She [Dr. Pittenger-Reid] didn't know her own stats in terms of success, couldn't point us to specific reasons for decisions beyond "usually" and "probably fine..." ... We found her indifference to doing a dna fragmentation test on my husband's sperm with a known varicocele ridiculous. ... it was this general indifference and lack of knowledge about the grading of my eggs pre-ICSI (she hadn't even checked before our wtf conversation, had no idea if I had an egg quality issue) that sent us right out the door.
Multiple locations and obviously very hardworking staff. I enjoyed the support staff, always. However, they're hard to get ahold of sometimes. ... Emails to billing can languish for weeks before they actually get you the thing they said they would. FYI I have heard there are other, more 'pushy' doctors at RSC that I would probably have enjoyed more. ... Marlen [nurse] is a lovely and kind person, but her emails often rambled and left me confused.
How was your experience with Sara Pittenger-Reid at Reproductive Science Center?
Dr. Reid is wonderful to talk to and I bet makes a great friend. However, as a doctor, we found her to be almost lazy in her approach. She didn't know her own stats in terms of success, couldn't point us to specific reasons for decisions beyond "usually" and "probably fine..." My partner is a scientist and Dr. Reid made us realize what we wanted was an active, curious doctor who revels in data and is up on the latest research. If that's you, steer clear of Dr. Reid. However, if you're the sort who doesn't want to know reasons for things or dive into information, she'd be great.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Sara Pittenger-Reid at Reproductive Science Center?
I'd say I'd only go to her for IUI, and not if you're curious about potential diagnostic issues that haven't been discovered yet.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Sara Pittenger-Reid at Reproductive Science Center?
Dr. Reid is extremely personable and kind.
Describe the protocols Sara Pittenger-Reid used in your cycles at Reproductive Science Center and their degree of success.
antagonist protocol with Gonal F and Menopur for stimming- and a fairly high does, I think Menopur was 450. Cetrotide for hanging onto eggs and a regular trigger.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Reproductive Science Center. (Assigned nurse: Marlen)
Marlen is a lovely and kind person, but her emails often rambled and left me confused. Again, we're a pretty Type A couple when in IVF, we've learned-- and her emails kind of wandered. Same with phone calls. At the end of them I was always like: wait, so what do you need again?
Really all I wanted was a bulleted list of things to do. Later, Marlen was out on vacation and a super baller detailed nurse (I think named Lauren) filled in and she was much more my speed. If you go here, ask for Lauren!
Describe your experience with Reproductive Science Center.
Multiple locations and obviously very hardworking staff. I enjoyed the support staff, always.
However, they're hard to get ahold of sometimes. Once, a nurse called me with instructions the day before my retrieval and when I called back with a follow-up question, no one returned my call. Emails to billing can languish for weeks before they actually get you the thing they said they would.
FYI I have heard there are other, more 'pushy' doctors at RSC that I would probably have enjoyed more.
One last thing: We found her indifference to doing a dna fragmentation test on my husband's sperm with a known varicocele ridiculous. Some other clinics say it's a freaking mandatory test, especially with a varicocele. An SA test only shows how the sperm *looks*, not how it is, and it was this general indifference and lack of knowledge about the grading of my eggs pre-ICSI (she hadn't even checked before our wtf conversation, had no idea if I had an egg quality issue) that sent us right out the door.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Sara Pittenger-Reid at Reproductive Science Center.
A cycle was $15,000 plus $4000 for meds. They've just raised their prices.
Describe Sara Pittenger-Reid's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Reproductive Science Center.
She preferred single transfer, but we never got that far as our cycle resulted in just one embryo.
What specific things went wrong at Reproductive Science Center?
- Failed to call with results
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Reproductive Science Center.
At retrieval, we were told someone would call us between 8-9 a.m. on day 3. When no one called, I was practically hyperventilating. Dr. Reid eventually called back to my message of "oh God is everything okay" and she was clearly annoyed with me, kept talking over me by saying they don't call on day 3 anymore. That's great for her, but since we were obviously told the wrong thing by someone at retrieval, you'd think she'd have been a little more understanding and less annoyed with the phone call. fwiw, I didn't need a phone call from her at that point, just a nurse calling saying "oh I'm so sorry, someone misspoke, we'll call you X day" would have been enough. Instead I was irritated by her irritation, and then the release of "oh good the eggs are okay so far" rush had me in tears at the end of the call. Way to make a mistake feel way worse.
3
Doctor
Sara Pittenger-Reid
3
Clinic
Reproductive Science Center
Foster City