Dr. Corfman tells it like it is, which we appreciated.... I've come to realize that Dr. C is kind of "old school" and so is the way he does IVF. He has one cookie-cutter IVF protocol and I think it probably works for a lot of people, but it didn't feel right for us. We wanted to work with a doctor who would be more considerate of my low AMH, and would modify the protocol accordingly.... If you feel a "standard" IVF protocol is a good fit for you, Dr. C is your guy!
[Midwest Ctr for Repro Health is] a smaller clinic with a more homey feel. It was never busy in the waiting room, I rarely saw other patients. The clinic is easy to get a hold of and they return calls promptly. I always wished they used the portal/email more since sometimes that's easier than using the phone. One big weakness is that the eligibility criteria for their "VIP" program for IVF are tough. Basically, if they aren't confident you will have success after 1 or 3 cycles of IVF, you probably will not qualify.
How was your experience with Randle Corfman at Midwest Center for Reproductive Health?
We were referred to Dr. Corfman by a friend of ours (who had success doing IVF with him). My husband and I both felt that he was thorough and straightforward during our consultation. Despite my low AMH (1.1), he put us in the "unexplained infertility" category, though this diagnosis was not verbally mentioned to us, it was just written on our paperwork. He recommended we do anywhere from 0-6 medicated cycles (letrozole, trigger, progesterone) and made us feel confident we would not need IVF. We left the consultation feeling hopeful and decided we would do 2-3 of the medicated cycles.
Our first medicated cycle was canceled because they found a cyst on my ovaries during the baseline ultrasound. Dr. C recommended I do a month of birth control to get rid of the cyst and prevent others. The next month we were able to go ahead with the medicated cycle and everything went well. However, when the cycle resulted in a negative beta, my husband and I elected to pursue IVF. During IVF prep, Dr. C ordered day 3 blood tests (AMH, FSH, etc), a saline sonogram, and he put me on birth control pills for down-regulation, which I would be taking for 5 (!) weeks so that I fit into his schedule.
When I went in for the saline sono (which he performed and did a great job), he told me my AMH had dropped to 0.7. Then, during the procedure, he could see that my ovaries looked "small" (they counted 6 follicles). He then explained that having fewer eggs meant less chance of success with IVF. He said that we would go ahead with stims, but if I didn't have at least 4 eggs by retrieval, the cycle would be canceled at that point and we would be out $6k-$8k. Needless to say, that appointment did not make me feel good. My husband and I decided to press pause and seek a second opinion.
I've come to realize that Dr. C is kind of "old school" and so is the way he does IVF. He has one cookie-cutter IVF protocol and I think it probably works for a lot of people, but it didn't feel right for us. We wanted to work with a doctor who would be more considerate of my low AMH, and would modify the protocol accordingly.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Randle Corfman at Midwest Center for Reproductive Health?
Do your research. If you feel a "standard" IVF protocol is a good fit for you, Dr. C is your guy! If, like me, you have low AMH or need more specialized care for another reason, I would suggesting seeking treatment elsewhere.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Randle Corfman at Midwest Center for Reproductive Health?
Dr. Corfman tells it like it is, which we appreciated. The nurses, who you will work with the most if you choose to go to this clinic, are so kind and considerate. They wish you a genuine "good luck" with each treatment, and they express sincere condolences when things don't go as hoped. They're also easy to reach by phone.
Describe the protocols Randle Corfman used in your cycles at Midwest Center for Reproductive Health and their degree of success.
For my medicated cycle, I was on letrozole from day 3 to 12 of my cycle. I don't remember the dose. I responded well to letrozole and it looked like I might ovulate 2-3 eggs which is what we wanted. The letrozole did lower my estrogen enough that they started me on estrace (oral). On day 12 we were instructed to do a Ovidrel trigger, have sex that night, and have sex again on day 14. On day 15 I started crinone (vaginal progesterone). Beta was negative and they had me stop the estrogen and progesterone supplementation.
We started IVF prep with Dr C and he had me doing 5 weeks of birth control pills for down-regulation (we then sought a second opinion and stopped treatment with Dr C).
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Midwest Center for Reproductive Health.
All of the nurses were so kind. They were also easy to reach by phone. The nurses manage pretty much all of monitoring and appointments. They are good about telling you what they see during an ultrasound (lining measurement, number of follicles, follicle measurements, etc) which is so nice.
Describe your experience with Midwest Center for Reproductive Health.
It's a smaller clinic with a more homey feel. It was never busy in the waiting room, I rarely saw other patients. The clinic is easy to get a hold of and they return calls promptly. I always wished they used the portal/email more since sometimes that's easier than using the phone. One big weakness is that the eligibility criteria for their "VIP" program for IVF are tough. Basically, if they aren't confident you will have success after 1 or 3 cycles of IVF, you probably will not qualify. It became clear to us that the VIP program is more of a money making thing for them than it is a way to make IVF more accessible and successful for their patients.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Randle Corfman at Midwest Center for Reproductive Health.
The medicated cycle (no IUI) was about $1500 I believe, mostly because of monitoring. One round of IVF was going to be close to $20k.
Describe Randle Corfman's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Midwest Center for Reproductive Health.
Dr C seems to be more open to multiple embryo transfer than other clinics. He explained the success rates of transferring 1 vs 2 embryos - I think he said it was a 45% (or so) chance that a singleton would stick, and if we transferred 2 embryos, it was a 68% chance 1 would stick and 70% chance they both would. We didn't discuss the risks of carrying multiples in detail, and we never discussed transferring more than 2.
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Clinic
Midwest Center for Reproductive Health
Maple Grove