She [Dr. Lawrence] has a great way of being positive and being direct. She does not sugar coat things or pretend them to be what they are not. And she allowed me to be in charge of my process, even when it went against her recommendations. She remained supportive and honest. I do not see her every visit, and her staff make up for it. She was not at one of my two IUIs because it was on the weekend and I had the on-call doctor. She has been the doctor at both retrievals. I have been very happy in her care.
I think the strength of this clinic [DFW Fertility Associates] is the experience and knowledge of the doctor and the staff. They all have extensive experience in their positions and have the best interest of the patient. Their weakness is they are busy.... Kelly has been excellent! She is very calm, collected. compassionate and kind. She has been wonderful to help me understand my care. Jill has been great at helping me understand my medication, how to use it and what I am taking.
How was your experience with Laura Lawrence at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates?
I love Dr. Lawrence. I feel confident she knows what she is doing and has my best interest and health at heart. I don't feel like she is only doing what she wants to make her look good. She is a fast talker, so I have needed to ask her to slow down or to repeat things to make sure I understand them. And she is patient when I ask questions because I want to make sure I understand. She has a great way of being positive and being direct. She does not sugar coat things or pretend them to be what they are not. And she allowed me to be in charge of my process, even when it went against her recommendations. She remained supportive and honest. I do not see her every visit, and her staff make up for it. She was not at one of my two IUIs because it was on the weekend and I had the on-call doctor. She has been the doctor at both retrievals. I have been very happy in her care.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Laura Lawrence at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates?
Ask questions and be sure you ask her to repeat herself or slow down. She is a fast talker with lots of energy!
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Laura Lawrence at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates?
The staff in the office are awesome. They are very kind and helpful. And they are very busy. Even still, they take the time to say hello, talk to me and see. The times I am able to talk with Dr. Lawrence, she is very kind an always seems to know where I am in my cycle. I know she has many patients, and it blows me away that she is able to remember! And it is a busy office, so I have needed to be diligent about my care and what i am doing. There have been a few times where I needed to correct the nurse about what the doctor and I had talked about for medication. She was very kind and double checked and let me know I was right. I always feel like they are compassionate and treat me well. And as a busy office, things can get confused.
Describe the protocols Laura Lawrence used in your cycles at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates and their degree of success.
During my first IUI, we did Clomid. I had a very high egg count and we were confident it would be enough. When we had a negative result, we boosted it up and tried again. When that didn't work, she was very frank and we decided to do IVF. During the first cycle, I was on 150u Menopure, 300 Gonal F, and Ganerelix. During the first 5 days I needed to drop the Menopure and start Ganerelix because I was developing too many too fast. The retrieval produced 44 eggs, 38 mature, 28 inseminated and 8 were able to be tested. We ended up with 1 normal embryo. None of us predicted this result. When we decided to do a second round to gather more eggs, she was frank about trying things differently. I went on birth control to suppress the estrogen, with the goal of it not getting too high too fast again. This was not successful, because when I went in for my baseline, I had a follicle developing. I needed to trigger and let that one go before we could proceed. Then they had me take Estrace. During this time, before I was supposed to be done, my body had a period. I went in for a baseline and we began injections. This time I did 150u Menopure for 3 days and then dropped to 75u on day 3. This was a planned strategy and was on target in order to help me not produce too much too soon. I was still taking 300 Gonol F and began Ganerelix on day 5. I am currently in the middle of this treatment, so I cannot report on the retrieval. I hope the results are better!
Describe your experience with your nurse at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates. (Assigned nurse: Kelly and Jill)
Kelly has been excellent! She is very calm, collected. compassionate and kind. She has been wonderful to help me understand my care. Jill has been great at helping me understand my medication, how to use it and what I am taking. I have had to ask her to double check a few things because I remembered being told something different. She has always been kind and helpful about this. When she has had to explain changes in my medication, she is very clear and succinct.
Describe your experience with Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
I think the strength of this clinic is the experience and knowledge of the doctor and the staff. They all have extensive experience in their positions and have the best interest of the patient. Their weakness is they are busy. Be an advocate for your care and be sure you pay attention to what your process is. And don't be afraid to ask questions - they are very open to you being involved! It is a welcoming office.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Laura Lawrence at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
IUI was about $950 plus medication. I paid for this out of pocket both times. IVF was financed with ARC. The cost was about $18,000 the first time and $15,000 the second time because we had meds left over from the first so we didn't need to buy as much. We paid for ICSI and Genetic testing for both rounds.
Describe Laura Lawrence's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
I have not had experience with transfer yet, as we are on our second round of retrieval.
What specific things went wrong at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates?
- Failed to call with results
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
When I first went in and had my initial testing done 2 years ago, I followed up with them because I was getting impatient. They said they thought I had been called with the results. And the second thing was when my Menopure changed on my second IVF, I was first told my Gonol F was going to change. I asked the nurse (who was not Jill, she was the oncall person on the weekend) to double check because we had ordered my medication according to dropping the Menopure. She checked and followed up with me quickly. We dropped the Gonol F that night 75 units so it could take place that day (I had taken my Menopure already) and then dropped the Menopure the next morning.
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Clinic
Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates
Dallas