Timothy Hickman

If you are over thirty, avoid Hickman at all costs. If you want a compassionate doctor with your best interests in mind, avoid Hickman at all costs. Hickman refused to answer questions and was rude during our first appointment. Hickman was callous and rude when we were disappointed with the number of normal embryos we got after testing (not to mention that we were both under 35, do testing typically isn’t even recommended). His explanation was simply that I was “over 30.” Even though he initially acted like this was not an issue. He took no time to help us understand our results or how my endometriosis could have impacted those results. While still under his care we went to another doctor to have her explain why she thought we would have gotten poorer than average results. It was extremely disappointing, as we stuck with Hickman despite his rudeness because we thought he would have been knowledgeable based on his background. Hickman was not knowledgeable in our corcimstances, not compassionate, and is one of the worst doctors I have ever encountered.

Go elsewhere. There are numerous compassionate doctors in the Houston area who are also better from a clinical standpoint. There is no need to suffer through such a difficult medical condition with someone completely lacking compassion.

Nothing special. I feel like any average doctor could would have recommended the same, with the exception of embryo testing.

Hickman became very rude and agitated when we asked questions about transferring multiple embryos. He refused to answer questions on this topic.

Dr. Hickman seemed to be very knowledgeable and sensitive at the same time. He explained our options without imposing an specific course of treatment. He also detailed his rationale for each treatment option and let us free to decide which and when. I feel pretty confident I found the right doctor for me and may return if needed in the future.

Trust his experience.

Because ours was a case of "unexplained infertility", Dr. Hickman strategy was to begin from the less invasive procedures and gradually move towards the more complex procedures. Both me and my husband have been tested and already identified a slight but important alteration in my thyroid which I already begun treating. After assuring that eggs, sperm, fallopian tubes and uterine cavity are fine, next step was a cycle of Clomid and IUI. We also chose to do a genetic screening which was really helpful to decide that trying IUI was still a viable option. However, our first IUI failed and based on lower odds of success - specially because of the recently diagnosed endometriosis, Dr. Hickman suggested we should go change strategies and try IVF. It took us some time to decide and trust him in this journey. The first stage was the hardest, understanding and managing the medication was emotionally overwhelming. Thankfully, my body responded well and by retrieval we've got 18 eggs. About 16 fertilized and 8 survived the first week to become embryos. From the 8 embryos, 4 were correct, 1 uncertain and 3 incorrect. Great results paid off the, so far, most terrifying thing I've ever faced. As recommended by Dr. Hickman, we opted for a frozen embryo transfer and postponed the transfer to 3 months after we returned from a trip to South America (CDC recommended due to Zika threats at the time). The pause allowed my body to recover well. As I prepared to the transfer, my body responded well again to the medication. Our first transfer was done with one single embryo, the one that looked the strongest and with more chances of success. Dr. Hickman was very confident and said we had a 70% chances of success. Unfortunately, the transfer resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Dr. Hickman did not know exactly what went wrong but explained that IVF is never guaranteed, and everything indeed looked promising. He also encouraged us to take our time and if we decided to try again, he still believed in the same odds as we had other strong embryos available. I was heartbroken and needed a couple months to process the experience and gather courage and hope to try again. We planned the dates carefully to make sure we would be relaxed and calm during the 6 weeks prep to transfer... it paid off! For this second attempt at transfer, Dr. Hickman did not change any protocol but I changed pharmacies, just in case, and increased my self-care. Knowing what to expect was very reassuring and gave me strength this time around. Our second transfer developed into a healthy pregnancy, now on its course. Dr. Hickman always kept his bedside manners and even though our contact was always brief, he seemed genuinely interested in helping us achieve our desired pregnancy. For those who are wondering why they can't get pregnant and have not found any answer yet, I highly recommend talking to him.

The initial visit, lab tests, medication I needed for thyroid and genetic counseling, with our insurance, have been under $1,000. Our insurance however does not cover much more than diagnosis. For Clomid and one cycle of IUI it was about $2,000. For the IVF including freezing embryos for a year, one transfer, and medication it was about $ 30,000. Second transfer was about $5-6,000 - not sure anymore.

We've done single embryo transfer because of my good chances of getting pregnant on the first attempts. Even though my first transfer failed and let me wondering if it was the best decision, I still agree that it was the best approach for my family at this moment.

Dr. Hickman was always calm and made me feel like I was in the best hands possible. He took time to answer my questions and was just so friendly and caring. My journey started in 2014 and after 3 IUIs, I became pregnant on the 3rd try, leading to a healthy baby boy. We decided to try again in 2017 and found out I had borderline underactive thyroid, so he prescribed Synthroid. I got pregnant my first IUI but miscarried at 8 weeks. During the miscarriage, I had to see Dr. Hickman a lot and he never made me feel rushed and he remained positive but sympathetic at the same time.

Make an appointment NOW- do not wait! Just take the leap of faith now.

For my first time around, the plan was 3 iuis with Clomid and ovidrel and then we would reconvene after and discuss the next step (possibly ivf). I got pregnant on the 3rd IUI. For my next pregnancy, blood work showed that I had high TSH so I was put on Synthroid. Since I had a successful IUI last time, Dr. Hickman was confident it would work again. I got pregnant my very first IUI with clomid and ovidrel, but miscarried. Now I am waiting a couple of cycles by my own personal choice to start trying again.

Each IUI was 1300. The hysterocopy I had to have with him was $200.

He needs to show more compassion, not just throw his hands in the air when it didn’t work or tell us that egg donors and adoption are also ways to have s family. We have no children, we wanted to experience childbirth. He had no advice on improving egg quality, just said that it doesn’t work. Some other clinics have treatments that DO work.

Do your research, make him answer your questions.

Lipton, Menopur, Bravelle, it was his most aggressive protocol, I responded perfectly.

We spent about 22,000 total

He made the decision to transfer 3, feel he knew we had no chance

He’s incredibly personable and calm. He is able to put fears at ease and is very willing to listen and understand. We had many questions going into the procedures, and he was always willing to talk with us about any questions we had. He was always very thorough in his explanations.

Go see him sooner! Haha we waited a while to finally see an Infertility specialist and I wish we’d done it sooner because we received such great care.

It is hard to remember specifics from my first cycle... but this past frozen transfer I remember that he was very particular that we use endometrum suppositories instead of other progesterone supplements. He felt that the success rate with this medication was better than regular progesterone supplements.

Monitoring was super quick and easy! It was usually early morning so people could still get to work.

I remember total- it was $13,000 and the second time with a frozen transfer was around $7,000

Our doctor was very open to what we wanted to do. He was very willing to let us select one or two embryos, based on how we felt.

He performed lots of tests and did ultimately treat one issue of mine (small tumor pressing on my pituitary gland) but apparently misdiagnosed the quality of my husband's sperm and told us we wouldn't get pregnant without IVF. We left his practice after getting a second opinion on the sperm, concentrated on my cycle times and got pregnant on our own.

If you are in a super hurry to get pregnant and want to pay for IVF, then he might be okay. But if you are patient and just want to see if you can treat a possible small issue before getting pregnant on your own, then find another doctor.

We did a lot of tests and he found 2 problems. He treated me with bromocriptine to shrink my pituitary because I had a small tumor on it. Then he diagnosed my husband with "bad sperm" and then told us we couldn't get pregnant because of this and wanted to schedule IVF. We got a second opinion about the sperm which ended up being completely normal and ended up getting pregnant without the IVF.

I had the best experience as Dr. Hickman's patient! His office is so prompt and efficient. The whole clinic is so well run. Dr. Hickman was incredibly professional. He is compassionately matter-of-fact, and what I mean is that he delicately tells you the truth. I was a patient for a year doing IUIs and during that time I didn't really see him (except for the initial consultation) because his nurses perform all of the procedures. I ended up doing IVF and that's really when I felt like he was present. He had to perform a minor surgical procedure on me before we could proceed with IVF, and he was just wonderful. He did a fantastic job, but he also made my family and me feel like he cared. He took extra time with them going over my surgery and explaining everything in detail. He was equally wonderful performing the IVF. I really believe his is sensitive to his patients (who are under extreme amounts of stress and pumped up with hormones) and I felt he was very smart. I think he takes his success rate seriously which I appreciate. Overall I never questioned that I was receiving the absolute best care and treatment. I met with him the first time and left thinking "this is the doctor for me". It has been over three years since the birth of my twins and I still think that he was the perfect choice.

I wish I would not have waited so long to move from IUIs to IVF. I don't think that anyone at the clinic ever suggested that IUIs weren't working and that I should be considering other options. Although, it might have been discussed during the initial consultation. So, don't wait for them to contact you if you have questions or feel things aren't progressing. Call them and they will take care of you

Dr. Hickman was knowledgeable, empathetic, clear, caring and reputable. I do wish I would have seen him more. I only saw him during the consult and his nursing team took over from there. The nurses were great, no problems at all. I just wish Dr. Hickman had a little more presence.

If your doing an IUI, be prepared to only meet the doc once in the beginning. Have any questions you want answered by him ready for the consult. The nursing team is great and knowledgeable as well.

IUI with Clomid. Called first day of period. Did ultrasound at Day 3. Took Clomid for 3 days. Did trigger injection day before procedure. Did ultrasound and sperm washing day of procedure.

IUI without insurance coverage was $1300 + medicines & medical tests. IVF without insurance coverage was $18000+ $4000-$7000 for medicines.

Dr. Hickman did explain everything well before beginning ivf. After a failed cycle he would always call me himself and answer every single question I had. I felt he was a great doctor and trusted him completely.

Ivf isn't easy and it isn't cheap, but he was worth it.

We used the antagonist protocol and I always used lupron with every cycle. I would trigger with 10,000 units of hgh. I would always react decently.

All monitoring appointments were scheduled before 8am and there were several nurses working to get you back to do bloodwork while the doctors were in and out doing ultrasounds. Things always moved very fast in the mornings.

If was vey expensive, I think it was close to 35 thousand for two cycles. Thanks to several loans, our life savings and my grandmother who helped us pay for everything. Everything was included in the price except for the anesthesia. Acupuncture was also separate.

My first two transfer he allowed 3 each time, but my third only 2 were transferred per new law/rule.

He was very technical, and not the least bit warm. I might've been okay with this if we had seen him more frequently or if he had told us that his nurses would be doing everything.

Don't expect to see him often. Ask lots of questions.

We went in to discuss IVF, but we ended up deciding to try IUI first. I was on Bravelle and Ovidrel. It was unsuccessful.

I had insurance coverage for an IUI. It was only $1,500 plus the medications.

He was amazing. He is methodical and can explain why he is doing what he is doing clearly. He has no problem with questions. He is available if you need him. He called me back at night one time because i was so worried the night before my second IUI. He explained why he really thought this cycle would work (which it did).

Don't wait. Go see him.

I personally had a poor experience with Dr. Hickman. He would not divert from protocol even if my body required it. Every person has individual and unique needs which should be treated accordingly. He did do every ultrasound on his own.

Verbalize your needs and concerns.

Dr. Hickman followed a strict protocol for both fresh and frozen transfers. For the fresh, I took menopur, follistim, ganirelix, and a HCG trigger. For the frozen, I had to take the progesterone suppositories and estrogen patches.

I do not recall.

He preferred to do a single embryo transfer for my first transfer. Since it resulted in a chemical pregnancy, he transferred two embryos on the second transfer. This also produced the same result.

Honest and forthright. He answered all questions and explained the process almost to the point of over explaining (but I had done a lot of research prior to our first appointment). He called with results of the egg retrieval personally. Found out later that he has a tendency to always propose multiple embryo transfer if more than one viable embryo is available.

All in, egg retrieval and 1 transfer was about $17k

He tends to propose multiple embryo transfer. As I had never had a failed IVF cycle and knowing current success rates I might have chosen to only transfer one at a time.

Dr Hickman knows what he is doing. He is a very kind and willing to do whatever he can to get you a baby safely. He is a great doctor who stays up on the improvements and advances in artificial reproductive technology.

Ask a lot of questions!

Start with Clomid and up to 3 IUIs. If unsuccessful move to IVF.

Cost for a single fresh IVF cycle here was about $19,000. This did not include medication.

Strenghts: - smart - patience - have lots of knowledge - always know the last technologies and ways of doing procedures - take his time explaining -gives hope - tell the truth Weakness: - At some point of the Ivf there was a confusion because my anatomy is different from the rest. My ovaries where much up than usual ( difficult to know to every single doctor). We learn that in my sindrome case is better to do some other tests before ivf like Testosterone. But this was not dr fault. This was a one in a million cases. Think I was his jumber 1 case like this. But he overcome ir perfectly and now I have one baby with me. No real weakness.

Get all your results from the other clinic and go visit asap dr hickman! He will tell you the truth and will tell you your proplbabilities of conceiving and your real options.

Blastocysts at day 3-4 ( 50% more of chance to have good embrios) Blood test exams every single 3 days on the last weeks of ivf to see the hcg ( estrogen and testosterone increasing or decresing) 6 weeks. 2 birth control pill and 4 belly hormines injections . Plus one trigger before retrieval.

Aprox. 28,000$ All ivf process. 4000 medications for ivf to me 4000 for my surrogate estimulation 4000 second time surrogate estimulation 2000 transfer numer 1 2000 transfer numer 2

Multiple is much better. You always have better probabilities to have just ONE if you put two than having 2. And when you put just one your pribabilities decreese to less than 30% of success. If you put 2 I think it goes up to 45-50%. And always better to do pgs. This process is so tought , long and pricey that is important to know if your embrios are 100% healthy.