Russell Foulk

Dr. Foulk is an incredible doctor who used the very latest medicine to help us conceive our child. His plan of care was innovative. His manner is reassuring. And he always was willing to communicate with me about setbacks or about my concerns. The only drawback about such a great doctor is that he is super busy and I did not see him very often. I did feel that I could always communicate with him at any point, but, I do wish I had seen him at some other visits.

Be ready for aggressive treatment, he is willing to move at your pace, but, if you want a baby he will move heaven and earth to get one in your arms. He’s optimistic but also realistic. You won’t see him or speak to him often, but I do know that he oversaw all my details and was always ready to answer questions.

We used IVF with ICSI and PGS testing. Our protocol was rather long and also intense. I told him that I wanted everything that could increase my chances of conception. It included HGH, and an antagonist protocol. We knew my eggs were compromised with an endometrioma on my one ovary (the other had been removed many years prior) and tried to get as many eggs as possible. The PGS testing was my choice because my husband and I did not want multiple failed transfers. We had Dr. Foulk’s full support. He was a good balance of “here’s the facts here are my suggestions and you tell me what you want to do”. Prior to transfer we also did an endometrial scratch and embryo velcro.

I believe our costs were around $30,000 including PGS testing, ICSI, and a procedure for polyp removal I needed.

He encourages a single embryo transfer for us because we only had two normal embryos and I had a history of difficult pregnancy.

Dr. Foulk is honest, patient, and amazing. The only thing I would say that is negative is that he travels from the clinic in Las Vegas and Utah so it is hard to schedule an appointment. But when I do have the chance to sit with him, no matter the outcome he is always there with a smile on his face and his tone of voice always gives me so much hope. He really takes the time to go over everything with you and is very open on trying different approaches. I have yet to hear him decline or laugh at my crazy ideas. As one of his patients, I cannot express how much I am grateful to put this dream of mine in his hands.

Go into your first visit with an open mind. Don't expect everything to happen at once, but once the ball starts rolling Dr. Foulk & his staff will be by your side 1000%. Dr. Foulk is also a very patient & knowledgeable man. So if you have questions, I would ask away.

My body always seemed to fail me when it came down to my hormones. It was never where it needed to be. During my 2nd round of hormone treatments, Dr. Foulk was determined to make sure I make it to egg retrieval. He increased my doses slowly & we saw results.

I never had issues with any of my appointments. They were always set based as close to my availability as possible and I never had to wait too long to be taken to the back. There were a few times when they were running behind, but it was never bad to where I noticed anything.

I was a participant who won 50% off a frozen IVF cycle and I was also part of the CLARA clinical trial so my out of pocket expenses weren't too much. I had additional fees to consider such as using a donor sperm, but I think they weren't too bad. Total for my first round of Frozen IVF w/ the 50% discount came out to about $7000. Each egg retrieval was around $450 for the anesthesia which had to be paid separate and on the day of the retrieval and the monthly cost for storage is $60.

Due to the quality of my eggs always coming back as "abnormal" after PGS testing, Dr. Foulk was not against doing multiple embryo transfers. I also appreciated the fact that he understood my religious approach with going forward with a transfer that contained "abnormal" embryos.

Dr.Foulk is very open and understanding about how the process works and explains the possibilities of each procedure whether it be positive or negative but not in a bad way. He has a sweet demeanor when it comes to the delivery of bad news as if he can sympathize with your pain.

Listen closely and carefully because he does have a soft tone to his voice and above all ask any questions that come to heart or mind.

One of the main things my wife and I hold dear to heart is the protocol of using lower dose medicines but also using a new medicine to us which was considered to be called “Embryo Glue”. We have been in the infertility journey for 6 years at this point and hadn’t heard of this until him and he listened to us when we suggested a water ultrasound being my wife had gone through 2 polyp surgeries due to the amount of meds our prior Dr had us on and he was surprised we never had one before.

So welcoming and kind. Didn’t even treat us any different being a same sex relationship

We had our embryos and Soren transferred over so we just needed to do a water ultrasound, labs, ultrasound, and transfer. Which was around $3000. All out of pocket. Resulted in a chemical pregnancy so now we have to do another egg retrieval

Our prior clinic was being difficult getting our medical records, embryos and sperm transferred. Thankfully Monica, Dr. Foulk were very helpful with the process and just as determined and committed to get our embabies to their new family facility.

Dr. Foulk is great. He always gave me options and let me decide what was next. He shared his recommendations but ultimately left me in control. He was proactive in testing when I miscarried. He recently moved around his schedule so he could preform a few tests himself rather than having his NP complete them. I truly believe he’s on my side and wants what’s best for me. He answers questions, explains why he wants to do things and let’s me decide.

Schedule with them before you think it’s necessary so you don’t have to wait not see them.

IUI with clomid (150mg/day cycle days 3-7) and a trigger shot 24 hours prior to iui from the first one. Baseline ultrasound was cycle day 1-3, trigger shot around cycle day 13. I did 6 total, the 3rd and 6th successful but both ended in miscarriages. Progesterone suppositories following iui. I took cytotec to induce those miscarriages. He then did recurrent loss testing, all which came back normal and a hysteroscopy after a saline sonogram. At that point I moved to IVF. Egg retrieval ended with 4 healthy embryos after genetic testing. I did a mock cycle with ERA that showed I needed progesterone early (170 hours prior to transfer). Both transfers went well. I took Valium prior to transfer and was on strict bed rest for 4 days following my FET. They drew labs to check progesterone and estrogen 6 days post transfer. I did PIO and estrogen shots. Ny first transfer was successful but ended in a miscarriage at 7 weeks. My second transfer failed. He then did a saline sonogram and HSG and found a newly blocked Fallopian tube and new polyp in my uterus. Next up is surgery to address those findings and then another transfer.

IUI with medications we’re about $1,000 per attempt. Egg retieval/genetic testing $10,000. Each transfer is $3,000

I chose to transfer one. Given my miscarriage history I felt better having multiple attempts.

I'm 34 and no other doctor noticed my AMH levels or took concern until doctor Foulk. He understood the low AMH meant my egg reserve was as if I was in my late 30s. He acted with urgency and suggested 3 rounds of IUI before performing IVF. He remembers our life situation when he talks with us and asked how my husband's grad school was going. We feel very confident in him as our doctor.

Ask all your questions and trust his process.

Doctor Foulk recommended only 3 rounds of IUI because the statistics of getting pregnant after 3-4 rounds doesn't go up. He performed a hysteroscopy to remove 5-6 polyps. Two were on my cervix and he said they may have acted as sentinels preventing sperm from entering the uterus. We had our first egg retrieval today. I took Menopour and Gonal-F for 10 days and had 3 ultrasounds to monitor follicle growth. I took a ovulation preventing drug for two days before the trigger shot. I took Pregnyl as the trigger shot because during my first IUI the trigger shot made me itchy at the injection site. We are awaiting results from the lab for fertilization of eggs and survival of embryos. It was recommended I eat a low carb diet and drink lots of electrolytes to get the ovarys back to the normal size.

$1000 per IUI $11,000 for Egg Retrieval $5,000 Frozen Embryo Transfer

While we have only interacted with Dr. Foulk during our consult and any surgeries or retrievals, he has always been very kind, doesn't rush us during our appointments and is very thorough in explaining everything to us. He has great bedside manner and is consistently positive while being honest.

There are no dumb questions! Ask every single question you have - I had personal questions related to my husband and I, as well as questions from my own research via Google and Facebook Groups.

My husband has azoospermia, so he underwent surgery to extract sperm, then I went on 150IU Follistim and 75IU Menopur. Week of retrieval I also added in 250 MCG Ganirelix and 1500IU Pregnyl / 81IU Lupron a day or two before egg retrieval. In the midst of my FET, currently, and doing Estradial and Progesterone.

We were self-pay - $12,300 for Egg Retrieval Cycle, $3,300 for FET, $1100 for Sperm Extraction Surgery, $500 for each anesthesia treatment (2x for us), $4,000 in medication so far (and not done with my FET cycle).We will be close to $25,000.

Dr Foulk is very soft spoken and kind. We asked a lot of questions about our failed transfer and he took the time to address each question and make sure we knew our options. He listened to our concerns and gave us the best next steps to looking into additional testing.

He is very kind and will take the time to answer your questions. So make sure to ask any and all questions.

We switched to Dr Foulk after going through an egg retrieval, ERA and hysteroscopy/polyp removal with another clinic. Due to the ERA being done at the old clinic, we decided to keep the natural stimulated transfer cycle like the old clinic had me do. Unfortunately it resulted in a failed transfer

Dr Foulks prices were very fair. It was more affordable for us to have him do my hysteroscopy and polyp removal than to go through our insurance. His transfer prices are also fair and reasonable.

Dr. Foulk is quite confident from the start even though I was a bit skeptical. I was referred to him by my coworker and I am so glad I sought his care. Very nice and warm demeanor. I always felt at ease with him and just wish I can see him on every visit, although he is busy and not always available.

Don't expect to see Dr. Foulk too often. As mentioned before, he works between 2 clinics in 2 different states, so expect to see the nurses and/or nurse practitioner most of the time. He will be there to perform the critical procedures such as embryo transfer and if I specifically ask for a phone consult with him, the nurse can arrange for him to call.

Since I used donor eggs, it was relatively simple for me. I had a saline sonogram done since I had a history of 2 uterine polyps removed the year before. Results showed my lining was clear without polyps. Then a mock cycle (ERA) performed to determine best time to transfer based on hours on progesterone, and it showed I was receptive. My male partner got genetic screening. Once sperm was collected from my partner and fertilized with the eggs, we got 4 viable embryos which were sent for PGT testing. Then did an embryo transfer cycle consisting of estradiol IM, progesterone IM, Endometrin (progesterone vaginal), doxycyline for few days as an anti-bacterial, prednisone for few days as anti-inflammatory and baby aspirin to prevent any blood clotting.

Quite reasonable rates compared to the clinic I went to in California; cost less than half of what I paid in California for similar services. I used frozen donor eggs and went thru insemination with my male partner's sperm, along with PGT with the retrieved embryos. Then did an embryo transfer cycle which luckily was a success on 1st try.

Dr. Foulk is open to multiple embryo transfer but he advised me to do single transfer since i'ts less risky esp with my extensive medical history and advanced age. Having twins will carry more risks in pregnancy and it will complicate my history even more

After a failed IUI with another provider, he met with me on a Sunday and reassured me he had a plan and I would be pregnant in the coming few months. He knew exactly what protocol to use and didn’t send me for unnecessary testing. He considered our willingness to be aggressive. We didn’t want a conservative approach and he was willing to comply. I loved that the most. He didn’t want to waste time and he understood my impatience after years of TTC.

Don’t get discouraged if they don’t answer the phone. Just get up and go and make an appointment. You will get results and you will be treated like a princess.

Successful round of IUI Hsg precious cycle determined one side had thank adhesions so we were only going to move forward if we had a follicle on my good side (we did!). 5mg femara 3-7 75miu follistim day 9 & 11 2mg estrogen day 10 & 11 10,000miu pregnyl trigger day 11 Iui day 12 with 22mm follicle Partner SPerm was 192mil prewash 88mill 85% motility post wash

~$1k per IUI Cash patient Insurance covered meds Injections were separate

He is the most caring doctor. I have had some really hard times and he always delivered the hard news with so much empathy. I am proud to be one of his patients. He is very organized and made me feel like I was his only patient. I even remember one time he made sure he called me even though it was 8 pm. He wanted to make sure I was okay and that my questions were answered.

I would choose him over and over again. He is amazing and he will not give up on you. He is knowledgeable and he will take great care of you!!

I started off by doing shots and medicine for an egg retrieval. After a few weeks we realized that I was not producing follicles like I should so he cancelled my egg retrieval. The second time I did shots and I also did testosterone gel on my arm. I did produce follicles. We were hoping for 6-8 eggs and when I had my egg retrieval I had 3 eggs. 2 of them made it to day 4 and 1 made it. My embryo was tested and came back abnormal meaning it wouldn’t implant. I then decided to do some IUIs and I did 2 back to back with clomid and femara and a trigger shot and that has led me to right now. We are meeting with them tomorrow to figure out our next steps. To say this has been a long road would be an understatement but we will do anything to get our babies here safely.

IVF-$7500 in medicines and then paying for anesthesia for egg retrieval and money for testing of the embryos. IUI-we have had 2 of them and paid about 1,000 for each one. We have also paid for progesterone suppositories several times which cost a couple hundred each time.

Being a patient of Dr. Foulk I always knew what my treatment was going to entail, he explained everything in detail and to where we could understand. Dr. Foulk was there during the most difficult times of my life (my miscarriages), he would personally call to check up on me. Dr. Foulk is so caring and compassionate and I knew that he wasn't ready to give up on making my dream of becoming a mom true. He donated quite a bit of his time as I couldn't always afford the treatments. I lost my last embryo after a negative pregnancy test so we're still trying to figure out how to move forward but I truly know that Dr. Foulk is not ready to give up.

Meet with him, ask him all the questions you have and believe that he is on your side and won't give up on you or your dream.

Oh geez! I have had many different strategies from water ultrasounds, hysteroscopies, D&C, he put me on Depot Lupron for 3 months to get my uterus from being really vascular.

In the beginning I had insurance that helped pay for my treatments so I'm unsure of the actual cost. After my husband switched companies we lost this benefits but after my first miscarriage Dr. Foulk and the UFC staff helped with the costs of my second egg retrieval and transfers.

My first transfer we transferred 2 embryos which ended up in a miscarriage after that Dr. Foulk strongly suggested only 1 embryo transfer in the following transfers.

I met with Dr Foulk once at the beginning for a consult. I found his explanations and answers to be straightforward and left feeling reassured and confident about the next steps to take. However, the following IUI cycles were lead by his PA and I didn’t hear or meet with him again until 3 rounds failed and they wanted to progress to IVF.

Do research and be prepared with questions/concerns you want answered by him.

I underwent three IUI cycles. I would call on the first day of my cycle and set up a baseline ultrasound. After the ultrasound I was on chlomid for 5 days. (1st round- 100mg; 2nd & 3rd round- 150 mg) I would have a monitoring ultrasound 7-8 days after the baseline. Depending upon the progress of the follicles I would either schedule a follow up monitoring ultrasound or be administered a trigger shot for an IUI 24 hours later. All three IUI cycles failed.

IUI was $875 a round not including medication costs. We have been told to estimate $20,000 for an IVF cycle. With the clinic costing $9-11k, meds costing $3-5k, and genetic testing costing $3-5k.

Dr. Foulk treats you like family. He is clear with his explanations, goals for your treatments, and diagnosis. He is always a call away and does whatever it takes to make sure that you're not another number. He is extremely personable and understands the struggles that we are going through.

Be honest and open with him so that you get the most out of your experience with him. He is honest and open with you.

My first cycle was cancelled with Dr. Foulk because my follicles weren't maturing. During that cycle I took two rounds of Clomid and Follistim injectibles. We started the cycle with planning to do timed intercourse, but ended up wanting to do IUI. Since my follicles werent maturing, we cancelled the cycle and I then took provera to start my period and try again a different treatment plan. The next month I started taking metformin to help with my insulin resistant PCOS. We did letrozole and injectibles. My follicles finally grew, but my IUI was unsuccessful. Due to the pandemic, we took a month off and will go back when my next period starts.

I spent more on medication than I did on the actual IUI. I spent $1,100 on my IUI. I spent almost $2,000 on the clomid, letrozole, and follistims.

N/A to my experience.

Dr. Foulk was kind and knowledgeable. He explains things clearly but doesn’t forget the huge emotional side of all these treatments and appointments. While he works at several offices, he was always able to fit me in or call me after my check up appointments to go over results or how I was. He was willing to listen to my suggestions and questions during the treatments and made adjustments based on what I wanted or needed. He is amazing.

Be actively involved in your process. Do the research and ask the questions you want. He is very open and understanding and you will feel better being a team as opposed to just a bystander.

Dr. Foulk's communication style & and the details and care given to us put us at ease even just over the phone before we met. In person he was just as caring and you didn't feel like he was rushing through his time with you. The only thing I didn't like is when we arrived for ERA biopsy it was with another doctor. But he did perform the egg retrieval and was great all along the way.oh also I ended up getting billed for extra charges outside cycle fee that we’re not previously discussed or disclosed to me. This didn’t happen with previous doctors at same clinic and was very frustrating. That still isn’t resolved.

Ask if he will be hands-on to do your procedures himself Ask about ALL charges as you go

Protocol would be same as I had previously (Lupron based IVF) but with ERA to adjust transfer window accordingly. For the transfer he suggested adding Neupogen to help the uterus be receptive to the embryo since we've had trouble with implantation in the past. I definitely felt he reviewed our specifics carefully and looked to see what he could do to make a difference this time

Approx $750 for ERA Transfer + $12000 for IVF cycle + $4000 for Transfer + 175 for fluid ultrasound + 100 for neupogen (before discounts he offered due to our situation)... plus medications of course

N/A - we only had 1 embryo to consider

I love Dr. Faulk and think he’s overall a good Dr. for me. He was always honest and friendly. My only issue is that he also works in UT, so I didn’t see him as often. But I never worried about the care I was getting.

When you have an appointment with him ask a lot of questions, because you may not see him as often as you think. He’s also honest, so don’t expect sugar coating.

The first 7 cycles I had were timed with clomid or Femera. I think I changed to Femara on the 4th month, it worked better with my body. After 7 cycles we moved to IUI, with femera. The 3rd cycle was cancelled due to having no follicles, or missing ovulation. I had 4 total. All my timed and IUI cycles failed, with no positive test. A few months later we started IVF, I don’t remember how much of each medication I took for any cycle. Our cycle only gave us one embryo. We did PGS testing, mostly because we decided to before the retrieval, thinking we’d have more than 1 day 6 embryo. It was normal. We did a mock cycle, to make sure we had the best chance of sticking. It did turn out I needed more progesterone prior to transfer. Eventually we had our FET, unfortunately it also failed. After my failed IVF we met with dr Faulk again, and he explained that we unfortunately just had back luck with the embryo not sticking. Which we understood. He also said I don’t have the best quality eggs, and the amount of medication we did was high for someone my age and size, should have had a better outcome. We did plan to do another round, with more medication and a different approach, but we have not yet done so.

IVF without meds and PGS was about $15k. Each timed cycle and IUI was partially covered with insurance, Total was about $200 timed cycle and IUI’s

We only had one embryo, so didn’t have a choice.

Dr. Foulk met with my husband and I on our initial visit. I had all my records ready for him. He was very candid about our need to do IVF. That was pretty much our only option. He explained why and in terms we could understand. He sensed I was feeling overwhelmed (I'm guessing the tears gave it away) and he addressed that in our meeting. Looking back, I am so grateful he was candid and direct. When I had a multitude of questions, the nurse asked if I wanted to speak to Dr. Foulk on the phone. Seriously? Absolutely. I asked him all of my questions and he answered each one of them professionally and with clarity. During the procedures (egg retrieval and frozen embryo transfer) he was efficient and clear in explaining what was to happen which put me at ease.

You will have to wait for him initially. He is very booked and very busy. I called in January and the earliest appointment I could get with him would be March. But it was worth the wait!!!!

I had to do baseline bloodwork and a water ultrasound. I found that my prolactin levels were high. The bromocriptine (parlodel) meds taken to lower that made me sick so the Dr. recommended I take them vaginally. I also needed a hysteroscopy to remove polyps on my uterus before I could start the IVF cycle. For the IVF cycle, after the baseline ultrasound, I took Gonal F and Menopur prior to the egg retrieval. Based on the growth of the leading follicle, my egg retrieval was two days later than what was on the initial calendar. I also took Cetrotide prior to the retrieval. For my partner, he took a z pack (as did I) a few weeks prior to the cycle and Cipro the day before egg retrieval. For the frozen embryo transfer, I took progesterone injection and suppositories daily and injections of estradiol twice a week until the 10 week mark when a graduated to a regular OB.

IVF $8,715.00 Genetic Testing $1,050.00 IVF Meds $3,719.40 FET - Frozen Embryo Transfer $2,175.00 Hysteroscopy $491.90 Anesthesia $400.00

I wanted to put two embryos in and Dr. Foulk had no reservations about letting me do so, though he always stated that it was a high risk pregnancy. I am tall, so he did say that I had "plenty of space between my rib cage and hip bone and should be able to carry twins just fine."

Dr Foulk listened to our history, let me know we'd start tests right away (and we did). We met again soon after tests and he told us exactly what was found and our course of action. Our first IUI turned into timed intercourse and he told us about that right away. Our first official IUI was a chemical pregnancy and he called to check in on me and schedule a follow up in a couple weeks. When we met he was genuinely concerned for my emotional state, gave me reassurance, changed our IUI plan slightly. We had 3 unsuccessful IUI's so he met with us again telling us medically where we stood and that IVF would be the next option. He was so great at explaining the entire retrieval and transfer process for both fresh and frozen. Our frozen cycle was successful and he genuinely celebrated with us. He always kept in contact, seemed to recognize us and enioy us as patients.

Ask questions, don't be afraid or embarrassed to admit you don't understand or are afraid. He knows what he's doing and genuinely cares that you get the results you want

I really don't remember but when our fresh cycle didn't work, for our frozen we moved onto progesterone in oil and advil

I think IUI was around $1,300. IVF fresh cycle including retrieval was around $13,000 (before meds from an outside pharmacy). Frozen cycle before meds was less than $4,000

After seeing another RE that didn’t listen or respect us, coming to Dr Foulk was a breath of fresh air. He immediately was able to diagnose me after 5 years of “unexplained infertility” and set a course of action to get us going in our treatments.

Ask as many questions as you’d like! Dr Foulk is so good to answer everything and work with you and your schedule.

We used birth control for 4 weeks and then started stims with Gonal F 300, adjusted up to 375 along with Menopur 75. Certotide for 4 days before retrieval and Prognyl hcg trigger shot. Resulted in 33 eggs at retrieval, 19 fertilized, ended with 7 5-day blasts. Endometrin 3x day and then 2 ml Progesterin in Oil once pregnancy was confirmed.

IUIs were $850ish (not including meds) IVF was $8300 (not including meds) and $750 for cryopreservation of our remaining embryos.

Because of my previous miscarriages, I wanted to transfer 2 hoping at least one would make it. My doctor was happy to let me transfer 2.

He is a great doctor but he has so many clinics to go to that we only saw him once when we first got our constellation. After that the nurses handled everything and we didn’t see or talk to him again.

Don’t expect him to do any of your procedures, or to see him again after your constellation.

He started me on progesterone to induce a period. And it went as planned. He then had me take clomid (100mg) for a few days, that produced zero results so they started me on injectables. I took 50 units of gonal-f a day for about 2 weeks. That produced very little change in my ovaries. And my lining started to thin out so they canceled that cycle. The second cycle we tried 2.5 mg of femara for 15 days that also produced nothing. So we started out at 75 units of gonad-f and it barely started to work so they upped my dosage to 150 units. That did start my ovaries producing follicles but very slowly so they again upped the dosage to 225 units. This produced 2 perfect follicles, and I was scheduled my iui. I took a trigger shot 36 hours before the iui, and they did 1 insemination. This resulted in a negative pregnancy test. During both of my cycles I was going into their office 1-2 times a week for vaginal ultrasounds to check my follicles progress up until my iui. The nurse did everything and I never saw or talked to dr. Foulk after the consultation.

iui: 875.00 That included, ultrasounds and physician monitoring 525.00, sperm preparation 165.00, And insemination 185.00 My injectable meds were between $405.00-$900.00 depending on the dosage. So all in all 1 cycle was around $2,000.00 with everything.

Since I've been there so long, there may be another doctor I would be interested in talking to (Dr. Gertcheff - she works at the same clinic) for a 2nd opinion. She seems to have just a bit more compassion (she had to be the doctor to tell me during an ultrasound that I lost my baby, and she rubbed my arm while I sobbed, very soothing and sympathetically). I still adore Foulk, but have been considering switching to Dr. Gertcheff. I may not though, because of my history with Dr. Foulk and because I think he is great at what he does too. He bounces back between clinics in northern and southern Utah so he isn't always the doctor on hand to help me when I am doing procedures, etc. When he has been there though, he always remembers my husband and me (which is important to me, to feel like a human and not a number). He has tried to help lighten the mood when we are stiff and anxious. He is very realistic about expectations (careful to not get my hopes high when I've had poor quality embryos). He takes time with me when I need it, which I very much appreciate. Infertility has turned me into a very type-A person, where I (likely, to a fault) micromanage my cycle. He doesn't scoff at me for it, but instead works with me to make sure mentally, I am taken care of (since IVF is such a huge undertaking anyway). When I start getting really nutso (because of all the stories online) he is careful to guide me back onto the course and explains that not everything I've read online is accurate. He has let me invite my acupuncturist to appointments and makes space for her when I do transfers. He has been very accommodating. Before I met Dr. Foulk, my husband and I had spent 6 years trying to get pregnant. We had seen several unqualified doctors who made grandiose promises to us, that were unsuccessful. Dr. Foulk was the first person who gave us hope. Not even necessarily hope for babies, but hope for answers. For 6 years I was told there was no reason for my infertility, but after seeing Dr. Foulk, we now have tons of answers as to why I haven't been able to get pregnant (endometriosis stage 4, and MTHFR). I still do not have children, but the answers have provided a massive relief, for which I am very grateful. One of my biggest let-down's with Dr. Foulk was simply that he didn't test me for endometriosis until after my 1st failed IVF with them. I wish that was something we would have done from the start, just because the 1st IVF felt like a bit of a waste. To be fair though, I didn't understand that the severity of my symptoms were abnormal so I didn't explain that well enough to urge for testing. I can't blame him for thinking I didn't need a laparoscopy. Other than that, I am very pleased.

I'd say to be patient because he has so many clients (all over the state of Utah) and he works in two different clinics so you may not see him often. I would also say that he is very by-the-book with western medicine, so if you're a little on the eastern medicine side of things, he won't discourage you, but he may not see the purpose. I'd also say that you're in great hands, and that all my friends who have seen him (seriously, everyone but me, haha) has ended up pregnant. I'd say, if you explain to him how infertility has impacted other aspects of your life (emotionally, financially, spiritually, etc) he will have a resource to help you. He really, really, knows his stuff.

This is long! Here we go. 2014 (6 years into my infertility at this point) = 29 years old I still have the paperwork. My daily meds are: Lupron, prenatal, baby aspirin, coq10 Stim meds (10 days): follistim 225, menopur 1 powder 5 days before transfer I start HGH 50 units Feel so bloated. 10 days of stims, then trigger shot. Egg retrieval 2 days later. 31 eggs retrieved. 26 are mature enough to inseminate with ICSI. 20 fertilized. 2 grade C (heavily fragmented) blastocysts by day 5 (the rest have arrested). We transfer both. Use progesterone suppositories after transfer. 10 day beta = 21 HCG ("your number is low but we will be cautiously optimistic!"). Spot and bleed the entire time. I'm instructed to switch to PIO (progesterone in oil) shots (because of the irritation the suppositories are causing to my cervix). It rises appropriately until 600 and then slowly peaks at 700. At my 6 week ultrasound, we see my uterus contracting, and the blood draw that day comes back at 90. I am told to stop all meds. We save for a year to do another IVF. Before the next IVF... Dr. Foulk readdresses the idea of me possibly having endometriosis (because of how many eggs arrested and I was still considered relatively young). I go in for a laparoscopy in 2015 and am told I have stage 4 endo. He removes as much as he can, then puts me on a 3 month treatment of depot lupron to shrink any left over endometriosis. 2016 - 2nd IVF (31 years old) Protocol: Estrace 2 mg vaginally daily, prenatal, coq10, baby aspirin. 10 days of stims: Follistim increased to 300, menopur 1 powder vial, begin HGH 5 days before egg retrieval 36 eggs retrieved. 23 are mature enough to inseminate with ICSI. 18 fertilize. 3 grade B embryos make it to blastocyst stage. We transfer 2, and freeze one. Go on the strongest dose of PIO to help prevent spotting/bleeding. Day 10 beta HCG comes in at 5.1. Am told to continue with meds. It climbs up to 114, and then drops to 19. Chemical pregnancy. I get tested for MTHFR - am tested positive for homozygous C667T. Could explain the recurrent miscarriage. November 2016 - Frozen Embryo (of 1 grade B blastocyst) transfer (am now 32 years old) Protocol: Prenatal with FOLATE (instead of folic acid), estradiol valerate twice a week, baby aspirin, progesterone in oil 1 ml, after transfer I begin heparin (blood thinner) twice a day. 10 Day beta/HCG blood draw: Negative No frozen embryos. Husband and I decide to give IVF one last shot. We want to give it everything we've got. We save for another year. We decide to PGS test the embryos this time. November 2017 egg retrieval Protocol: Prenatal with Folate (for MTHFR), coq10, baby aspirin, Follistim increased to twice a day (morning is 300 mg, night is 225), menopur 1 powder vial, HGH begins 5 days before retrieval, dexamethasone (steroid) starts about 9 days before retrieval. It takes a few extra days of stims this time to get my eggs to the right size. 26 eggs retrieved. 22 are at the right size to inseminate with ICSI. 13 Fertilize properly. All look bad by day 5. But one, shifts and suddenly starts doing better. They call it my FIGHTER baby. One more pulls through. They tell me this one looks pretty bad and give me the option of tossing it. No way. Keep it. Because both my little blastocysts are fragile, I opt out of PGS testing and don't want to damage them. We freeze them while we work on moving out of my in-laws. So in total, I have one grade B blastocyst, and one grade C blastocyst. April (sigh, one year ago) 2018 - 33 years old FROZEN TRANSFER FOR BOTH EMBRYOS They thaw very well. We transfer both. I begin dexamethasone again to suppress my immunity from possibly kicking the babies out. I also start an immuno-suppressant treatment (where I get hooked up to an IV every other week, to flush my body full of intralipids... another attempt to help me from kicking the babies out). I am on heparin (blood thinner (for MTHFR)), prenatal with folate, and the strongest dose of progesterone in oil that I can get. Day 10 beta HCG blood draw = 38 (highest I've ever had, but still considered low) It raises up to 3100 and when I go in for my 6 week ultrasound, I begin bleeding profusely on the table and am told that my baby had died. My 6 week ultrasound turned into an immediate D&C. I walked in pregnant and left empty. My pregnancy tissue is tested and the results come back that I was pregnant with one, chromosomally normal, boy. No frozen embryos. No closer to having a baby than where I was 10 years before. At this point, I've had 93 eggs retrieved from Utah Fertility Center, 7 embryos that made it to blastocyst stage (4 that were grade B, and 3 that were grade C). I've had 2 fresh transfers, and 2 frozen transfers that resulted in 2 miscarriages, and 1 chemical pregnancy. No babies yet. 2019 (currently 34 years old) Dr Foulk recommends I do a donor egg cycle. He says with my age, and how well I responded to meds that he thinks my endometriosis is inside my ovaries and has damaged all my eggs. This has been a LONG process of letting go of the babies we've lost, and trying to figure out what the right step going forward is for my husband and me. We're discussing embryo adoption, foster care, adoption, and yes, donor egg. We have been saving since our miscarriage last year for whatever we attempt. My husband will be going through a DNA sperm fragmentation test this summer to ensure his sperm is chromosomally normal (we have no reason to suspect it isn't, all his semenalysis's have been normal) but he doesn't want to proceed with donor egg until we get those results. Assuming the results come back good, then we will begin the process to use a donor for a donor egg IVF cycle and then will attempt to transfer the embryos back into me. Wish us luck!

One of the reasons I chose Utah Fertility Center over Reproductive Care Center in Utah was because RCC made you choose a package based on a gamble ("You can pay $20k up front for 3 egg retrievals and transfers and if it doesn't work we will refund 80%! But if you get pregnant on your first attempt, we won't refund any... and you'll have paid twice the amount that someone who just pays for one cycle gets..."). Utah Fertility Center didn't want to prey on my emotions and said that with each IVF attempt, they will discount the cycle more and more. By the end I was paying a very inexpensive price (well... for IVF anyway) which was very appreciated. They always gave us free ICSI too.

My doctor recommend a single embryo transfer if you are young and the embryo quality is strong. If you are a little older and/or the embryo quality was poor than he recommended transferring more than one (if that was an option). Because of my low embyo quality, we always transferred two.

Dr Foulk was a huge change from my two prior doctors just his positivity and his knowledge where so reassuring. I actually have 1/2 an ovary and he went over the options, the risks and he listened to me and my concerns. I couldn’t be happier with my choice to work with him and can’t wait to come back next year for more babies!

Ask questions. Just because they do this all day doesn’t mean you do so don’t be afraid or embarrassed they are there to help you and reassure you.

We decided to use an egg donor because I have half an ovary and where it could have worked it was a lot of risk emotionally and physically for potentially no result. We did use an in-house donor. We did the donors stimulation, transferred after genetic testing and it was a perfect cycle.

IVF is never cheap but I felt like the prices where more than reasonable and worth every penny.

He gave us the risks of both and we made our decision which he completely respected.

Fantastic doctor. Knowledgeable and kind. Dr. Foulk did 1 IUI, 2 IVF cycles, and surgery to remove a tube and endometriosis. He always tried to accommodate my schedule and his positive outlook on my situation was helpful. He always explained treatment options in terms I could easily understand. He loves his work, and was always willing to answer my questions even when I didn't have an appointment he would chat with me on the phone. He is hard to get into, but well worth the wait.

Ask all your questions, don't hold back. If you think of more questions, let the nurses know and they will answer them or set up a time to talk with Dr. Foulk again.

We got to choose exactly which embryo we transferred both times We froze all embryos, and the first batch were PGD tested. We knew the grades of each and all the genetic info of the ones tested. We told the clinic which one we wanted to use and they got it done.

He has a few different clinics so he is obviously not in the clinic I used all the time. Because of that his partners had to step in to help with some of my care. To me, this wasn’t an issue because I trusted everybody in his clinic to provide the same care that he did

Just be aware that you won’t see him for every appointment due to him not always being in the state

He started me on follostim, and Menopur for 10 days with ultrasounds to check progress starting on day 6. My follicles were looking really good so they had me start ganirellix each day. I was able to stop injections on day 9 because my follicles looked so good and each ultrasound (day 8 and 9 I had ultrasounds as well). I did my trigger the day before retrieval

The cost of IVF was $8,300. Medications cost me about $4000 and the cost for freezing embryos is $500 per year.

He was not willing to transfer more than 2 at a time. He helped us decide to transfer 1 because of the quality of the embryo and told us that if the first transfer did not work, my husband and I could choose to transfer 2 the next time

He is patient and understanding. He explains thing very clearly and doesn’t drone on. He is calm and doesn’t give false hope, but gave more like an action plan of “this is how we’re going to attack this problem.” He did each procedure for me, taking the time to do it right and was very skilled as well. He is an expert and quite knowledgeable without being condescending. I felt like I could ask alll of my questions and not be rushed or made to feel silly.

Endure and be patient with the process. . I have flown across states to see him and it is worth the time and effort !

We only did an FET with Dr. Foulk (x2) but he was the only doctor I had positive pregnancy tests with (he is the third doctor I saw).

I don’t remember exactly but an FET including medications was about $4000.