Mindy Christianson

Mindy is a very knowledgeable and competent provider. She is responsive to emails and phone calls, however, she never felt like she took the time to explain to us the chance of success for each procedure leading to over utilization of our limited insurance funds for IUI before moving to IVF although our chance of success was very low. This led to some frustration. Once IVF was initiated she led us to believe that we had an excellent chance of success although other providers in the clinic questioned why we were still trying with our own eggs. After 12 retrievals, a miscarriage, and failed transfers, we have independently decided to pursue donor eggs for our next round and although we are confident Mindy will do right by us and our donor, we wish the communication had been clearer throughout the process so we could have come to this conclusion a large amount of time and finances and emotional distress ago. Over time we have had frank discussions about our concerns and Mindy does indeed step up to the plate and do right by her patients in the end, its just frustrating at times that we felt left in the dark about our chance of success and our need to pursue other options.

Ensure that you ask a lot of questions and that all of them are clearly answered to your satisfaction. Don't expect that you will be told important information, you must ask if you want to know!!!!

During direct consultations with Mindy my husband and I felt very confident and treated like a human, however, although we have done many procedures over several years I'm not sure she would be able to pick me out of a crowd. She is professional yet not very personable at times.

Initially the treatment approach was to use high dose injectables to maximize eggs retrieved, however, I was having eggs that looked great, fertilized well and progressed to day 3 with no difficulty at all then none would make it to day 5. Eventually after several retrievals with similar results we began to back day 3 embryos with back to back monthly retrievals for a year resulting in over 20 frozen embryos. Once we thawed them and allowed some to go to day 5 we continued to have the same issues so a day 3 transfer with four great quality embryos was decided upon but ended up in a negative. We then thawed the rest and did PGS on the ones that made it to day 5 but none were viable. Now we have chosen to pursue donor eggs.

Nursing staff are the primary communicators and teachers of the process and although they are very good at their job it seems they are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of patients in the clinic. For the most part they are very responsive to calls and will follow up if needed

The clinic has an excellent group of very skilled providers that are able to utilize the latest evidence based medicine and resources with an on site andrology lab and embryologists. Phlebotomy is also all done on site.

All sonographic monitoring was completed during early morning hours only and between the volume of patients waiting for labs and providers it ends up being lots of time waiting in a full waiting room with rushed providers by the time you finally get into the rooms. Most of the time this did not impact the care received, just made it feel less personal

Fortunately I have been covered by insurance for most of my expenses. However there was a lapse in coverage when I switched from my insurance to my husbands for which I found the communication and costs prohibitive

Mindy prefers single embryo transfer with a day 5 embryo in most cases but is open and agreeable to transfer more than one if the case has a specific reason to do so

Dr. Christianson is pleasant and is great at working with their online messaging portal to answer emails promptly. Again I feel like I needed to really push for more information as I am a medical professional and want actual explanations as to what we are doing and why. One of my major concerns that I was originally referred for was not really addressed in a timely manner. I also did not like that while she is my primary doctor in this practice that she did not perform my egg retrieval or my upcoming frozen embryo transfer. More consistency with seeing your actual doctor is preferred.

BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE. You will not get any hand holding and very little explanations unless you demand them. Most appointments are very short so have a list of your questions ready otherwise you'll be rushed out of the office very quickly and will forget to ask them. Don't be afraid to do your own research. Utilize the patient portal to send emails and questions directly to the doctor. She is very good at responding to these in a timely manner.

This is my only point of reference as I have not been to any other clinics but it it quite impersonal. While you have a primary physician that oversees your care, you see many different doctors and even had a completely different doctor perform my egg retrieval. The morning ultrasound appointments, while efficient, make you feel like you are being herded like cattle and there is little to no bedside manner during those visits. I have found that you really need to do your own research and be your own advocate. There is no hand-holding so if you are looking for a doctor to really spend time with you and make you feel that they care about you as a person, this is certainly not the clinic to provide that.

We started the whole process with hormone testing, HSG, saline ultrasound and semen analysis. We attempted timed intercourse with Letrazole and a trigger injection but it was unsuccessful. We did one IUI using Clomid and a trigger injection which was also unsuccessful. Due to my age we then went on to IVF. Stimulated with Menopur, Gonal-F and cetrotide for the egg retrieval. Only ended up with 2 blast embryos which we did PGS screening on and are frozen awaiting frozen embryo transfer. Currently on Estrogen patches, Progestone in oil injections, antibiotics/steroids in prep for transfer.

The nursing staff is professional but they are right in line with the lack of bedside manner or support that I would expect from a specialty clinic. They obviously have a lot of patients and probably deal with the same protocols and questions from hormonal women every day but they are not super pleasant and only provide the bare minimum of information unless you press them. I also had an extremely unpleasant interaction with one of the nurses over the phone that I took it to the nurse manager of the office since she was completely unprofessional, rude and actually WRONG about the information she was giving me. The support staff (medical assistants) are probably the nicest of all of their employees.

Strengths: They usually run on time with appointments (not morning ultrasounds because these are first come first served). The patient portal email system is easy to navigate and read in a timely manner. The nursing support staff (medical assistants) are very pleasant and professional. Weaknesses: Feels extremely impersonal and you don't feel like you are treated like an individual but rather just another person to put on their protocols. Extreme variations in practice between all of the physicians. Lack of bedside manner and tend to give bare minimum information without prompting. Things to know: Be your own advocate and do your own research. Get a second opinion if you are able.

They do monitoring ultrasounds every day (7 days per week) from 7am-8:30am. They are done on a first come, first served basis. There is usually a line forming outside of the clinic before it even opens as early as 6:15am. You see a different doctor almost every time and there is no small talk. They just want your ultrasound done and to get you out of there.

IUI x1, IVF retrieval x1, FET x1 - approx. $25k

Dr. Christianson with a big proponent of eSET. Since our embryos were at blast stage as well as PGS screened as normal, she feels that only transferring one at a time is ideal. She did say that ultimately the decision is ours though.

Dr. Christianson is great. She is kind and genuine. We had her as our doctor for IUI two years ago (successful after 3attempts) and are going back to her now for RIVF. She understands our goals and gets us in for appointments on our time rather than forcing us on a certain schedule. She communicates very well through their online database as well.

I would say this for any doctor, but know your goals going in so the doctor is able to tailor their plans to your goals. For RIVF, be clear on which partner is doing what, we had a couple mixups, but Dr. Christianson's assigned nurse has been quick to check with Dr. Christianson and make the necessary changes.

Dr. Christianson is really nice and makes the process go by as easy as possible.

For IUI, my wife was young (25) and didn't have an fertility issues, so Dr. Christianson only had her do the trigger shots. After the 3rd IUI she was successful. For RIVF, after telling Dr. Christianson that our goal is to have one child from this process, she was quick to note the proper treatment strategies, minimizing medications, to ensure we don't have a bunch of leftover embryos. We plan to retrieve and transfer in the summer.

We are a same sex couple so there were a couple mixups between who was retrieving and who was transferring early on, but she was quick to make the changes when we called. She is a great nurse that has been very nice and accommodating.

Strengths would be the great doctors and nurses. I also really like that I can see all the visit notes online in my mychart. Weakness would be the cost associated with IVF is high. I had med students in a few of my appointments and you would think this should drive the cost of care down some since they’re using the clinic as a classroom.

Approximately per cycle OOP costs not including medicine: $11,000 for IVF $5400 for frozen embryo transfer $2400 for IUI

She recommended single embryo transfer because we are relatively young with no fertility issues. We would've went this route either way since we do not want to risk having multiples.

As a patient I feel like she is doing everything in her power to help us conceive. When my first ivf cycle failed we changed the protocol by adding an endometrial scratch. She also did further testing. The second cycle also failed and we are in the process of completing a more aggressive protocol and testing before moving forward. I do wish that all of the testing would have been completed at the beginning so that we could have known more of what to expect. I think that at this point it really is a puzzle because all of the tests show that it should have worked by now. I do feel that she is being diligent about trying to troubleshoot where we can.

Be your own advocate. She is definitely going to give you the best care but if you have a test or supplement that you would like to know about, she will take the time to tell you the pros and cons of it. She will also thoroughly explain every step so be ready to take notes. *smile* But seriously, if you want to know something, don't be afraid to ask. She is very open to the steps that you feel comfortable with taking. For instance because of my age they would only usually transfer one embryo but she let me decide how many I wanted to transfer. After my first failed cycle she asked if I would be comfortable with two being transferred and ultimately let me make the finally decision.

It is easy to feel like a number because it is a group practice and you may see a different doctor each time you go in for monitoring. However, Dr. Christianson is very responsive on the online portal and responds to all of my questions no matter how many I need to ask. She also makes it a point to call personally when trying to adjust a plan or testing etc.

Cycle 1: Stimulation- gonal f and menopur with cetrotide. I ended up being high risk for OHSS so she decided to do a freeze all cycle. I had about 30 follicles and retrieved 15 mature eggs. FET-after my period started I was able to do a frozen embryo transfer. We decided to do 1 embryo because of my age and the likelihood that it would be successful. I used estrogen patches for 14 day, crinone for 5 days (there was a progesterone in oil shortage at the time), medrol and doxycycline (those are standard at the practice before a transfer). That cycle resulted in a negative pregnancy test. FET2- When my period started from the last failed cycle, I took birth control because the clinic was closed for the holidays. When they reopened I went in for a saline ultrasound to check for polyps and an endometrial scratch. I stopped the birth control then started the estrogen 2 days after. I began the progesterone in oil on day 14 of my cycle and had a transfer of 2 embryos 5 days later. That cycle also resulted in a negative test. Now: We are in the process of developing the protocol for my next transfer. I will complete an ERA to make sure that we are transferring at the right time. Then I will wait for my period to come. Once that ends, I will have a hysteroscopy to ensure that nothing was overlooked in the saline ultrasound. I will also be completing an immune protocol for the next cycle which will include a higher steroid dose and lovenox.

As a new patient you should know that this is a group practice. This means that when you go for monitoring you may meet with whatever doctor is scheduled that morning. I liked that they did monitoring in the morning because I didn't need to miss time from work. Also the changing of doctors during clinics can be a good thing because you become comfortable with all of the doctors and they may be the one completing your transfer or retrieval so its good to at least be familiar with them. Sometimes I do feel that they may not remember me personally but I dont take it personal since they see so many people in the mornings for monitoring.

For monitoring the clinic opens at 630, the lab opens at 6 am. Usually your lab tests for the cycle are already in the online portal so I would arrive early, go get blood work done, then go upstairs and sign in to be seen. They would go in a first come first served fashion. If the list was already long when I arrived, I would sign in, then go for my blood work and come back.

the ivf cycle was about 10K and the FET cycles are about 5600. Freezing of embryos was $600 and thawing was $250 per cycle.

I was advised to transfer one embryo initially because of my age. The second cycle she suggested we do 2 and I agreed.

Dr Christianson was everything we needed in a doctor. So kind and compssionate, explained everything, answered all questions, joked when appropriate, listened to my cry, comforted me, checked up on me personally through phone call and email. She adjusted our course of treatment as necessary, explained risks, and gave me great medically sound advise. I have recommended her to every single person I know going through fertility treatments. We wouls not have out miracle baby without her help

Listen to her, trust her, you are in amazing hands

She is so incredibly compassionate. Dr Christianson also remembered personal conversations we had, made me feel my emotions and feeling were valid and listened to and answered every single question I had

We tried letrozole to help me ovulate until we learnwd we had male factor infertility as well. We then did 1 round of IUI with letrozole which did not result in pregnancy. Because I am annovatory and my husband had low count she agreed to move forward with IVF. We used follistim and menupur first round and got three eggs but non were mature enough due to a weird hormone dip I had. Second round we did follistim and ganarelix. We froze one embryo. Last roubd we dis the same protocol and got 14 eggs, 9 of which fertilized. We transferred 2 frozen embryos while I used progesterone and estrogen and both emplanted. I miscarried 1 baby at 9 weeks and now have a healthy baby boy

The nurses are AMAZING. So kind, so gentle so fun. They celebrated my pregnancy

This clinic is so well run. Nurses, receptionists, doctors all very welcoming. They have a variety of hours and open clinic for ultrasounds in the AM. They make themselves very available. Scheduling is easy and they also use an oneline portal which is awesome

You sign in in the morning. They fall your name and bring uou bwck. Waiting area is nice and coffee is downstairs whixh is awesome for early morning appointments. Everyone is so friendly and the wait isnt long if you get there early. The lab is downstairs too which is so easy

She made sure we knew the risks of transferring two embryos but allowed us to make the choice of imppanting two

Dr. Christianson was very caring and compassionate. She was very responsive to any questions I had either through the electronic portal or by telephone. She seemed dedicated in helping me achieve my pregnancy goal.

If you have had a negative experience with another fertility doctor, I encourage you to put that aside and come with an open mind as she was very different from other fertility doctors I've encountered in that she takes time to listen.

Dr. Christianson took time to carefully review my case and individualize my care. She listened to me and was compassionate in her care.

I had a history of poor blastocyst development and she recommended a protocol that included human growth hormone that made a huge difference in the number of embryos that progressed to blastocyst stage.

The staff was friendly and helpful.

Johns Hopkins Fertility Center is an academic fertility center used to taking care of more complicated patients. The center is located in Lutherville, about 8 miles from the main Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The clinic recently switched to an appointment system which was very organized.

It was covered under insurance

She counseled me on the chances of pregnancy and multiples with both eSET and double embryo transfer. She encourage eSET since I did PGT.

She was easy to reach, especially by email. She responded promptly, and took a direct interest in my care. Of everyone I met at JH fertility I would go to her again and again. Without her I would have transferred my care.

If you don't want to play doctor roulette, let her know.

I have PTSD and had issues with the male doctors in the practice (not fully their fault, mostly my PTSD) and Dr Christianson worked her schedule so I saw her, not other doctors.

I used a low dose injection and Clomid, as well as a trigger shot each cycle. She adjusted dose each cycle depending on egg numbers, I used injectibles and clomid with my toddler, so she used a similar protocol as I was used to with the other practice.

They play a lot of doctor roulette, if youblike consistent care with one doctor, they may not be the right fit.