Randall Craig

Dr. Craig is incredibly smart and kind. He explains everything clearly and to the point, even though he talks very fast. If I have questions or need him to slow down when we talk, he is happy to do so. Dr. Craig's communication style is not especially warm, but I think he knows this is an area where he is weak, so he staffs his clinic in a way to supplement. The IVF coordinators, PA, ultrasound techs, and nurses, are all wonderful and help make this difficult journey more enjoyable.

Do your research, bring a list of questions with you when you meet Dr. Craig, decide before moving to IVF if genetic testing is important to you if you do not have a genetic disease.

Antgonist protocol because I have PCOS. Injection gonadotropin, menopure, ganrelix, and triggered with Lupron. We retrieved 14 eggs, 12 were mature, 7 fertilized with ICSI, and five (four good one fair) made it to day four freeze. Dr. Craig's standard approach is to freeze the day before blast.

I don't really know, I had insurance so didn't pay everything out of pocket.

My opinion is that Dr. Craig is aggressive, but only to the extent that his patients are comfortable. I will be 33 at the time of our first transfer and Dr. Craig recommended we transfer two embryos.

Dr. Craig is probably genius level intelligent - he has been doing this for so long and is such an expert in this field. He is very much like an engineer in that he's very technical, direct, and can come off a bit dry. Someone told me that listening to him is like drinking from a firehouse, and that is the best description! He talks fast and shoots you with a ton of information, but he is so knowledgeable. He may not have a warm and fuzzy bedside manner, but he really does care about your success. And he has an incredible sarcastic sense of humor!

Make sure you bring a partner with you to help you absorb some of the info, because Dr. Craig is going to talk fast and give you tons of rapid-fire info. Ask him questions if you don't understand something, he's very good at breaking things down. And make sure you get all of your questions answered, because you probably won't see him between your consult and your first procedure.

We came to Dr. Craig for IVF after doing 2 unsuccessful IUI's at another clinic, and he agreed that IVF was the best course for us. We did an antagonist protocol, with Femara, Follistim, Menopur and HCG trigger. Due to my previous poor response in my IUI cycles, our expectations were pretty low. However, I surprised us all and had a great response and about 22 measurable follicles heading into retrieval. Unfortunately most of those follicles were empty, and I ended up with only 7 eggs. Of those, 5 were mature, 3 fertilized normally and were frozen on day 4; 2 were "good" quality and 1 was "fair/poor." We planned to transfer 2. On transfer day, the "fair/poor" embryo did not survive the thaw, and both "good" embryos were transferred but did not result in pregnancy.

Luckily my insurance covered IVF with Dr. Craig, so my expenses were limited to my deductible and out of pocket max.

Because of my age (39 at the time) and because my embryos were not PGS tested, Dr. Craig suggested we transfer 2 embryos at a time, but fully explained the risk of multiple births.

Dr. Craig goes VERY quickly through things. This can cause people to feel like a number, and not a patient, but he also clearly remembers what your situation is and what you've done before. His staff knows me by name and are great at communication. Dr. Craig is a mad scientist who, I think, want's to get me pregnant MORE than I do.

Write things down and ADVOCATE for what you want. He may be a doctor, but you are PAYING HIM. The office is being paid for by YOU which means you are in charge!

I don't remember the names of them. I've been on so much medication. Dr. Craig pre-emptively treats for slight possible issues. This means I was on lovenox even though I don't have a hemotological reason to be on it. He treats my thyroid function as though I have hashimotos even though I'm only barely testing into the range. He medicates for MTHFR even if you don't have it. He's cautious and thorough.

A full IVF cycle is $13k. It's $9k for a retrieval and $4k for a transfer. I think $60 a month for frozen embryo storage after the first year (which is included in the original $13k)

Dr. Craig has always allowed me to do 2 embryos or 1 - whichever I want. For me, it's about how many I am willing to lose at once, but he is on board with both options.

I have seen Dr Craig a handful of times and he is very blunt, speaks fast, and pulls no punches. He was very direct about a course and why we were doing this. I spoke with my IVF coordinator at least once a week if not every day when needed. They never forgot about me, always set expectations and let me know what was going on even if it was something I did not want to hear

Ask questions until you understand! Give Dr.Craig the benefit of the doubt. He is really caring and a great doctor if you can get past his fast speaking and direct attitude. For me him being direct was a selling point.

I had 3 failed cycles until we got to #4 and finally were able to retrieve eggs. We started with the basic gonal-f, menopur mix. Did not work. Moved on to Gonal-F, menopur higher does and Neupogen - failed again. Third time we tried lupron and my body revolted! Then we finally did a block cycle that was fantastic for my body with a femera boost in the beginning.

Monitoring for me was always done in the morning. Susan normally did my ultrasounds, she is super sweet and personable. She would cheer me on when things were good and hold my hand with bad news.

One full IVF cycle was $11,000 for me and my husband. We paid upfront to get that discount. No insurance

Dr. Craig is very knowledgeable and you can tell he knows everything about this process. We liked that quality as having someone with a lot of experience to get us the best possible chance to have a successful outcome is super important to us. He does talk fast and we have to slow him down sometimes so I can understand the process, but he definitely makes you feel like there are no dumb questions.

Come in with as much of your medical history as possible so he can tailor your treatment to have the highest success rate. Also, be very clear on what directions are you are open to so you dont waste your time and his time on options that arent for you.

Dr. Craig listed all possible options for us. We only have a male factor infertility currently so we were given the best options that tailor to low sperm count. He as ordered semen analysis, blood work and we have done one round of natural with med assistance only. We got pregnant four times with just clomid. The reason for male infertility is that we decided to have a vasectomy done after our third child. We got that reversed when our third child passed away at 3 months from SIDS. We just feel so incomplete. We explained we are only interested in treatments with meds, iui or ivf if we could afford it so he has been very attentive with just focusing us on those treatment options. He also is working with our reversal doctor and having both of them working together we believe will get us the best options. We are still in treatment so our next steps we have not tried yet, but we at least know our available paths are.

We have not had to spend much yet, just three consultations, one cycle of meds and testing, but the costs have been very well-defined and laid out for us. We have a direct contact to the billing department if we have any questions and are always told the price up front.

Dr. Craig was very kind and informative but he also felt slightly socially awkward. He seemed incredibly intelligent but the visits were very in depth going over all options on a detailed “map” and many were options I wasn’t aware of so could be confusing and overwhelming at times. It was important I speak up for yourself and ask questions when I didn’t understand otherwise it would all go very fast. He was more than happy to explain things to me in detail but I had to ask the deeper questions. He never pushed me to do anything more than I wanted to do or spend more money than what I had budgeted which I really appreciated. He very much supported what I felt was best for me and my circumstances.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you don’t understand what is going on or if it feels like it’s being explained too quickly.

My treatments started off with blood work and then prescribing Metformin to assist with my PCOS and Levothyroxine to get my thyroid to an ideal state. We then did the procedure where they insert dye through my tubes to make sure they are clear and extra “slippery”. I was then prescribed femara (I had tried clomid prior with my OB provider and my body didn’t respond to it) for cycles day 3-7 followed by 2-3 Ultrasounds to monitor my follicle growth and then an HG injection to trigger ovulation when the timing was correct followed by timed intercourse based on ovulation with progesterone cream to follow. I tried that for a few cycles and then tried a more intense injection in conjunction with above that I added into my cycle which also didn’t have great affects on my follicle growth. We then decided to take a break through the holidays and I continued with just femara to keep my cycles regular and switched to a pill form of progesterone. We were about to try IUI when I found out I was pregnant around March of 2019. Unfortunately that ended in a miscarriage and I got pregnant 2 cycles after the miscarriage in April 2019 which resulted in a healthy pregnancy. The only thing that was different was that with both pregnancies I did the Femara cycle days 4-8 rather than 3-7.

He talked very fast and is sometimes difficult to follow. It’s a bit like drinking from a fire house. However he does seem competent. I wish I could see him more frequently and I wish he would spend more time with his patients.

Come prepared with all of your questions. You won’t have much time with him so make good use of it. Take notes when he’s talking to you and ask him to clarify if you are confused.

He gave us multiple options for treatments from least aggressive/cheapest to most aggressive/expensive. He also provided probabilities of conceiving with each. The cheapest option was timed intercourse with Femara and progesterone. The most expensive was IVF. He recommended IUI for us because we have male infertility factor.

I pay a $40 copay for each visit. An IUI would cost around $550 with IVF costing $12-15,000 I believe.

NA

Dr. Craig talks very fast and doesn't explain things in great detail unless you stop him to ask. He is friendly, but doesn't have the warmest bedside manner with patients. He appears to be someone who enjoys analyzing data more than being face-to-face with a patient.

Stop him to ask questions when he is going over your plan.

Our first treatment cycle was with Femara and HCG trigger injection. I had 3 follicles and the cycle was unsuccessful. The next IUI we added Folistim (I think 200units every other day), which produced 5 or 6 follicles. This was unsuccessful. Our 2 egg retrievals we used Folistim, Femara, Menopur and antagonist Ganirelix. Oral meds included levothyroxine, metformin, CoQ10, DHEA, PNV+DHA. We got about 8 or 9 eggs retrieved from each harvest and ended up with a total of 10 day-5 embroys which were PGS biopsied and frozen. For transfer we used Lupron, estrogen pills, estrogel, Estrace, and added prednisone, progesterone vaginal cream and progesterone in oil prior to transfer, and added Lovenox and Aspirin after transfer. First transfer we were successful with a PGS normal single embryo but had a miscarriage at 8 weeks. Second transfer we transferred 2 PGS normal embryos but had negative pregnancy test.

We had some insurance coverage for fertility (up to a certain amount). There were some procedures and labs that were covered under our regular insurance. Cost of medication for each egg retrieval cycle (paid to an outside pharmacy) was about $4500 each time.

Dr. Craig is no longer recommending PGS biopsy for most patients for simply screening purposes. He feels the test "was released too early" and has done clinical trials at his own clinic that found transfer of PGS-biopsied embroys had worse outcomes with transfers and miscarriages. He continues to recommend transferring 2 based on his embryologist grading (Good, Fair, Poor, etc). He is promoting that we consider transferring our PGS normal embroys that are rated "good", despite the PGS result. That being said, we did eSET on our first transfer and he was okay with it; however I did sign a release acknowledging this was less embroys than he recommended.

I was apart of a clinical trial, so my experience is not the typical FTC patient experience. I never did a consult with the Dr, just met with the PA Kristina and once approved for the study was assigned 2 study coordinators and an IVF nurse that I primarily worked with along with Kristina. I saw Dr Craig once during my testing for the study, one time for stims he did my ultrasound and of course I saw him at retrival and transfer. He is very to the point and explains things clearly. You can tell he for sure knows his stuff and I felt very secure in his care. He always made sure I had all questions answered. I guess he does these clinical trials frequently, so he is always up to date with the latest science.

Make sure your partner is there with you because he talks fast and its good to have a 2nd set of ears. You can also ask if he doesn't mind being recorded on your phone so you have something to reference later.

My protocol was dictated by the study/pharmaceutical company testing out a new FSH injectable drug. I came in Day 3 for my baseline. Was started that night on the experimental drug at 12 mcg. Came back on Day 5 of stims, continued 12 mcg and started on ganerelix. Came back on Day 6 of stims and was increased to 15 mcg plus ganerelix. Came back Day 7 and continued 15 mcg plus ganerelix. Day 8 I triggered and Day 10 had retrival. It was a double blind placebo study, so I was not allowed to know how many follicles I had or what my labs were. I ended up with 8 eggs retrived, 7 mature, 6 fertilized with ICSI and 4 blasts.

My costs were much lower because it was a study.

Not sure of Dr Craig's thoughts on this. The study required us to do only single embryo transfers.

Dr. Craig is a man of numbers and statistics. He lays everything out for you and rushes through your treatment options. You feel overwhelmed at times but he is extremely patient and willing to answer any question you may have. He is brilliant and you can tell off the bat that he looks at each patient as a problem that needs fixing (in the best way possible). If you are looking for great bedside manner or warm and fuzzies, Dr. Craig might not be for you. As someone who gets all the support she needs from those around her, we wanted someone who was of the mindset that “A+B= pregnancy” and if not, we are going to try everything we can to make it happen. I never felt like just another patient, but definitely as a case that needed to be solved. I was/an okay with that.

Don’t feel overwhelmed when he talks a mile a minute and runs through your diagnostic faster than you can blink. Take time to process it and ask all the questions you need. He will answer them. Also, don’t expect to see him on time. He usually runs about 15 minutes or so behind!

With my first pregnancy we tried clomid and a trigger shot, clomid+trigger shot+follistem, then the same but added an IUI. I got pregnant. This second time around I have tried several different IUI/drug combinations that have included clomid/follistem/menupour/lupron. I had one miscarriage (pill D&C), several negative pregnancy tests and a chemical pregnancy (surgery D&C). We are now in the process of IVF that will include follistem/birth control/menupor as well as several other drugs I can’t think of right now. Throughout the process I have had my tubes cleared twice and had an outpatient surgery a heteroscopy where they “scarred” my uterus lining for better chances.

I was lucky because for the first baby my husband’s insurance had WIN Fertility coverage and helped keep our drug costs down. IUI’s however, cost us about $600 a pop. Ultrasounds and bloodwork were extra but in the $10’s-$50’s range. I received a lot of samples so I didn’t have to purchase one off drugs. Currently, our IVF drugs were $400 and the total cost of the actual IVF procedures will run us about $13,000.

We are new in the process but the visit we have had with them we had no issues. Questions were answerd and we both felt important. Did an ultrasound at the consultation to get a better idea of what issues could come up. We decided this is where we want to go

Bring old blood work and images of surgeries and such. The more you can bring the more he can give you an idea of what to expect

We had a face to face meeting with the doc and we went to a treatment room his nurse took some blood pressure and minimal tests. Then doc came in did a vag ultrasound. Got dressed and met him back in the office to discuss what he learned. Then we spoke to the finance people and had I not had coffee in the am I would have been able to get my blood work done. But he told me I can do that later. Gave us next step to see Dr. Daitch to see about getting my SO sperm. That is where we are today.

It wasn’t cheap but it was easy to understand. Outlines all steps and tests and procedures fairly clear

No it was explained very clearly

Dr. Craig is very knowledgeable and informative. He does talk fast and gives a lot of information at once but will stop and answer questions if you ask. He is very upfront about the risks and the chances and does not sugar coat things.

Go in with a list of questions you have and take something with you that you can jot down answers on. Take someone with you if possible such as your significant other. Having a second person will be helpful in remembering information when leaving.

I was put on femera cycle day 3-7. Did a trigger shot and then iui. I was put on progesterone cream starting the day after iui till the results of the pregnancy test. I was also on bromocriptine for high prolactin levels. This cycle resulted in a negative pregnancy test. I am not currently on cycle 2 for iui. The only difference is I am now also using follistim injections to increase my follicle numbers and to thicken my lining which was too thin the first cycle. The follistim increased my lining from 5 to 8 and increased my mature follicles from 2 to 5. I am still in the middle of this cycle and do not know the results they will produce.

The iui cycle I completed with the consultation, testing, medication, HSG test, and the iui was around $1,000.

Dr. Craig is very very smart. While you're talking to him it's like you can see the gears in his head turning to process everything and come up with the best possible plan. In our previous experience with doctors we have felt like we weren't welcome to ask questions or voice concerns, but with Dr. Craig we feel we can express our wishes, and he works with us to figure out a plan. The only thing I would say can be difficult is that he talks very fast. And during our first embryo transfer he mumbled too quietly for me to fully catch everything he was saying. However, the nurses are aware of this, and they fill you in and help you feel prepared and informed so that you aren't lost or worried.

Take notes. He talks quickly and gives a lot of information in your consultations. If you feel like he is talking to fast or like you don't understand, don't be afraid to ask him questions. He is very receptive and will explain again so you can understand. He's very smart, and is willing to change things up if you don't feel like things are working.

IVF prep protocol included 4 weeks of birth control pills (Norethindrone 5mg). after those 4 weeks, I started with Lupron injections (20 units) once daily. After 5 days, I stopped the birth control. On cycle day 4 I went in for a baseline ultrasound and labs. The next day I started my stimming protocol. Follistim (100 IU), Lupron (10 units), and Neupogen (10 units) once every 3 days. Two days later I started Menopur (37.5 IU). The next day Follistim went down to 50 IU, and the following day I had another ultrasound and labs to monitor. Doses of Follistim and Menopur were adjusted based on US and hormone levels, I continued for 2 more days on 50 IU Follistim, and 75 IU Menopur. The 10 unites of Lupron continued daily. I went in for daily ultrasounds after that, and then was given instructions to trigger (Ovidrel) for retrieval. Along with Foltanx, CoQ10, and pre-natal vitamins. For Transfer Prep: I have done one full transfer, which resulted in a negative pregnancy test. We transferred two embryos. 3 weeks of birth control pills. Prep Protocol included: Lupron (10units) until cycle day 10, Neupogen (10units every 3 days), Estradiol pills (1mg am/pm) then up to 2mg 3x daily on cycle day 10-14, then back to am/pm for remainder of cycle. Estrace cream (2gm bedtime), Progesterone injection (100mg am), Progesterone cream (1gm am/pm), Prednisone (10mg am/pm cycle days 18-23, then 5mg once daily until told to stop). Lovenox injection (40mg) and 81mg Aspirin begin day after FET and continue until told to stop. CoQ10, Foltanx, and prenatals continue. We are currently in the process of our second transfer prep, for transfer at the end of this month. After our first unsuccessful transfer, Dr. Craig modified my medication plan slightly. Birth Control for 3 weeks, and then prep protocol has included Estradiol tablets (2mg am/pm), Estrace cream (2gm pm), L-Argenine (500mg am/pm), Mouthwash 2x daily, Neupogen (10unites ever 3 days), progestrerone injection (100mg am), Progesterone cream (1gm am/pm), Prednisone (10mg am/pm, then down to 5mg once daily). Lovenox injection (40mg), and 81mg Aspirin beginning the day after FET and continuing on until told to stop. CoQ10, Foltanx, and prenatals continue.

Because of our situation with needing PGS testing, our total so far through working with Fertility Treatment Center has come out to just over $25,500. We were given an estimated $13-15,000 for our entire IVF cycle, and the PGS ended up costing around $10,000.

Dr. Craig was very helpful in guiding us through all of our options with embryo transfer. Because of our unique situation with a Balanced Translocation, we had a lot of big decisions to make regarding our embryo quality and PGS results. Dr. Craig has worked with us to explain possible outcomes, and has been very respectful of our wishes and understanding of our desire to have babies after years of trying. He has informed us of the possible outcomes regarding transferring higher quality embryos combined with lower quality embryos (for example, doing one of each), and the possibilities of multiples.

Doctor Craig and can talk really fast and he's such an expert in his field sometimes you have to really pay attention to what he's saying so you can understand what's going on however he gives you so much hope and when he talks you can tell that he absolutely cares about me as a person and my partner. His ultimate goal is to help me achieve my own dreams of being a mother one day. as a patient he's very thorough he covers everything and a Justice and makes decisions based on my own independent needs. at other centers at times I feel that I was just a number being pushed through with here I am a name I am myself and I feel that I get to have my journey as an independent Journey not as just a client number. Dr. Craig is caring and charismatic I know that deep down he cares about my well being and supports My Success Through this journey

bring a tape recorder so you can remember everything he covers he is an expert and so intelligent there's a lot of good information that you don't want to miss

For my first IUI I was on Metformin and then a trigger shot for my second IUI I was on fermera and the orvidel trigger. We took me off metformin because that didn't seem to be working. I had already had a failed IVF and it was found from dr. Craig I could have been over stimulated so we backed off at some of them. My partner on the second IUI was put on Clomid the first round he was natural. And every appointment dr. Craig has a plan written out ABCD. Unfortunately I can only go off what I can afford. But he has adjusted my protocol based on my financial needs

The billing center is fabulous they make things light and fun considering how much money you were going to pay. There has been no secret cost for me and everything has been very straightforward

At the other Fertility Center I did IVF transferring to Fresh 3 days. at this time with dr. Craig I have only been able to afford IUI even though I believe IVF would be my only success with DOR

I liked how much knowledge he has. He is upfront about your options. He walked you through all your choices and I have full confidence on what he tells me. During the procedure itself he talks you through what he is doing and answered questions. I could not have asked for better trearment.

He is very informative but fast paced.

I chose to use donor embryos. He offered me the chance to do other treatment but with my diagnosis I want the best chance at having a baby. They had a selection for me to choose the donor embryo. I was put on a regime of creams, pills and injections to prepare. I just had the transfer which was painless and am waiting for the results. They evens gave me the name of someone for acupuncture the day of the transfer who came to the office making it much less stressful.

It is a package for the donor embryo. It was $9500 and that included everything except meds. There were no surprise changes. If you need another round of donor embryo it is a lower cost.

He discussed the risks, gave me the chance of twins and triplets and it was my choice. I could choose right up to when the transfer happened.

Dr Craig is very kind but very direct. He talks fast, but will go over everything as many times as needed. He presents every single option and let’s you be in charge of your treatment while giving you sound advice. He is a no nonsense type of guy which I like about him. He is all about results!!

You’re going to feel relieved after your appointment because he will present many different treatment options to achieve pregnancy.

I had a positive experience on fermara prior to meeting him so we started with that combined with IUI. He started me on a cycle while doing extra tests like blood work and HSG so that i could continue to try while we were evaluating any further roadblocks. I appreciated that because i didn’t have to wait for treatment.

IUI was $575 and ultrasounds were about $200

He is quite literally a genius. Being that smart sometimes makes for a dull personality or hard to make emotional connections. However in his own way he was able to still connect with us. Show empathy when we were discouraged and also make us smile when we felt we were losing hope.

He wants to succeed. He will try everything to get you pregnant hopefully you can financially do it.

We had 2 ivf cycles both were cancelled since we couldn't get a follicle to develop to the right size. I did however create my own follicle in between cycles which we decided to do an egg retrieval but it resulted in no egg.

I have limited insurance coverage for the procedures we were doing. So in the ballpark of 10000 but our next procedure is not covered by ins so its 10000 on its own

He gives his medical opinion but does let you make the decision

Again he is big on numbers. Your specific experience may be different but it feels like he paints the same picture. He became very busy during my treatment period at the clinic and stopped doing any procedures such as endometrial biopsies or D & C’s. That was not my expectation given that the friend who referred me had a D&C with Dr Craig less than 6 months before I needed one. Unfortunately when my pregnancy resulted in a missed miscarriage and I needed a D&C I was referred out to another clinic and the entire experienc was horrible. I felt that I was abandoned in my time of greatest need.

If you like statistics and bedside manner doesn’t matter to you he could be your guy. I don’t have experience with the IVF side of things and it could be different there. I have a friend who did IVF with him and quickly moved to another clinic when protocols weren’t changed.

I was started on Metformin right away for my elevated insulin level. I had no other PCOS symptoms but it sounds like Metformin is part of his protocol. I was prescribed femara oral meds for my cycles. I produced 2 follicles each cycle. I wasn’t required to come in for a baseline ultrasound, only a day 10 ultrasound which saved a lot of time and travel. I was worried about missing my ovulation which happened at my previous clinic so they did labs and an extra ultrasound if needed. I became pregnant on my second IUI cycle with them.

The office worked with my insurance so ultrasounds, procedures, and labs were covered. The out of pocket for the IUI was around $700. I appreciated that they were able to get most things covered by insurance even though insurance didn’t cover infertility.

Dr. Craig is very knowledgeable and friendly, and right off the bat is welcoming and caring. His wife had to go through fertility treatments as well, so right off the bat you feel like he understands you and where you’re coming from. We learned a lot at the initial consultation, and were given a diagnosis of a hormonal imbalance issue causing an ovulatory disorder, and a not so great semen analysis (this was fixed immensely and MFI is not a diagnosis of ours anymore). We were given all our options and different courses of treatment and went with his recommendation of an HSG and a medicated IUI. At that point we didn’t even know what questions to ask, so we just clarified the plan for our first IUI and went from there. When I saw him for upcoming consultation appointments and procedures, he was again very welcoming and caring. You can just tell by how he provides you with the necessary information that he knows what he’s talking about and doing. I always trust what he tells me. My husband and I live 2.5 hours away (no RE by us), AND are completely out of pocket, and he was always very sensitive to those factors and always scheduled everything around what worked best for us, including offering phone consultations after failed cycles.

Don’t let the sometimes large amount of information you’re getting overwhelm you. It might seem like it is going by fast, but it’s just because you’re probably learning A LOT. Make sure you ask as many questions as you want throughout your whole consultation (and really anytime after too) - there are no stupid questions - because he and the nurses are happy to answer anything at all. You must advocate for yourself!

The first cycle we did 5mg letrozole on cycle days 3-7, did a hysterosalpingogram, or HSG, on cycle day 10 - all was cleared out - and an ultrasound on CD10 as well to check follicles. Trigger wound up being that night since I had 2 mature follicles, 10,000iu of Pregnyl, with IUI 36 hours later. Did progesterone cream vaginally starting 2 days after IUI, which I had a bad reaction to, so I took oral progesterone from there on out. IUIs 2-3 were the same medication and ultrasound protocol (without HSG of course), and the 4th IUI we did the same again but added in 75iu of Follistim on cycle days 4, 6, and 8. Medicated cycles were the letrozole and progesterone only, with timed intercourse throughout fertile week. His rationale for the protocol was just to get me to at least produce a mature egg for possible fertilization, since that was my issue, along with progesterone support since my previous labs showed low levels (probably because of my poor ovulation, but better safe than sorry).

They were very aware that we were not only out of pocket, but also paying for travel expenses. They fought tooth and nail to get our crappy insurance to cover some diagnostic things they should have, yet had refused (and won!). We had to pay for the HSG, had partial coverage on some ultrasounds and some medications, which may or may not have been covered by someone else’s insurance, so I don’t feel the need to include those totals. Each IUI was $575, but I recently found out that they will give you a credit for your (OOP) IVF with them for each failed IUI done in their office, up to 4 IUIs. Jaw dropping, in my opinion.

We have not done IVF with Dr. Craig yet, and I do not know his transfer protocol.

Dr. Craig can talk fast and sometimes be confusing. But whenever we have questions he would re explain. I never felt out of control with my treatments. I always felt that he made the best recommendations. He allowed for lower level treatment that was a fit for us. It wasn't an immediate push for IVF.

If you're not sure, ask. Don't be afraid to say you don't understand.

Our insurance doesn't cover treatments. He gave us our chances for success for various treatments We did IUI and timed intercourse, because it fit our budget after four failed rounds we took a year of and now are in the process of doing IVF.

Iui was 750 Ivf 13,500, but since we had done lower level treatment that didn't work we received a $500 credit per failed procedure towards IVF so ours was $12,500

I have a small uterus due to the left side never developing. I feel the Dr. Craig is very aware that the most we can carry is twins so he is suggesting only one embryo to keep everyone safe. Which I agree with.

I did most of my treatment with Dr. Craig over the phone because I lived across the country. I went to Dr. Craig because I was donated embryos from his clinic. Dr. Craig spent a great deal of time with me on the phone for my consultation and went over all options for me, including doing another IVF cycle. He started from the beginning even though I had plans of my own to ensure I knew everything I needed to know. He laid the plans out for me and he allowed me to do all prior testing at my clinic in Ohio. I flew to AZ for my embryo transfer and that was the only time I met him in person. He gave me my options for both a single and double embryo transfer. There was a high risk of getting pregnant with twins so he went over all the risks of that as well.

I think it was around $4000 for the meds, testing, and embryo transfer.

Dr Craig was very nice and maybe a little awkward. He is clearly a very smart man and so he maybe isn't the best at explaining everything. We did feel listened to and had plenty of opportunity to answer questions. He also answered a middle of the night call when we were concerned about a symptom.

Make sure you come prepared with questions and do your own research. Don't just go along with what Dr Craig says, but feel free to share your ideas and concerns.

We did all the tests and nothing came up, so we were told we had "unexplained infertility." This meant we could really get pregnant at any time, but since we had been trying for two years we moved forward. I was put on daily doses of Femara (a pill) since the side effects tend to be less than with Clomid. We then did two unsuccessful IUI cycles (which included an injection to make me ovulate at the right time). When my two cycles resulted in negative pregnancy tests, Dr Craig suggested we try follicle stimulation injections on the next cycle to get me to produce more eggs. I didn't fully understand this reasoning since the ultrasounds we did each cycle showed I was producing a normal number of mature follicles. I would have questioned dr Craig on this reasoning, but we decided to take a break from the stress and have not done another cycle at this point.

Everything was covered by insurance except some prescriptions

In my professional opinion (I am a doctor, but don't specialize in fertility treatments), Dr. Craig misdiagnosed me without a comprehensive work up. His treatment plan was cookie cutter and not at all based on my past medical history. He even recommended treatments that could exacerbate the bleeding/clotting disorder I have. When I asked him to talk to my hematologist he said it wasn't necessary. I was very uncomfortable and went home crying.

To get a second opinion.

Dr. Craig is one of those highly intelligent doctors and comes across that way. He isn't a fan of social interaction and likes to tell you up front his plan for you in a very structured way vs. having a 2-way conversation about your diagnosis, treatment and journey. He doesn't feel there is anything that can help infertility other than IUI, IVF, etc.. so he won't advocate for an organic, gluten free, etc... diet or doing acupunture- nothing about him is holistic. He doesn't have his stats on SART (as of 2015), but does have his pregnancy rates posted in a SART format in his office lobby - no live birth rates though. However, you can request these from his office manager. He also freezes on day 4. I did one IUI and one IVF with Dr. Craig. I have diminished ovarian reserve and only one egg was retrieved. The one egg fertilized, but rested on day 4 before we could freeze. While this was unfortunate and a bit unexpected, I wish Dr. Craig had suggested we do a day 3 fresh transfer if we thought the embryo wasn't progressing like it should. As they say, IVF is an expensive way of really diagnosing the issue.... The billing office is knowledgeable, but not super friendly. My IVF coordinator was responsive and knowledgeable (mostly repeated what Dr. Craig said), but seemed a bit annoyed with all my questions :) I would recommend Dr. Craig to someone local in Phoenix if they don't have any standout issues. If you need personalized treatment, then maybe go to someone better outside Arizona.

Ask lots of questions and don't feel afraid to recommend your own treatment ideas. If you feel like hes not thinking outside the box for you in particular, then find someone else. Don't settle!

I was really hopeful when I went to see him-he has twins and triplets himself. He seemed very encouraging, and said our case (one-sided age) but we've had a child naturally already, was pretty common. 3 failed IUIs and 1 IVF cycle w/ 2 failed transfers - One botched transfer and no apologies for it. I'm certain the horrible transfer experience and uterine trauma was the reason why our good embryos didn't attach. Passed the blame. After all that, he wanted to push his embryo purchase program. The Dr. told us we were first in line. Nope, the nurses informed us that wasn't correct, we were well behind in line for last pickings. We were finally done of spending tens of thousands of dollars here and we left. Unsuccessful and more defeated than when we initally came.

If you both are 25, and have a by-the-book reason for infertility, that's when you should go there.

Dr. Craig used some sort of injection for cancer patients in my IVF protocal that was supposed to thicken your uterine lining. He recommended baby asprin, folic acid and Q10, but none of the extra supplements (like bee pollen) I had read about online.

I think it was around $13,000 for IVF and $600 or so for IUI