Miguel Damien

Dr. Damien is INCREDIBLY talented and an expert in his field. You may wait a while for an initial consult appointment but it is definitely worth it. His knowledge and confidence takes away some of the stress my husband and I felt in this whole process. I fully trust him to do what is best for me.

Be prepared with your questions written down ahead of time. Dr. Damien is very busy - he will answer all your questions but I found it’s best to be fully prepared with what I what to know.

The office staff is very pleasant. Dr. Damien, though very busy, takes the time to make sure we are comfortable with the next steps in our plan to get pregnant and makes sure to answer all our questions.

For my IUIs I was on injectable meds. I took 75IU of Gonal-F for about 12 days, with .25mg Cetrotide once my follicles were developing well. To trigger, I was on between 5000-10,000 units of Novarel. During the two week wait, I was on Endometrin vaginal progesterone suppositories. I am in my first cycle of IVF: I started at 300IU of Gonal-F for the first three days, then moved up to 450IU Gonal-F for the remainder leading to my trigger. I’ve been on 150IU Menopur, with .25mg Cetrotide beginning on day 7 of the cycle. I anticipate starting Lupron and hCG trigger in the next few days.

The nursing staff is very very supportive and caring. There’s only one nurse who I ever felt like was not as warm as the others. They all greet my husband and I by my first name and have been very pleasant to work with during this whole process.

This clinic is very clean, professional, inviting and state of the art. There is a strong staff working with Dr. Damien, including his partner doctors- Dr. Aimee and Dr. Holden. Dr. Holden performed one of my IUIs and did an excellent job comforting me during the procedure. I have only seen Dr. Damien for my IVF retrieval cycle which has been great so far. He makes me feel like he has everything under control, and he’s quickly able to recall details of my diagnosis and medical history, even with the hundreds of patients he sees regularly.

I have $25,000 lifetime infertility coverage at work, which I am now maxing out with the first round of IVF. I had to pay $4200 out of pocket this round for genetic screening and cryopreservation.

Dr. Damien did not suggest we transfer more than one embryo because of my age and our diagnosis. He said we are not at the point yet where we would need to consider a multiple embryo transfer.

I love Dr. Damien. I think he’s the best fertility doctor but because of that he’s very busy so he can seem rushed sometimes. He has been a fertility doctor for decades and nothing can replace experience which is another reason why I believe he is so good. He seems to really care about his patients and when he focuses on your case he really individualizes your care.

He can be off putting at times so be prepared for that.

When I lost my first baby, Dr. Damien hugged me and told me we’d get this to work. My care was individualized before I got pregnant with my daughter. This time I’m doing ivf and I feel kind of like a number only because it seems like he’s so busy. But I still think he’s the best fertility doctor.

The first time I saw Dr. Damien he gave me several options starting with iui to ivf. I was hesitant to do invasive procedures so I did several iui’s that failed, some were natural cycles and others were with clomid. I got pregnant on a natural iui cycle but lost that baby. Dr. Damien felt that injectables would produce a pregnancy but I was hesitant and he was fine with letting me decide on what to do. After that I did an iui with clomid which failed and then an iui with injectables. The iui with injectables resulted in my daughter. Trying to have baby #2 I had a laporascopy because during my c section with my daughter the dr. Noted issues with my right Fallopian tube. Dr. Damien suggested a laporscopy or start with iui & injectables. Since he had gained my trust with baby #1 I asked him what he suggested & he said laporascopy. I’m glad I got it because I found out that I didn’t have a right Fallopian tube, my right ovary was adhesed to the back of my uterus & my left Fallopian tube was completely blocked. Dr. Damien informed me that we could do 2 iui with injections but he wasn’t sure if my 1 tube was going to work probably. After surgery I started with an iui with injections which was unsuccessful. So I opted to go to ivf. My first cycle was not successful, we had no embryos. Dr Damien was very apologetic and is adjusting my next protocol.

Most are nice but 1 is a little less compassionate.

Strengths- dr Damien is the best fertility doctor in my opinion. He is straight forward with you which is off putting for some. Weaknesses - he’s so busy because he’s so good. There can be long wait times & he is rushed with you sometimes.

Dr. Damien is extremely knowledgeable and caring. He pays attention to detail, and helps the patient through one step at a time without overwhelming. I was in extremely good hands with Dr. Damien. His professional skill and knowledge make him one of the most trusted people in my life. Highly recommended.

Go in with an open mind and ask questions. He gives you options, but crafts a recommended personal care plan for you that is based on all the evidence of your situation even though he won't burden you with all the details unless you ask for them.

The team was very proactive and thorough. Every visit, I was met with caring and concern.

For each of my transfers, my hormone therapy was different and achieved the desired results to get me to transfer. I was in full-blown menopause when I visited him for the first time, yet I had not started my family. After a successful pregnancy under his care, I returned with the hopes for another child. I was aging and my system needed different tactics to be ready. His adjustments to my protocols in each subsequent try resulted in pregnancy twice. The cohort of donor eggs I was using for the two transfers after my successful pregnancy were not viable. He did everything right. The second miscarriage resulted in a fetal matter testing and it was found that the embryo would not survive. If I wasn't so strapped for funds from those two procedures and the failed donor eggs, I would have tried again. Just cannot afford it especially since I'm down $20,000 already from the two failed pregnancies. I aged out of insurance coverage for the IVF portion and now cannot afford to try for another child.

Caring and efficient.

The staff is kind and the waiting experience is comfortable. Every time I called with a question or concern, it was addressed with a return call the same or next day. The clinic is a well-oiled machine. However, the wait time for additional ultrasounds after complications can be a bit long due to the fact that the doctor also has surgery on certain days. When making such appointments the nature of the schedule is clearly communicated to the patient. It appears the clinic has a schedule for every anticipated appointment for a routine protocol and has just a little wiggle room for additional visits (like when an additional ultrasound is necessary or a miscarriage is imminent and extra examinations are needed). Overall, one needs to be understanding when complications arise. Not every case will need additional visits.

$2,700 transfer $1,800 ICSI and assisted hatching Co-pay for visits and Bloodwork From an outside clinic, I used frozen donor eggs at $11,000/6 eggs $200-400 embryo storage

My doctor recommends two embryos in transfer, whenever possible, but no more.

Dr. Damien is very thorough and explains everything. If you don't understand anything, ask questions right away and he will take the time to answer them. Despite trying to absorb a whirlwind of information at our first consultation, he was patient with me understanding his treatment plan for us. Even though we have only been in treatment with him since August 2016, we feel he is taking a more aggressive approach with our treatments, which is something we are very grateful for.

If you don't understand something, don't be afraid to ask questions. Be honest with your medical history.

When we went through our miscarriage, we never once felt like we were treated as though it was something "common". He has been caring and empathetic throughout our treatments.

1 round of Clomid 50mg CD 5-9 failed 1 round of Clomid 50mg CD 5-9 successful in conception but ended in incomplete miscarriage. Needed Methotrexate to complete miscarriage. Took 4 months off due to Methotrexate, further testing and surgery for Endometriosis. IUI-1 round of Clomid 50mg CD 5-9 with 250mcg Ovidrel injection failed 1 round of Clomid 50mg CD 5-9 failed IUI-1 round of Clomid 50mg CD 5-9 with 250mcg Ovidrel injection (pending)

The nursing staff has been helpful during our treatments but we had some instances of miscommunication when trying to get test results (blood work, genetic testing, semen analysis). Beta blood work results were always given within hours.

Staff is always friendly, great with ordering medications that have to be ordered from pharmacies specizing in fertility meds, and responsive to phone calls that I have made to them. The nurse's line always goes to voicemail but there's been times where I needed to speak to a nurse right away so I went through the operator and a nurse was put on the phone for me. We only had one instance of miscommunication amongst nursing staff, which was over a timespan of 2 months but it was resolved and we were able to move ahead. Definitely follow-up with tests results if you don't hear from them.

We are covered by my insurance. We just pay a copay.

We have not completed embryo transfers yet.

He’s very good about explaining everything involved and he doesn’t sugar coat expectations. However, he really pushes genetic testing, and we opted to do both a fresh embryo transfer and genetically test the rest and he’s trying to talk us out of that decision

Research on your own

He’s very personable and takes the time with you

For IUI we did 2 “supraovulation” cycles with injectables. I was seen every other day for bloodwork and ultrasound (which he did). This was because we have unexplained infertility, so clomid doesn’t really help. This cycle we’re doing IVF, and will be starting the stim day 1 on May 7th. Definitely prepare to spend money, all in all we’re spending 18k out if pocket. We had a 10,000 lifetime cap for insurance for fertility meds

They remember names and cycles you’re doing. They talk about non-fertility stuff (which I appreciate) when they’re in the room with you

It’s beautiful. I hate calling because you have to select numbers and leave messages and wait for them to call you back, which can be frustrating. The care coordinator Mikayla is fantastic and really tries to get you the best prices

First come first serve. I get there early so I can get out early

$15 copay. Approximately $1300 IUI. Meds are expensive at 2k/shot gonal F. $13175 IVF with 1 transfer and genetic testing. Lab cost of genetic testing embryos is $2k for 6-8 embryos

He does eSET because he says the multiple transfer disk of twins is 50% which can be dangerous on both embryos and the mother and result in miscarriage

Dr Damien is very good at his job and has amazing success rates. We were a little disappointed though that given that I didn’t have Diminished overran reserve we only got one embryo that didn’t make it to day 5. I was really expecting better results especially given his reputation. He is very fased paced and I would have liked the process to be explained more in the beginning since it’s a huge learning curve.

Bring your spouse to the consultation since it’s a lot of information to absorb.

The front office staff were very personable and remembered detail of my life. His main IVF nurse and I didn’t really click, but she was very nice. Dr.Damien seemed very busy.

One cycle of birth control. Then Gonal f 450x 3 days, then increased to 600 x 6days with Menopur 150 in PM. Then starting day 6, cetrotide in AM. Pregnyl 10,000 35.5 hours before retrieval.

I felt like a number with them. Not much emotional support or information from them.

They had everything in one place, I didn’t have to go to other locations for tests. When you call the office though, there is only ever an option to leave an message and it could be hours before They call you back.

It was very streamlined

My insurance paid for one cycle but I still had to pay co-pays even if it was just to have a nurse teach us how to do shots

If we had gotten any embryos, he only would have transferred one at a time

He was present at every visit & reviewed everything I needed to know very carefully.

Be honest with him...he's very receptive & eager to help. Don't be afraid to ask any questions, because it will only help him give you the best treatment. Follow all directions carefully...he's very structured & I think his methods helped me achieve great results.

He spends so much time with you throughout the process. He has the best bedside manner of any doctor I've been treated by. He's just an amazing person!

I'm unsure of medication names...I went through 2 cycles of injections for egg retrieval. The 1st retrieval didn't yield enough eggs...very surprisingly because I have PCOS. He increased dosages on certain meds for the 2nd round, which made it successful. My egg reserve is low, but the quality is good, so he expressed that he felt confident that even though the number was low, there was still lots of hope for a pregnancy.

I wasn't too happy with my care coordinator for most of the experience. I didn't want to say anything & cause trouble for her. I was finally upset enough one day & spoke with Dr. Damien. Things seemed to be much better with her for the most part after that. The coordinator calls with test results, medication info, follow up plans. She always followed protocol, but was a little difficult about doing more than expected/answering questions.

I was beyond happy with the clinic, so it's hard to say there were weaknesses.

Several thousand

Friendly, great bedside manners, extremely intelligent. He lets you know exactly what’s going on and what the best route is for your treatment. He shows compassion and talks to you like your a normal human being. Very straightforward and honest.

Trust him and his decisions.

With all the patients he sees throughout the day, he makes it a point to get to know you. He remembers small but important details. Takes the time to answer any questions and address and concerns

Compassionate, friendly, always makes you feel welcomed. Addresss any questions or concerns in a timely manner. The girls at shrewsbury are wonderful

Everyone takes their time, your not just a number to them. They actually get to know you. The clinic itself is very spa like. Clean, modern and comfortable. All the retrieval’s and transfers are done in the office

Medication, pgs testing & freezing embryos

It was a long time ago. He was pleasant enough. My mom was not crazy about him but I don't remember why. Maybe it was his bedside manner she didn't like but I thought it was fine. As a patient I was comfortable. He ordered a lot of tests and they made sense and I learned that I had to have a donor that did not carry the cystic fibrosis gene.

Take good notes

He talked about the most aggressive and the least aggressive ways to have a baby. He was pushing more aggressive ways before trying the least aggressive at first.

I had something that cleared my tubes by another doctor. Dr. Damien removed a fibroid. We did injections of something that other people weren't using but I forget what.

Dr. Damien is in a new space from the one that I went to so I can't comment. It was clean and comfortable.

I do not remember but the injections were more costly at first than I thought. When I called and cried to them, they arranged for another pharmacy at a much lower cost that I could afford to send me what I needed.

n/a

For all three times we did the iui treatments dr.damien was very gentle, and went at my pace. He is great I dont think they make many doctors like dr. Damien anymore.He was very Optimistic even when I wasn't is understanding and genuine Every step of the way

Please after you are done talking with dr. Damien dont be afraid to ask question after question. I know that might sound annoying and I have apologized to dr. Damien all the time(which he doesnt mind at all) but you know after I leave his office I feel like all my questions and concerns have been answered.

Dr. Damien is a great doctor, he is extremely helpful and patient when we needed anything explained to us

Before doctor Damian did anything me him and my husband discussed everything we went into full detail as to which game plan would work best for us starting with A and going all the way to Z on everything then we decided on a treatment strategy i.e. The IUI you then went into detail as far as what we would need to do for that. For the 1st IUI and we decided to do the IUI he told us exactly how it would work what we would have to do what he would be doing You told us that on the day of the my husband would have to ejaculate in a top and bring the cup to them so they could analyze his semen so we did that and we came back 2 hours later and then we went into the room and he put my husband's semen all the way up inside of me and then I laid there for a little while and then we just have Soo we for 2 weeks and he said to have sex the day of to double our chances and that was all 3 times of doing the iui.

Every staff member in doctor Damien's group has gone above and be on for me they have answered any and all of my questions as silly as some of them might have been they were very patient with me and always answered my questions with the utmost respect and professionalism

Their strengths are that they are very passionate sympathetic and professional individuals throughout the entire practus I would have to say one of their only weaknesses would be is that they get busy a lot and always have chairs

I believe the IU i's were 250 Plus a 100 change for the medication And $40 for every visit a doctor demons

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