Gloria Richard-Davis

If she was the one to see me, which was rare, she was clear with explanations on the medical terms but as for me and my body specifically she did not always have a clear reason as to why or why not something worked. She has her nursing staff cover a lot of her work for her. There was two cycles that I did not see her even once.

If you are unfamiliar to the infertility world find knowledgeable sources because you will be having to research on your own from time to time. Block out at least an hour and a half for appointment times. They will leave you in the waiting room anywhere from 30 mins to an hour.

We started with two months of Letrozole which did not induce ovulation. We then move to Letrozole with the addition of Gonal-F injections medication which produced mature eggs both times but did not result in pregnancy. One treatment with injections was timed intercourse the other was IUI.

I spent more on medication than doctors visits thanks to insurance $2700 in medication $1500 id doctors bills

Dr. Richard-Davis is incredibly patient, reassuring, kind, and knowledgeable. She was always willing to discuss why we pursuing a line of treatment, why we should switch, what the risks and benefits were, and answer all of my questions even when they were likely repetitive. Patient safety and comfort were foremost in her considerations but she also didn't want to waste my time or money sticking with a treatment plan when she didn't think it would work in the long run. I really appreciated that because treatments are not cheap and time was not on my side. While I don't feel she had a lot of weaknesses if I had to do it over again I would have wanted a little more warning that some things were really likely and not just something I just needed to be aware of. During one treatment cycle I ended up with OHSS and while I was given information about it, what to look for, that the cycle may be canceled, etc., I didn't really realize that it was something that might actually happen, it just seemed like information they give everyone because it's always a potential side effect. There were also a few times that I felt like she was a little more brusque than necessary but I also recognized that she had a busy clinic and generally took as much time as I needed. There are two instances I had as a patient with her that are why I recommend her that have nothing to do with any treatments being successful. The first was her reaction to my concerns and anxiety about procedures and surgeries, which were inevitable given my reproductive issues. Previously I had been a patient of Dr. Dean Motous and Dr. Francisco Batres and they had performed three procedures and two surgeries on me. They were never willing to explain to me what they were going to do beforehand or answer my questions afterwards. Dr. Motous was offended that I would ask questions and yelled at me during one of my post-op visits because I was asking questions. I stayed with them because at the time they were the only physicians in the state. So when Dr. Richard-Davis moved to Little Rock and opened a practice I was elated but still very hesitant given what I had already been through. When I explained to her why surgery and procedures were so traumatic to me and the treatment I had received she immediately suggested that we meet outside of clinic hours so she had plenty of time to talk, listen, and answer my questions. Her time is in high demand in her clinic, as a faculty member at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and a mother and yet she suggested that we meet outside of an office visit where she would not get paid or get credit for the visit so she could make sure I was comfortable with what was going on. I don’t know that she does that for every patient, but the fact that she even thought to offer it was really amazing to me. The second was during pre-op for the first surgery she performed on me and I asked her if she had faith that this would work. She looked me in the eye and put her hand on mine and said, "yes, I absolutely do, otherwise I wouldn't be putting you through this". Something to note about Dr. Richard-Davis, she went through fertility treatments herself. She spent ten years trying to get pregnant with lots of failed treatments and several miscarriages. So she knows what she’s putting people through and understands the emotional and physical stress that her patients are dealing with. I think the fact that she knows where all of her patients are coming from makes a big difference in how she takes care of them.

Be honest and open with her about what is going on for you physically and mentally and just communicate with her. I was very shy about talking to her at first despite her asking how I was doing both physically and mentally and generally I side stepped the question about how I was doing mentally. The first time I really answered that question was a break through for the relationship and treatment. She understood what was going on for me emotionally and outside of treatment (work, home, etc.) and would take that into consideration when we discussed treatment options and what to do next. It also made a huge difference after the miscarriages because she had a better sense of how raw and fragile I was because I wasn't putting on a brave face anymore.

The initial visits involved discussing PCOS, endometriosis, uterine polyps and hypothyroidism and how they affect fertility. I started taking Metformin at that point. We tried Letrozole instead of Clomid because of recent studies it may have better results for some PCOS patients with far fewer risks or side effects. The Letrozole did not work as well or as quickly as she thought was useful so we moved to Follistim and an HCG trigger shot. The first cycle that was supposed to be just injectables ended up being a hybrid cycle with Letrozole because storms delayed the injectable medicine arriving in time. That treatment was successful but ended in miscarriage. I started baby aspirin as part of the regimen after that. The rest of the cycles were Metformin, baby aspirin, Follistim and HCG. One of those cycles resulted in OHSS but we backed off the amount of Follistim needed and that didn’t happen again. When a cycle resulted in pregnancy I started progesterone immediately to increase the chances of remaining pregnant. Eventually it did work and I had a successful twin pregnancy.

Dr Richard-Davis is kind and caring but also very blunt during treatment. She explains your treatment in great detail and she is willing to answer any and all questions. She is very personable and makes you feel like a person and not just a number. I felt important to her and as if she wanted treatment to be successful just as much as I did.

Be honest and upfront about your situation. Give her all the details she needs to determine the appropriate treatment plan.

Dr. Davis prescribed me 100 mg of Clomid and told me to take ovulation test. The IUI was not successful because we received a false positive on the ovulation test. For our next cycle, she plans to up the clomid to 150mg in hopes of better response and she will monitor me more closely with ultrasounds instead of ovulation predictor tests.