Meghan Oakes

She treated me with respect at the consultation and made note that I knew what I was talking about and had medical background. During follicle ultrasounds she explained things well, made small talk to make me comfortable, answered any questions I had but seemed just a little rushed. I can’t really complain though, because she really did a great job at letting me know her exact thoughts and expectations.

I would tell them she’s nice but maybe a little rough around the edges. Her sense of humor is just like mine so we clicked really well, but to others it might be taken wrongly. Infertility sucks, but having some humor throughout the process is a necessity to stay sane and I like that she can joke around and make the appointments less daunting.

I was directed to take 75 IU of Follistim injections once daily starting cycle day 3. We started at this lower dose because I ovulate naturally already and I’ve also responded easily to Clomid and Femara in the past. I went in for blood draws and follicle ultrasounds when directed and on Day 5 of injections (cycle day 8) I had my follicle ultrasound showing I was ready for the trigger shot the next evening and then for the insemination that weekend. I had a different specialist go my actual IUI as it was a weekend and a holiday but it all went smoothly. I start progesterone 100 mg twice daily 3 days past insemination. 2 weeks later I got a negative test. I stopped taking progesterone that day and my period started within 5-8 hours.

My consult was priced at $400 and I paid approx $200. I don’t remember what my blood work cost. My ultrasounds were prices at $250 each and I paid approx $50 each. My husbands portion of IUI was originally $500 but with insurance we paid approx. $300. My portion of IUI was to be $300 and we paid approx $150. Injections were to cost $1,200 and I paid approx $380 with insurance. Unfortunately though my lifetime max on my insurance is about to be met, so these savings won’t last long.

She has a great bedside manner and while she does not sugar coat things, she is warm in her approach to discussing options and what her thoughts are. She always communicates what she is about to do during any check-up or procedure and she performs all of her own procedures. Even passing her in the hall for blood work she greets you and asks how things are going. I highly recommend her.

My advice for seeing any doctor is always advocate for yourself.

Fairly normal/common cycle of menopur and Ganirelix with a lupron trigger. Estradiol and progesterone oil leading up to the transfer.

Seemed to be well oiled machine I was in and out every time in less than 30 mins from walking in and almost always giving blood within first 10 mins of arriving. Way better than my previous experience with a clinic that worked on appointments only.

I'm lucky that insurance is covering 100% of treatment once I hit my deductible but each visit I am given a form outlining the costs that will be submitted to insurance.

She has been good to work with. She is quite forward about her concerns regarding our fertility. We have had no success with her but was open to us trying despite our age. Our only issue is when treatment has failed to achieve a successful pregnancy (I.e miscarriage), they often make suggestions to changing treatment after the fact even after they had previous knowledge of our history. Would like to have seen them be more proactive and less reactive.

Ask a lot of questions and advocate for yourself, even if they don’t agree with you.

We were placed on birth control for three weeks prior to Gonal F injections for egg growth and stimulation. We had to administer Cetrotide prior to maturation to prevent ovulation and administered Trigger prior to retrieval.

It was a cattle call and usually the waiting room is moderately full

4-5000 for IUI with monitoring. 20,000 for IVF with PGS testing.

Meghan Oakes explained all possibilities and treatment options at our initial consultation and met with us to discuss the next options and adjusted treatment as needed. She was compassionate and kept expectations realistic.

Ask questions often and ask to speak with Dr. Oakes if that is what is needed.

IUI #1 and #2: tracking cycle at home IUI#3: low dose of injectable hormones to increase number of eggs and egg quality IVF #1: typical protocol, 12 fertilized eggs, none made it to blast stage IVF #2: different stimulating medication (Menopure) due to low estrogen during IVF #1, different trigger (Lupron) because estrogen was too high; retrieval was stopped because Lupron trigger did not work and eggs were not mature; triggered with HCG, retrieval next day produced some mature eggs; 2 eggs made it to blast, one was PGS tested normal; transfer resulted in chemical pregnancy IVF #3: Menopure for stimulation, HCG for trigger, do not remember # retrieved or fertilized, two made it to blast, PGS testing resulted in no normal embryos for transfer Waiting on IVF with donor eggs

The clinic was an hour away, so the drive to get there during monitoring hours was frustrating, but that is not the clinic's fault. I live in a rural state, so there are few options. Based on the number of patients that day, the wait can feel long. It is efficient though.

Through Dr. Oakes's office, I paid for blood tests, ultrasounds, consultations, retrievals, transfers, sperm analysis, anethesia, and any other costs associated. I purchased medications through a pharmacy and genetic analysis through another company. In all, we have spent at least $60,000 for all treatments.

Dr. Oakes is recommending eSET due to concern about early labor if two transferred and I became pregnant with twins or multiples; she has discussed this from the beginning and was upfront and I understand and agree with her recommendation

She is knowledgeable, compassionate but seems overworked and stretched too thin. Some conversations seemed rushed. I was told we could take treatments as slow as we want but then we’re pressured to move forward with more advanced treatment options before we were ready.

Do research, advocate for yourself, don’t be afraid to ask questions. She is a great doctor but time with her is limited. Many times the nurses try to intercept any issues you have when you want to talk to Oakes.

We did several rounds of Femara and Clomid, 1 IUI and so far one round of IVF with ICSI and PGS testing. Took Gonal F and Cetrotide for retrieval and estrogen and progesterone shots for transfer.

Generally a long wait, especially Monday and fridays. I drove several hours for appointments and waited longer than my appointment was.

I spent a $3800 for IUI with meds and about $12k for 1st round IVF wth meds and some insurance coverage.

Elected for one do to uterine abnormality.

Dr. Oakes is genuinely a very kind and caring person, I know she wants all her patients to have good results and be able to have a family. Some people like things told to them gently, but I am a person that would rather just be told things more bluntly, even when the truth hurts my feelings. With the last round of IVF we attempted in late December of 2017, I knew I had ovulated even though I was getting the Ganirelix injections. As a patient (who works in healthcare sometimes you know too much) I was very emotional and didn't want to proceed with harvesting my eggs because I felt like it would not be successful and would waste our hard earned money we had worked so hard to save up for this round of IVF. Dr. Oakes encouraged me that my follicles were good and I should at least try to harvest them, and at this point my husband really wanted me to proceed with harvesting as well. They successfully harvested 7 embryos, and 3 made it to day 5 but due to the fact that I had already ovulated I could not have a fresh implant and only 1 embryo met the criteria for freezing. We had that embryo implanted the following month but unfortunately it was not successful. Although my story is not normal and this truly only happens to less than 1% of women, I did take away some valuable lessons. God has a plan sometimes we have a hard time understanding, physicians that specialize in fertility know more than we do about fertility but we should always listen to our own body, and have faith because good things will happen.....you just never know when it will be!

At the Methodist for Women Reproductive Health it is good to know up front that you don't always see your same physician. There are three physicians in their clinic and depending on the day you could see any of the three, this fact does bother some people. I really like all three physicians so it is not a problem for me at all, but it's something I make sure to include when informing any prospective patients I refer to Dr. Oakes.

Prior to being referred to Dr. Oakes I saw my regular OB/GYN who did seven rounds of Clomid with me and six of the rounds we did IUI in his office. So by the time I went to Reproductive Health I was very used to getting my lab drawn and having vaginal US were a normal thing, this is something I thought I would never say. I think for anyone who starts seeing a fertility specialist the most frustrating part at the beginning is the fact that they want to re-run a bunch of tests. My husband didn't think anyone else could possibly need to look at his sperm, although it was a little hard to feel sorry for him when they want to inject dye to see if your tubes are open again (the cramping is terrible even if you only have one tube, I had an ectopic pregnancy six years ago and lost my right tube from a natural pregnancy). Eventually we get down to starting my first cycle of IUI with Dr. Oakes and I call her office with my first day of my period. This starts the process of arriving and getting baseline labs and vaginal US to make sure I don't have any cysts on my ovaries so I can start injections. Dr. Oakes starts me on Follistim SQ, the side effects from the shots to me weren't any worse than the increased hormones similar to that of Clomid. They checked my ovaries via vaginal US every 3 days or so and adjusted the dosage accordingly. I always produced good follicles and once the follicles were ready to release, but prior to ovulation they would have me get an IM injection of hCG and then the following day my husband gave a sperm sample and IUI occurred. I always had some cramping and discomfort after IUI, but not worse than that of menstrual cramps. Then it was the dreaded waiting 14 days to find out if you were pregnant, I always would pray I wouldn't get my period but in evidently it came like clock work. Since we had already tried IUI so many times previously Dr. Oakes suggested that we really should just go straight to the IVF, so my husband and I did our best to save as much as we possibly could and we called her office to proceed with IVF. They started me on birth control the month prior and then the same process as IUI, I called her office on the first day of my period and we got started. A few days later I was getting my baseline labs and vaginal US, then the injections started this time I was getting Menopur IM daily, and going every 2-3 days for a vaginal US so they could adjust my dose as needed. I was producing follicles but not like Dr. Oakes had hoped, she discussed with us that we could proceed and still harvest the 4 follicles I had or I could attempt IUI again and try IVF at a later date. Dr Oakes told us she really felt like the birth control slowed down my follicle production so she didn't want me to do the birth control the following time. My husband and I decided to try the IUI again to save money and hopefully that way when we attempted the IVF again I would make more follicles and it would be more successful. I still got an IM injection of hCG the night before IUI. Unfortunately another failed attempt only this time I was more hormonal and for the 14 days after the IUI the Dr had ordered IM progesterone injections, which made my hips and upper part of my butt very sore! Finally we were trying IVF a second time, of course the last time I was sure it was going to work so this time I had a little more reservations about it but I was excited. My husband and I have dreamed of having a family for 6+ years, and overall I was sure this time was going to be it. They did what they called a cold start, no pre-birth control. I did the Menopur IM injections again, but this time they increased the dose. I felt very aware of what was going on inside me, every little pain or twinge in my belly felt amplified. I was still getting the vaginal US every 2-3 days, by the 9th-10th day or so I was also getting the Ganirelix shots to make sure I didn't ovulate. The next morning I was scheduled to see my Dr. and this was the day I typically ovulated, but the night before I was sure I was ovulating even though I was getting the Ganirelix injections. The next morning we were in Dr. Oakes office bright and early, I went in first to my vaginal US with my husband and the US tech and I told her I thought I had ovulated. She told me she hasn't seen anyone in 30 years ovulate on Ganirelix, she states it happens than less than 1% of women and says I'm sure your fine. She does the exam and is very quiet, takes twice as many pictures as normal and just acts different. I ask her if she sees something, she tells me she will have Dr. Oakes talk to me but I may know my body pretty well. As a patient (who works in healthcare sometimes you know too much) I was very emotional and didn't want to proceed with harvesting my eggs because I felt like it would not be successful and would waste our hard earned money we had worked so hard to save up for this round of IVF. Dr. Oakes encouraged me that my follicles were good and I should at least try to harvest them, and at this point my husband really wanted me to proceed with harvesting as well. They went ahead and still had me get an IM hCG injection that night and come back the next day. They successfully harvested 7 embryos, and 3 made it to day 5 but due to the fact that I had already ovulated I could not have a fresh implant and only 1 embryo met the criteria for freezing. We had that embryo implanted the following month but unfortunately it was not successful. Overall I felt the fertility medications definitely caused me to have some weight gain and the Progesterone in Oil injections just hurt, but if I would have been able to get pregnant it all would have been worth it.

The clinic was very well organized. For routine labs and US you are required to report between 7:00-9:00 am and sign in, then they just go first come first serve basis. Typically we never waited more than 30 minutes, many times they had us in a room in less than 15 minutes.

Medications $2000-4000 Ultrasound $225 (times 5-8) Labs $86-225 (times 5-8) Egg Harvest $7850 Frozen Embryo Transfer $4100

Dr. Oakes told us that she would only transfer up to two embryos, although this is something we never had to make a decision about she did give us all the pros and cons of single embryo transfer vs. multiple embryo transfer.

A friend referred me to Dr.Oakes, and I absolutely agree that she is amazing. The first time we met her she sat and talked with us about our history and truly listened to what we wanted. She allowed us to determine what we were comfortable doing for our next treatment. When our second IVF cycle results didn’t go as planned, she called me personally. She was straight forward, but stayed positive for us for future options.

She is not scared it give her honest opinion, so she may tell you something you don’t want to hear. However, she does what is in the best interest of the patient.

Our first IVF cycle was at a different clinic. When Dr.Oakes reviewed the protocol, she made a few changes. I switched from 75 of menopur and 150 of gonal f to only 300 of gonal f. She also watched my estradiol very close before egg retrieval because I had very high levels the first cycle. I was told to use a lupron trigger, and we gave my body an extra day to let smaller follicles catch up. I ended up with double the amount of eggs retrieved from my first cycle. She also had us freeze our embryo rather than do a fresh transfer because of the high estradiol levels.

Monitoring appointments were all done in the morning between 6:30- 9:30. Since I had to commute, I liked that I didn’t have to be there at an exact time. Plus I think it is nice for people that don’t want to take time off of work to be able to go early in the morning. Most of my ultrasounds were done by one of the doctors, and then they would talk with me after about how everything looked and what the next step was. I loved that I saw a doctor every time I went.

Our initial consult visit was $400. Typical monitoring appointments included an ultrasound for $225 and blood work $80-100. I had 3 monitoring appointments and 1 additional blood draw prior to retrieval. The day of retrieval we paid $9,300 which included biopsy for PGS testing. We have not done our transfer yet, but I believe it is between $4,500-5,000. All of these costs were in addition to medications which range widely in cost.

We did not discuss this, and only ended up with one embryo, so it was not an issue.

I don't have any bad things to say at all. She is kind, and friendly, and seems to be extremely competent. I guess the only negative thing I can say is that she does not seem to have any knowledge regarding the financial side of the business. Her office provided a coupon for the injectables which was nice, but there wasn't any info provided for other coupon programs or grants, like what Fertility IQ provides. And we're having a really tough time with the bills from all of this.

Don't hesitate to ask questions.

The injectable I was prescribed was Gonal F 300iu every day for about 14 days total. I started going to my local office that partners with Dr. Oakes' office for blood draws and ultrasounds, and the office would call me with instructions for what I should do for the next few days until my next blood draw and ultrasound. They increased my dose to 450iu early on because the ultrasound only showed a few eggs, and the doctor said that if the increased dose did not help my body produce more eggs then we would quit with this cycle and try for the next because the egg retrieval procedure is the priciest part of the process. The increase in dose helped increase my egg count a little, and around day 14 or 15 my husband helped me to inject my "trigger shot", and within a day or two I went in for my egg retrieval. They retrieved 8 eggs and two of those were not mature. Of the 6 remaining, 5 fertilized successfully. However, we did genetic testing and found out that all 5 embryos were severely genetically abnormal. The Dr. Oakes called me personally to tell me this and she also said that had we not performed the genetic testing and skipped to the implantation, none of the embryos would have survived because they were so abnormal. She has a plan to change up my injectables for our next IVF attempt, but we are trying to save up money until we can afford to do this all again.

She gave us a folder full of info at our initial consultation with her that included a run-down of all of the possible procedures and their associated costs. The egg retrieval (aspiration) was exactly $9,300. Up until then we had spent $893.03 in various procedures and tests. The injectable drugs were $980.78 through mailorder, and that was with a 25% coupon provided by the office. The genetic testing was completed at another facility and we have yet to receive the bill, but I know it will be thousands of dollars.

We never got that far into the process.

I think she has a realistic approach, and talked us through our options. She had both of her children through IVF, so I feel like she can relate to our struggle and she knows what we are going through. She was extremely compassionate, especially when we went through an ectopic pregnancy after an iui. I got pregnant on my first IVF cycle and I’m currently 13 weeks along!

Read some fertility books, get to know your body and your cycle. Seek out as much information as you can and go in educated enough to ask good questions!

Day 3 bloodwork and ultrasound, sonogram, 2 rounds with injections with iui. Result was ectopic pregnancy. Did IVF and got pregnant on my first cycle, and have 3 PGS tested eggs on ice!

I'm trying to remember, I think the initial consult was an hour and a half and was a couple hundred dollars. The day 3 bloodwork and ultrasound was a couple hundred and the injections were about $4k per cycle. During the consultation I received a price list that was very detailed so you know what the cost is up front. I have united health care and my plan covered about 25% of my bills, which was a pleasant surprise!

Because of my age she initially suggested transferring two, but since we did pgs testing on the embryos we only transferred one which was successful!

Dr. Oakes was very thorough in my care. I have PCOS and we also found out when we started seeing Dr. Oakes that male factor infertility was in issue for us. She was quick to explain everything and get us the testing and answers we needed to begin the next steps. Which would be IVF with ICSI and PGD. I had some complications after my egg retrieval and she was so caring and I felt confident in her to get me through the process.

If you have questions, always ask. She is very straightforward and good at explaining everything that needs to happen.

I took gonal-f for around ten days prior to eff retrieval. Because of PCOS they retrieved quite a large number of eggs from me (54). I did end up suffering from ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and spent some time in the hospital after my retrieval. We did PGD on our ten embryos and 2 came back genetically normal. Our first embryo transfer failed and our second resulted in a beautiful baby boy.

Monitoring hours were early in the morning and since I drove so far it was kind of inconvenient but they always got me right in and right out so I could get back to work.

Meds $2,000 Egg retrieval $9,500 PGD/PGS $3,200 ICSI $1,200 Embryo Transfer $5,000 All of these are rough estimates from what I can remember. Our total cost for one round of IVF and 2 embryo transfers came to about $26,000.

Because of my complications following egg retrieval my Dr suggested single embryo transfer and I agreed.

Dr Oakes was by far the best doctor I have ever seen. The day we met with her for our first consultation after coming from another Omaha clinic, we knew we had made the right choice in switching. My biggest and only regret to this day is not starting with her. She was warm and compassionate and made us feel so comfortable under her care. She took the time to explain things to us and we saw her at every visit which was huge for us. It made me feel like she was completely invested in our case and also calmed any anxieties I had throughout the process. At 30wks pregnant now, I can honestly say not a day goes by that we don't miss seeing her--her ability to connect with her patients on a personal level is remarkable. While the process itself can knock you down, she's right there to pick you up and keep things moving in a way that gives you hope. She is truly amazing at what she does!

Utilize her knowledge...take it all in and do as you are told! Trust the process and know you are in the best, most capable hands!

I don't remember the exact protocol Dr Oakes had me on. I know I stimmed a few days longer than in my previous cycles under the care of another physician. I believe I used 375 units of Gonal-F for approximately 11 days, with Cetrotide added a little over halfway through. Retrieval was on day 13. I had 19 eggs retrieved, 7 day 5 embryos resulted, and 2 were PGS normal.

Monitoring appointments were from 630-9am with no set time. You were seen in the order you arrived. Sometimes the wait was a little long, but we expected it and it didn't bother us at all. We knew we would be seen when it was our turn.

We were quoted up front $25,000 for the overall cost of one IVF cycle, which included retrieval, transfer, storage of embryos, ICSI, drug cost and PGS genetic testing. We ended up spending right around that.

I appreciated that Dr Oakes let you, as the patient, make that decision and didn't seem to judge you based on the choice you made. She gave us the facts regarding single vs. multiple and let us choose.

Dr. Oakes cares about you as a person. She has great bedside manner and listens to your wants and needs. She will answer any questions you have and do so in terms you can understand. While going through treatment, another medical issue arose and she called 3 or 4 different specialists to help my condition. I felt like she truly cared. I trust Dr.Oakes and know she won't just do a cycle to appease me. She wants to make sure its right and that I have optimal chances for a positive result.

Make sure you ask questions while you are in clinic and can ask face to face. Office staff returns calls promptly, but sometimes I just want to talk to Dr.Oakes.

Dr.Oakes used the first IUI cycle to judge how my body responded to the FSH injectable. The next two cycles it seemed like we found the optimal dose. She ordered 6 days of FSH and then ultrasound and lab work to check follicle growth. Next, ultrasounds every other day (usually just 1-2 more), then HCG trigger and IUI 36 hours after trigger.

You pay for the medication (which ran me approximately $1000/cycle) at the pharmacy towards the beginning of cycle, and then the IUI ($800) at the time of IUI. Ultrasounds and lab work get billed to insurance and we haven't received a bill for that (having been using Dr.Oakes for 6 months).

We have not reached the embryo transfer yet as still giving IUIs a chance.

Dr Oakes is very compassionate, she will continue to switch things up as she sees fit when our first IVF failed. She told me she would let me know if we should give up and not waste our money but she was pretty confident she could get us pregant, with a low egg quality, the first IVF didn't work, we started again the following month and are pregnant with our miracle boy, due in July. No negatives for Dr Oakes, just positive to say.

She is wonderful, carrying and will treat you like family yet get the job done.

I was on the highest dosage the first IVF, we had to be on the shots for 18 days which is quite long as my eggs weren't growing. When we decided to do the whole process again, she decided to switch up (one shot in am, one in pm) as well as add two additional shots (am/pm) of lupron. Happy to say, 2nd time it worked, switching up, helped.

It was first come first serve, which i loved. There was no waiting times because they were behind with the previous patient, if you came first, you were seen first.

We spent a total of 38,000 for both IVFs we did, this included medicine of which the first IVF was more expensive because of the long days we had to do meds. We pay for all out of pocket, our insurance didn't cover one penny.

Dr Oakes suggested we transfer two embryos each time, which we did. It resulted in a single baby on our 2nd IVF

My first encounter was the consultation appointment with her, myself and my husband. I remember sitting there across the desk from her discussing my history and our story with her and talking about what she would do as a plan. I remember thinking- she is a real person. She isn’t just another doctor that sees you as a number. She is a humble, genuine person. I remember leaving that appointment with her saying- “I am excited to do IVF with her.” I will never forget I was at the clinic for a follicle check during my injections prior to my egg retrieval and I was just starting to feel an overwhelming sense of worry that IVF may not be the answer for us. That we may still not get pregnant. I hadn’t voiced that outright this particular day however I remember looking up from my planner and Dr Oakes was standing in front of me and she smiled and said, “things didn’t work out elsewhere because this is where you need to be. You’re here for a reason.” And then she proceeded to walk around the corner and give me a hug. I will NEVER ever ever forget that moment. That is the moment I needed. She just has a way about her- confident and matter of fact yet just enough warmth to her that she is humble and genuine- as a nurse For the last 11 years I have worked with a lot of physicians and ones like her are hard to come by.

Be honest and be real with her. Don’t be afraid to say exactly what you’re thinking or how you feel because she will take the time to matter of fairly but warmly tell you what you need to hear in that moment.

I honestly now (2 years since my retrieval and transfer) don’t remember exactly what I did for injections. I do remember she had me to a depo Lupron injection for my trigger shot as she stated because Inhad so many follicles and my estrogen levels were so high she didn’t want to cause me to have OHSS. I recall starting progesterone injections right away daily and did them until I believe 11 weeks. As far as our egg retrieval I recall her encouraging/recommending ICSI just because we had unexplained infertility with no male or female factors and so she thought it would be best that they manually inject the sperm into the eggs just in case for some reason naturally fertilization was not happening on its own. She did only recommend that we transfer one embryo. We had done PGS testing and had good results. She said with that she felt very confident that I would get pregnant from transferring one embryo that had been PGS tested and was of high quality. As far a

Oh my goodness. The clinic- Inliterally can’t say anything- not a thing bad about it! Their system is Flawless! They have a first come first serve ultrasound and lab draw clinic In the mornings from 7-9 and it is AWESOME! You walk in- the front desk girls already know you’re coming and show you an ABN for that day and have you sign it( because of course no insurance coverage for any of it). Then you go sit in the waiting room- typically not long after a nurse calls you back to go see the phlebotomist who is great at venipunctures. Then you either go straight from there to an ultrasound room if you need one that day or you briefly go to the waiting room. Then again a nurse calls you back, takes you to an ultrasound room- talks with you about what’s been going on for treatment, etc and then you have your ultrasound with the tech- who is super amazing as well- she too is very knowledgeable about the smite process- not just ultrasound. Then the doctor usually comes in and performs part of the ultrasound and then you get dressed- go out to the desk and discuss the plan and you’re out the door- it is such a smooth process! They really have it down to a science!

There were costa for ultrasounds, blood draws, clinic visits, meds, egg retrieval, embryo process, PGS testing, frozen embryo testing

She did only recommend that we transfer one embryo. We had done PGS testing and had good results. She said with that she felt very confident that I would get pregnant from transferring one embryo that had been PGS tested and was of high quality.

Dr Oakes is very personable, very knowledgable, and very compassionate. She always presented all of the information to us, gave us her recommendation and the reasoning, and then let us discuss and make our own decision. During our process, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and so Dr Oakes recommended I get a mammogram even though I wasn't 40 yet. I ended up having to get a biopsy, and Dr Oakes called me on a Sunday with the results...a week before the oncologist. We recently miscarried, and Dr Oakes gave us so much compassion and kindness, along with knowledge and a little need humor to help ease our pain and our worries. She performed my D&C and again her kindness and compassion, mixed with her confidence and knowledge reassured us about the process. She had both of her sons via IVF and I think that insight helps.

She's in high demand...we have very few resources and she's great...so if you are headed in this direction, start now.

We started our process with our OB-GYN, who referred us to Dr Oakes after no success. Due to my age, we had only been going through it for about two years. Dr Oakes had us start with some retesting of levels. We learned that I was no longer producing eggs. I had my right ovary removed five years ago along with a dermoid cyst. That, combined with the PCOS, and my age and weight were all probably contributing factors. At this point we discussed our options. After meeting with Dr Oakes again, where she provided us with a lot of great information and resources regarding using donor eggs, that's the route we decided to go. We went on the wait list and last December, we had 3 donors to pick from. Once the donor egg process started, we did shots of Leuprolode...10 units each morning, in the thigh. We then added Estradiol 2 mg tablets. I started with 2 tablets for 3 days, then 3 tablets for three days, and then 4 tablets a day. And dropped to 5 units of the Leuprolode. Then right before the transfer, we switched to injections of progesterone...1 ml each morning. Once we were pregnant, both the progesterone and estrodiol continued...although we increased the progesterone to 1.5 ml.

Goodness, we are still paying, but they really try to send as much through insurance as possible. Here's the breakdown: Charges related to the Donor: Screening, Lab Work, Ultrasounds - $7366 Retrieval - $5676 Donor Fee - $4000 Medications - $3000 Charges related to recipient: IVF Lab Fee - $3345 Embryo Transfer - $2250 Pathology Fee - $92 I have a really great prescription plan, so all of my medications have been $10 per prescription...so far we've spent about $80. And then each week it's between $200 and $600, depending on the blood draw and ultrasound.

Dr. Oakes was recommeded to us by my OBGYN when she was out of ideas. Our first two visit with Dr. Oakes were wonderful. She sat us down and discussed our history (miscarriages) along with new ideas on how to move forward with treatment. She had new ideas and seemed eager to get started. We left with hope that we had made it to the right place. We started with blood work and shots and were driving 3 hours to the clinic weekly to prepare for IUI. This is when we felt like a number. After the initial consult we only saw Dr. Oakes a handful of times. Even during our IUI procedures we were with other doctors with no prior knowledge of a switch. I felt that she was knowledgeable in her skills but that her numbers were more important than a relationship with us. I'm wasn't looking for a best friend but I was looking for compassion and for the doctor I signed onto work with.

Dr. Oakes definitely knows fertility and she's there to do whatever it takes to get you pregnant. With us, though I was obviously there to achieve a pregnancy, I was also looking to make it past 6 weeks of a pregnancy (which I was unable to do, twice on my own). She believed we needed IUI and IVF and we weren't willing to invest in IVF without first knowing why I was having recurrent miscarriages. We never got the sense she was going to dig into that. Just the sense that she was playing whatever she found to be the best odds.

We used trigger shots, timed intercourse, and other oral medications for our 2 attempts at IUI. Both were unsuccessful.

Payment had to be made at each appointment before you could even sit in the waiting room. This included blood work and ultra sounds. This was approximately $150-$200. Our IUI procedures were approximately $1500.00

For religious reasons I was not comfortable with pulling as many eggs and making as many embryos as possible. I wanted to keep the numbers lower and more manageable so that selection was not a choice I would have to make. IVF was only a discussion so I never had to dive too deep into that discussion. I did have 5 follicles during one of our IUI transfers and felt very pressured to reduce if IUI had been successful.

Dr. Meghan Oakes was very caring. She went through all of our history and thoroughly explained everything. She also laid out what steps we need to do next, and she was very nice. My husband agrees also. We felt that she listened to all of our concerns as well.

I would give future patients this advice- be open minded. There are so many options to help conceive a child. It is very overwhelming too.

As of now- we've only done the ultrasound and lab work. Next we have to attend a fertility 101 class to learn about all the meds and their side effects. After that, we are full steam ahead with IUI once we have the funds.

Our consult was $400.00 with Dr. Oakes. Insurance covered zero! We have yet to receive the billing for our lab work and ultrasound.

I am unsure of this.

She is very personable and truly cares for her patients. She makes sure to answer all of your questions thoroughly and lays all of different scenarios out for her patients. She made sure to check in on us when our attempts at different procedures had failed.

To make sure you always ask her any questions you have.

First round was supposed to be IVF. 225 of Gonal F with trigger. Didn’t produce enough eggs went to IUI. Failed. Second round of IVF attempt (mini) 450 Gonal F. Tested AMH. Found out my AMH is very low (.45). Peoceded with IVF retrieved 4 eggs. Two embryos made to day 5. Transferred both and failed.

They always did their best to get you in as fast as they could.

15,000

N/A

We looked forward to seeing Meghan at our visits. She was honest and gave us all the facts ahead of time instead of sugar coating the process. She was friendly and honest without being harsh. Blunt, but in a good way and she wanted us to make sure we knew that the process can be hard, but that she would work her best to get us what we wanted.

Expect honesty and bluntness. If your situation is difficult (I don't ovulate and my husband has low count and low mobility) she is going to tell you how it is and not sugar coat it. Hard doesn't mean impossible.

We paid up front for meds and doctors appointments. We were billed for our genetic testing.

We met Dr. Oakes for a consultation after being at a clinic that treated us more like a number for a few years. We only met with Dr. Oakes in the consultation because of some family circumstances with parents passing away - and also the amount of money it was going to take at the time to start treatments again. Dr. Oakes is the 1st on our list to visit again - if we get the chance to go back. She was the most honest Dr. we have seen for our treatments and I felt that I trusted her professionalism the most. Dr. Oakes is wonderful!

Trust her! She's amazing!

We were told of a number of tests that would have to be ran. And also told of the teachings and classes of the process/shots that would be suggested to take.

I don't remember the actual fee's

Good bed side manners. Should have done more analysis on my results to come up with a plan instead of trying IUI with a really low dose. With low amh and slightly elevated fsh, would you do a unmedicates IUI with a sperm donor?

Do your homework and ask questions.

First IUI was unmediated and timed based on the size of the follicles and blood work. Second was medicated and started with 75 Gonal and increased to 150 the last 3 days. Just one follicle during that time. Third cycle, 75 hmg and then increased it 150 and then to 225. 2 follicles. Took a shot to delay ovukation and took a trigger shot. AMH was tested after half the cycle was done. After the 3rd failed cycle was recommended a 4th one.

One Monitoring with blood work go $317. 300 to thaw the sperm and 300 for insemination. 400 is the consult.

Fast talking Seemed to be in a rush It took three weeks to hear back from a nurse to go over results. I felt very rushed. I have 3 children now and decided to get my tubes tied which I regret doing so. Kids are a joy and I can not afford IVF. I will be getting married and want to give the my soon to be husband a child.

To research before you go talk to a fertility doctor. And to never get your tubes tied.

I did not get to do the surgery due to after finding out that my insurance did not cover tubal reversal.

9 to 10 thousand

Dr Oakes was very kind and had a direct path in mind. She did take into consideration the path my husband and I wanted to follow. We were successful twice with her, which does help my view on the process.

Be your own advocate. Do your research and ask lots of questions. Get explanations of why she wants to go particular routes.

They were very reasonable with insurance coverage.

She wanted to try eSET first to see if we would be successful. She would rather me be pregnant with one vs two, as multiples can be very hard on the mom and babies to be.