Jonathan Ayers

We had quite a few tests completed before consulting with a fertility specialist, Dr. Ayers. At our original consultative appointment, Dr. Ayers took the time to review our history/file and then discussed any gaps or wholes he wanted to explore. He validated our feelings/frustrations, but did not make any promises. He gave us options, which for someone who has difficulty with decision making, was somewhat stressful. For my current treatment program (injections), I saw Dr. Ayers a couple times a week. He would also explain the purpose of the visit and what he hoped to see on my ultrasound.

Ask questions and write down information he provides. He will give you a handout/notes, but it is helpful to have a notetaker as well.

Dr. Ayers took the time to listen to our story and validated our feelings. He was open and honest with our results. As frustrating as it was to be diagnosed with unexplained infertility, he was very thorough in explaining our test results and options.

My current treatment is controlled ovulation stimulation. I am currently on Gonal F injections and then a trigger shot to stimulate ovulation.

The nursing staff is always available by phone. They are very professional and make you feel comfortable during a difficult time.

The clinic is organized and easy to schedule an appointment with. Working a full time job, they were always able to fit me into their schedule.

Fortunately, my insurance covers 80% of my costs. However, Dr. Ayers prices seem very reasonable compared to other clinics I researched.

NA

Dr. Ayers has wonderful bedside manner and explains each step in depth. He will answer your questions and meet with you at every appointment besides the bloodwork. You know exactly what the next steps are before they are taken. He does speak very quickly so I recommend bringing paper and taking notes so you can go back over them. Don't be afraid to have him explain a few times if you don't understand. Also bring your spouse or someone with you so you have another set of ears. It's helped my spouse to feel part of the process and be able to ask his own questions too.

Take notes and ask him if you don't understand something.

Dr. Ayers does all of your ultrasounds and explains what he is seeing on the screen in depth. He meets with you after to discuss and answer questions. You see him every step of the way.

Our first IVF cycle consisted of birth control pills for the month prior, then initial bloodwork/US for a baseline. Then I did stims for 10-12 days with 2 ultrasounds during this to watch my follicle size. Once they were the size recommended (18-22mm) I gave myself a trigger shot 36 hours prior to retrieval. For retrieval I was placed under anesthesia and they removed 14 follicles, 9 were fertilized, 7 matured, 5 made it to day 5. We transferred 2 on day 5 and froze 3. I was put on bed rest for 2 days. I had started progesterone shots the day of retrieval and estrace pills for my lining. We got a Positive frer and blood test 9 days after transfer. Bloodwork was under 40 HCG and the next test it was down to 7. We ended that cycle with a chemical pregnancy.

There are many nurses so I don't always see the same one. They are all super friendly, compassionate and know my information. They know why I am there and what the next step is, which is unlike other clinics I've been with.

The ladies at the front desk are helpful and compassionate. It's always the same two ladies working there. Only issues have been when trying to get a receipt for our Cycle payment I was told they couldn't give me a receipt until after our first round. (We paid for 3 IVF cycles). I had to keep asking for a receipt and wait for someone to process our first cycle through insurance (which doesn't cover anything) before getting a receipt. Also when booking an appointment in advance for the next month you have to wait until the calendar is open and there's no set date for them to open it. I had to keep calling back.

We paid $23,500 for 3 cycles of IVF. That's 3 fresh cycles and unlimited frozen cycles (depending on what my body produces). You have to use the frozen embryos up before you move to the next fresh cycle. Ultrasounds and bloodwork is covered by my insurance. The medications have also been covered by my insurance.

Dr Ayers doesn't have a preference on single vs multiple embryo transfer based on our specific situation. He advised we could transfer two so that's what we did.

Dr. Ayers is well experienced and always seemed knowledgeable. No matter what happened throughout our cycle, he was always confident. I think he attempts to be compassionate; he said all the right words when our cycle failed, but it always felt very insincere to us and lacked a true feeling of empathy. His lack of interest in correcting the cause of our infertility made us feel like it was all about the money. We continued to see Dr. Ayers in spite of all this because of his extensive experience and success rates. I can recommend him not because I enjoyed being his patient, but because he helped us achieve the dream against all odds.

If you need someone to make you feel better, or to feel like you're their only patient, or to feel like they do this job to actually help you achieve your goals instead of for success rates and money, this is not your doctor. But if you don't care about the process but more about the results, like we did, I never doubted Dr. Ayers knew exactly what he was doing every step of the way. I actually took some comfort in feeling a little like a number with Dr. Ayers; he clearly sees hundreds of patients so he has experience and I wouldn't want my cycle to be someone's first practice round.

Dr. Ayers never attempted to find the cause of our low sperm count, despite my requests to cure the problem, not just the symptom (that we couldn't get pregnant). He saw the sperm count test result and went immediately to IVF.

We did IVF with ICSI. ICSI was necessary due to the extremely low sperm count. Beyond that, no other strategies were discussed. Our fresh cycle produced 17 follicles, 14 mature eggs, 11 fertilized, 6 survived to day 5. We transferred 2 (although Dr. Ayers never offered to transfer any other number and we did not ask) with no pregnancy. We did a frozen transfer 5 months later. They had to thaw all 4 remaining embryos to transfer 2, one implanted and became our healthy daughter.

Nurse Cathy is my favorite. She has the compassion Dr. Ayers seems to lack. I even asked her if she could be at the egg retrieval surgery, which was done at another location. She has a positive energy, without being unrealistic and feeding you false hope. She has such a calming presence and does a quick and clean blood draw. She was always patient with questions, injection training and even the after-hours calls.

The clinic's scheduling is difficult. They are open M-F from 8-4, closing for lunch 12-1. These hours make it difficult if you also work M-F and don't want to take time off work for appointments. They also schedule appointments in sequence - if you want/need an appointment on Thursday, you get the first time slot available on that day. If they have an opening at 10, that time will be your appointment, even though their afternoon schedule is still open. We could not book an appointment later in the day when they had an earlier opening. Their hours and appointment times were highly inconvenient.

Fresh cycle (not including meds) was $11650, including ICSI. The frozen cycle was about $3500.

Dr. Ayers never offered or discussed eSET. He recommended transferring 2 and having done research on our own, I agreed.

As I have already stated...complete trust in his medical management! Calm demeanor, respectful and empathetic. As a doctor, I tend to look over my prescriber's shoulder a lot... not with Dr. Ayers. I never felt that it was necessary.

Build a rapport with him.

Dr Ayers is wonderful. He has a calm with clear-cut expectation bedside manner. I am a physician...but I felt 100% comfortable, putting the complete management of my hormone levels, etc in his hands...no micro-managing or looking over his shoulder. He would have been fine with either style, but I had complete trust in his medical management.

He utilized our time & resources well. We did a timed intercourse cycle twice then an IUI which I believe allowed him to see my body's response to hormones for maximum egg production since I had PCOS.

Some were better than others with blood draws. They were very professional about procedures, like transvaginal ultrasounds, IUI, etc

Physically, nice, modern clean facility... Excellent billing personnel. GIVE yourself extra time to arrive high-traffic area location with St Joes nearby as well as many other businesses. No real complaints.

10K for IVF cycle @ 2005

I was 38/39 y.o so we were able to implant the maximum number of embryos...3. We had extensive and complete discussion about selective termination and storage of extra embryos.

My experiences as a patient of Dr. Ayers had been nothing but excellent. I never have to wait ungodly amounts of time to see him and once I do see him he takes his time communicates very well and always takes my feelings, thoughts, and wants into consideration.

I’d highly recommend going to see Dr. Ayers because he has practiced for many years and will treat you well he will personalize your treatment plan and work with you every step of the way!

Dr. Ayers always gives me a warm welcome. He always explains things in terms I can understand and he is always wanting to make sure I am ok with treatment or if I want to do or try anything different!

N/a

They were great! Very caring and compassionate!

Strengths: great communication, timelessness, and multiple locations. Early morning and weekend hours Very clean and nice rooms at clinics. Weakness: Most things have to be done in the Brighton office and not the Ann Arbor.

I only paid out of pocket for my medication co pays

He was informative and did not lead us on. He was honest.

Listen and take notes.

He was very friendly and compassionate. Great bed side manner.

I was told what medications to use and how they worked.

Dr Ayers nurses are awesome and so helpful!

It is very nice and clean. A welcoming atmosphere.

I can't remember