Farah Chuong

Dr. Choung had me suppress with estrogen prior to stimulation. She did not discuss any supplements nor acupuncture and said they have not been proven to improve success. This is not true and with a subsequent retrieval after switching clinics I had 4x as many embryos and all were top quality (as opposed to the one poor quality embryo I produced with Dr. Choung. My eggs did not grow well during stims however she never changed the dosage of my medication (the next clinic did and my eggs immediately responded). I stimmed for 14 days and she was still only able to retrieve 4 eggs yet she told me the day before I triggered that I should anticipate 10 eggs based on their size and my estrogen level before retrieval. I understand that in medicine things don't always go according to plan but when the retrieval didn't yield even half of the eggs she expected she should have had the courtesy to let me know herself or offer some explanation. She was nowhere to be found after the retrieval when I woke up from sedation. Same story when the transfer failed. I paid out of pocket for this cycle and it was a total waste. I had a totally opposite (and successful) experience at the next clinic. My experience with Dr. Choung was a total waste of time and money.

Do your own research and speak up about the things you want. Do not accept a disappearing act when things go wrong.

Antagonist protocol- gonal and meno (same dosage for 14 days of stims). single trigger.

$20000 for a cycle

I usually leave with negatives. But I don’t have many. Dr. Chuong is truly in the thick of it with you. I’m very direct and she’s always given me the straight details and as much information as I ask for. I’m a high information person so the level of detail she has to go into with me is likely well beyond what other patients ask for. We are well let’s try it all type of couple and our treatment has reflected that. Dr Chuong’s ability to change tracks when something isn’t working is greatly appreciated

Be upfront and honest with her. I think many patients don’t want to be perceived as high maintenance. But she’s always there for you

My first cycle was an antagonist protocol. I was on stims for 8 days 33 eggs retrieved 21 made it to day 3. I did a fresh transfer and froze six. My daughter resulted from the fresh transfer. We have done every drug protocol for FET. Two transfers implanted but resulted in chemical pregnancy. The natural no drug, progesterone only cycle did not implant. It’s important to note these embryos did not undergo PGS. But fair to presume 60% of them were genetically fine. We participated in a study and underwent a dramatically different fresh cycle. It was not the right protocol for me, but worth a try given participating in the study allowed for a no cost cycle. It was more of a “mini” IVF with only 13 eggs retrieved, resulting in one day five blastocyst and one day six blast. We froze the day six and transferred the day five. The embryo did not implant. We plan to undergo another fresh cycle with Dr. Chuong in the fall.

I was always given specific times but given I was making a four hour drive they would see me when I arrived. Usually no more than a ten minute wait whether I was an hour early, an hour late or right on time

We spent just about 11k on our fresh cycle in 2016. We were fortunate that while we did not have insurance we did have a discount program and our drugs cost less than 250. Two years later when we wanted to do the frozen cycles those cost just over 4000. Our insurance has changed and the discount program for the drugs had ended so we spent close to 1500 each cycle in drugs.

I did not feel pressured to eSET. The practice has a policy that we are comfortable with.

Dr. Chuong was recommended to us by my OBGYN. As soon as you step into her office, it was such a calming feeling and she was excited to meet us and get to know our story. We had already met with a urologist for my husband and were disappointed with the results. She immediately recommended a new urologist in which she works closely with and even offered to reach out to him personally, to see if we could get an earlier appointment. Once she asked us both questions for her review, she explained the process of IVF step by step. I had a list of questions in my head prior to meeting with her and she answered them all before I could even ask. Dr. Chuong did not hesitate in getting the ball rolling with the diagnostic workup. My husband and I started the tests that same day. My sonogram was performed by the doctor herself and she walked me through every step and explained everything on the monitor. Every time after that, any tests that need to be performed in her office, have always been done by her. She always greets us warmly and make us feel comfortable. My husband had a sperm analysis done in her office early one Friday morning and she called me personally that same day with the results.

She does not take the easy way out. She is very meticulous and likes to cover every possibility. So have patience! This is a long journey and exploring all your options may result in something you never imagined.

We are still in the early stages of the treatment cycle. Since our infertility is due to a male factor, Dr. Chuong had us meet with a urologist to assess my husband's issue. My husband will be having surgery this month and then we will revaluate the best course of action whether it be IUI or IVF.

Our estimated cost for the IVF is approximately $40,000.00.

Dr. Chuong did say at our initial meeting that she usually does single embryo transfers. She did say when we got to that point, we could further discuss the options.

This is my first cycle with Dr. Chuong so we don’t know if this cycle has worked yet. However, I can say that she has been great so far. She performs many of the tests herself which I loved. This includes the initial exam, the hysteroscopy, some of the US appointments and IUI procedures. This is uncommon from my previous experiences so I very much appreciate an involved physician. Also, I ask a ton of questions as I like to be very involved in my treatment plan. She is patient with me and answers EVERY single question. She makes sure I leave her office confident in the current plan and yet knowledgeable in the expectation part of it.

Ask all of your questions. She has a great bedside manner, is easy to talk to, and will give you honest answers.

I was referred to this clinic because my previous RE did not practice IVF. I was told that we were at a point that we would benefit from visiting another clinic who did offer IVF as all the other options we tried had not produced a positive result yet. We made an appointment to visit with her and start discussions while we were in the TWW. That cycle was all over the place for me and I ended up starting my period almost a week early. When we showed up at Dr. Chuong’s office we were told that there were numerous cysts left over from the gonadotropin cycle and that we were not good candidates to start IVF. I explained that I did not want to lose a cycle and so she recommended that we wait a few days for my progesterone levels to drop and start a less invasive approach of 7.5 mg of Letrozole. I responded very slowly but finally produced 2 mature follicles (20 mm Amd 18 mm). We triggered on day 16 and IUI was on day 18. Not sure of the outcome for this cycle yet.

We have insurance coverage for some procedures such as US and bloodwork. Cost of IUI is $500 I believe.

Dr. Chuong is very up to date with the latest in fertility treatment and explained everything to me step by step. She did a great job breaking down the process. I felt so comfortable speaking with her and I felt like she was invested in every step!

Be open and honest beccause she definitely wants to help she has so much knowledge she can come come up with a plan that is tailored to your needs.

Dr. Chuong was very realistic and optimistic with my fertility options since I didn’t have a history of factors that would lend to infertility but my husband is a pilot and never home when I ovulate. We spoke about the option of Clomid with natural inter course as well as freezing his sperm and doing IUI when I ovulate and weighed the pros and cons to both options.

N/A

She was very sweet and took her time. We did not feel in a rush at all. She sat with us and collected a complete medical history. We took our 10 year old along and she made sure to include him in the process and address him.

Trust the process

I don't know, my husband was referred to a urologist and he had a procedure done.

It was covered by insurance mostly. After a few semen analysis we did pay for them and to drop off on Saturday was an extra fee. Also the genetic counseling was about 3,000 out of pocket

Not that I remember

She is very detailed and confident she can help you in having a baby and tells you the odds as well as complications. Makes sure your seen consistently to avoid complications. Blood work and ultra sounds two to three times a weeks. The clinic is even open on weekends. Which helps me as I work during the week.

Write everything down and have a personal calendar. Don’t buy all the meds at once as everyone is different and needs more or less of medications.

It’s about 40.000

None.

Thorough and willing to change protocol, great attention to detail. Prices are a bit high. She always responds to emails, is helpful with questions, and guides us through next steps. She keeps up with the latest research and consults with the other doctors regularly.

Suggest a good therapist to help them along this journey.

I tried Chlomid, didn't work.

27,000 for two frozen embryo tries including egg retrieval

Single is better, positive chemical pregnancy rather than double and none.