Dr.Adams was consistently annoyed by my questions...When explaining her plan for our care she never gave us options, it was just dictated without explanation...I don't think she knows anything about me even though I've been working with her clinic for over 6 months. When talking to me she'd say we'd do one thing for my protocol, then a nurse would email me and tell me there was a mistake and make a change to the protocol...Everytime I had questions or concerns, I was just told by nursing, "this is your doctors recommendation"...
making appointments [at Kindbody] was often done by someone at corporate office and they wouldn't tell me an appointment had been scheduled, so I'd keep trying to reach someone to make an appointment that had already been made...reaching someone would often take multiple attempts...There are two NPs that work at the clinic who did a majority of the scans and gave to face time. They were both very compassionate and great at answering my questions. If I could've only dealt with them, my experience would've been better...
How was your experience with Shannel Adams at Kindbody - Portland?
Dr. Adams is clearly a very intelligent doc. She seems more focused on her new clinics numbers than patients concerns and values. When explaining her plan for our care she never gave us options, it was just dictated without explanation. This happened with ICSI vs conventional insemination and one vs two embryo transfer. It wouldn't be until I got the contract that I realized how many options there were. Everytime I had questions or concerns, I was just told by nursing, "this is your doctors recommendation". She wouldn't take the time to explain or consider my concerns. I'm a healthcare professional and read research to help me understand this process and what to expect. She was always very dismissive and gave anecdotal responses when her car plan differed from what I was reading. Dr.Adams was consistently annoyed by my questions. After 4 losses, you have a lot of anxiety, her refusing to answer my questions made the process so much more stressful and really eroded my trust in her. It felt like she was taking my questions personally, instead of seeing it as my way of managing my anxiety- which I tried to explain. With my second egg retrieval, even though we had 7 embryos, only one made it to PGT, the others arrested. I asked her about this and she very bluntly blamed this on our decision to opt for conventional insemination even though we were very successful with this method the first round. I avoid talking to her at this point because it's more stressful than helpful and I typically leave the conversation feeling worse than I did going into it.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Shannel Adams at Kindbody - Portland?
If you're at the start of your journey this is a good clinic to start at. She's direct and eager for you to get pregnant. Also, if you just want a competent doctor to make all of the decisions for you, this could be a good fit. If you've experienced a lot of trauma and have been at this awhile and need a doctor to be able to explain in detail all of the options, her style is anxiety provoking.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Shannel Adams at Kindbody - Portland?
On numerous occasions Dr. Adams didn't appear to know my medical history. I would have to repeat information multiple times. I don't think she knows anything about me even though I've been working with her clinic for over 6 months. When talking to me she'd say we'd do one thing for my protocol, then a nurse would email me and tell me there was a mistake and make a change to the protocol.
Describe the protocols Shannel Adams used in your cycles at Kindbody - Portland and their degree of success.
The first egg retrieval used an antagonist protocol, using Follistim and Menopur. We got 9 mature eggs, and after PGT ended up with 3 great embryos. Because of my age, and us hoping for 2 babies, we were recommended to do a second egg retrieval. I don't recall much rational behind changing up the protocol other than hoping for better results, I thought the first retrieval went great. The second round was an agonist protocol. Very similar but added lupron. We got 11 mature eggs, 6 fertilized but only one made it to PGT stage.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Kindbody - Portland.
There are two NPs that work at the clinic who did a majority of the scans and gave to face time. They were both very compassionate and great at answering my questions. If I could've only dealt with them, my experience would've been better. I think I had a couple of nurse coordinators but I never saw them, they may have even worked out of state for all I know. They couldn't answer any of my questions and instead would relay Dr.Adams answers which were typically along the lines of, these are your doctors orders, with no further explanation.
Describe your experience with Kindbody - Portland.
It's the only fertility clinic in SW Washington. So the location is very helpful in doing monitoring appointments as traffic to and from Portland, where all of the other fertility clinics are, can be horrendous. Because it's a new clinic, they offered a phenomenal introductory price for the first egg retrieval and embryo transfer. The second egg retrieval was also reasonably priced compared to other clinics in the area. These two factors are really the biggest reasons I would recommend them to someone starting to recieve fertility treatments. In the 9 months I have had contact with this clinic, they have had 3 different receptionists but a majority of the time they had none. This makes it hard to do simple things like pay bills and schedule appointments because you talk to their corporate office in Chicago.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Shannel Adams at Kindbody - Portland.
$3500 introductory pricing for the new clinic (I'm not sure if this is still offered) for 1 egg retrieval and one FET. Including monitoring but not drugs and genetic testing. $13000 for the second egg retrieval. They were also great at forwarding the prescriptions to another pharmacy for me to compare prices so I could get the best deal possible.
Describe Shannel Adams's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Kindbody - Portland.
We did a single embryo transfer. It was never discussed with us as to why this was chosen. In reading the explanations given by other doctors to other patients, I think it's because the embryos were high quality.
What specific things went wrong at Kindbody - Portland?
Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
Provided conflicting information
Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Kindbody - Portland.
For a clinic running without someone actually managing it, they're doing great. However they frequently needed prompting to follow up with things. For example, making appointments was often done by someone at corporate office and they wouldn't tell me an appointment had been scheduled, so I'd keep trying to reach someone to make an appointment that had already been made. Once you could reach someone, they were very helpful and could get things resolved quickly- but reaching someone would often take multiple attempts. For example, I wasn't getting the genetic results for my embryos in the timeline promised. I'd reach out to the clinic and they told me it was likely due to a holiday (that was after the date they gave for when to expect results). When I still hadn't recieved the results a week later, I messaged them pretty upset and frustrated. I'd called the genetic testing company they use multiple times but hadn't recieved a response. They finally helped me get it worked out- the testing company had somehow lost my consent paperwork. I just wish they'd followed up with the lab earlier, I don't think they ever would have if I hadn't pushed for it.
Dr Adams is a very effective communicator with an ability to speak to you about even the most complicated details in a teachable way so you understand and know all the facts you need to make an informed decision. In times of weakness when I’ve expressed mental difficulty in my TTC journey she has taken the extra time to sit and remind me that we are in it together...
Cleanest facility [ORM] I have ever seen without smelling like cleaner! At times the wait times can be long but I’ve certainly never waited longer than 10 mins past my appt time. They play current music instrumentals in waiting room and on hold when calling which is great! Everyone in the clinic is very personable. The parking lot situation at the Downtown clinic can be difficult at times.
How was your experience with Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon?
Dr Adams is a very effective communicator with an ability to speak to you about even the most complicated details in a teachable way so you understand and know all the facts you need to make an informed decision. In times of weakness when I’ve expressed mental difficulty in my TTC journey she has taken the extra time to sit and remind me that we are in it together, I’m not alone and build me back up. There is no doctor that I have trusted with my care 100% until I met Dr Adams. It is because of Dr Adams that I have been able to be as strong of a person as I have been during this journey. She is extremely efficient in her daily flow from my observation, continually looks for new and the best ways to help her patients and her ability to remember the intricate details of each of her patients allows her to be quick and proactive in all procedures. At this point I have had many ultrasounds and a few with other providers when mine was unavailable during my availability and she’s the only one that can perform mine with complete ease (and COMFORT!). My journey with Dr Adams isn’t over yet but I’m confident I’ll get a healthy baby soon because I trust my doctor and that means everything to me.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon?
Do not be afraid to ask even the smallest questions, she’s happy to answer them and will be the best explanation during the process
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon?
Dr Adams makes me feel like a human, like a woman that is strong and deserves the utmost respect. With thoughtful and thorough explanations to make an informed decisions and down to earth personality it makes me feel like I’m speaking on a more personal level.
Describe the protocols Shannel Adams used in your cycles at ORM Fertility Oregon and their degree of success.
I am TTC as a single woman so I absolutely need the help of a fertility doctor to have a baby. As it turns out, I also have a fertility issue. I underwent 2 IUIs on a Clomid protocol and became pregnant but unfortunately miscarried. I then had 4 more IUIs on a letrozole protocol resulting in 1 negative and 3 chemical pregnancies. At this point my Dr and I re-evaluated and decided to move onto IVF treatment. While undergoing pre-IVF tests I decided one more IUI with clomid protocol resulting in a chemical pregnancy. My IVF cycle resulted in 7 perfectly graded AA embryos. I have transferred 2 and both have failed. Next steps are a recurrent pregnancy loss work up, checking for a blood clotting disorder and a closer monitored FET cycle with added supplements.
Describe your experience with your nurse at ORM Fertility Oregon. (Assigned nurse: Taylor)
The entire team I have worked with is extremely considerate, compassionate and knowledgeable. They know me by name even over the phone and genuinely seem happy to see me. I am able to ask questions and find great answers even when you don’t think they will know the answer to it.
Describe your experience with ORM Fertility Oregon.
Cleanest facility I have ever seen without smelling like cleaner! At times the wait times can be long but I’ve certainly never waited longer than 10 mins past my appt time. They play current music instrumentals in waiting room and on hold when calling which is great! Everyone in the clinic is very personable. The parking lot situation at the Downtown clinic can be difficult at times.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon.
Costs were relatively lower in comparison to the surrounding clinics. ORM is moderately priced on the lower to middle end of the spectrum, and worth every penny. They have some of the best success rates and proven embryo care in the country and definitely in the Pacific Northwest. I went with them over a significantly cheaper clinic because 1. They worked really well with my insurance and 2. I was both impressed by their success rates and brought peace knowing that my embryos would be properly cared for. 3. Because certain procedures that usually cost extra everywhere else (ie: embryo glue, assisted hatching, etc) are standard practice at their clinic.
Describe Shannel Adams's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at ORM Fertility Oregon.
Dr Adams provides all the relevant good and bad information about transferring 1 vs 2 embryos and likes to err on the side of caution but I have discovered this is really standard practice of all REs to recommend transferring 1 over 2. However, Dr Adams makes a point to explain that it is absolutely your decision and she will respect that decision.
She explained things quickly which I liked, but also would explain something again if I didn't quite understand. She was patient with us and was positive and caring. ... When we met with Dr Adams after our failed IVF she went over why she chose the protocol she did and why she was surprised we didn't have a viable embryo due to my test results during the baseline testing. ... She explained if we are able to afford another round of IVF she would add a medication to our protocol to help all follicles mature at the same rate so we could have a better percentage of mature eggs retrieved.
We were mainly at the downtown ORM clinic for our treatment. The building decor is clean and stylish. They always had bottled water available. The parking lot was small & sometimes fitting our vehicle was tricky. The only thing I didn't like was at the beginning when everything was new and overwhelming it was confusing where to check in and it seemed like the front desk person on the main floor didn't know either.
How was your experience with Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon?
I appreciated being seen as a human and not rushed when I had questions. She explained things quickly which I liked, but also would explain something again if I didn't quite understand. She was patient with us and was positive and caring.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon?
I would say don't hesitate to say you don't understand something, because she is more than happy to explain something again.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon?
Dr Adams would ask us about our drive up and how we were doing before going into the clinical side of things which was much appreciated.
Describe the protocols Shannel Adams used in your cycles at ORM Fertility Oregon and their degree of success.
The infertility reason to use IVF is from male side, so going into IVF I assumed they're be no problem on my end. The test results showed things looked good. Dr Adams started me on birth control and then my estrogen was too high to start injections so we had to postpone it, which I'd rather do since medications are so expensive. The protocol she started me on is the one that majority of women respond to, but not me. This was our first time so not knowing what to expect, but then having set backs I learned that every step of IVF is unknown. When we tried again I did not take birth control & we did proceed with injections for egg retrieval. I had 11 follicles, 9 eggs retrieved, 4 fertilized, 3 embryos, 1 made it to blastocysts stage then we did genetic testing and results showed it was not viable for transfer. When we met with Dr Adams after our failed IVF she went over why she chose the protocol she did and why she was surprised we didn't have a viable embryo due to my test results during the baseline testing. This was helpful because it would be easy to blame the doctor for a failed IVF.
She explained if we are able to afford another round of IVF she would add a medication to our protocol to help all follicles mature at the same rate so we could have a better percentage of mature eggs retrieved.
Describe your experience with your nurse at ORM Fertility Oregon. (Assigned nurse: Josie Smith)
Our RN coordinator Josie Smith was amazing! The Nurse Manager Roxanne Buckmaster was very helpful as well. I couldn't be more thrilled to have them apart of the team that helped us through such a difficult journey.
Describe your experience with ORM Fertility Oregon.
We were mainly at the downtown ORM clinic for our treatment. The building decor is clean and stylish. They always had bottled water available. The parking lot was small & sometimes fitting our vehicle was tricky. The only thing I didn't like was at the beginning when everything was new and overwhelming it was confusing where to check in and it seemed like the front desk person on the main floor didn't know either.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon.
We had to have sperm retrieval surgery with our IVF and we opted for genetic testing, so our total cost was $30,000.
Dr. Adams is new to ORM and to being an RE in that she recently graduated. However, I trust her knowledge and have always felt comfortable with her course of action for me. She is friendly, warm, and thoughtful. I would absolutely recommend her to friends and/or family...when I went in for my Day 2 u/s, I only had two tiny follicles. I do have diminished ovarian reserve, but in past cycles I've had 5-6 follicles. She was very surprised by this and has told me to come back in with my next period at which time she'll measure my follicles again and see if it is time for us to start the medications.
Roxanne [nurse at Oregon Reproductive Medicine] is very friendly and compassionate. She is a good communicator and I always leave the appointments very clear on what my next steps are...The clinic is well appointed, clean, and comfortable. All the staff are friendly and caring. I have never had any negative issues with them. I also particularly like their financial coordinators who have made the process of figuring out how to pay for all of this significantly less stressful than it otherwise could be if they weren't organized or friendly communicators.
How was your experience with Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon?
Dr. Adams is new to ORM and to being an RE in that she recently graduated. However, I trust her knowledge and have always felt comfortable with her course of action for me. She is friendly, warm, and thoughtful. I would absolutely recommend her to friends and/or family.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon?
Dr. Adams has impeccable bedside manner. She is friendly, warm, and thoughtful. She remembers me and I feel very well cared for by her.
Describe the protocols Shannel Adams used in your cycles at ORM Fertility Oregon and their degree of success.
Dr. Adams recommended an estrogen priming protocol for me. Unfortunately this protocol had the exact opposite effect it was supposed to have. So, when I went in for my Day 2 u/s, I only had two tiny follicles. I do have diminished ovarian reserve, but in past cycles I've had 5-6 follicles. She was very surprised by this and has told me to come back in with my next period at which time she'll measure my follicles again and see if it is time for us to start the medications.
Describe your experience with your nurse at ORM Fertility Oregon. (Assigned nurse: Roxanne)
Roxanne is very friendly and compassionate. She is a good communicator and I always leave the appointments very clear on what my next steps are.
Describe your experience with ORM Fertility Oregon.
The clinic is well appointed, clean, and comfortable. All the staff are friendly and caring. I have never had any negative issues with them. I also particularly like their financial coordinators who have made the process of figuring out how to pay for all of this significantly less stressful than it otherwise could be if they weren't organized or friendly communicators.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Shannel Adams at ORM Fertility Oregon.
The deposit was $13,000
Describe Shannel Adams's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at ORM Fertility Oregon.
Dr. Adams recommended transferring two embryos if I created that many. However, my plan has always been to have CCS testing done on the embryos and then only transfer one.
Dr. Adams is the rare combination of intelligence and warmth I seek in a doctor. It's hard to find! One thing that's stuck out to me is when I came in for bloodwork and got very anxious trying to remember if I had genetic testing previously, she saw me (I wasn't even supposed to see her this visit) and came out and reassured me, touching my back. It was such a simple but very profound, empathetic gesture.
I like the intimate, clean feel of the [Vios Fertility Institute] clinic building. I think being a somewhat new clinic and the recent merger have made it a little more challenging to get a quick response at times, but the overall treatment is incredible and led by the incomparable Dr. Adams, whom I love...I felt immediately at ease and have been treated warmly and kindly.
How was your experience with Shannel Adams at Kindbody - Portland?
Dr. Adams is the rare combination of intelligence and warmth I seek in a doctor. It's hard to find! One thing that's stuck out to me is when I came in for bloodwork and got very anxious trying to remember if I had genetic testing previously, she saw me (I wasn't even supposed to see her this visit) and came out and reassured me, touching my back. It was such a simple but very profound, empathetic gesture.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Shannel Adams at Kindbody - Portland?
Utilize her as much as possible! She has endless knowledge.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Shannel Adams at Kindbody - Portland?
I feel completely comfortable and taken care of when I'm with Dr. Adams, despite being a new patient. I felt immediately at ease and have been treated warmly and kindly.
Describe the protocols Shannel Adams used in your cycles at Kindbody - Portland and their degree of success.
My wife and I are at the beginning of a reciprocal IVF cycle. After initial workup, she recommended my wife get a polyp removed from her ovaries, and we have that scheduled.
Describe your experience with Kindbody - Portland.
I like the intimate, clean feel of the clinic building. I think being a somewhat new clinic and the recent merger have made it a little more challenging to get a quick response at times, but the overall treatment is incredible and led by the incomparable Dr. Adams, whom I love.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Shannel Adams at Kindbody - Portland.
I'm unsure what the total amount will be, since we recently started working with her.