Julia Kim

I have less issue with Julia Kim and more issue with Spring Fertility itself. It has grown way too big too quickly and they do not give you custom health care treatment. The nurses were amazing and I loved working with them. My new dr, who happens to be the president of the board of woman's fertility health in the US, based out of UCSF, advised me that the treatment plan was not the right plan for someone with my condition. I was over stimulated in the cycle (25 days long), no in depth hormone workup was ever done to identify why I was suffering infertility (Spring didnt care about getting to the cause of the problem). At the end of the cycle, my eggs stopped growing, which should have probably called to cancel the cycle, but we retrieved resulting in no embryos. I don't blame Spring for not getting Embryos, but I am unsatisfied with the protocol they chose for my condition, which may have resulted in a different outcome. Spring stimulated me as if I was a 25 year old with 30 follicles. I'm 32, with 5 follicles. The protocol should have been different.

Get multiple opinions before choosing to work with Spring.

My treatment started with birth control and stim suppressants. Followed by 5 days of clomid. (My body didnt respond to clomid because the birth control affected my body to much.) Then they started me on Gonal F (low dose) slowly increasing my dose daily as my body was still not responding to stimulation after the birth control. Finally as I got closer to 10mm diameter, After 9 days of Gonal, they added Menopure, followed by trigger on day 25 after my follicles reached and plateaued at 18mm for 2 days.

Retrieval was ~$15k Meds were $5k

Dr. Kim, who has come from top medical schools on the East Coast was EXCELLENT, extremely well-trained, smart, communicative, and warm. The thing to know about Spring – they are the most scientifically rigorous which means they will err on the side of being conservative, and really increase all possible chances for you to have a successful IVF cycle. They do not employ practices unless they have been extremely well reviewed and replicated (for example, I wanted to do a blood test to see if I had endometriosis, and Dr. Kim said this specific diagnostic test was simply not reliable enough, even though other Dr.'s I had seen at other clinics suggested doing the test). I trusted her opinion and could see that the standards at Spring were much more elevated than other places (which is reflected in their success outcomes, as documented by the CDC). More importantly, after our first egg retrieval, Dr. Kim felt the results were OK (long story short, the embryos developed a little slowly), but not as great as they could be , and offered two tangible, scientifically reliable ways to tweak the protocol on the second round (surely enough, they worked and we ended up with higher quality embryos including an AA which we subsequently transferred and is now the baby in my womb!). Dr. Kim also consults with Dr. Tran (one of the founding docs, who multiple acupuncturists have told me is the best RE in the Bay Area, and has 20-30+ years of experience) about her cases. I loved this collaborative spirit at Spring, as having the eyes and expertise of multiple doctors on your case is a great added benefit. In a nutshell, I can't recommend Dr. Kim enough!

Come prepared with questions ahead of time. Dr. Kim is efficient (she has many patients), and if you don't have questions, she will be out the door before you know it. On the contrary, if you have questions, she will slow down and answer your questions thoroughly. She is extremely patient, so don't be afraid to ask her to repeat things if you don't understand, or feel confused.

My husband and I (both 35) tried to get pregnant for over a year, and it wasn't happening. Spring Fertility diagnosed us with tubal factor. After two egg retrievals, and one transfer, we now have six embryos including one that that has made us PREGNANT (yay!). As mentioned earlier, we started off with a basic baseline protocol (mid-follicular), which yielded good results. We yielded three BB euploids, but they had each developed slowly over 7 days instead of 5-6, which isn't ideal and we wanted to feel a little more cushion just in case, so we signed up for a second round. Dr. Kim tweaked the second round: (1) We did a mid-luteal protocol instead and (2) We dipped the eggs in calcium after retrieval, and as a result, we yielded three higher-quality euploids (AA, AB, BB) that developed in a more timely manner (5-6 days). Ultimately, we transferred the AA and I'm now pregnant! I'm also relieved to know I have five embroyos frozen for second baby in the future. Dr. Kim felt the results were OK , but not as great as they could be , and offered two tangible, scientifically reliable ways to tweak the protocol on the second round (surely enough, they worked and we ended up with higher quality embryos including an AA which we subsequently transferred and is now the baby in my womb!)

$50,000 for everything (two retrievals + a transfer)

My experience with Dr. Kim was great. She took the time to answer all my questions thoughtfully, and was easy to get in contact with throughout my treatment. When things did not go as planned, she explained the adjustments she recommended and the rationale for them. She has a great bedside manner, and addressed both me and my partner during my initial consultation, which I appreciated. When I had questions about family planning with a same sex partner, she was very knowledgeable and I felt very comfortable asking her these questions. She did all but one of my ultrasounds and came in on her weekend off to do my retrieval. Overall a great experience!

Your care team can help answer questions you might have, and you can always let them know you would like to speak with Dr. Kim if you have additional questions so they can book you a phone visit with her.

Had a luteal phase, progesterone priming, then down regulation cycle with an agonist. Each time there was a change in approach, Dr. Kim discussed the rationale and why she recommended it, which was very helpful.

$8,750 for an egg freezing cycle

Having had 2 IVF cycle experiences with a doctor at another fertility clinic prior to consulting with Spring Fertility, working with Dr. Kim was an absolute breath of fresh air. She's an incredibly smart, savvy, efficient and communicates well and to the point without any kind of lack or disregard to empathy - her bedside manner is great. Dr. Kim takes her time to explain things in a way that allows a non medically educated individual understand exactly what is going on. She was an absolute pleasure to work with and we will most certainly see her again when the time is right. In the meanwhile, we have been referring her to everyone who asks!

Dr. Kim far exceeded expectations. We were fairly nervous considering our age, but Dr. Kim had a plan for us and executed it flawlessly to give us great results. The experience was far better than expected and we would recommend Spring Fertility and more importantly, Dr. Kim, to our family or closest friends.

Dr. Kim is an expert in her field, proven by her results, and I would recommend her experience and knowledge for fertility processes to anyone.

We were worried about our age, but Dr. Kim had a plan specifically for us that provided marvelous results. I would recommend her expertise to anyone.

The money spent was worth the results.

Dr. Kim is a rising star in the world of fertility. I recommend her to everyone and any one as much as I can. To say she goes above and beyond is not enough to describe how hard Dr. Kim works. She is relentless. She treats every patient as though you were a family member or sister.

it's definitely a roller coaster of a process. every step can be nerve wracking and anxious which is entirely normal, but rest assured you are in very good hands with Dr. Kim and her incredible staff

I had poor egg quality which resulted in going through 2 cycles. I'm not entirely sure of the strategy utilized in the second cycle but boy did it work! My husband and I feel very reassured by our second result

approximately 20k each cycle

not at that step

Dr. Kim was very trustworthy and professional. She is clearly an expert in the fertility arena and I felt good with her at the helm. We got a great outcome, so happy overall! When I told her I didn't want antibiotics during my procedure, she explained the risks but allowed me to go that route anyways. Glad I did, it would have been unnecessary!

Come with your questions ready to go. She will answer anything but is hyper efficient and doesn't have much time.

I was on Follistim and Menopur. They ended up using more Follistim than is normal and less Menopur. Not really sure why, but the outcome was good so I guess they were right in doing so! I also only had one of the two trigger shots because they were worried about OHSS. I was nervous about giving myself injections but it really is much easier than it seems! The needles are super tiny and you don't feel them go in much.

Total cost when all was said and done was $12,800. $3700 of that was medication. I have about $600 worth of medicine left over, so will just give those a friend most likely.

I liked Dr. Kim from our first virtual meeting, we met with a few doctors before we chose which one we'd move forward with. She was direct, explained things to us and made sure we followed. She was based in sound science but gave us suggestions on things that might help. She was really like a partner in our process.

If you are looking for someone who will be really direct on what will and won't work- she's the right Dr. for you.

She walked me through the things I'd be up against with age and PCOS. She shared specific statistics for both me and my husband. She then walked us through the proposed plan for starting and then why she made changes in second round.

Unsure- my insurance covered

We didn't discuss

I would send anyone I loved to her. She fully understood our goals, did not gaslight nor belittle me, spent time answering every single question I had. I loved her. I even asked her questions on behalf of friends going through similar treatments!

Keep it up!

I do not

I have progony to the costs were minimal.