Jon Proctor

Dr. Proctor was very approachable and understanding that we came from far (3 hour drive). I think the only weakness was that he would forget specifics on my medications. He would need to ask me to remember (e.g. remind me what are the dosages you’re on?). I do understand that he probably sees a lot of patients. I learned to have my calendar with me and also be in tune with my dosages and what day of stimulation I was on. I did see 3 different doctors, including for the egg retrieval which wasn’t a surprise since it’s Kaiser. I’ve been with Kaiser for over 5 years so I did have the expectation that I would see other doctors and nurses. Dr. Proctor was by far the most approachable and spent the most time with me answering my questions then the other doctors.

Be prepared with your calendar and be prepared with the details of your medications (dosages and which ones your taking).

I have PCOS and husband has obstructive azoospermia. So we did have to make a call to Kaiser Oakland where my husband had his sperm to be ready for the day of my egg retrieval. Dr. Proctor had me do an antagonist protocol due to my PCOS which automatically had me at a severe risk of OHSS. I did have to take cabergoline and Femara because my estrogen shot up considerably. Thankfully I avoided severe OHSS. Dr. Proctor took my test results into account to up my medication and then decrease it. I am definitely glad I trusted his judgement.

Monitoring appointments were definitely short but efficient in that there were several of us being seen but I liked that the lobby was very relaxing and modern that I forgot we were all there for monitoring appointments. The doctors were very open into sharing your follicle count and what not. But I think dr. Proctor was the one that would describe it more in detail and even turn the screen so you can following along. I thought that was definitely pretty cool and considerate. One major thing is that partners are STILL NOT allowed in. Not even for egg retrievals. That I thought was a bit frustrating.

Kaiser had no financing options. They want the money upfront or else no appointments will be scheduled. $17,850 for an egg retrieval (not including meds). We paid part with checking and part with a credit card. My husbands sperm extraction with Dr. Hsiao was $7,000 as well. Medications were $3,500 (we got the 2 most expensive medications from out of the country which helped us save thousands).

He is strictly only eSET from what he explained to us.

Dr. Proctor spent time to answer my questions during my ultrasound appointments, although the clinic was extremely busy. The initial consultation answered all my initial questions. He answered messages in a timely manner and although it was hard to get an appointment with him after the first retrieval, he thoroughly explained the next options. I appreciated his bedside manner and how he involved my husband in the phone appointments when he couldn't be there otherwise due to covid.

Be prepared for brief ultrasound appointments, little injection teaching from the nurses or staff, and to ask questions because they might not be answered otherwise.

Dr. Proctor used the antagonist protocol for my first cycle. using Gonal F 225 IU daily, 150 IU Menopur daily, Ganirelix for ovulation suppression, and HCG 10,000 units as my trigger 36 hours prior to my scheduled retrieval. I got transvaginal ultrasounds about every other day and estradiol/progesterone drawn the day prior to ultrasounds. My retrieval was on day 14. I had approximately 10 follicles that were close to 20mm, with the majority of them in my left ovary. The retrieval produced 7 eggs, 5 of which were fertilized. 2 grew properly to day 5-6 and one passed genetic testing with no abnormalities.

I had to pay $17,300 up front with no options for any payment plan. This did not cover medications or the embryo transfer. Medications were an additional $5,000 and the transfer is still unknown because we haven't gotten to that step yet.

I have not yet gone through a transfer.

Dr. Proctor listened. He was our second RE and let us tell our full story from start to finish. We are a very severe male factor infertility couple, so Dr. Proctor relied heavily on another male specialist to give the "ok." Once that was cleared up, we moved right ahead. Dr. Proctor was responsive, clear and exhibited no judgment or personal bias in any way. We ultimately had a live birth in the first fresh transfer, followed by 2 froze. transfers that did not result in pregnancy, and am currently pregnant with the 4th frozen transfer

Come armed with information and ask the questions you need. He may not solicit the information from you. Ask for special treatment/ alternatives, because he may not offer them outright, but also may not say no.

IVF with ICSI. We debated about using ICSI, but Dr. Proctor said this was absolutely paramount in our situation. We have done 4 transfers in total. The first one was fresh. The next 3 were frozen, all transferred 1 embryo at a time.

$13,200 for IVF with ICSI. Medications about $4,000 additional. FET was $4,150 with meds about $700 extra. No extra cost for assisted hatching.

The clinic offered a reduced cost for eset if the first did not result in a live birth, kind of a “3 for the price of 1” deal. This caused us to not get our embryos PGS tested, thinking the cost/ time would be a wash if we wouldn’t be charged for extra transfers. Ultimately the “3 for 1” deal went away, and we had two frustrating transfers that didn’t result in pregnancy because the embryos were most likely abnormal. With eset, I would recommend testing the embryos. Saves money and time in the long run.

Dr. Proctor provided me with a frank diagnosis, and gave me hope the procedure would work. He did answer my questions when I pressed for more info. However, when the FET was unsuccessful, I feel that I didn't get adequate answers or advice about what to do next.

You have to advocate for yourself with Kaiser. You have to be very familiar with the process, and come prepared with all your questions. If you have read about a treatment that you think would be appropriate for you, don't expect it to be suggested.

Standard egg retrieval and FET. 10 eggs retrieved resulted in 6 embryos.

Freeze All Cycle: $11,310; FET: $4150; ICSI: $2000; 'Handling fee' for PGT: $3500; Meds billed to insurance $10k, then another $3k OOP. Insurance covered some of the procedures. We ended up spending about $12k OOP for the cycle.

Kaiser only does eSET. I think multiple would have been more appropriate for me.

He is very straight forward which I like, always knew me & my history when I arrived. Sort of surprising with so many patients. I’ve seen him over the course of 4 years with a 3 year gap and he is exactly the same now as when I saw him 4 years ago. Great doctor, straight forward and very knowledgeable. It’s a good fit for my personality, I don’t need sympathy - just the facts please.

Be patient, they are booked out for months. If you are in a hurry, I would not recommend.

Have not started medication yet. I fully trust he will develop the correct protocol. We did a HSG, saw tubes are blocked and decided to skip IUI and go directly to IVF right there in radiology.

Fresh transfer cycle with ICSI and assisted hatching. $14000 HSG $400 Saline sono $400

He suggests 1, except for my age allows for 2. I agree with him.

Dr. Proctor was knowledgeable, compassionate and very responsive whenever I contacted him. He coordinated well with my husband’s male factor infertility specialist (Dr. Turek). Dr. Turek is picky about providers that he will coordinate with and he was happy to work with Dr. Proctor and his team. His faith in Dr. Proctor speaks volumes.

Appointments are quick because of the volume at the clinic. Come prepared with questions and do not expect long conversations. Dr.Proctor is very knowledgeable and responsive but does not have all the time in the world to sit and talk at every appointment.

We used a standard stimulation protocol (follistim, Menopur, ganirelix). I was allergic to follistim and dr proctor was very responsive and quickly switched me to gonal-f. I had an excellent response and 30 eggs were retrieved (25 nature). My husband has severe male factor infertility causing only 4 eggs to fertilize normally. Of the 4 embryos at day 1, 3 made it to freeze (we had to do a frozen cycle because my husband’s Soren retrieval surgery occurred weeks after my egg retrieval due to his doctors schedule). We transferred one embryo in December 2017 and I am now 15 weeks pregnant with a baby girl and we have two more high quality embryos on ice for later.

It was efficient, but busy! They recommended I get there early and as long as I did the wait wasn’t bad at all.

We had 50% coverage for one cycle, so the IVF cycle cost $6500 (without medications, including ICSI but no PGS). Our FET was full price and cost $4000 without medications m. However, since we did eset, we would get additional transfers of single embryos for free until a live birth.

Dr. proctor explained the risks and benefits of each thoroughly. Because I have no known fertility issues and we wanted to try and avoid multiples, we went with eset, which resulted in my current pregnancy (1st FET was a success).

He always answered questions, at appointments or by e-mail. He was pleasant, down-to-earth, and realistic. I didn't wait for long in the waiting area. I also didn't feel rushed during appointments. Everything went smoothly. When I experienced some side effects, he was able to adjust the medication. I was very pleased, of course, to get pregnant and have my baby.

I remember signing a form regarding the risks of IVF, and there was a wrong statistic on there. It said that 10% of babies from IVF would have birth defects, and it really scared me. When I contacted the doctor, he said that it was incorrect, and the risk was much lower, but they hadn't changed the wording on the document yet. Jeesh. I hope they have since changed it, but if not, consider this your heads up.

I did a single-embryo transfer from a frozen embryo that was retrieved at another clinic. He was unsure of how to predict success given that the embryo came from elsewhere, but the cycle was ultimately successful.

He was open to my preference.

I ended up with Dr Proctor because in 2012 when I went to the Kaiser clinic, he had a cancellation in his current cycle and they offered the slot to me. It turned out to be a great decision. We had cycled with a doctor at Stanford a couple of years prior and the difference was night and day. Dr. Proctor remembered my info from visit to visit. I got complete explanations about what was going on without even having to ask. He was kind in his delivery of news, but never overly optimistic or creating false hopes. The IVF cycle was successful. We went back in late 2015 hoping to do a FET with our one frozen embryo; it didn't survive thawing. Dr. Proctor told us himself and he and the embryologist explained what had likely happened. I felt that he handled it quite well.

I think he is a great doc, but he might not be for you if you need a lot of sugar coating on things. Also, the wait is currently long.

Monitoring appointments are go to the lab across the street when it opens, then come in for monitoring. If you don't want to wait, you have to be early (7am). Not my favorite method, but I get that it is designed for people who have to get to work.

Base cost for the IVF was just over $9000; my meds were another almost $5000; ICSI was $1000. This was in 2012.

I remember being told that they would not transfer more than 2 embryos in a patient my age (I was 30 at the time). They gave me the option of eSET and a thorough explanation of the risks, but I elected to transfer 2 and given my history didn't get any pushback.

My husband and I liked how Dr. Proctor was honest in his approach and was not trying to sell us on additional treatments. He was honest about the success rate and he was also straightforward about whether genetic testing was worth the extra costs or not (for us, we ended up not seeing the added value for how much more money it was but it all depends on the circumstances). Other clinics we went to during our research, really tried to sell people on the genetic testing but Dr. Proctor was not like that. During my visits, as I mentioned, I felt he was a bit overworked at the time but he was always present. When the cycle was not going so well at first, he made adjustments and I could see that he had to make a decision based on a gut feeling & probably prior experience on whether I should take meds for another day or not. I had no idea what to do in that situation so had to trust him, which I did, and I ended up getting pregnant. I didn't have a very emotional connection with him but I got that with the nurses so I felt fine about that. Having gone through a lot before this point, I understand that the doctor being skilled and experienced is more important than him/her being my emotional support. I can get that elsewhere. I am paying for a professional, skilled IVF doctor; not a therapist.

When going to this clinic, see it as a whole team. What you may not get from Dr. Proctor (emotional support, touchy feely etc.), you can get from the nurses, family/friends, etc. He is skilled and honest and we had a good experience with him.

I unfortunately don't remember all of the specifics of what type of meds/dosages I took. But probably a third of the way through, he increased my dosage to the maximum since I was not producing eggs on the right side (I had ovarian cyst removal on that side so not surprising). This did help with the egg production but I still didn't produce a ton of eggs. Towards the end of my injection cycle, I had 4 really good eggs on the left side and he wondered if we should do one more day of injections in order to see if the right side would catch up... but in the end, he decided to NOT do this in order to not risk compromising those 4 eggs that were ready and looking good. In the end, we ended up with 4 great embryos (one of which is due to be born in two weeks!), and although we can't prove this, Dr. Proctor believes that those 4 embryos were most likely from those 4 great eggs. This is a decision he made that could have gone the other way- he could have decided to go another day of meds and those eggs could have been compromised. Even though I did not produce a ton of eggs (7 total), 5 fertilized and 4 became embryos which is a really great outcome considering the low amount of eggs.

I didn't love this aspect but in the end it worked fine. There was just one day that I got there a bit later and I had to wait almost two hours. Luckily it was a day I didn't have to work so it wasn't as bad. But even when you had to wait, there was a nice waiting room with seating etc.

$15,000

Dr. Proctor did say that someone my age (39 at the time of transfer), would normally put 2-3 eggs in. My husband and I had done research and decided to just put one embryo in for this first transfer. If it hadn't of worked, we may have done two the next time. But for this first transfer, that is what we did. Dr. Proctor left the decision to us and did not try to convince us otherwise. I told him our rationale (riskier pregnancy for babies and mom, very hard and expensive to have two babies especially where we live, we don't have family nearby to help us, etc. ) and he agreed those are major factors to consider when deciding. He respected our decision.

My experience had some great times but also some frustrating and sad moments. There were times when looking over test results or images when I was told over and over again what a unique case I had and I wish I could give you more information. Dr. Proctor was willing to explore different tests and procedures and was honest with the fact that they may not give us any new answers.

To be open to suggested tests and procedures but at the same time be prepared that the answers you receive may not be the ones you want to hear.

I remember starting with the basic blood work and a couple imaging tests, mri, ultrasounds and some other stuff. From there seeing as there was a blockage somewhere surgery to explore and see if they could find the source was done with no real answers found.

The cost ranged from visit to visit depending on what was going on and what tests needed to be run. My insurance covered 50% of the cost for most of the visits and tests. I did have to pay some of them fully out of pocket.

Infertility is such a personal, isolating, difficult struggle, but Dr. Proctor really understood me and he “spoke my language.” He put my options into terms that made the most sense to me and for my specific situation. He was amazing!

Trust him. He knows what he’s talking about and he will advise you in your best interests.

Dr. Proctor said to me, “What would be worse—not getting pregnant with this cycle of IVF or getting pregnant with twins.” I decided that I needed to get pregnant that cycle, I chose to transfer 2 embryos, and I got pregnant with twins.

Dr. Proctor was very responsive. Even when I got a second opinion outside of Kaiser or cycled outside, he was willing to run whatever tests and suggestions the other doctors provided. Whenever I had a cycle outside of Kaiser and I asked him to run the beta so my insurance would cover it, he personally called me with the results.

Worth the wait? (Last time I heard it was 4-6 months to cycle). Very possibly.

Both cycles were high dose antagonist protocols. One detriment of Kaiser is that you work with their cycle, not yours.

Cost with ICSI was probably around $11000-12000

Very professional yet friendly. He was a very busy doctor but I never felt rushed with him. He was quick with all appointments and procedures, but thorough. He was amazing at getting back to any questions via email; he was very prompt and fully answered the multiple questions I had.

Don’t hesitate to email him with questions.

Very quick but thorough

He seemed to generally suggest that women under 32 or so should have a single transfer.

He is extremely knowledgeable but he can be a little forgetful (definitely remind him of small things like look for polyps etc). He struggled with my second IUI but he was able to eventually figure it out. He is a funny personable guy.

Ask all the questions you have. Dr proctor will answer them fully.

I had already done HSG beforehand, so we went straight to IUI (I had left tube blocked and husband sometimes sperm had low motility).

Insurance covered only partially.

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