Laxmi Kondapalli

She was very kind and warm, and considering the delicacy of the situation, always knew how to say the right thing. She never gave us false promise, but gave us enough hope with the actual facts based on our unique situation.

If you want someone who is honest, caring and won't sugar coat it (but will still make you feel good), she is your lady!

Since I have early onset menopause and don't get a cycle, Dr. K had us do a "mock cycle" to make sure my body would appropriately prepare for the actual transfer. While this added an extra month to the timeline, I appreciated the step because it allowed us to do an inexpensive trial run (she had us use cheaper meds that work, just not as good as the expensive ones you use for the actual transfer) before spending a huge chunk of cash and initiating the donor's retrieval, the fertilization, etc. After that, the process was pretty "normal". Getting donor eggs, fertilizing, genetic testing (which CCRM highly advises and even though it adds about $6k more, makes sure you don't transfer an embryo that is defective or will miscarry), and then the transfer. I really feel that all of the tiny precautions and extra steps Dr. K and CCRM build into their process increase the chance for success, and give them credit for us successfully getting pregnant on our first transfer.

To get from zero to transfer, we spent about $55,000. This was all out of pocket! We lucked out that the medication was covered by insurance (but nothing else), and only had to spend about $1000 on that. I've heard it can be $5-10k if you pay in full.

No comments, we had a pretty good chance of success and definitely did not want twins so very easily made the decision to opt for eSET.

Dr. K spent a lot of time outlining the basics of IUI and IVF which I understand because you can't assume your patients would have done their own research ahead of time. She was good about providing visual drawings and notes to reiterate what she was verbally describing. We, admittedly, didn't take as much advantage the first couple of appointments with her to ask her questions. During our 3rd regroup, we made it a point to collect questions we had through out the process so we could get her feedback. She provided sufficient responses to our of our questions. We even had some feedback about the process and our nurse and she addressed them fairly and compassionately.

This goes for any appointment with your doctor. Collect questions you might have through out your own personally research and reading. Feel free to ask all the questions you might have even if you feel comfortable about what you've already read about the topic. At CCRM, you don't have frequent interaction with your doctor so make sure to take advantage of every regroup meeting. I have not personally taken advantage of this yet but I recommend reaching out to your doctor outside of the normal regroup meetings if you have something specific you want them to address. In terms of care, I believe even if I did not interact directly with Dr. K, that she was privy to my progress, labs, and check ups.

3 IUIs all with 100mg clomid on days 5-10. Estradiol suppositories 3x day for the first round and 2x a day for the 2nd and 3rd. It wasn't until our IVF stimulation regroup that I saw my lining never got thick enough to be a viable IUI attempt for the 2nd and 3rd. The IUI itself felt like a procedural process rather than a viable attempt at pregnancy. At the time of the IUIs, I did not want to be as involved in my numbers and just blindly followed directions. I wish I would have been more engaged. During my IVF cycle (still in the middle of it), Dr. K's 21 day estrogen priming protocol with 300 iu menopur seemed to have done the trick with 29 follicles (19 of which were bigger). She allowed me to skip a couple of follicle check ultrasounds and labs which I really appreciated. My E2 levels did sky rocket so we dropped down to 75 ui of menopur on day 12 of stims. She also adjusted my trigger protocol to lupron only due to my high E2 levels. My retrieval date was adjusted based on follicle size. Unfortunately, we had purchased additional menopur and Novarel at the start of the stim cycle not knowing that the protocols could change. I wish we had known to order meds incrementally so we wouldn't have extras. The nurse did say she would trade me any medication that hasn't been opened with others I may need for the transfer.

Fertility first (first time IVF) package allowed 10% off. 21K upfront covered ultrasounds, lab work, regroup appointments with doctor, transfer, ICSI, retrieval and transfers, genetic counseling, 4 PGS embryos. Did not cover diagnostics like doppler test (40 copay but insurance might have covered this), communicable testing ($400 per person), and specialty meds (approximately $5K with about $400 worth left over). The IUIs were probably 2,000 or so each.

Have not transferred yet so don't know for sure. I do recall her saying she recommends single embryo transfers after CCS (PGS) testing due to the high success rates.

Dr. K is amazing. She always thoroughly explains everything. I love the drawings she does as the are a good "take-away" and I refer to them often. She never seems put off by a question. I always feel really happy and optimistic after I've had a regroup with Dr. K. Dr K also did a fibroid removal surgery for me and it went super smoothly. She even billed it as gynecological instead of for fertility so that it would be covered by my insurance (I have no infertility insurance coverage). She's amazing and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her to anyone.

Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions. Also, save the drawings she gives you! They are super helpful to look back at later.

We did 2 IUIs with Femara/letrozole. She chose letrozole over clomid because I have a history of optical migraines. I had no ill side effects from the letrozole. I produced 1 mature follicle on 5mg, and 3 mature follicles on 7.5mg. We have no MFI. Both IUIs failed. After that we moved on to IVF which Dr. K was very supportive of. As I am 37, with an AMH of .3 and AFC of 6, I don't have time to waste. We are doing the early embryo banking program with 2 retrievals planned (for now). For my first IVF round, she did an estrogen patch priming protocol with Cetrotide during priming. Stim meds were 150 Menopur, 300 Gonal F, Omnitrope, and dexamethasone. I am still in stims, but had my regroup the other day. I have 9 follicles, but some aren't growing so she has added 7.5mg letrozole to my protocol since I responded well to it. She also mentioned she already has an idea of how she will change up my priming for next time. I appreciate how responsive she is to how my body reacts to the meds. I also love that they do a lot of monitoring during stims so they know what's going on. I think I would be much more anxious if they weren't monitoring as closely. I haven't had my retrieval yet so don't know results yet.

IUI cost $458 + $200 for each ultrasound ... probably around $1000-1500 total per IUI. For IVF, with the early embryo banking program, we'll pay $38500 for 2 retrievals (including all monitoring), one frozen embryo transfer, and CCS/PGS testing for up to 6 embryos. Meds for Retrieval #1 cost $5500.

Dr Kondapalli was warm, knowledgeable and optimistic. She made me feel at ease during the scary times and cared about during the sad times. She was appropriately upbeat during the times we needed hope and encouragement. She answered questions honestly with educated answers.

You are in good hands.

We did an FET of 5 day embryos. We started with birth control pills and lupron as we were trying to accommodate the specific transfer date that worked best for my husband's schedule. 3 weeks out from our transfer date we stopped birth control to allow for a menstrual cycle and then started estrogen patches, changing them every other day and Lupron. Closer to transfer we also started progesterone in oil injections every other day and progesterone suppositories. The last few days before transfer I also took doxycycline and medrol. Oral estrogen was added a week before transfer as my estradiol level was not high enough.

For an FET with out of state monitoring, our treatment costs for the embryology lab and CCRMs cost was close to $6000. Out of state monitoring added an additional couple of thousand dollars as did medication.

Dr Kondapalli has a strong stance on eSET vs multiple embryos, especially with my history of a successful eSET in the past.

We found her to be condescending. She spoke to us like we are children complete with drawing pictures. I found it hard to get her to just level with us and talk to us as if we are peers. Initially, she painted a very negative outlook for us and suggested we go straight to IVF. We decided to try an IUI and were successful. It made us feel like she is in the business of selling IVF. When we attempted IVF for a second child, she painted an extremely rosy picture, and we were unsuccessful. From the little diagram she drew explaining our odds, we thought we had a 65% chance of success with IVF. Turns out we misunderstood what she meant/said - so, I don't trust her communication.

She seems very by the book and makes decisions based on statistics rather than an individual patient. I'm so glad we attempted IUI against her advice.

We used an antagonist protocol and did not respond as well as they predicted. They predicted 16 eggs and we had 6 mature.

-Initial diagnostic costs - 4k -IUI x 4 @ $800 -Sperm samples x 6 @ $300 -Frozen sperm deposits x 2 @ $450 -IVF 30k I'm sure there's more...

I felt comfortable with her preference to only transfer one embryo, but I don't really want multiples.

Dr. Kondapalli does a great job explaining and drawing everything out so you have something to leave with. I also appreciated that she would change my protocol whenever things did not go as expected and was constantly striving for improvement.

Continue to ask questions, I learned so much by asking the detailed questions and felt like I had more understanding and control over my treatment.

I did three retrieval’s and every one was different. We started with 2 vials menopur and 225 gonalf. The second was 2 vials menopur, 300 gonalf, 2 tabs clomid, and HGH. The last retrieval we did 2 vials menopur and 150 gonalf (best results). We also did more aggressive priming each time starting with BCP, then luteal estrogen priming, and then extended estrogen priming.

The costs were presented up front however, it was difficult to understand what pieces could/would be covered with insurance and which weren’t.

She ultimately left it up to use which is what I preferred.

I think dr K absolutely knows her stuff and was good at adjusting my treatments each round of my IUIs as she learned new info, however I rarely knew why she was doing what she was doing. I wish I’d had check ins after each one, but that wasn’t offered. I believe she cares deeply and is in her office truly studying my #s and deciding the best course for us, on the flip side lots of questions go unanswered since I have zero communication with her.

Ask a LOT of questions up front as you might never speak with her again.

I’ve done 3 IUIs so far- all failed. 1st IUI- oral clomid and took forever- 5 ultrasounds in total- eventually triggered and did timed intercourse. 2nd- oral clomid followed by menopur shots still took a long time (40+ days)- 4-5 ultrasounds in total- eventually triggered and did timed intercourse. 3rd IUI: oral clomid alongside menopur shots- 1ultrasounds in total- growth was more predictable- triggered and did timed intercourse. Each one took a different course and they seemed to get more streamlined as we progressed.

I am about $10,000 in including all the workup tests, appts, etc. and then the 3 IUIs.

N/A

My experience so far has been positive with Dr. K but I'd prefer more communication with her (rather than just the nurses and other staff). She takes time to explain options and the situation and doesn't make me feel rushed or that I'm asking too many questions.

Don't be afraid to advocate for yourself and push if you need or want more information or guidance.

I've attempted 3 IUI's. The first IUI I was on the max amount of Clomid (150 mg) and I hated it! The clomid really messed with my head and I was extremely emotional and irrational. I developed one follicle and a negative pregnancy test. The second IUI I was on the max Clomid again (which I was terrified of, but didn't have a bad experience this time) but my follicles weren't growing, so she added injectable Menopur. I seemed to have the opposite affect from the Menopur and my follicles didn't respond at all, so she removed me from the Menopur and had me do another round of Clomid (150mg) - that seemed to do it and I ended up with three follicles, but I had another negative pregnancy test. This last IUI attempt, I did the max Clomid (150mg) and wasn't responding at all, so she added the menopur again. After another week, my follicles were very small and it didn't look like my body was responding to the meds at all. We decided to cancel the round. I am going to attempt an unmedicated round, since the meds don't seem to be working anymore and if that doesn't work, I will move onto donor egg/embryo.

$200 for every ultrasound visit, approx. $150 for the IUI procedure. Clomid is pretty cheap (about $25-$30) and the menopur was approx. $800 per round.

Dr. Kondapalli was one of the best physicians that I have ever worked with, if not the best. I am a physician myself and I have extremely high standards for medical care. I sought out Dr. Kondapalli after a well respected physician colleague of mine recommended her after she helped her to achieve a successful healthy pregnancy. I am from out of state, but it was more than worth it to travel in to have the opportunity to work with Dr. Kondapalli. She was amazing and surpassed all of my very high expectations. This was my second experience with IVF and the first one was not a positive one at all. During my first egg retrieval, only 8 eggs were retrieved and three embryos were created. These aren't horrible results for many IVF families, but 8 eggs from a relatively young and healthy person without fertility issues, is very disappointing. When I started seeing Dr. Kondapalli it was apparent from the very beginning that I was dealing with an entirely different level of expertise. To make a sports reference, it was like I went from T-ball to the major leagues. She was able to retrieve 28 eggs, 22 of which fertilized. This is a remarkable retrieval result and it is entirely due to Dr. Kondapalli and her unparalleled attention to detail, conscientious monitoring and skilled adjustments throughout the entire process. In addition to her clinical skill, I highly recommend Dr. Kondapalli because she will genuinely care about you and your results and she will go above and beyond to help you in any way that she can. Due to the day that my retrieval fell on, I was scheduled to have my retrieval performed by another undoubtedly skilled physician at CCRM. I traveled to Denver from out of state specifically for Dr. Kondapalli, so I was understandably really upset and disappointed that the person who I had come to trust was not going to be there for one of the most important steps in the process. I expressed my disappointment to Dr. Kondapalli and she did something for me that I will never forget. She arranged for the OR schedule to take me in early and she came in to perform my retrieval on a day when she was not supposed to be working at that location. She came in early for me around 6am and then traveled to her other location to start her normal work day afterward. I will never forget the kindness and selflessness that she showed to me and I cannot recommend her enough.

Definitely go to her.

I felt Dr Kondapali was not genuine. Her enthusiasm seemed false, like that of a cheerleader in a movie. When pressed to try things out of the standard protocol, she was completely unwilling. Her only suggestion was that I moved to IVF. She refused to treat me for more than six IUI cycles. I found another doctor, with 10 years more experience than her who was willing to give it at least a year, given the fact that he had had women my age become pregnant. I believe Dr Kondapali was more concerned with her statistics and bringing in the IVF Revenue than actually helping me have a baby within the limits I was faced with the financially and age wise.

Do not go looking to her for compassion. Also, make sure you’re well educated on the process because the nurses are not always equal in their knowledge. I would highly recommend Dr. Schoolcraft, because Ellie, his nurse is extremely knowledgeable, and serves as an excellent substitute when he’s not directly available for questions.

Dr Kondapali let me do one natural cycle at my request. The second cycle, we tried a relatively low dose of Clomid 50mg and one or two Menopur injections for boosting. After that, we moved to Femara 10mg ( I reported side effects from Clomid) plus Menopur 150. When that didn’t work, I believe we increased to 300. That was for two additional cycles. After that, I switched clinics when she broke the news to me that she would only do six medicated cycles with me and that no one else in the practice would touch me either for more than that.

Since this was covered under insurance, it’s hard to estimate what my out-of-pocket actually was, because they are still processing claims that are over a year old! The billing process was terrible. The cost of my IVF procedure I estimate at about $40,000 including additional diagnostics and medication above the cost of the procedure.

I am at the beginning stages of IVF so I cannot answer this as of yet

Our path has been turbulent, considering that we had to change doctors after egg retrieval and prior to the embryo transfer. We were told that we had very good chances of pregnancy, and felt extremely confused when we got a negative pregnancy test. Dr. Kondapalli made some adjustments to round 2, but same result, negative pregnancy test. When we went into our consult after the second failed attempt it was disheartening to hear that she was already recommending surrogacy or adoption. We still had so many questions, as this didn't make sense to us, and I felt like I needed to take things into my own hands, rather than fully relying on CCRM.

Be your own advocate.

The first round of IVF was pretty typical - I didn't have any hormone issues, and so we used the lowest doses possible. For the second round of IVF, Dr. Kondapalli didn't have any changes other than suggesting that we use the progesterone oil. During my consult after the second failed attempt, she recommended that we try a uterine scrape (I wonder why she didn't try this before). I asked her whether we could forgo using the hormone medications, and she said that we could if we wished, which I appreciated.

We were talked into doing every test and procedure, as there were male infertility issues that we had questions about.

We chose one embryo for the first attempt, as she said that I had a very high chance of pregnancy. She recommended transferring two embryos for the second attempt. I have no complaints about this approach.

At first I was thrilled to have her as a doctor. She was energetic and fun. It became clear very quickly that she made many mistakes - we had to correct her. She misdiagnosed and recommended the wrong protocols. She pushed donor sperm despite the fact that we said repeatedly we did not want that. We met with her 3 times. After our last attempt, we refused to meet with her because of her complete lack of care.

See another doctor.

She first put me on an antagonist protocol, it produced a lot of eggs but my estrogen skyrocketed. The second protocol was the same but with estrogen priming. My estrogen hit almost 7,000. She refused to admit that it was the protocol and actually had the nerve to say, "we could change the protocol, what do you think we should do?"

Cattle-call line.

In total, almost $75,000 including one unnecessary surgery for my husband. Result: 0 embryos

Dr. Kondapalli was thorough, competent, patient, and concerned for our needs and preferences. She was attentive to our questions and always seemed glad to see us. I felt completely comfortable in her care and trust her completely.

If you have a concern or question, just speak up--she understands how daunting this process is and is totally willing to dig into details or teaching.

Our IVF cost was 21,000 and we spent about 8,000 on meds and 2,000 on acupuncture and adjunct treatments.

Good with communication, spends a lot of time to explain procedures, positive, will develop innovative plan. Will call after positive and unsuccessful results. Really feel like she cares and is in this with you.

Ask a lot of questions

I'm not able to get a thick lining. Dr K used a STIM FET cycle which other doctors wouldn't use. I became pregnant both times. I appreciated how she was willing to try different techniques.

I've done a total of 4 retrievals and 8 FET cycles at two clinics. With acupuncture and medication I've spent over $120,000. Don't remember specifically at CCRM but it is more expansive than the first clinic I went to.

CCRM likes to transfer one embryo at a time

Dr. Kondapalli looked at our situation and gave us personalized recommendations. Then, when my pregnancy was ectopic and moments away from rupturing, she performed emergency surgery to remove my left Fallopian tube and most likely saved my life.

She is very willing to answer any questions you may have, so definitely come prepared with a list!

Dr. K has a wealth of knowledge. She used pictures/drawings to show the process. This helped to have a visual understanding of what we would experience. She always had time for our questions and spoke truthfully about all results. Dr. K is a bright light in a journey that could be very dark!

Contact her for a consultation! I learned more in a 30 minute conversation about my 3 previous cycles with another doctor from her, than anytime during each cycle.

I like doctors that work collaboratively, that don't get huffy if you have questions. Dr Kondapalli was great in that respect. I think she was one of the newer doctors at CCRM when I saw her but I thought her approach was a good fit for me.

Like any clinic, have a list of questions ready so you can make the most of your one on ones with the doctor, since you often interface with nurses instead.

It was around 20k upfront, even if you had insurance coverage that would reimbursing them. I think PGD was additional, but can't recall the details.

She is a great doctor, but she doesn't explain as much as I would like. In some cases, I don't think that I got to make decisions knowing all of the facts. In addition, she is very, very conservative in her advice. She may order every test on the planet, and doesn't seem aware in the least what the financial burden for the patient is. I suspect that at her new clinic, CCRM, she may also steer a borderline IVF candidate towards a donor before another doctor.

If you have a complicated case and want a clearer briefing about your options, maybe use one of the other doctors in the practice.

Dr. Kondapalli seems very knowledgeable and explains things in plain english. She’s also very positive and caring. She seems very on top of the testing and takes your whole medical history into account when treating you.

Give her all of you medical information, even if you think its irrelevant.

We are about to start our first ivf protocol

a bit over 3,000 for each IUi - thankfully covered by insurance. 21,000 IVF with icsi and ccs testing (due to recurrent miscarriages)

She was very loving & supporive which is a big deal when you are paying so much money & so hopeful. She had a great bedside manner & obviously did a great job! She was also very good with my parents who had a lot of questions & concerns. She treated us like humans not just another patient. She also sent a card when we got positive results. She's a wonderful human & an incredible dr!

Nothing, no advice. They would find out how great she was all on their own!

I don't remember the exact specifics but they really tailor it for the individuals needs. We did a frozen embryo transfer & it produced twins :)

around $40,000.00

No, they knew best with my history & did warn us that we could possibly have twins. We were good with that & trusted them.

Dr K is very knowledgeable & compassionate. She explains the IVF process very well & seems to have the knowledge to adjust protocols in order to get a good response. I had a history of being a poor responder to stimulation meds at a local clinic & I am convinced I would not have had 2 embryos to freeze without Dr Kondapalli.

Do research & bring questions. She will answer them & address all concerns.

20k

She offered single or 2 embryo transfer based on the quality of my embryos

Dr. K is very upbeat and is quite the cheerleader. She is thorough and responds in a timely manner. The nurses we dealt with were always accessible. They use an online database service that I was not in love with for questions, but they also always returned my calls, no matter what. While we had a miscarriage, it was out first successful pregnancy after 4 tries.

Ask lots of questions

Since I was using donor eggs, my protocol was different. CCRM is very strict on all levels of what you can and can't do.

Approximately 65k