Dr. Choi was always friendly and treated us like smart adults who could assess information. She remembered our situation, concerns, and addressed them in subsequent appointments. She also went out of her way to say a quick hello even if we were only in office for blood work or monitoring. ... I was diagnosed with a slightly lower egg supply (diminished ovarian reserve), with high FSH. My AMH is considered normal/age appropriate... somewhat of a conundrum. So designing a treatment protocol that would wake up enough eggs but not make me overstimulate was important.
CCRM's strengths are its Doctors, Embryologists, and technologies. The money goes primarily to these areas. The business office & team could be organized a little better (8 of 10). There was just a couple discrepancies/ minor confusion in the beginning between the consult and testing workups and before the IVF cycle started that left us wondering sometimes. Each thing got worked out, but it took a couple emails/phone calls. Once we were fully in the IVF cycle, the injection protocol, monitoring, egg retrieval, and follow up all went smoothly. This is when we really became a "fan" of CCRM.
How was your experience with Janet Choi at CCRM New York?
Working with Dr. Choi was great. We did a bit of research on Fertility IQ before choosing a clinic & doctor and were not disappointed by our choice. Knowing time is extremely important we didn't want to waste time in not-a-great-experience. We wanted a doctor with a solid reputation and results. Right from the first consultation we were pleased by the amount of time Dr. Choi spent with us, including detailed explanations of all required testing, fertility treatment options including risk factors and percentage chance of success, and any limitations. Again we had done a bit of research on infertility before any appointments so we were able to jump right into conversation with her. She heard our concerns and addressed them. She was very factual and speaks quickly, so we always needed to be paying close attention. I brought my notes from home and my recent cycle dates on paper and she appreciated it.
Two times, after testing results were received, we would send detailed questions/concerns into the Facility's nurses inbox and Dr. Choi called directly in reply. She allayed concerns, not with any pretense of guaranteed results, but reminding us there was likely not any one factor that would determine full success or full failure. We appreciated the personal touch.
Dr Choi's protocol selection for me was spot on. The research we did on our own shows it was slightly aggressive but had it not been we would have not likely gotten the same results. The egg retrieval experience was good as well. She also always called with results (with any thing more than normal monitoring instructions). Dr Choi and her staff also worked with us patiently as we changed our minds a couple times regarding how we wanted the IVF cycle to proceed (fresh vs frozen transfer; PGS testing or not). She said, "I'll do what you guys want to do," so it made us feel heard. Ultimately we went with her recommendation; and we feel we got the best results we could have.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Janet Choi at CCRM New York?
Do your own research and homework outside of your treatment recommendations, more for your own understanding. Come to the table with some knowledge of fertility/infertility. I could imagine not knowing anything someone might feel overwhelmed (in general). She explains well, but you'll maximize the depth of her knowledge better. She's extremely smart and good at what she does. Come to her with your own thoughts, questions. Dr. Choi speaks quickly, pay attention to her answers (take notes if possible).
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Janet Choi at CCRM New York?
Dr. Choi was always friendly and treated us like smart adults who could assess information. She remembered our situation, concerns, and addressed them in subsequent appointments. She also went out of her way to say a quick hello even if we were only in office for blood work or monitoring. It made us feel like we were "her patients."
Describe the protocols Janet Choi used in your cycles at CCRM New York and their degree of success.
I was diagnosed with a slightly lower egg supply (diminished ovarian reserve), with high FSH. My AMH is considered normal/age appropriate... somewhat of a conundrum. So designing a treatment protocol that would wake up enough eggs but not make me overstimulate was important.
The protocal included...
Estrogen priming, Menopur, Follistim, later added in Ganirellix, and 2 trigger shots. I didn't overstimulate and was pleased with the number of eggs retrieved.
Describe your experience with your nurse at CCRM New York. (Assigned nurse: Emily)
Dr Choi's primary Nurse, Emily, was very competent as well. Once we were working with her during the IVF cycle, we felt much more assure we were in good hands. She was always organized when we saw her and was always quick to reply thru the patient portal.
We did have have some back and forth discrepancies with the patient care coordinator and the financial coordinator during the testing working up and before moving forward with the pricing/decided treatment. Sometimes we felt things got tacked on that we didn't ask for. I can imagine some people pay for services that aren't needed. We really had to advocate for ourselves that what were getting and paying for only what we wanted.
Describe your experience with CCRM New York.
CCRM's strengths are its Doctors, Embryologists, and technologies. The money goes primarily to these areas. The business office & team could be organized a little better (8 of 10). There was just a couple discrepancies/ minor confusion in the beginning between the consult and testing workups and before the IVF cycle started that left us wondering sometimes. Each thing got worked out, but it took a couple emails/phone calls. Once we were fully in the IVF cycle, the injection protocol, monitoring, egg retrieval, and follow up all went smoothly. This is when we really became a "fan" of CCRM.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Janet Choi at CCRM New York.
The IVF cycle costed around $16K. This does not include the initial consultation
and testing, medication, anesthesiology, or final frozen embryo transfer.
Describe Janet Choi's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at CCRM New York.
Dr. Choi was willing to do no more than a 2 embryo fresh transfer. She warned against the risks of a multiple embryo transfer to both mom and baby. Ultimately we opted for PGS testing tho.
10
Clinic
CCRM New York
New York