Overall I like Dr. Goldstein, I am the type of person who wants to get to the point so I appreciate his straightforwardness...We are doing IVF because my husband had a vasectomy...I felt disconnected on what to expect. Side effects of the injections were not discussed...[He] came into the room prior to the retrieval just to see how it was going which was nice. Did not see him afterwards...none of our embryo's made it...
[nurse at Fertility Specialists of Texas] explained things well and spent time with us...quick to respond to any of my questions that I sent through the portal...financial department could not give clear guidance...as someone paying out of pocket it would have been nice to know that there is an option that is a set price for 3 cycles...asked for an itemized statement however have not received it.
How was your experience with Jerald Goldstein at Fertility Specialists of Texas?
We saw Dr. Goldstein a total of 3 times. At the consult, at the follow up consult to discuss the bloodwork results, and then on egg retrieval day. COVID-19 hit so then our follow up after none of our embryos made it to day 5 was via phone.
Consult: Dr. Goldstein went over the IVF process with us an answered our questions we had. He spent quite a bit of time with us and didn't seem to rush us out when our appt. was towards the end of the day.
Follow up from the Consult: Dr. Goldstein only we over the AMH and FSH numbers and described what those measured. There were several other tests performed and I had to google what they were. I was surprised they did a blood type test, because I could have told them I was A+ and not have to pay for that.
Retrieval: Dr. Goldstein came into the room prior to the retrieval just to see how it was going which was nice. Did not see him afterwards.
Follow up appt from the retrieval: This was 2.5 weeks after our retrieval, far too long in my opinion. I feel like this should be scheduled along with your retrieval for day 7 or 8 afterwards. We had none of our embryos make it so it was a devastating wait to see what they heck happen. Especially when your only diagnosed fertility issue is that your husband had a vasectomy.
Overall I like Dr. Goldstein, I am the type of person who wants to get to the point so I appreciate his straightforwardness.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Jerald Goldstein at Fertility Specialists of Texas?
Understand that it seems like he thinks as he is talking so he may pause as he is working out what is he trying to say.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Jerald Goldstein at Fertility Specialists of Texas?
We are doing IVF because my husband had a vasectomy, I am 30 with good numbers. IVF is a whirlwind journey and I felt disconnected on what to expect. Side effects of the injections were not discussed, no one during the many visits asked if I was having any side effects, after my retrieval, no one called to ask how I was doing. Through IVF it seems like you are in a constant state of being uncomfortable/in some kind of pain. I feel like it is important for a patient to know when something isn't normal, especially on their first go around. Personally I am the type of person who doesn't even want to take a Tylenol for a headache so I figured I was fine as long as I could function but it could have been dangerous if something really was wrong and I just went about my life for two days before my next testing appointment.
However, when I did have questions Maureen was great. She answered usually the same day, and would follow up with a call if needed.
Describe the protocols Jerald Goldstein used in your cycles at Fertility Specialists of Texas and their degree of success.
I was on birth control for 17 days. Four days after stopping BC I went in for the labs/sono. The next day I started on 300 Gonal F, 75 iu Menopur for 8 days, on day 9 my menopur was increased to 125 iu. Day 10 I triggered with two syringes of Ovidrell. Also on day 8 I started an antibiotic for 5 days. Day 12 was my retrieval.
As far as reasoning I have no idea on the dosages or why it was increased. I can only assume it was because the Doctor felt it needed to be raised.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Fertility Specialists of Texas. (Assigned nurse: Maureen )
Maureen was the nurse that I saw, she is fabulous. She explained things well and spent time with us. When we had our med teach, as someone who has never even held a syringe she was extremely patient with me as I fumbled through working how to draw up and mix menopur. She was quick to respond to any of my questions that I sent through the portal. One day 1 of injections I had an incident (I passed out), I sent a message through the portal and she called to make sure I was okay. Additional, the office is quite far from my house and work so I would always arrive by 730 for my monitoring and instead of waiting until 830 when my appoint was, she would get me in an out quick. I was usually out of the office by 815 and at work by 930. She also would show me what she was measuring.
Also there is one lady, I do not know her name. She takes the blood samples, she has glasses and is Asian, she is the best at it. Not once did I bruise when she took my blood.
The nurse on retrieval day was nice, but man did it hurt like hell when she put in my IV. I've never had an IV so I don't know if that is normal, but it was painful to almost bring me to tears. Although bonus, they had snacks after retrieval which is awesome because I was starving and didn't think to bring any.
Describe your experience with Fertility Specialists of Texas.
Strength - nurse team, front desk, scheduling. Everyone was always pleasant and responsive. The waiting area was clean. Kimberly in the lab talked to me quite a lot during the updates. She was fantastic and was able to get someone on the phone with my on the last day so that I could schedule a follow up appointment.
Weaknesses - financial department. When I was told I would have a financial coordinator, I thought that I would have a meeting with something in the financial department. I did not. I received an email with my estimate and a bunch of links to different financing options. What I did not receive was information about the Shared Dreams program. I only found out about this during treatment when I was on hold and it was on the message. I'm actually really upset about this because as someone paying out of pocket it would have been nice to know that there is an option that is a set price for 3 cycles, when we are about to go into our 2nd out of pocket cycle. Not only the lack of information, but just communication. Payment is due 2 weeks prior to starting the injectibles and I asked Maureen the nurse about it, and she said someone from finance would reach out to me. They didn't I had to reach out to them to coordinate payment and she didn't even respond to my email until after we had dropped off the check. The last issue I had with them is that after retrieval on the day the lab called to tell me how many fertilized they asked if we were going to do testing on the embryos. I let the lab know I would follow up after I got confirmation on the price as the estimate form I had said on $2500, but that didn't seem right. So I left a voicemail. Did not receive a call or email back. When the lab called on day 3 she asked again, when I told her I hadn't heard from financial back she was able to get in touch with them and financial emailed me a price for $6600 and said that because I wasn't a part of the package it was more expensive. But then someone else from financial called and said it was only $4400. When I emailed back about the $6600 to ask about this package she is referring to because on the phone I got a different number, I never heard back and still haven't to this day. Turns out we didn't need it because none of our embryo's made it. So if not having correct answers doesn't stress you out when you are spending the equivalent of a used car, then you're fine. If not, be prepared to feel lost and ill informed on the financial side. Also I had asked for an itemized receipt and was told it would takes 2-4 weeks. I have not received that either.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Jerald Goldstein at Fertility Specialists of Texas.
Consult was $309.00, 3 day blood test was $49.11, Saline Sonogram was $339, Frozen Embryo Transfer $13,725 (we received about $5k refund since we didn't get the the transfer), ICSI $1500, Anesthesia $972 (I think I still haven't received a bill. Medications I spent close to $5k. I have lupron that I purchased for $200 but was never used and will expire. I've asked for an itemized statement however have not received it.
Describe Jerald Goldstein's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Fertility Specialists of Texas.
We did not get to this stage as none of our embryo's made it.
What specific things went wrong at Fertility Specialists of Texas?
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Fertility Specialists of Texas.
The financial department could not give clear guidance on the cost of PGS testing. On the estimate I received it was $2500, on an email I was told $6600, on the phone I was told about $4400. Never got a clear answer. Didn't matter for our first cycle, but would eventually like to know it should our next cycle produce any embryos.
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Clinic
Fertility Specialists of Texas
Frisco