Paula Amato

More clinical than personable, which was OK with me. Follow up was my biggest frustration-- She and the rest of the OHSU team never finalized protocols until I was mid cycle (i.e. had been on BC for a week or two) which meant I was in the dark and I was always scrambling to get medication in time. Conversations after failed pregnancies weren't very sympathetic, after the third chemical pregnancy she suggested I go to another doctor.

If you're fine with "going with the flow" than Dr. Amato is good for you. If you like to be in control and plan a lot of ahead of time I would have reservations.

Always remembered my information but conversations felt rote, received a few "I don't know, that's a drag" in response to chemical pregnancies.

Long lupron protocol, 1 menopur & 150 gonal f, stimmed for 11 days.

Hannah was wonderful. She was compassionate and always willing to have a long explanatory conversation when she it was something she could explain. When it wasn't, she was great at finding the answer and getting back to me in a reasonable amount of time.

Overall I like the clinic. The biggest frustration is with the late setting of protocols and lack of communication that sometime comes with this. Some cycles were better than others, and others I was having to get medication last minute (and pay a premium to do so) because it took so long. Similarly, when someone was on vacation or the schedule is out of the norm the communication sometimes broke down (i.e., not getting my transfer instructions at all because they occurred after a holiday. I took the wrong medication as a result).

Dr. Amato is passionate about her work, as evidenced by the fact that she is/was on the ethics committee for SART. I get the impression she lives and breathes her work and is very invested in the success of her patients.

Pick her even if you have to wait longer for the appointment. Hard as it may be, try to keep your emotions in check and listen objectively to the facts, otherwise feelings cloud your judgment and you forget to ask the important questions.

Dr. Amato was candid but always present and ready to answer questions either online or while on call. I felt she was very interested in our success, not just for her numbers but because she believes in her work.

We did IUI twice, at our insistence, and both failed. We quickly moved to egg donor (fresh cycle). I used estradiol for a while (no memory of the dose or duration; tablets) followed by 12 long weeks of progesterone in oil shots (2 ml I think, but its a blur). I didn't really mind the estradiol like some people except it gave me headaches. The POI was awful for the first few weeks, but I got used to it.

God I wish I could recall her name. She was an absolute sweetheart. She endured the most trivial of questions and always got back to me quickly if she needed to consult the RE.

Very professional, private, elegant space in a new building. The egg donor pool was limited in number and limited to in-house only. I don't know if they allow outside donors but I don't think so.

I think the bottom line was about $25K. Nothing was covered by insurance

She was honest with us but a bit pessimistic about our chances. A bit more optimism would have been nice. She prescribed Menopur but cancelled egg retrieval during our first cycle of treatment. We spent a lot of money on the Menopur, so we were quite disappointed that this did not lead to any success.

Be aware that if you're not a very good candidate for using your own eggs in an in vitro fertilization attempt, she'll likely stop your cycle and try to push you towards donor egg IVT.

Dr. Amato was very honest with us but cancelled egg retrieval during our first cycle of treatment due to not enough eggs being produced

225 units of Menopur daily, starting on day 3 after start of period

We thought the nurses were very good, well trained, and professional

Strengths: pharmacy in same building, easy to get to, free parking, comfortable, new facilities. Weaknesses: did not strive to get insurance to cover some of treatment. Not everything needs to be specifically filed as infertility, forcing the patient to pay 100%.

Intrauterine insemination endocrine management $475 Follicular scans $1300 Blood draws $130 Intrauterine insemination $283 Sperm prep $180 Estradiol $320 Progesterone $85 HCG $60 Menopur $1226 Progesterone suppositories $136