. Widra (the last two of which resulted in ongoing pregnancies spaced two years apart). During my 7th cycle, I had an ectopic pregnancy that eventually ended up rupturing (not the fault of Dr. Widra or Shady Grove fertility). Dr. Widra called me from out-of-town to express his disappointment about the ectopic pregnancy and then called me again when he learned that I had emergency surgery to deal with the ruptured ectopic. That really impressed me. Additionally, Dr. Widra always treated me well and like a human during office appointments and monitoring appointments. I never felt like he didn't care. Also, Dr. Widra never cancelled one of my cycles. Even if it looked like I might be maturing too many follicles (during timed intercourse cycles), Dr. Widra would adjust the medications and I was able to trigger with every cycle. I can't say enough good things about my experience with Dr. Widra and Shady Grove.

It can take some time to get an appointment with Dr. Widra, so if you want to start treatment in May, think about calling for a May appointment in Feb or March. In my experience, thought, this was only true for initial appointments; once I was undergoing treatment, I had appointments with Dr. Widra that we scheduled only a week or two out.

I went through 9 cycles of various treatments with Dr. Widra. During my 7th cycle, I had an ectopic pregnancy that eventually ended up rupturing (not the fault of Dr. Widra or Shady Grove fertility). Dr. Widra called me from out-of-town to express his disappointment about the ectopic pregnancy and then called me again when he learned that I had emergency surgery to deal with the ruptured ectopic. That really impressed me. Additionally, Dr. Widra always treated me well and like a human during office appointments and monitoring appointments. I never felt like he didn't care.

My treatment for my first child was primarily dictated by the requirements of my insurance company (which provided coverage for IVF, but only if I tried a certain number of timed intercourse and IUI cycles first). But within those requirements, Dr. Widra first had me go through 2 cycles of timed intercourse with clomid and progesterone suppositories, and then switched me to injectibles (Bravelle) and progesterone suppositories when I had vision issues with clomid (I wasn't taking a high dose). Then I went through 4 cycles of timed intercourse with injectibles to fulfill my insurance requirements, and an IUI cycle with injectibles (Bravelle) and progesterone suppositories again to fulfill insurance requirements. The IUI resulted in an ectopic pregnancy that Shady Grove quickly treated, but still ended up rupturing and requiring emergency surgery. After that point, I was finally allowed to proceed to IVF, which produced two 5-day blasts (using Bravelle, menopur, HGH, estradiol, and endometrin) . One was using during that first cycle (and resulted in my son) and the other was frozen for future use. I did end up with over-stimulated ovaries, but I don't think this was the result of Dr. Widra being too aggressive with treatment (as I didn't end up with dozens of retrieved eggs), but is just something that happened. Shady Grove treated me with a blood thinner and an outpatient procedure to drain fluid. A year after my son was born, I went through a frozen embryo transfer with Dr. Widra using the embryo that was produced during my previous IVF cycle (as well as a combination of endometrin, PIO injections, and estradiol injections). This cycle was also successful and (fingers crossed) my daughter will be born in May 2016.

I can not say enough good things about my nurses at Shady Grove (Carrie Andrews and before her Sarah Evans). So on top of things, organized, caring....they both had all of the qualities that you would want in a nurse and never, ever let me down. And in the case of Sarah, we worked together for 8 cycles over 1.5 years and I threw so many issues at her, and she always responded quickly and thoughtfully. I only worked with Carrie for 1 (successful) cycle, but she also displayed these same qualities, which I am sure would have continued had I needed additional treatments or cycles.

Shady Grove is professional, on-the-ball, reassuring, and staffed with very competent and caring staff members. I cannot say enough about the faith I had in everyone that I encountered. The only negative that I think some people might have is that it is a bigger clinic and so could feel like a cattle call. But I think that's an asset, as it means they have seen and dealt with everything before and perhaps even that same day!

8 (including one IUI and one IVF) of my 9 cycles were covered by insurance, and I never had any cost or billing issues. My 9th cycle was paid out-of-pocket, but the fees were fair for the procedure and I was able to participate in a research study that lowered my costs (without degrading my care)

He is defensive and not open to listening to his patients. The whole time I had to push him to try something different. One cycle I called him a couple of times to let him know I felt the cycle was not going well, and he told me he thought it was going fine. I ended up with only one embryo. The next cycle he increased my meds I got four embryos. If he would have listened during the first cycle then I may not have need a second cycle.

Do not expect him to be proactive.

You always had to go through a nurse. And I was always having to suggest what should be done next. I should not have to manage the doctor. He should be up to date on research.

IVF and frozen eggs and genetic testing of embryos. He insisted on doing frozen cycles until I pushed him into freezing the eggs and genetic testing of embryos. I did not want to continually go through miscarriages, and I had one previously. Not sure why he would have ever suggested fresh IVF cycle for anyone over 40.

Carrie was a wonderful nurse, but Eric Widra would have her call me instead of talking to me himself. He was reactive and uncomfortable approaching patients.

Shady Grove has very convenient offices and flexible hours, which makes it convenient for pursuing fertility. However I think they could do more to customize for patients over 35 by having protocols set up for these patients.

Shady grove is fairly efficient with appointments and flexible. They have improved their scheduling and monitoring hours by opening up additional clinics to help with traffic.

All costs at shady grove are fairly uniform across.

I had very positive experiences with Dr. Widra. He does not have a "warm and fuzzy" personality, but he is still very sensitive. He conveys information and options in a very clear, direct but yet very compassionate way. When we went in for an 8 week sonogram after our first IVF treatment, he found that there had been a miscarriage. He handled the situation extremely well, and made us feel very supported and comforted.

Dr. Widra has a more direct style, though he is still compassionate and sensitive. Also, he does not give out his email address (as some REs do) so all your questions will go through a nurse.

It can be hard to feel a lot of personal attention at Shady Grove. Shady Grove is a huge practice. I believe I read somewhere they do more IVF procedures than anywhere in the country. So sometimes it can feel like a bit of a factory. I felt comfort in that because I knew they had tons of experience. I didn't need personal attention as much as I needed to know that the doctors knew how to get results! However, when it became clear that my case was more complicated, I felt that I got the more personal attention I needed. Dr. Widra brought me and my husband in for a special meeting to talk next steps and a plan. I also felt that at every step of the way, when I had questions or concerns, someone was there to answer them.

Carrie was an absolute dream. She was kind and compassionate, responsive and reassuring. She was extremely knowledgeable and set my mind at ease.

My wife and I were clear that we wanted to get pregnant with IUI and if it wasn't going to happen, we thought we would accept that. It took almost 2 years to get pregnant the first time and Dr Widra respected our wishes and did not once attempt to push us into a different course of treatment, even though his #1 objective as a reproductive endocrinologist, is to get women pregnant as quickly as possible. I continue to be very grateful for that.

he treated us honestly and respectfully - like adults who don't need to be coddled - and while we certainly had some challenges, we now have 2 healthy kids. I'm not sure what else I can say. So much of this journey is out of our control.

He was direct and compassionate when there was bad news. I appreciated his sense of humor, which he used adeptly and with sensitivity. It helped me keep a sense of perspective when things looked bleak. He did not make promises that weren't his to keep and he was helpful at managing our expectations.

As I mentioned previously, we were patient with wanting to get pregnant with IUIs. I had 2 miscarriages before my daughter was born. I was given choices on how to conclude the miscarriages. Those choices were respected. After each, some test was proposed to see if there was an identifiable reason. There wasn't. And eventually I got pregnant.

I had a few care coordinators, and generally they were fine. They have a hard job, managing emotionally challenging situations, calling with highly anticipated test results. But admittedly I never felt a real connection with any of them. I understand that that may be a lot to ask.

Functionally competent, efficient, solid customer service.

2 IUIs per cycle at $395 each, I think. My insurance did not pay for IUIs. Bloodwork, D&C, HSG we're all covered.

I'm still in treatment with Dr. Widra. It has been a frustrating process for things outside his control. However, he has been the best at the worst times, meaning when things have gone off course he has been attentive and sympathetic.

Don't expect to see a lot of him or have him at all your monitoring. However, his approach is great and he is amenable to your perspective and feedback.

Dr.Widra has a very straightforward manner that I appreciated. He doesn't do a lot of hand holding, which I didn't need. He also doesn't do a lot of the communication, which I would have preferred. His nurse, however, is very reachable and excellent. I had a complication during my ivf stimulation and Dr. Widra was really great about it.

We tried iui but I ovulated before we could actually do the procedure (due to monitoring problems related to fibroids). For ivf, I did a course of birth control, then follistim and menopur, then added in ganirilex.

Nursing staff was excellent. Carrie was a great communicator and had to address a lot of tough issues with us. Really love Latrice for monitoring - super professional and helpful.

SGF is sort of factory but good in that monitoring is easy. Lots of open times for monitoring and SGF is a 24/7 facility, so that makes scheduling easy and good for getting answers. You don't always get a lot of personal treatment though and some of the techs are not great. Can be a bit hit or miss.

I paid for a 2 package ivf with pgs testing. I think it was about 24K

Not applicable yet

Dr Widra is an experienced professional, willing to take older women who normally have a slower chance of success. I found this aspect in him and in his clinic worthy of recognition because I went to another clinic before where you can sense that the doctor was not willing to sacrifice his success rates by taking a woman over 43. He was very clear on my expectations and agreed to accompany my desire to become a single mother at an old age (44 years old). He and his team are on top of the latest research and he doesnt set unrealistic expectations.

Prepare yous questions in advance and ask him all you want to ask, and also, he is available by email if needed to respond any questions you might have.

Shady Grove it a big clinic and the relationship with the patient is lead by the nurse. The Doctor sees you when he needs to diagnose and follows the treatment providing feedback through the nurse.

We did an IVF cycle and then we decided to follow up with IUIs because at 45 years old the success rates were similar and the cost and impact on the body was more manageable for me with IUI than with IVF (and IVF was covered by my health insurance)

well functioning machine for fertility treatments.

Dr. Widra was frank and straightforward while also being patient and understanding. He cited studies and had ample evidence to support the decisions we made. We felt well cared for working with him. He was clear and concise which appealed to me and my husband.

Ask questions when you need to.

Dr. Widra was clear and patient with us. He was very compassionate when your first pregnancy, after an IUI, ended in a missed AB.

I'm afraid I don't remember the specifics here.

She was responsive and kind.

While they see a lot of patients, I found them still attentive to me needs. I had a pretty straightforward case however, so that might have helped.

I was able to schedule for a general time, and was usually seen reasonable close to that scheduled time. If running late and I needed to get to an appointment elsewhere, they were able to accommodate my needs.

We did a two-for-a-discount cycle, though we didn't end up needing the second cycle. We received some financial aid, I think the total without medication for this was $15,000.

Dr. Widra is a matter-of-fact communicator who tries to present a balanced view of options with accompanying benefits and risks. He is not very warm, but he's jovial and seems to care about his patients. Dr. Widra is very very busy, and as his patient, I felt rushed in communicating with him.

Know that even though he's not the warmest and seems very busy/rushed, he does care. Be prepared to have your primary relationship be with the nurses.

They did not get to know me as a human, but they didn't confuse me with other patients. My nurse switched twice over the course of my treatment, and since in Dr. Widra's practice the RNs are the primary points of contact for a patient, those transitions affected my experience.

At SGF, the nurses are the primary caregivers. In general, they are good nurses. They are caring and organized. That said, because the nurses are the primary points of contact for patients, any turnover on the nursing team is more challenging for patients than it would be if Dr. Widra managed the relationships on his panel more closely. This was my experience.

He was very helpful in explaining the process. the nurse is also very helpful. I do think that they don't have as much time to spend on patients due to the number of patients they see each day. It is a little difficult to schedule appointment son weekends with the Rockvile Office

IF you need to speak with the Doctor himself make appointment sot see him yourself. After the first session you will be communicating with your assigned nurse.

my nurse is very good in communicating the test results and next steps with me

strength: you can make appointments very easily ( except for on weekends) - My Dr is always available for a phone visit. I also like the webinars Shady Grove Fertility conducts every week. My nurse is also a great communicator, and the wait time for tests aren't too long. Weakness: I would have appreciated if someone would sit with me to describe the results more in detail.

I haven't done that yet

He was very open about probabilities of pregnancy at 44 years old, and he explained that given good hormonal results that we could try a few times with PGD to see if there are any viable embryos. I found him quite honest.

the one and only time I saw him, he was quite clear about expectations and probabilities for a patient who was 44 years old. He was open, a good listener, the only thing I didnt like is that he insisted in some test, that I have already done within the past year, as if they were trying to bill more for their clinic.

ANTAGONIST

She was accessible by email and phone (through an answering machine), she was always positive and nice

The clinic is too big, i have 6 ultrasounds with 5 different technicians, the retrival is in a place different from the office and nobody you know is there. Its a well functioning machine, but a little bit impersonal

18K covered by health insurance

I always felt Dr. Widra was providing the best possible treatment recommendations. His recommendations were always grounded in empirical data (% chance of success / risks / outcomes). He was available either through appointment or over the phone to address any concerns or answer questions. We had a very positive experience.

Express what you are looking for and what you are comfortable / uncomfortable with. I believe he listens and takes that into account very well.

Dr. Widra has always listened to what we were hoping to achieve and recommended the lowest interventions possible. It never felt as though he was trying to sell any services, but rather focused on achieving results in a manner we were comfortable with.

Clomid + IUI

Strengths: multiple locations, weekend hours, increasing amount of services provided by their office as opposed to outside providers Weaknesses: not all services at all locations

~2,500/IUI

Dr Widra was candid and direct, which I greatly needed after seeing another doctor (with another group) who was always vague. Dr Widra showed me stats and talked me through everything in a clear manner.

Ask as many questions, Dr Widra is very open.

I had a one on one nurse who was always available and when she wasn't, I was informed who to contact. I could email or call anytime.

Given that I had low ovarian reserve he focused on producing as many eggs as possible and was very attentive during monitoring to adjust medications as needed.

She was direct and careful. Would ask about my mental health and was available for emails and calls

Only limitation was sometimes they would need to ask the doctor, which was reasonable.

Monitoring is a pain, and they have a ton of patients, but it was managed well.

I had a good insurance, but the staff was exceptionally knowledgeable and knew how to maximize insurance.

NA

We wanted a physician who is an expert in his practice and experienced in diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Widra fit this description perfectly. He fully explained the course of treatment, gave us clear expectations, and met every predicted outcome - successfully.

He knows what he is doing, you are in excellent hands.

We found Dr. Widra to be warm and friendly, straightforward with his diagnosis and plan, clear and concise with a plan of action. Exactly what we wanted.

We had two cycles, and two nurses. The first was wonderful - clear in her communication and organized. The second we did not care for as much - felt we had to initiate communication and that her instructions were rushed and not as clear as we would have liked.

The clinic is excellent. They are capable and professional.

Dr. Widra is smart and I really liked him. He was sometimes serious but I prefer my doctor to be serious and understand what he is doing than be cheerful and not know what he is doing. One thing I didn't like about him was his preference for singleton versus having twins.

Do not be bothered by his not so cheerful personality

Dr. Widra would patiently answer all my questions though sometime he would appear to get exasperated with me. Maybe not his fault. I usually would read up a lot and come with too many questions.

She followed up adequately

clean Friendly state of the art equipment

$20,000

I already did. Dr Widra preferred singletons and would always advise you so. I was very upset that he seemed relieved when one of the two heartbeats we had seen previously was no longer progressing.

I highly recommend Dr. Widra. Friends have been successful. He is honest, compassionate, trustworthy and very skilled.

Go see him. You will know where you stand and he will always be up front.

They understood the journey on which you were embarking and the emotion surrounding it. Dr. Widra and all of the Shady Grove staff were so compassionate. When I read the story of this site's founders I was compelled to do the survey because we were lucky enough to have a great experience. And I am confident I would be writing this even if I did not become pregnant.

When I got a negative result she could not have been kinder and more compassionate. And when I became pregnant, she was elated. They are in lock step with you.

Done previously.

Use other tools to keep perspective such as yoga and meditation.

He was kind, engaged, focused on me and my issues, while being forthcoming and honest. Did not have a God complex like I saw at Dominion Fertility.

Good but not always as on the ball as I wanted given how anxious you tend to be. They were good but it is the hardest thing most of their patients have ever gone through.