Dr Carpinello is knowledgeable about fertility treatments and understands that our family planning goals as well as finances and risk tolerance affect our desired course of treatment. She gave us a lot of support through 2 TI cycles, 1 egg retrieval and 2 frozen transfers. When explaining results, she is clear and uses a lot of visual aids, e.g., a hand-written chart of egg retrieval attrition rates. I felt completely at ease under her care...
CCRM has good doctors and an excellent lab. The nurses, embryologists, and surgery staff made me feel at ease and were thorough with their instructions. However, their finance team is incompetent and occasionally rude. I also had many issues getting hold of someone before I started treatment...When I called her [nurse] for various questions during ER and transfer, she replied my calls in a reasonable time frame. She was also prompt at relying Portal messages...
How was your experience with Olivia Carpinello at CCRM Northern Virginia?
Dr Carpinello is knowledgeable about fertility treatments and understands that our family planning goals as well as finances and risk tolerance affect our desired course of treatment. She gave us a lot of support through 2 TI cycles, 1 egg retrieval and 2 frozen transfers. When explaining results, she is clear and uses a lot of visual aids, e.g., a hand-written chart of egg retrieval attrition rates. I felt completely at ease under her care.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Olivia Carpinello at CCRM Northern Virginia?
Embrace her optimism but don't hold back any of your doubts or concerns.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Olivia Carpinello at CCRM Northern Virginia?
Dr Carpinello is highly compassionate and always takes the time to answer our questions. After my failed transfer, she was generous with her time and carefully explained the next steps while maintaining a healthy level of optimism. She never pushed us towards IVF, but instead respected our wishes to try Timed Intercourse first.
Describe the protocols Olivia Carpinello used in your cycles at CCRM Northern Virginia and their degree of success.
For timed intercourse, we started on a lower dose of letrozole for the first cycle and went to a higher dose when the first cycle failed.
For the egg retrieval: antagonist protocol with birth control priming. Started with Gonal-F 150 units and Menopur 75 units, added Ganirelix around day 6, triggered with 2 separate injections of Lupron (0.8ml).
For the frozen transfers: primed with BCP, took estradiol tablets, PIO shots starting from 6 days before transfer, Medrol for 4 days before transfer.
Describe your experience with your nurse at CCRM Northern Virginia. (Assigned nurse: Sally)
Nurse Sally was amazing. She communicated clearly, always kept tabs on my treatment plans, and dealt with emergency situations well. When I had issues with a medicine shipment for my egg retrieval, she proactively reached out to my specialty pharmacy and resolved the issue promptly. When I called her for various questions during ER and transfer, she replied my calls in a reasonable time frame. She was also prompt at relying Portal messages.
Describe your experience with CCRM Northern Virginia.
CCRM has good doctors and an excellent lab. The nurses, embryologists, and surgery staff made me feel at ease and were thorough with their instructions. However, their finance team is incompetent and occasionally rude. I also had many issues getting hold of someone before I started treatment.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Olivia Carpinello at CCRM Northern Virginia.
Around $5000 after insurance
Describe Olivia Carpinello's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at CCRM Northern Virginia.
She is a strong proponent for single embryo transfer when it comes to frozen transfers.
What specific things went wrong at CCRM Northern Virginia?
Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at CCRM Northern Virginia.
This is pretty minor, but when I was discharged after a positive test, I noticed their instructions on caffeine intake conflicted with what I heard from my dr/nurse. I had to follow up with them about it.