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 ...He is skilled and honest and we had a good experience with him... I didn't have a very emotional connection with him but I got that with the nurses so I felt fine about that.
I felt that the nursing staff [at Kaiser - Fremont] was great and very supportive. They were always friendly and compassionate...The clinic is in a nice building and was clean and comfortable... [Re: monitoring appointments] 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...When going to this clinic, see it as a whole team.
How was your experience with Jon Proctor at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
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.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Jon Proctor at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
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.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Jon Proctor at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
I felt that Dr.Proctor was friendly & personable but he also seemed to be a bit overloaded & tired at the time. He was working A LOT during the time I saw him. I saw him after he took a two week vacation and I definitely saw a difference in his energy level & emotional connection to me. I was also confirmed as pregnant at that time so I think he was also happy that we had a successful cycle and felt accomplished.
Describe the protocols Jon Proctor used in your cycles at Kaiser Permanente NorCal and their degree of success.
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.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
I felt that the nursing staff was great and very supportive. They were always friendly and compassionate. There was one day in particular that I was upset and started to cry since my cycle was not going well at the moment. I was standing in the hall so she had me go into one of the offices and her & another nurse let me be emotional and they comforted me. What I liked the most was that they didn't give me false hope or the opposite. One of the main coordinators said, "You only need one good egg. Just stay hopeful but grounded" and I thought that was very good advise. I really appreciated their support especially in that moment.
Describe your experience with Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
The clinic is in a nice building and was clean and comfortable. It's a little confusing on how to enter the building sometimes. If it's before the actual building is open, you have to be let in through an intercom and that was strange sometimes.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
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.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Jon Proctor at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
$15,000
Describe Jon Proctor's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
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.
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Clinic
Kaiser Permanente NorCal
Fremont