How was your experience with Louis Weckstein at Reproductive Science Center?
Our experience with Dr. Weckstein was great. We found him to be extremely knowledgeable, thorough in his review of our case, and also compassionate. We started our IVF journey with Dr. Weckstein after several unsuccessful Clomid/Menopur and IUI cycles at Kaiser, and we have no regrets. Prior to IVF, we lost our first baby (conceived naturally) due to a rare fetal condition and were unable to conceive naturally again. In reviewing my medical history, he went out of his way to write a letter to our insurance company to justify coverage of the PGS screening for our embryos so we could avoid experiencing another loss. Because of this, we learned one of our Day-5 blasts was abnormal and would have ended in a miscarriage had we transferred it. At Dr. Weckstein's recommendation, we transferred a single embryo and we now have a healthy, beautiful 20 month old daughter. We are getting ready to transfer one of our 2 remaining frozen embryos with Dr. Weckstein this month and are hopeful it will be a successful pregnancy.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Louis Weckstein at Reproductive Science Center?
I would say that you should trust him because he is experienced and knows what he's doing.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Louis Weckstein at Reproductive Science Center?
Dr. Weckstein was genuine and took the time to explain what my test results meant and what our options were. He was very informed and he gave my husband and I his recommendations as well as all the information we needed to make an informed decision about our treatment.
Describe the protocols Louis Weckstein used in your cycles at Reproductive Science Center and their degree of success.
For my initial IVF cycle egg retrieval, I started on birth control pills on CD3 and stayed on them until CD14. On CD15 I had a baseline sonogram. I started stimulation 4 days later and was instructed to start daily baby Aspirin 81mg, FSH (Gonal f) 300 IU, and Menopur 150 IU for 10 days, adding Antagon (Ganirelix) (250mg) to the stimulation meds for the last 6 of those 10 days to prevent early ovulation. The next day I was instructed to discontinue FSH, Menopur, and Antagon, but continued baby aspirin. That evening I was instructed to give myself a trigger shot (Lupron 2mg) subcutaneiously. The following day I started my Azithromycin pack and had my retrieval 2 days later. I ended up with 11 mature eggs - more than anticipated.
Fertilization report:
12 Mature eggs => 11 fertilized with ICSI
• 6/19
Embryo progress update:
7 to 9 'Day 3' embryos
• 6/22
Embryo progress update:
4 'Day 5' embryos - sent in for PGS - results due next Wednesday 6/29
PGS Results:
3 good embryos - 2 girls/1 boy
1 embryo with Trisomy 9
Describe your experience with your nurse at Reproductive Science Center. (Assigned nurse: Sara Romero)
My first case manager wasn't the best communicator, but she no longer works at the clinic and the case manager who took over my case, Sara R., is great. The nursing staff in general was and continues to be very friendly and helpful.
Describe your experience with Reproductive Science Center.
I found Dr. Weckstein and the RSC staff overall to be great. The only weakness with my first IVF cycle was that it was difficult to get through to my original case manager/the staff via phone, but I'm currently going through the process again for baby #2 and have found that this issue seems to have been resolved.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Louis Weckstein at Reproductive Science Center.
I had partial insurance coverage for the egg retrieval and first FET, so my out of pocket cost was about $12k for those 2 cycles. This included all the "extras" such as my share for the medication co-pays and opting for ICSI. I'm currently doing my 3rd FET (2nd FET ended in miscarriage) and the cost for the FET with no insurance coverage was approximately $5000 (medications included).
Describe Louis Weckstein's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Reproductive Science Center.
Dr. Weckstein encouraged eSET for us because he said I had good quality embryos and I was 36 at the time. He didn't want to create any unnecessary risks by transferring more embryos. Our highest priority was to have a healthy baby and give him/her the best chance possible for a full term delivery.
What specific things went wrong at Reproductive Science Center?
- Failed to call with results
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Reproductive Science Center.
Again, this was an issue with my particular case manager from my first cycle. She worked an unusual schedule with odd hours and failed to call me with instructions on more than one occasion. I had communicated my frustrations and was assigned a different case manager. I was told my original case manager no longer works at RSC.