How was your experience with Mitchell Rein at Massachusetts General Hospital?
Dr. Rein met with me after my husband and I decided to change to a new clinic. We talked about the history, concerns, and he answered any and all questions I had. My husband and I had a follow-up appointment with him after all of the preliminary testing; he gave us statistics, his professional opinion/recommendation, and then the decision was ours to make. We left knowing what to expect both in terms of the procedures and with the risks associated/potential outcomes. We didn't meet with him during the IVF cycle (another doctor did both my retrieval and transfer, which is common at our clinic); but they scheduled an appointment me with us just after the negative beta came in. There, he discussed with me what happened and the next plan to help us bring a baby into our family.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Mitchell Rein at Massachusetts General Hospital?
His personality can seem dry and stand-offish; he does not strike me as a 'hand-holder', so if that's what you need then he will not be a good fit. Personally, we really like him because he delivers information in a very straightforward manner, but it's not for everyone.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Mitchell Rein at Massachusetts General Hospital?
Dr. Rein took the time to answer all of my questions; when I'd meet with his nurse, he'd brief her on what was discussed as well, so we were all on the same page. He also didn't try to make light of our situation; infertility is frustrating, anger-inducing, emotional, and a number of other feelings; our first RE used try to make jokes, which always made me feel like my feelings weren't legitimate. Dr. Rein has always acknowledged the hardships of infertility. He has also provided me with statistics, examples, and conversation around anything that's come up. Additionally, after our failed IVF cycle, his nurse sent our information to his social worker, who called to check-in and check-up with us to see how we were handling things.
Describe the protocols Mitchell Rein used in your cycles at Massachusetts General Hospital and their degree of success.
I started with 3 weeks of birth control; then Lupron injections for 20 days/Gonal F & Menopur for 11. Then I had my trigger and retrieval. He told us originally that most embryos do not make it to day 5 and to expect a 3-day transfer, but ours did make it to day 5. He was clear that due to my age and the unexplianed infertility diagnosis, that he would not put more than one embryo back, so one was transfered. Beta testing was 13 days later. Everything mostly went as planned, except that they had to increase the dosage for the GonalF/Menopur (doubled both, we think) because I wasn't responding quickly.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. (Assigned nurse: Joanne & Anita)
My husband and I both liked the nurses with whom we worked. They were really great about delivering information to us each afternoon after bloodwork/US and were willing and able to answer all of our questions stemming from those calls and any others we placed. We never felt like we were inconveniencing them or that our questions were being brushed off. When our cycle failed, one of the nurses made sure the social worker reached out to check-in/up on us, which we thought showed a commitment to full-circle care. Both nurses aren't particularly chatty or 'warm' but they were honest and straightforward with answers. We like them a lot and trust them completely.
Describe your experience with Massachusetts General Hospital.
We go to MGH in the Danvers office after doing some initial testing at BostonIVF. One thing that we really like about MGH is that they convene a panel discussion before every protocol is released to the patient. I believe the panel has eight REs on it and we like that more eyes are able to offer opinions on what might be best for us. The downside of this is that the REs take weeks where they do retrievals/transfers, so I didn't have my RE do either of mine. The good thing with this is that the doctor who did my actual transfer is the same doctor who did my mock transfer; and the doctor who did my retrieval is the same one who did my last ultrasound beforehand, so I was already familiar with them before the procedures. MGH does all of their bloodwork and ultrasound monitoring in the early mornings before work, which was helpful; and they deliver the results via the portal once they've been released as well as through a phonecall by the nurse the same afternoon. Communication is a strength, as we never wondered what might/might not be happening that day. While we were able to do all of our monitoring at a satellite location, both the retrieval and transfer were done at the hospital in Boston. The staff there, as well, were pleasant.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Mitchell Rein at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The IVF fresh cycle (without meds) was about $10k; the frozen transfer was $3000+. Meds for my first cycle were $3600 (insurance covered about $1600); meds for the frozen transfer are TBD.