William Schoolcraft

He is direct and very obviously knowledgeable. He specializes in the tough cases and was able to answer my questions. Others have pushed aside my questions and he thouroughly answered me. He let me know that a round of IVF would likely not result in more than one baby and I should accept that, however he thinks he and his clinic can help me get that one.

Be prepared with questions. He does not explain the whole process. If you come prepared he will be a great resource for answers. He is very direct but also compassionate. I’ve heard from other reviews that he is harsh, so when he told me I had a chance I took that. Tour appointment will be only as long as you make it. If you have no questions, your visit will be very short.

I am just about to start priming for my 1st cycle with Dr. Schoolcraft (3rd overall). I am priming with estradiol patches and ganirelix for the first time because I have a low AMH and AFC. My stim protocol will include HGH for 10 days (because I did use HGH my last round), microdose lupron, 150 menopur, 300 follistim, and dexamethasone. I will follow up with the results. This will be my first time using dexamethasone in a stim cycle.

Phone consult-$325 One day workup- $3540 Retrieval,IVF,CCS,Transfer-$24458

The doctor recommends single embryo transfer and I agree. I’m a small person and twins would be very dangerous. also, CCRM does assisted hatching which slightly increases chance of identical twins

Dr Schoolcraft is extremely knowledgeable about all things fertility. He had information and answers for my husband and I that no other doctor had given us before. We learned more from him in our consultation than we had from our two previous fertility doctors combined. He is not always the best communicator and I have a lot more contact with my nurse at his office, but he does have good bedside manor and you can tell he is thoughtful in his approach. My only complaint is that he can sometimes put the decisions on me when I need him to guide me as he is the expert. When this happens, I have to ask my nurse to push him for his recommendation. I also have to advocate for myself. I brought up this calcium solution for my embryos and we ended up using it and it was extremely helpful. That was not something that he mentioned to me, but I had heard about it from a Imfertility support group and asked him about it. I have to make sure to have my questions planned out when I see him because he typically expects me to lead the conversation. He is fairly quiet and our meetings are me asking questions and him giving answers.

That you should have all of your questions prepared when you see him so you can get the most out of your time with him.

So far, I have done one IVF cycle with Dr. Schoolcraft.He put me on what he said was his strongest protocol available since I am a poor responder and have lower egg reserve and elevated FSH. He also recommended a clinical trial for me to take an açai supplement three times a day for three months prior to my IVF cycle to help improve egg quality and quantity. I did a priming cycle with estrogen prior to my IVF cycle. My actual IVF cycle consisted of menopur in the morning and gonal f, chlomid and Dexamethasone in the evening for two and a half weeks. When my egg retrieval was closer, I started on certotide once daily in the morning as well. I had 11 resting follicles at the time of my work up in December, but only four follicles in March when I started my IVF cycle. Three of the follicles grew and they were able to get two eggs from my egg retrieval. One egg was mature and the other one matured the next day. Both fertilized normally and amazingly, we got one PGS normal embryo from the cycle.

The cost of our IVF cycle was more expensive than at our previous two fertility centers. The IVF cycle in total cost around 26,000 not including medications. I did not qualify for a bundle package with a refund if we were not successful, because I have had failed IVF attempts previously.

I have told my doctor that I am only comfortable with doing a single embryo transfer and he agrees that given my health situation, that is probably the best way to go for me.

He seems to be specialized in women 40 and over. He gives your options and explained everything in detail. He was very candid with his opinion and easy to talk to. He was very knowledgeable and really took the time to go through results and give us options. My partner and I felt way more confident compared to the 2 other Drs we’ve seen in the past.

Don’t waste your time with other doctors, see Schoolcraft! Be ready for a very thorough consult and you will also probably learn something new.

We haven’t started yet, but his recommendation is very different to other Drs. I have a low reserve and my previous Dr had me taking 7 shots a day - very aggressive treatment. Dr Schoolcraft has suggested a different treatment, a little less aggressive particularly because of my low reserve. We’re trying to get quality and not quantity at this stage. He’s had some great results in the past with this type of treatment. I haven’t started my treatment yet, but I’m looking forward to it, I have a really good feeling!

We’ve met our deductible and out of pocket and our estimate for payments outside of insurance was approximately $7k

I believe her prefers to do single as more than one can become a higher risk pregnancy. However, he has done multiple in the past.

He is not super warm and fuzzy but very smart and tells it like it is. Doesn’t want to waste your money if he doesn’t think you will be successful. In Illinois where I live, clinics often use the insurance mandate for 4 cycles as an atm machine and will go forward whether or not a patient is a candidate for ivf. Schoolcraft absolutely does not.

Request Michelle as your nurse! Also come up with questions ahead of time.

Added hgh, dexamethasone, and clomid to normal follistim/menopur/cetrotide in order to improve egg maturation and quality. Got 10 eggs as opposed to 5 6 months earlier. Tweaking next cycle in order to address aneupoloidy (sp)?

Approximately $25k for bundled package including monitoring, retrieval, CCS testing, 1 transfer, all necessary regroups with doctor. Approximately $4k for one day work up

Especially for PGS tested embryos he recommends 1.

Very intelligent, straight to the point, blunt at times. Explained risks and benefits and options very well. Not very compassionate, poor bedside manner. Quiet at times. Sometimes I felt like I had to come up with my own questions to get a very clear explanation of my problem. He is extremely smart and knows what he is doing, just not the best bedside manner.

Just know that although his bedside manner needs some work, he’s still one of the most intelligent doctors out there and if you need someone who won’t beat around the bush, and get straight to the point, he’s your guy.

One day work up-HSG, labwork on both husband and myself. ICSI testing. i My 4 unsuccessful IUI’s had been done previously so this were not done at CCRM.

Upwards of 20-30,000 after all was said and done. 5-7,000 for meds included in that.

My first transfer, he recommended only one embryo because of my “healthy, highly graded eggs and healthy age.” But my second transfer I pushed for 2. He took some convincing stating the risks for multiples but I was very firm. It ended up being a transfer of 2 but only one took.

As someone who struggled through infertility for a long time and at the age of 39 having gone through 8 IUI’s and 5 IVF cycles elsewhere without success we were looking for any small hope that we could hold onto. My husband found this doctor and the name CCRM and Dr Schoolcraft kept showing up on numerous forums . We immediately thought this is the place that could turn our fortunes and we called CCRM the next day for an appt with Dr Schoolcraft . To our pleasant surprise they setup a phone consult with Dr school craft within a month. I should say that our phone consult and our direct meetings with him during our 1 day workup wasn’t the most pleasant experience as he is someone who is known to be blunt and he keeps your expectations low. I remember the day when me and my husband came out to the parking lot in lone tree and we almost cried after Dr S told us that we only have a 15% shot if we try another round of IVF with own eggs and a 40% chance if we go the IVM route. During the next followup consult we asked for one opportunity to try conventional IVF and then try IVM if it doesn’t work. We ended up doing IVF but with very minimum stim almost identical to IVM. Without going into any further details I would say the hospital, doctor and nurses were phenomenal in every step of the way and a special shoutout to nurse Erin and nurse Amy. Fast forward to today, I am 21 weeks pregnant right now with the first embryo transferred with my baby boy and another perfect CCS tested embryo waiting in lonetree CO. I just went for my level 2 U/S today and everything looked perfect with the baby and I am writing this review with happy tears while my husband holds a glass of scotch. Anyone who are in their late 30’s and think they are doomed with infertility pls don’t walk just run to this place and I hope CCRM can turn your dream become a reality just like they did ours.

The one thing I would say is, when Dr S gives you a conservative estimate of chances I would think the chances are much more than the estimate given as my experience was such. So I would advice that you definitely persist with this doctor and he is the best at this business

since I had infertility coverage I only paid my deductable, my one day workup costs and CCS testing. They added up to 15K roughly

Dr. Schoolcraft is just fantastic at what he does. He's honest, very direct but compassionate and most importantly, he wants results as much as you do. I loved his confidence, his expertise and I just knew I was in good hands with him. He saved me from transferring mosaic embryo at another clinic, and with his specific protocol and treatment, I was able to achieve what I wanted in just one cycle with him. He called me when it was necessary and was always available to answer any questions. I was really pleased with him, and I definitely recommend him to anyone who's going through this process.

He could be harsh with his words but honesty is what you need while going through this process. He's an achiever, not a sweet talker and you just need to trust his medical opinion. My previous doctor wasted three years of my life because he was too nice to me, and cared about my feelings than examining the root of my problem. Personally, I thought he was warm and caring.

I had two failed IVF cycles at another clinic so Dr. Schoolcraft suggested I try acai berry supplements. I bought them directly from the CCRM. I highly recommend them!!! I took them for three months before starting the cycle. My protocol included Gonal f, Follistim and Clomid and meds were taken in the morning and the evening. I always gave up all caffeine and alcohol and it made a big difference in results. I also did acupuncture twice a week for at least 4 months before my cycle. Make sure you ask for acupuncture on your transfer day as well. Just to give you an idea. My previous doctor retrieved 7 eggs in the first cycle and 6 eggs in the second one. Following Dr. Schoolcraft's instructions and protocol, he able to retrieve 19!!!!

25k for one cycle.

He recommended we transfer two pgs tested embryos and now I'm 14 weeks pregnant with twins. He said it was my decision but I just went with what he recommended.

Some may not like how candid he could be but I really liked and appreciated it. I also felt he really cared, and his optimism was calming. When I felt things didn't go as well as they could he put things into perspective giving me hope. He also was frank that we were paying for his excellent lab.

Go see him, be honest with what you want, then listen to what he has to say.

Since everything looked good we started with a basic protocol. And I developed a ton of follicles turns out they were not good quality in the end. But when I said I wanted to do another round to get more embryos he said we could be ok with the 2 we had but could see the benefit to another round. He didn't change anything for the 2nd round because I produced so many follicles and could have overstimulated.

Full cycle 28,000 meds 5200 2nd cycle 17,000 meds same

He will be doing a eset when we go to that point. Because of my age.

From the moment I sat down in his office he was rushed. He walked in and "sized me up." Took barely 10 minutes to tell me that he only thought I had once chance. He is extremely cold and has no warm bedside manners. He didn't even think to check out my husband and made me feel as if our difficulty conceiving was entirely my fault, come to find out later by another doctor my husband has male factors as well. While he may have "paved the way" with his flagship office in Colorado and done wonders with Stars he's not a doctor for the people.

Don't waste your time unless you have tons of money because that's all he really cares about.

He had no strategy and even though I begged him to try another way before IVF he wouldn't. He also made me retake numerous exams that I already had which cost us a ridiculous amount of money to be told the same thing. I resulted in no pregnancies and left his clinic because he wasn't open to listening to my wishes.

Seeing as they insisted that they redo multiple test the cost is astronomical. I wasted so much on them I regret it and has made things more stressful because of it

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Dr. Schoolcraft is excellent at what he does. He is very direct and straightforward, which we appreciated. We did not want to waste anytime. If you are looking for more hand holding, you may have a harder time with him.

Be ready to advocate for yourself and stay on top of your treatment. And, hope you have a good nurse as she will be the person that you communicate with the most. And, she has to feel comfortable with Dr. Schoolcraft as she is the one who talks to him for you.

We did two egg retrievals that were pretty heavy duty since I was a slow responder. I felt everything we did was logical and I understood each step of the protocol. My cycles went much longer than most other woman's cycles, but he was willing to adjust things for me. I retrieved the same amount of eggs with my cycles here as at my home town clinic, the difference really was the lab.

I really don't remember. Maybe with drugs included it was $15-$20,000 per cycle, but we did not due the family package which would have been cheaper.

I felt like they had this baked into a gridline formula. They had a solid recommendation, but would do whatever we wanted within safety and reason.

He is smart, sharp, and compulsive. I trust him in every sense with my fertility. He is on top of it and caught things that my previous doctor did not. He is very thorough and explains things in a manner that made much sense to me. I am an advocate for his expertise and knowledge on fertility. He likes challenging cases and he is a very confident man. I didn't need a good bedside manner doctor, I wanted to have a doctor who has proven success and is a leader in his field in which he specializes. I will recommend Dr. Schoolcraft to anyone who goes through this process. A+++

let go of the need for a friendly, bedside manner doctor and get a professional who is sharp and brutally honest. He will get you there sooner. He finds the root of the issue quickly compared to my previous doctor.

I dont recall all of the meds

Very similar to other costs of other clinics. We were out of state patients so we had to pay for flights and lodging

He recommended we transfer 2 and we were not opposed to that idea so we transferred 2 and I am currently 16.5 weeks pregnant with twins

Dr. Schoolcraft is extremely intelligent and talented. He is the best doctor there is an has created the best lab and clinic. The only negative is that he is a little blunt. I guess it is good that he doesn't sugar-coat anything - I'd definitely rather have that - but a warmer bedside manner would be my personal preference. That being said, after trying 3 clinics, I wouldn't go anywhere except CCRM. They are just leagues ahead of other IVF clinics in the U.S. My nurse was fantastic, and she was the person I had the most contact with. We had a much better outcome here so far and are now in the 2 week waiting period until a pregnancy test.

Definitely start with him or another doctor at CCRM Lone Tree (the other CCRM's are not under him so only travel to Lone Tree - we live in Chicago but traveled there - it is more doable than it seems, and they are set up for that.) Don't go anywhere else first because I feel CCRM has the best technology and the best lab.

Menopur, Gonal-F, Lupron, Medrol, omnitrope (a growth hormone)

Very exepensive and out of network for us. They have a lot of out of town patients.

We CCS tested and only had 2 chromosomally normal embryo so that's all we could transfer

Doctor made us feel like we had gone to the right place. He was very confident while compassionate and that made the difference. We felt secure under his care. We trusted him along the process and were able to clarify all our doubts. We didn’t get to see him on every visit but we felt he was doing the right things at all times.

Dont hesitate to have a consult with Dr Schoolcraft. He knows what he is doing.

We had failed other IVFs and IUI back home. We went to This clinic as our last hope. The doctor was able to review my medical records, do a full work up on his clinic and discussed with us alternatives and probabilities. We liked that he was very thorough in his assessment, leaving nothing out. He covered all bases of anything that could go wrong as much as he could.

Although treatments here are probably more expensive than other clinics, they were totally worth it. Easy to work with Finance Department. Costs paid at clinic included treatment and labs. Prescriptions were arranged thru a fertility pharmacy and were easy to work with as well.

We as a team discussed our own situation and probabilities and made an informed decision about multi embryo transferred.

Dr Schoolcraft is very knowledgeable, I also believe he also works with a lot of difficult cases. I was/am a difficult case so it was important to me to go to a clinic and Doctor with experience in this area. Dr Schoolcraft is very upfront and blunt and it took me a little while to get used to his style. While this was shocking at first, it was good in the sense that I knew my chances upfront and I did not go in with false expectations. Dr Schoolcraft was open to trying different protocols and seeing which ones would give me the best results. Dr Schoolcraft always answered all of my questions thoroughly and I never felt rushed. Also, Dr. Schoolcraft seemed to always run on time for appointments which is nice. Overall, I think Dr. Schoolcraft is a very knowledgeable, great Doctor.

I suggest for everyone to be their own advocate and understand your protocols and options, no matter who your doctor or clinic is.

I used the Estrogen Priming Antagonist Protocol and Estrogen Priming Microdose Lupron Protocol. Both protocols were used because I have been diagnosed with DOR and I was told both protocols are generally for poor responders. From the very beginning, I knew with my day 3 numbers I would not produce a lot eggs since I did not have many baseline follicles. With both protocols I responded how they expected, I never produce a lot of eggs or embryos unfortunately with DOR.

This clinic is definitely expensive, but they are upfront about their cost which are also listed on their website.

I have been told they are open to single embryo transfer, or transferring 2 embryos. We have not transferred yet.

I still think he is one of the best ones out there. Every other doctor hurts me and stresses me out. But he has a very gentile way. I just wished there were more studies out there on everything from endometriosis and what works or doesn’t. It just seems like there is very little to fall back on in research in the infertility world verses like cancer.

Be patient and open minded to what it will take to have 1 healthy baby.

I went to Schoolcraft for a second opinion. I had to read between the lines to know my chances were slim - like not being able to participate in refunds if it didn’t happen or referring me back to my OBGYN since they didn’t take my insureance - like not for one thing. So after I exhausted everything, I decided to go donor egg. This clinic was set up with already tested in house donors which took away a lot of anxiety in picking a donor. So I did a full retrieval with an egg donor and 1 transfer so far.

Beyond ridiculously expensive! But I don’t like talking specific numbers.

My approach was to do 1 only given I have had surgery on my uterus. I don’t think that is the norm.

He is very straightforward and honest. He will give you all the facts and will give you options for the best results. He will not “hold your hand”, and is not as “warm and fuzzy” as other doctors but he is very talented and knowledgeable. In the end, he is great at making babies and very professional and for us, that was the most important thing.

If you want someone very personable who will hold your hand through the process, he is not your doctor. If you want someone who will be honest and straightforward and gets great results, he is your doctor.

We came to Schoolcraft with male infertility (0% morphology). He didn’t waste our time with IUI and recommended we go straight to IVF with ICSI. We also chose to do genetic testing. We had several viable embryos from our first retrieval and were successful in a live birth from our first transfer.

CCRM is definitely a higher price point than other clinics

Dr, Schoolcraft seems to be pretty open to one or two embryo transfer depending on parents wishes and what will provide best outcomes. He did not push us to either decision but gave us the pro’s and cons of both and let us decide what was best for us.

I only spoke to him one time at the initial workup. He had read my chart and was familiar with my case. He was confident (turns out overly) that he could help. I had lots of questions about med levels and he was totally dismissive of mini stim and immuno protocol. The rest of the time I dealt with his nurse, Sarah, who was efficient and nice. I had very little conversation with schoolcraft until after the cycle ultimately failed and we had a follow up call.

Don’t be intimidated by his reputation. Don’t be overly emotional or expect him to dry your tears. Come in with your questions prepared and dont ask for any immuno protocol.

He put me on the highest dose of everything which i think is his general approach to all stims. I was on 150 meno, 375 follistim, 100 clomid, a steroid i can’t remember which though, and ganirelix. It was by a long shot the heaviest dose of stims i did and it produced the worst results of all 7 stim cycles i did.

All in over 40K out of pocket.

never made it to transfer because they all died on day 4- which is what always happened. This was particularly bad because they got 14 eggs and only 4 were mature. They insist on growing to day 5 and so the 4 died.

My spouse and I decided to schedule a phone consultation with Dr. Schoolcraft after undergoing 3 previous IVF cycles with different doctors and never producing a blastocyst. After those failed cycles, each of the doctors recommended using an egg donor. We wanted a final opinion from one of the leading doctors in the nation and had heard from friends he offered unbiased evaluations, even if his answer was to not recommend IVF or that a trip to his clinic was not needed. He did indeed offer a realistic and fair assessment of our history and odds of success with IVF at his clinic. Dr. Schoolcraft provides years of experience, understanding of the newest treatments and remedies, and an unbiased assessment of patients' treatment options and chances of success. We believe all of this combined with the lab quality resulted in a successful IVF cycle and ultimate birth of our child.

Do some research (including reading the newest fertility advances and trials on the CCRM website) before you meet with him so that you can maximize your time with him.

I took an antioxidant supplement (OvaHealth) produced by the clinic for 3 months prior to the IVF cycle in order to hopefully help with egg quantity/quality.The title on my cycle plan is "Luteal Oral/Extended Clomid" - I took took 300 units of Gonal F and 10 days of Saizen among other medications.

Between treatment and medication, we probably paid around $30,000.

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Being that I live in Miami, and CCRM is located in Lone Tree, Colorado, my contact with Dr. Schoolcraft was only on the initial visit to get my testing and the day of the transfer. There are different doctors on the team at CCRM, and depending on which doctor is on call the day of your egg retrieval is scheduled is the doctor doing the procedure. It might be your actual doctor or another doctor. Schoolcraft is not known to be warm/fuzzy, which is something I could have used a little bit of, I don't need a lot, but he will provide you with clear cut answers to your questions. And it will not be sugar coated, but they will be the facts of your case.

Do not expect someone that is nurturing and warm. He is straight to the point, and he will answer all your question. Also, make sure that you have all your questions ready for him when you meet, because if you don't you might leave the meeting feeling like you do not know what to expect.

I cannot remember much. I think I have blocked some things out because my last embryo did not survive the thawing.

Monitoring appointments are mostly scheduled in the morning because they need the get bloodwork back, early enough the same day, in order to provide you with instructions as to your next step, change in dose of medication, and potential retrieval day. Ultrasounds are also scheduled in the morning, because it makes no sense to come twice a day. Also, morning appointments give Dr. Schoolcraft the opportunity to review the ultrasound and bloodwork together for him to make a decision about your treatment progression.

One round of IVF was $24,000 not including medications.

In my case, I only had one embryo to transfer each time, so there was nothing to discuss.

As mentioned in previous answer, Dr. Schoolcraft takes a no-nonsense approach to treatment. Brutal honesty was welcomed by us. He answered every question we had every step of the way. Most of our procedures were actually performed by Dr. Surrey, who we could not recommend highly enough as well.

Expect the blunt truth. Be thoroughly prepared when you get a private meeting with Dr. Schoolcraft as his time is limited.

Dr. Schoolcraft explained thoroughly the risks of a multiple embryo transfer and long-term benefit of eSET. After careful consideration of his recommendation and collaboration with our GC, we were comfortable with his preference for eSET.

Dr. Schoolcraft is very practical and matter of fact. He does not sugar coat things. You need to ask questions otherwise the conversation will be brief. The scenario he expected for us was far different than the outcome we received.

Don't expect him to be God. He is top in his field but that doesn't mean it works for everyone.

CCRM has 6 protocols, the 6th being the strongest, which I was on. Clomid and dexamethone at night. 2 vials menopur in the morning, 300 Follistim at night. Cetrotide when my LH reached 25. Trigger with pregnyl and two doses of lupron.

It was about 35k total. About 25k for IVF, $6500 for meds and $3300 for one day work up.

I'm not sure what his strengths are as we're currently in treatment, weakness is probably compassion/lack of emotion. I don't need emotion but I know some people do. He also isn't a big talker and people need to bring questions to him to get answers.

Ask any and all questions, be prepared, do research to be able to have questions.

1 iui with clomid and ovudril, switched to letrozole no trigger for last 2 IUI's. Clomid increased my cramping due to 4 follicles growing, letrozole gave me 1 follicle each time but sped up ovulation. Just received IVF protocol, priming with Doxycycline, cetrotide, estrogen patches. Stimming with cetrotide, gonal-f, menopur, and triggering with pregnyl and Lupron. No reasons were really given for any of them other than they should be successful.

So far we've spent about 15,000 in IUI's and testing. IVF with icsi will be 34,000.

Dr. Schoolcraft is very capable in his field. I had unexplained infertility as well as a miscarriage. His plan of action seemed appropriate and addressed the issues I had. Although I have had symptoms of PCOS, I was never diagnosed with it. Dr. Schoolcraft cleared that issues and found that I did while all Drs through my adult life had missed it until age 36. He also recommended a D&C and after researching the procedure, I only felt comfortable for him to perform this procedure during retrieval vs. having another dr perform. I found him to completely competent and understanding. He never forced us to do anything that was outside our comfort zone and he recommended transfer of one singleton despite having a previous miscarriage. I feel his treatment was in my best interest from day 1.

We were not ones to have a ton of questions since we've been through it all. However, our communication with him was limited to our consultation. All other communication was done through our nurse out of personal preference. I felt that he was fully capable and if I had any concerns, nurse was competent and sought answers when needed. I would have all questions ready for consultation so that everything is crystal clear.

I dont remember the exact protocol, but I know he has a number of different protocols. The one he used was based on my previous history with other dr's while using clomid. his protocol worked for me. He also recommended a d&c since my lining was very thick and old. I have pcos so my body sheds less lining. I bumped my vitamin D intake and my husband took his vitamin cocktail. All worked out for us.

We paid for specific one day work items while on site and then paid lump sum for the "package". Have a nominal credit on file that will be used towards next years storage fees and additional FET.

Everyone told us that Schoolcraft typically transfers two however we didnt find that to be the case. Schoolcraft recommended one transfer based on our history and age. I think his recommendations is based on your overall situation and not something he just thinks "will work". He wanted a positive outcome but also less risk for both me and potential baby.

Dr Schoolcraft is a pioneer in his field. He is direct in his treatment and he gets results. He is not a warm and fuzzy doctor but was the only one able to get me to retrieval on first round without overstimulating me and resulted in my first child. I cannot day enough good things about his work, his clinic and the support I received from his staff especially being an out of state patient.

Don’t be turned off if he is not warm. He states the facts and is honest with his treatment recommendations. His plans get young results.

I did IVF and the protocol included antagonist treatment. I don’t recall the exact medications but took a few days longer to trigger. For transfer they used a Lupron medication that was administered 2 months in advance to help with my endometriosis.

Costs were typical - meds, procedure, doctor time and testing. All in we spent about $30,000

No concerns as i was a relatively young patient for CCRM and didn’t want multiples. They also say the failure is lessened by only transferring 1

Dr. Schoolcraft is a mild mannered person. He can be engaging, warm, and make small talk. He can also be a little flat at times, but that doesn't bother me. He generally gets to the point pretty quickly and takes time to answer questions.

Have all of your questions written down and ready before speaking to him. He's not easy to access directly outside of scheduled face to face or phone appointments.

1. Medicated cycle for first FET with single embryo transfer. This is pretty standard at fertility clinics. It's easiest to schedule and allows doctors to control all of the variable with synthetic hormones. I got pregnant and miscarried at week 5. I did not tolerate progesterone in oil well. We switched from sesame oil to ethyl oleate during the cycle. I did better with the ethyl oleate but then got really sick when I was expected to increase the dose following a positive pregnancy test. My pregnancy ended after I got sick. I opted for the single embryo transfer. My odds were 50% chance of it working. 2. Natural cycle for second FET: We took this approach due to my reaction to the progesterone in oil. Dr. Schoolcraft did not like the side effects and said it could have caused inflammation that terminated the pregnancy. He said that natural cycles were as effective as medicated cycles. (His nurse told me she has seen an uptick in the number of natural cycles happening for his patients, but wasn't sure if these were local patients.) The natural cycle does not involve progesterone in oil injections. I felt much better using this approach and have had positive home pregnancy tests. I will go in for a beta tomorrow. I also did acupuncture and Maya abdominal massage, which he was in support of. He also recommended transferring 2 embryos to better my odds. 70% chance of success with 2 embryos with a 30% chance of twins. I decided to bit the bullet and tempt twins.

A lot was covered by my health insurance. The CCS testing on the embryos was over $5K. The FET was over $5K. If you have United Healthcare PPO that is the best to have for CCRM. Both the clinic and lab are in-network with UHC. UHC is the only insurance the lab accepts. The clinic accepts a few other types of health insurance. I would say that insurance covers 2/3 the total cost.

He recommended transferring two embryos, but I really did not want to risk twins the first time. I gave me the stats. He supported my decision.