When we did see Dr. Thomas, we felt like she cared and treated us well. However, this clinic deals with such a large volume of patients, it was just hard to feel like our treatment plan was customized and important...I rarely saw Dr. Thomas during cycle appointments and instead only saw sonogram technicians. There were miscommunications between Dr. Thomas and the IVF lab that caused added stress on the day of egg retrievals.
My nurse [at DFW Fertility Associates] at times was overly blunt or did not explain things well. When I started my first cycle and asked about how things looked over time, she hedged around the question and didn't say much. In reality, things were not going well at all and the retrieval produced very few mature eggs...The lab did not tell us that we needed to fill out a complete new set of paperwork on the day of our second egg retrieval and so my husband and I had to rush to fill out the paperwork at the last minute adding a lot of stress to the process.
How was your experience with Mika Thomas at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates?
Dr. Thomas is probably very good at easy and straightforward cases, but our case was a little more complicated. After our first cycle failed to produce multiple embryos, Dr. Thomas switched protocols thinking that would fix all of our issues. While the second cycle produced more eggs, the end result was the exact same as the first protocol. After the two cycles, our conversation with her was that we should consider donors. We felt that there was more testing to do before going down that path and were very disappointed she gave up so early.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mika Thomas at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates?
If you have a complicated case with multiple issues, I would consider going to a smaller clinic where you will get more personalized care and communication.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mika Thomas at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates?
I rarely saw Dr. Thomas during cycle appointments and instead only saw sonogram technicians. There were miscommunications between Dr. Thomas and the IVF lab that caused added stress on the day of egg retrievals. When we did see Dr. Thomas, we felt like she cared and treated us well. However, this clinic deals with such a large volume of patients, it was just hard to feel like our treatment plan was customized and important.
Describe the protocols Mika Thomas used in your cycles at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates and their degree of success.
I have diminished ovarian reserve and my husband has low sperm volume but the other characteristics are normal.
1st Cycle - BCP, Lupron Flare protocol - 10 eggs, 5 mature, 1 fertilized, 1 embryo (supposed to work well for DOR patients, but I developed a lead follicle which resulted in the others not catching up; also the BCP over-suppressed my system)
2nd Cycle - Estrogen Priming, Antagonist protocol - 20 eggs, 12 mature, 3 fertilized, 1 embryo (Estrogen priming helps prevent a lead follicle and helps to produce more eggs)
PGS testing on both embryos, and both genetically abnormal
Describe your experience with your nurse at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
My nurse at times was overly blunt or did not explain things well. When I started my first cycle and asked about how things looked over time, she hedged around the question and didn't say much. In reality, things were not going well at all and the retrieval produced very few mature eggs.
Describe your experience with Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
This clinic is very efficient and respects your time. I loved how quickly things moved and you could get in and out fast for tests. You definitely feel like a number though and things can get lost in communication between the nurses, doctor, and IVF lab.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mika Thomas at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
Approximately $15K per cycle, including ICSI, embryo freezing, and biopsy for PGS
Describe Mika Thomas's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
Dr. Thomas prefers eSET if there is a genetically normal embryo, which makes sense to me.
What specific things went wrong at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates?
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates.
The lab did not tell us that we needed to fill out a complete new set of paperwork on the day of our second egg retrieval and so my husband and I had to rush to fill out the paperwork at the last minute adding a lot of stress to the process.
5
Clinic
Dallas-Fort Worth Fertility Associates
Dallas