Richard Paulson

Dr. Paulson is fantastic. The only drawback is that the clinic gets very busy so sometimes a fellow will do your monitoring appointment. He also lectures at a lot of conferences so will occasionally be out of the office for travel. However, there is always another doctor on call, which is important for me because as someone with DOR being put on birth control can cause over suppression. I like that Dr. P is direct, but compassionate/truly sorry when results aren't as expected. I generally only have 3-4 follicles and one time I had eight and Dr. P was so excited for me-- it was great to feel like we are part of a team and in this together.

Don't feel that your questions are stupid. After four rounds, I've asked a LOT of questions based on information I read on the internet. Dr. P is great at explaining why something will or won't work and doesn't make you feel like an idiot for asking. I also recommend writing all of your questions down on your phone so that you don't forget them when you see him. He's always on the move and you don't want to forget your questions!

Dr. Paulson has wonderful bedside manner. He takes the time to explain things and has shown compassion each time I've expressed sadness over my follicle count and retrieval results. He listens to my crazy ideas/ things I've read on the internet and discusses with me why xyz protocol won't work. Aside from IVF, I enjoy talking to him and getting his insight on a variety of topics.

Cycle 1: Clomid, 2 vials of menopur; 300IU Gonal. Cetrotide added around day 7. Triggered with Novarel. Also had a Novarel boost added around day 7. Cycles 2-4: Clomid, 450 IU Gonal. Cetrotide added around day 7. Triggered with Novarel. Also had a Novarel boost added around day 7. Cycle 5: 225 IU Gonal (haven't started this cycle yet)

The nursing staff at USC is AMAZING. I love my nurse coordinator Leslie, and the other nurses are fantastic as well. We've had a lot of tears and frustration and Leslie is able to guide me through the sadness towards logic. For example, once when I wanted an extra day of stims in the hopes that my follicles would grow, Leslie showed me my chart and helped me to realize that the smaller follicles might not catch up and we don't want to lose the good sized ones. She also leaves me incredibly sweet notes and never forgets to email or call with updates. She's incredible. She really understands and has so much empathy. I also like the staff that draws my blood. Even after four rounds, I still have a phobia of needles and Andrea is a real pro. She generally gets it after one prick and has such an upbeat personality. Love her!

Pros: Truly open ever day, which is great because you can go in for monitoring appointments according to your natural cycle. They are also very efficient at getting you in and out. Cons: Parking is expensive ($12); I wish they took insurance.

The monitoring appointments are pretty efficient. I feel like USC has got it down to a science. They are pretty cognizant that people need to get to work so they are good at getting you in and out of there.

It's about $8,500 for an egg freezing package. Subsequent ones are at a discount (approx. $5,500). If they cancel your cycle then you pay a la cart.

I haven't reached the transfer stage yet. hopefully I will soon!

At other places there’s a million middle men between you and the doctor but Paulson always contacted us directly and while the embryos were cleaving he called us every day with updates and sent us the reports. He never gave up on us and knocked it out of the park with the first transfer.

Look no further this is the best in the world.

Had previously had a horrible experience at HRC with Dr. Wilcox and team and Paulson and his people especially Theresa immediately gave us hope, never made us feel rushed, always had compassion, and completely hit a home run with the IVF (after we were told by HRC we had to use donor eggs).

Previously HRC had used an extremely aggressive treatment and resulted in fewer eggs and fewer embryos. When we reached a similar stage he pulled back on the follistim and others and had significantly better results. I believe he gave careful consideration to a personalized course of treatment and didn’t apply a cookie cutter approach.

She was as amazing as Dr Paulson. At HRC the nursing staff didn’t seem to have a deep understanding of why each protocol was being applied but Theresa was as knowledgeable as the doctor and they felt like a great team.

Only complaint is that they don’t have set appointment times for regular checkups you just have to come early in the morning during their office hours but literally everything else about them is easy breezy. Office was never too crowded and their waiting area was comfortable.

Fair pricing and didn’t try to upsell us on everything. They also set us up with financial assistance for the drugs.

He did tell us that a single embryo transfer would be better if it can result in a pregnancy and lo and behold it did!

My experience as a patient has been wonderful. I came from another clinic that was just terrible. They focused on the money and you were just a number it was a once size fits all approach and there was no thought given to individual patients. Dr. Paulson tailored my treatment to ME. I wasn't even approached for payment until well after the cycle had ended and he was just a real human being. When my pregnancy wasn't looking good he told me he was concerned and why but also to remain hopeful because he also had patients that had similar markers make it out with a happy, healthy baby (didn't happen in my case but he was honest and kind). He is approachable and handled all of my 1,000,000 questions with ease. He is truly one of a kind and I have referred others to him. My only regret is that I ever went to the other clinic and wasted time, money and my emotions on it all. I wish I had found Dr. Paulson sooner. He is worth the commute up to LA from SD county. He is real, honest and approachable and truly cares for his patients.

Ask about natural cycle or mini stim! There is no reason to be pumped more full of drugs that your body may not need to do the job so to speak and he is an expert in that type of treatment!

Dr. Paulson - of three IVF doctors that I've seen - is the most real and candid. He's got a great bedside manner but also doesn't sugar coat things to make you feel better. I have his personal cell phone number and will text back and forth while we are doing treatment (and even when we aren't if we have a question). There is never a time I can't reach him and that's a good feeling. We did two natural cycle rounds (totally recommend this if you have time and money). It was a big area of research for him and it was no drugs in my body which was great. When that didn't work we said we wanted to go back to what did work - our very first round that yielded our son - and do mini stim. He basically let us guide treatment (which after 8 total IVF rounds I felt pretty good about doing). We ended up transferring two good quality embryos on day 4 and I got pregnant. I miscarried a baby girl at 10 weeks. We still have one more embryo in the freezer and will be returning to Dr. P for a frozen round.

Natural Cycle - didn't use any drugs just monitored my own body and ovulation! Actually created embryos like this!!! I had a negative pregnancy test but it could work! Mini stim - menopur (75 iu) and gonal-f (75 iu). Then triggered after 6 nights of stim (I tend to respond a little quickly). Got 4 eggs - 3 were mature and fertilized beautifully. Transferred two - got pregnant and miscarried at 10 weeks. One is still frozen.

The nurses were amazing and so compassionate. I can't say enough. They were just wonderful!!

Honestly it was a really good experience. I had a couple of appointments that they got me in sort of last minute (because things were looking a little off in my pregnancy) and the wait time to see a doctor was waaay too long but again, I was scheduled sort of last minute. The only other time I had a long wait time was for my initial consult.

Well run - basically had a very small wait time if any and was in and out pretty quickly.

I believe each round was 10k. Medications of course are extra.

So far, I am very pleased with Dr. Paulson. He made me feel confident and safe from the moment and I met him and I find him to be very knowledgeable and has a good personality. We are in the early stages of my fertility treatment and I am very hopeful that he is going to help me reach my goals. I have found myself getting very emotional while at the doctor's office and even feeling like a "failure" in that I cannot get pregnant naturally, however, he has helped me put my mind at ease and helped me explore my options and figure out a plan of attack. My biggest regret is that I did not start on this journey earlier. My husband has also been coming with me on appointments and it is great to have him there and see that he also has faith in the doctor and what they can do for us. I currently need to have a large fibroid removed, which my OB-GYN had identified but not made as big of a deal out of as Dr. Paulson has. I have had a much greater opportunity to discuss my treatment in detail with Dr. Paulson, where normally when you are at the doctor's office you feel as though the doctor's time is limited and you cannot have a thorough conversation. I sit with Dr. Paulson in his office and do not feel rushed in the least.

You are going to really enjoy working with him. Stay confident and patient and take things one step at a time.

Dr Paulsen is extremely thorough and caring.

So far, we are removing the Fibroid and I had a Hydrosonogram to identify it in addition to an HSG Xray. Once removed, I will be going through with IUI cycles.

They are super sweet and accommodating and put me at ease.

The clinic is very state of the art and updated. Parking can be difficult, but they do have a parking structure and I have been able to find street parking every time I have gone. So far, no complaints. I do also like that they have open office hours in the morning, although, I have found that it is best to get there 30 minutes early, because it is first come- first serve, so it gets you an earlier spot in the wait.

$350 initial consultation, $350 for Hydrosonogram $1500 for IUI

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He is really compassionate and has a great bedside manner. He reviews your chart thoroughly at each visit. The only problem is that you do not see him every visit. You often see a fellowship student.

Go there if you need basic iui or Ivf. Do not go there if you are interested in pgd/pgs or if you need surgery. The office does not do pgd/pgs routinely so there is some doubt regarding their skills doing the biopsy procedure.

The office is pretty good about knowing all patients' names.

I was put on high dose stims due to DOR. I am not sure if these doses were a little too high or not.

The nursing staff dropped the ball when calling to update on my embryos. No one called and I called on day 7 only to be told all embryos were dead.

They really try to make you feel better if something terrible like a miscarriage happens. They are very positive about trying again when you have a negative result. They are super optimistic. The wait times are often a little long during the morning monitoring hours. This is to be expected at any busy health care facility.

The costs are reasonable but the billing staff is horrific. If you ask for a receipt to submit to your insurance company, you may wait over a month to get it. The billing staff always answers calls when they are collecting your payments but send you to voicemail when you need copies of bills or receipts.

The doctor likes to transfer all available day 3 embryos on the over 40 crowd. It may be a good approach because it gets every embryo a chance at implantation. However, you need to be prepared for potential abnormalities that may cause miscarriage. Worse yet, you may have to make a heart wrenching termination decision.

Dr. Paulson is incredible. He is compassionate, knowledgeable and in many ways the doctor "That started it all". We hit a road-block in our care, and he adjusted accordingly, and with confidence. He speaks to you with concern and respect and answers phone calls and emails quickly.

He is a busy man, it seems as though he travels all of the world to present his research. You do need to be patient/flexible with that. That is the time you may see another doctor.

Dr. Paulson is very sweet and knowledgeable. He takes his time and makes you feel like a priority. He has a great bedside manner.

I don't know all the specifics. I know when one Lupron cycle didn't work he suggested a natural cycle.

Kind, responsive and considerate.

Strengths are the reputation, the facility and the doctors and nurses. The nurses that do the bloodwork are wonderful and the front desk is friendly. Weaknesses are the wait time and the parking. The wait time during "clinic" can be long, bring something to read.

7800- gestational carrier FET

We did a multiple embryo transfer since he did not recommend I test my embryos.

I did two rounds of IVF. Neither time did any embryos make it to freezing. The first time didn't work, but I felt Dr Paulson really looked at different options for me and the next time it was successful!

I got the feeling this isn't a clinic where they will hold your hand or be OK if you call twenty times a day.......I never really needed that so the experience was great for me, but just keep that in mind.

Dr Paulson is blunt, but very nice. He's also rated one of the top fertility docs in the nation, so I didn't mind that he was blunt.

The nurses here can draw blood so quick you don't even feel it! Which is huge when your getting a blood draw three times a week.

Monitoring hours are in the morning. Since I had to go to work they were great about letting me come in a little early.