Dr Lu works between 2 clinics in the New Orleans area, so he is not always at the clinic at the time of my appointment. This was never a negative in my opinion! He is a very busy man, but if I ever felt the need to talk to him directly, his nurses would pass the message, and he would call me soon after. Dr Lu did perform all of my procedures, and was always available when needed.... He's very personable and realistic. He remains positive in outlook, which helped me to feel confident that things would work out for us, which they did. He is patient in his explanations, and setting expectations.
The nursing staff [at FINO] is very kind, compassionate and understanding. They are patient in explaining procedures and your plan of care. They are always available via phone as well. I always received follow up calls with in a few hours of my appointment to discuss my hormone levels, and the next steps/medication changes. To this day, I still keep in touch with some of the nurses!
How was your experience with Peter Lu at Fertility Institute of New Orleans?
Dr. Lu is highly qualified and experienced. He is very patient in explaining procedures and answering questions. He has a very understanding and warm bedside manner. We had 1 egg retrieval, 1 fresh embryo transfer, and 2 frozen embryo transfers. Currently, we have 1 more frozen embryo. Our fresh embryo transfer resulted in a negative pregnancy test. Our first frozen transfer resulted in a positive pregnancy but miscarried very early (chemical pregnancy), and our 2nd frozen embryo transfer has resulted in the birth of our son!
After our second transfer miscarried, we had a appointment with Dr Lu to discuss our plan moving forward. I went into the appointment very sad and frustrated. Since we are dealing with Male-Factor infertility, and I was under 30 years old at the time, we (meaning me, my husband, and Dr Lu) really thought that I would have gotten/stayed pregnant on the 1st or 2nd try. (side note- we did not do any PGD testing to know if our embryos were genetically normal/abnormal). Embryos were transferred in the order of highest rating to lowest rating. At our appointment, we discussed how he has had patients have perfect embryos that just don't work out, and then end up giving birth to their lowest rated embryo. His stories and examples helped me to feel more confident to move forward, thus resulting in our 3rd transfer and giving birth to our son.
Dr Lu works between 2 clinics in the New Orleans area, so he is not always at the clinic at the time of my appointment. This was never a negative in my opinion! He is a very busy man, but if I ever felt the need to talk to him directly, his nurses would pass the message, and he would call me soon after. Dr Lu did perform all of my procedures, and was always available when needed.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Peter Lu at Fertility Institute of New Orleans?
Don't hesitate to make your appointment! He's great, and I highly suggest anyone to work with him.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Peter Lu at Fertility Institute of New Orleans?
The nursing staff at FINO is amazing! They truly care how you are feeling and take time explaining everything and answering questions. I still keep in contact with some of my nurses! I am looking forward to working with them again for my next embryo transfer.
Dr Lu is also great! He's very personable and realistic. He remains positive in outlook, which helped me to feel confident that things would work out for us, which they did. He is patient in his explanations, and setting expectations.
Describe the protocols Peter Lu used in your cycles at Fertility Institute of New Orleans and their degree of success.
I was under 30 years old at the time we started to seek treatment, never had any sort of problems of my own in regards to my cycle or reproductive system. We had tried several years to conceive on our own before starting to investigate why we weren't getting pregnant on our own. Come to find out, we are dealing with male-factor infertility. My husband's sperm count and quality are extremely low, giving us less than a 1% chance of conceiving on our own. Given all this information, Dr Lu explained why we should move straight to IVF. Because of my husbands sperm quality/quantity, clomid or IUI wouldn't raise our chances much at all.
Shortly after our 1st consultation with Dr Lu, we decided to move forward. Once I started my next period, I called the office so we could start monitoring my uterus, ovaries, and blood levels. Once everything looked good, we order medications and started stimulation injections.
I don't remember dosages, as they all changed day to day depending on my hormone levels. I know I was on Folistim and Menopur at the beginning, and then started hCG injections a few days before the egg retrieval.
Once egg retrieval day arrived, we went in for the surgery. No complications. I started progesterone injections this same day, in anticipation that I would possibly do a fresh transfer. Retrieved 17 eggs, 12 of which were mature enough to fertilize.
Dr Lu suggested that we uses ICSI to fertilize to make sure that each egg received a healthy sperm. Of the 12 eggs that received a sperm, 9 actually fertilized. Of those 9, 4 were healthy enough to make it to day 5/6 embryos.
Because my hormone levels, uterus and ovaries were looking good, we decided that it was safe to do a fresh transfer 5 days after retrieval. This first transfer resulted in a negative pregnancy test.
On the very next cycle, we did a frozen embryo transfer. I know I had injections leading up to the transfer, but other than progesterone, I can't remember what it was. This cycle, we did get a positive pregnancy test, but miscarried a week later.
The following cycle, we went for another frozen transfer, which resulted in full term pregnancy and live birth of my son.
We currently have 1 frozen embryo left, and plan to transfer in the next year or so.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Fertility Institute of New Orleans. (Assigned nurse: I had 2: Mary and Ashley)
The nursing staff is very kind, compassionate and understanding. They are patient in explaining procedures and your plan of care. They are always available via phone as well. I always received follow up calls with in a few hours of my appointment to discuss my hormone levels, and the next steps/medication changes. To this day, I still keep in touch with some of the nurses!
Describe your experience with Fertility Institute of New Orleans.
The hours are great! I was always able to make appointments early in the morning so I wouldn't miss work for routine labs/blood work.
The reception staff is not always warm and welcoming, but hey... they just answer phones and sign people in. They aren't responsible for my care, so that didn't bother me. It may bother some people.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Peter Lu at Fertility Institute of New Orleans.
I was very lucky! My employer offered benefits that included fertility treatment up to $20,000, or 1 full round of IVF. Which, after my deductible, I only paid 10% of the overall charges. I would not be a good example of the associated costs, because I paid very little compared to the majority of patients.
Describe Peter Lu's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Fertility Institute of New Orleans.
Dr Lu suggested that we only transfer 1 embryo at a time. Since I have a healthy reproductive system, and was under the age of 30, it didn't make sense to try more than 1 at a time. He had actually mentioned that they were preforming multiple embryo transfers for women under the age of 35, as it only increased the risk of multiple miscarriages and pre-term birth/complications. The chances of getting pregnant were only 1% higher with multiple embryo transfers vs single transfers. Dr Lu went on to explain that if you transfer 2 embryos, and 1 is healthy and implants, and the other implants and isn't healthy or miscarries, it could cause the healthy one to miscarry too.
10
Clinic
Fertility Institute of New Orleans
Metairie
