Kutteh Ke Fertility Associates

Dr. Bailey is very nice but you will never see her. I have no doubt that if she were the primary contact for your case then things would be very different and run more smoothly. However, it is my opinion that she is taking on WAY too many patients and the quality of patient's care is suffering because of this. I have no doubt she truly cares for her patients but due to the mass amount she is treating, she isn't' dedicating the appropriate amount of time to each patient. My husband and I joke that Dr. Bailey is like the "Great and Powerful Oz" behind the curtain! It takes an act of Congress to even speak with her on the phone and she doesn't do video/tele-health visits so you have to pay $150-$200 (if you don't have insurance) to come in, wait 2 hours, and then only get to speak with her for 10 minutes. I've called the clinic before asking the nurses if I could speak with Dr. Bailey and they avoid letting me at all cost. Eventually I'll would get a call after begging for days.

If you aren't prepared to advocate for yourself and basically take on a second job to coordinate your fertility care, then I wouldn't bother with this clinic. No one there is coordinating your care, so as a patient, we are having to take that on. Also, make sure to keep a list of questions in your phone as you think of them and be ready to ask them when you're lucky enough to get Dr. Bailey in a room or on the phone because it's probably the only opportunity you will get to ask those questions for months on end.

I had a laparoscopy to look for endometriosis (came back clear), a hysteroscopy to remove polyps, tried 3 medicated IUIs (one of which ended in a chemical pregnancy), and 2 egg retrievals so far using Menopur and Gonal-F.

I was one of the lucky ones who had insurance coverage. However, even if you have insurance, their laboratory is out of network with every insurance company except United (I could also go on a tangent about that as well). So if you have full IVF coverage but don't have United, expect to still pay anywhere from $4,000-$9,000 for one round of IVF (not including genetic testing). Make sure you call your insurance company and request a network gap exception - this is another thing no one at the clinic tells you about or helps with and I had to figure out on my own! Egg Retrievals: $6,350 each retrieval ($3,175 after insurance reimbursed me) Frozen Transfer: $2,500 (pending insurance reimbursement) 3 IUIs: $600 each Office Visits/Ultrasounds - $50 copay Semen Analysis - $400 For those without insurance, I was told the total cost of IVF was around $18,000 without genetic testing. Expect another $5,000 for PGT/genetic testing.

I believe Dr. Bailey said the only time she would do a multiple embryo transfer is if you are over the age of 35 and/or have had multiple failed transfers. I didn't fall into either of those categories so the plan is to transfer one.

Dr. Bailey has been very compassionate throughout our fertility journey. She was with us through every step of our IVF process. She was not as involved with our IUI process but she still met with us before we decided to do IUI and spent time explaining the differences between our treatment options. I have been very pleased with her care.

I would recommend coming prepared to the first visit with questions and a notepad because Dr. Bailey will have a lot of information to go over with you. After that don’t hesitate to call the office and leave a message with the nurses with any questions and Dr. Bailey will call you back promptly.

We have unexplained infertility. After we did all of the testing we came back for a meeting with Dr. Bailey and she said we can multiple options. We could continue to try on our own. We could try IUI or we could move onto IVF. She explained the benefits and downsides to each option and let us decide how we wanted to proceed.

My experience with the monitoring appointments was that they were very efficient. There were two waiting rooms and I would normally be in and out of the office within an hour.

The cost of treatments seemed to be very similar to national averages that I researched. It was around 1,500 for an IUI and 11,000 for our first round of IVF.

Dr. Bailey suggested with my age and the fact we only froze two embryos that we only transfer one at a time. That approach made total sense to me and I was happy with that plan.

He is incredibly smart, on top of the latest technology in reproductive medicine. He was caring and thoroughly explained all of his reasoning when developing plan of care. He also welcomed all questions and input.

Never be afraid to ask questions. He explains well and leaves few questions to be asked but he definitely will "shoot you straight" with the most caring bedside manner if you have more questions.

He utilized every effort to try to keep us pregnant, including heparin which was not clearly indicated. His diagnostic process and workup for recurrent pregnancy loss is thorough.

Our insurance covered 80% of our workup for recurrent miscarriage. We have yet to discuss the specifics of IVF cost, but we are anticipating self pay costs at upward of $15k.

I don't think Dr. Brezina is a bad person. I believe he is intelligent and up to date on the latest science, but he has a tendency to talk at you - often over explaining something to the point where you don't even remember the question you asked in the first place. You also don't get the impression that he is very familiar with you chart when you meet with him. He required some very extensive, uncomfortable, and hard to schedule tests before treatment could begin. My symptoms and diagnosis are pretty straight forward, and I don't believe these tests were necessary (they weren't), and they wasted a lot of time. He also pushes IVF on you pretty much from the jump. I get the impression that he is over worked as he sees nearly half of the practice's patients. Unfortunately, it shows in the care you receive.

Don't be afraid to advocate for yourself. Record your appointments because he talks too fast. Make sure you don't have anything else on your schedule the day of your appointments because you'll likely wait hours.

Letrozole and trigger shots. I have ovulated, but have not become pregnant.

I don't remember exact amounts, but thus far the medication has been less than I was expecting. It's still not cheap and will likely add up the longer we continue down this road.

Dr. Bailey is very smart person and knows her information and research. I feel like everything she does is because its proven. She is very optimistic. I know she is a very busy lady but she has always allowed me to ask as many questions as I want and will stay with me no matter how long I continue to talk to her.

Come prepared with questions. She always asks if you have any and the 1st time I came I was so overwhelmed and couldn't think of anything until I left, which I still do sometimes.

I first had a surgery where she removed a septum, she made sure to do the initial saline ultra sound and then a post op one to make sure everything looked like it should. Now we have moved on to IUI and she is starting with a clomid/Ovidrel protcol, the 1st didn't work. I go see her tomorrow to move to the next step.

My surgery was covered by insurance so I have no clue. The IUI cost was about $250 for ultrasounds, $260 for semen wash, and about $280 for the IUI. I do know they want you money when you walk in the door.

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Brezina is great. He comes across a little cooky and talks fast sometimes but he knows his stuff. He personally called me after every IUI on my cell to wish me luck and that really made me feel important and like they really cared about me and my desire to have a child because at the end of the day I do believe they truly want everyone to succeed in a healthy pregnancy.

He is one of the only doctors in the office that doesn’t immediately direct you to go straight to IVF, which I appreciated because we certainly can’t afford it. He laid out all my options in detail in front of me, informed us on each, then left us to make an informed decision on what we should do next. He may not have done all my treatments himself, but he made me feel very comfortable every step of the way.

When I came in for my initial consult, he reviewed my file that was sent over from another local DR and looked at me and asked why I was prescribed Clomid because I have a regular/normal cycle and asked if I knew my TSH levels were low. Which I had no idea! So, he put me on Synthroid. Did a dye test and saline test both came back clear and normal so he gave us the “unexplained” label. We then decided to try IUIs. 3 to be exact, both failed. During those I took Letrovole for 5 days. Then we decided to try Donor embryos. We were going in for my trial transfer and ultra sound appointment when they found polyps. Brezina preformed a Hysterscopy and Laparoscopy the following week to remove my polyps and found I had scar tissue and early signs of endometriosis, which he also cleaned up. We then decided to try one more IUI after getting cleaned out and that recently failed. So now we are back to the FET.

We paid around $150/visit when we had to meet with Brezina. Most blood work visits were $20-30 each (depending on how they code them). Each IUI was around $800 including procedure, ultrasound, and drugs. The FET donor process is running us around $8k.

Brezina recommended single embryo transfer even though you got “2 for 1” when transferring 2 at once and obviously a higher chance. But he says the risks outweigh the odds.

Dr. Brezina is very nice and has a wonderful bedside manor. He can talk fast at times, but he will make sure you understand everything before leaving his office. He answers any questions you may have as best as possible.

Go prepared with any questions you have because he will answer them.

He started our treatments with blood work, ultrasounds, and a semen analysis. I was not having regular cycles at this time. Then when everything was okay with those tests other than a diagnosis of PCOS, we moved on to an SHG and HSG to make sure that my tubes were open. My HSG showed a blocked tube so then we scheduled a laproscopy which showed I had endometriosis blocking my tube that he burned off during surgery and we took a 6 month period of trying timed intercourse because he thought that I should be able to get pregnant on my own after my tube was unblocked. After 6 months and I still wasn’t pregnant, we discussed trying an ovulation induction IUI cycle. We tried the highest dosage of Letrozole/Femara 7.5 mg and after 5-6 ultrasounds, it was determined that my follicles wouldn’t get big enough to do a trigger shot and make me ovulate so the cycle was cancelled. We had a follow-up appointment where we discussed the next steps would likely be IVF but since I had lost twenty pounds and my cycles had started coming back on their own to try for 6 months before considering IVF. We have a couple months before we go back, but so far no positive pregnancy tests yet.

An IUI treatment is roughly $1,000 per cycle.

Dr. Brezina is very thorough with his patients. He never made me feel rushed or made me feel ridiculous asking questions (and I had a lot of them). He drew pictures and showed me concrete numbers to help my husband and I make difficult decisions. Also, he provided me with every possible option and explained each one so I would understand the risks and benefits of each. Dr. Brezina would laugh and smile with me during our joyous times, and provide empathy during the difficult times in our journey. While the amount of information about the IVF process can be overwhelming, I have never left his office feeling confused about the information he provided. He gave me an adequate amount of time to pray and consider my options before making important decisions. The infertility journey is a difficult and sometimes lonely journey, but having a doctor who you can trust and who cares about you makes the journey bearable. While my journey has not yet ended, I would not consider using anyone else besides Dr. Brezina. I look forward to celebrating with him and his amazing staff in the future with my miracle baby in my arms.

I would tell them that Dr. Brezina is direct but compassionate. He will make you feel safe to based your decisions on the information he has provided.

We started with 2 weeks of Birth control. After the birth control, a blood test, and ultrasound, we began 2 estrace orally. We then increased to 2 estrace orally and 2 vaginally. After another blood test and ultrasound, we began 3/4ml of progesterone shots a day. We also took a steroid and antibiotic prior to the transfer. We added claritin and pepcid a few days before the transfer.

Since I had many surgeries on my uterus, Dr. Brezina suggest that I only have a single embryo transfer.

Dr. Bailey is extremely intelligent. She always went over the risks and her recommendations based on research. She followed my insurances requirements for coverage, 6 iuis. She started me at a middle dosage of clomid due my history and changed medications when it wasn't working as well as anticipated. She put me on a protocol to prevent overstimulation or retrieval. Dr. Bailey highly recommended a frozen transfer with a single embryo. I wish she would have told me that the trigger shot used, lupron, made it to where we could not do a fresh transfer if issues had arose and a fresh was needed. Dr. Bailey did listen to my concerns about wanting to transfer two. I appreciated all the visits we had with Dr. Bailey.

To take notes. Dr. Bailey is not available very often, so I wish I would have made notes of everything we talked about and had a list of questions to asks. I would often times leave and think of something and really had no way of asking Dr. Bailey. The nurses seemed irritated when you would ask them questions.

100 mg clomid- triple layer lining but only 6.? mm did not ovulate per progesterone draw, 2 follicles 150 mg clomid- triple layer lining but only 6.? 4 follicles, ovulated per progesterone draw, cycle cancelled d/t risks of multiples 5 mg letrozole 3x- triple layer lining between 6.5-7.9 for three cycles. between 3-5 follicles each round, one cycle cancelled d/t risks of multiples, ovulated all 3 rounds per prog. draw Trial transfer completed inbetween IUI/Retrieval Retrieval: Birth control 9 days prior, fonal f 150 and menopur 75 used added ganirelex after 6 days to prevent ovulation, triggered with lupron 80 units after stimming for 8 days I showed 23/34 follicles at each ultrasound. They retrieve 23 eggs, 19 mature, 16 fertilized, 10 embryos (5A, 2A-, 2B+, 1B-) 7 were 5 day, 3 were 6 day

Everyone gets there during a window of time for ultrasounds/blood work. It's pretty smoothly ran, first come first serve. There's often times a line waiting to enter the building and 20+ patients there at one time. They get you in pretty quickly, but based on how many people are infront of you it may take 20 minutes or 90+

I was quoted 15,000 out of pocket + medications. We had insurance luckily; however, it was a nightmare with their billing department. The billing department told me I could expect 75% back of $6,200. I received $200 from insurance.

Dr. Bailey was very upfront about suggesting eSET. She also suggested a freeze all cycle d/t risks of overstimulation and chances being higher with FET.

Dr. Kutteh is very knowledgeable, and he shares that knowledge (including detailed statistics) with his patients. He is candid and, during each of our three appointments with him, he has given us a good deal of his time (approximately one hour per visit). He is realistic about expectations, and frank about when and why to proceed with specific treatments. Our only complaint is that he does not have a particularly warm "bedside manner"--not strictly necessary, though it would be nice.

If you want / need a no-nonsense, direct doctor, William Kutteh is your man. Dr. Kutteh's research and theory backs up his successful practice. However, if you prefer a warmer approach, then one of the other doctors at Memphis Fertility Associates might be a better fit (Drs. Ke, Bailey, and Brezina).

Full blood panel, after which Dr. Kutteh put my wife on daily Levothyroxin and vitamin D supplement. 1 cycle with 2.5mg of Letrozole on days 3-7, and trying naturally. 2 cycles with 2.5mg of Letrozole on days 3-7, and IUI administered by a nurse. We are now moving to IVF.

IUI cycles are about $550, plus medications and scans, if your insurance doesn't cover them (around $200). The cost of IVF is approximately $15,000 (including medications, procedures, and lab work). If you want extras, like genetic screening of embryos, it can add about $5,000 extra.

Dr. Brezina is very compassionate and knowledgeable. He understands exactly what we are going though and is reassuring that all of our feelings and concerns are valid. He has gone through every process or next step thoroughly and doesn’t mind answering any and every question we have.

Don’t be afraid to tell him your concerns or questions! He has never made me feel like a bother or uneducated.

I came to Dr. Brezina for a second opinion on surgery. He had me do all bloodwork, shg, and a hsg. I indeed had PCOS. He had my husband give a sperm sample, and we found out his numbers were low (400,000). He referred us to an urologist. Dr. Brezina prescribed my husband with 25mg of Clomid 5x a week for 3 months. We came back for a follow up and the numbers improved to 1.9 million. Motility and morphology were also not great. With our urologist, we had the option do have a varicolecetomy to try and raise numbers up. We consulted with Dr. Brezina who made it clear it was our choice what we wanted to do. We talked all the details about IUI (if the surgery worked) or moving straight to IVF. He told us to come back in a week and we could talk more or make a decision. We came back and made the decision to start IVF. Dr. Brezina was very helpful in making a very tough decision! We will be starting in March 2019.

Last year, my deductible had been met, so I do not have costs for the SHG. My copay is $50. We have been given estimates for IVF without insurance. The treatment is $10,126. The transfer is $1,400. Medication is estimated $3500-$5000.

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She’s great. I wish i saw her more often. She’s not apt to make big adjustments when transfers weren’t working out. I’m sure she has good reasons behind it but with all the money I’d rather be proactive and she did switch a cancelled cycle to an era which i am very happy with.

Ask questions when you see her bc it’s not often!

Menopur 75 and gonal 150... Lupron trigger.... for retrieval Tried oral vaginally estrace for transfer failed to get lining thick enough

7:30-8:30 is the cattle call hours! They do that so they can get blood results back same day to adjust meds. It’s not very welcoming but it gets the job done and you get in and out pretty quickly!

15,000 out of pocket plus meds

She is a huge advocate for single embryo transfer

A very elaborate doctor. He always made sure I understood what was going on and what Is next. I always felt so much better after visiting with him. He always gives me so much hope and I never felt alone.

Listen to his details, ask questions. He won’t leave you in the dark about anything. Very start forward and easy to understand. He’s explains everything perfectly.

I came to him with a diagnosis of blocked Fallopian tubes and he did more tests to be sure before surgery was done. He was with me every step of the way!! Both of my Fallopian tubes had to be removed and now our only option to have a baby is through IVF and he has been awesome at explaining how everything is going to go and what will happen next. I never have questions because he goes over everything perfectly and answers every question imaginable.

Was a $400 consult fee. Everything else my insurance had taken care of some.

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She is very intelligent. At times, i felt like i was pushed along without seeing her or having feedback from her. I wish on cycles with bad news or set backs, that i would have had better explanations on how we would change the plan of treatment.

Ask lots of questions when you see her because it’s not very often.

We did several iuis- i did produce good amounts of follicles but they were unsuccessful. Moved on to ivf- used birth control, menopur, gonal f, and ganirelex

7:30-8:30 everyone arrives for ultrasounds and bloodwork. There’s often a line, but they do work fast and it’s first come first serve

Around 12-15,000 with insurance plus meds.

She is very strong on single embryo transfer but she was willing to hear our opinions.

Dr. Bailey met my expectations when returning to the clinic for insurances purposes, but it wasn't done without a lot of push back and headaches. My first consultation and subsequent meetings made it obvious that I was just another patient, as she rarely remember anything from one meeting to the next and never received my medical history before my appointments, which made our meetings pointless.

You may feel hopeless after meeting with any doctor at Fertility Associates of Memphis. Just remember, there is another clinic in town -- Regional One Reproductive Medicine. Always get a second opinion.

My cycle was straightforward since it was a Frozen Embryo Transfer. I started BCP a month before the cycle and then took estrogen pills for two weeks before the transfer. Progesterone injections were added 5 days before transfer.

Our insurance covered our treatment so our out-of-pocket was minimal.

I'm sure Dr. Bailey would have preferred to do a eSET with me having twins my last IVF cycle (and she seems to what to keep that statistic a low as possible), however, our embryos were frozen in pairs and I didn't want to choose which one to implant and which one to refreeze, so we transferred both.

Dr. Ke is direct and to-the-point. He explains things well, using facts and figures. He doesn't sugarcoat things or overexaggerate the chance of something working. If a treatment has an 18% chance of working, he will tell you. But, he is also very compassionate. He is willing to answer any and all questions honestly. He also talks to - and more importantly - listens to his patients like we are humans, which is amazing. I guess the one downside is that most of the interactions are with the nurses and staff, but he does review your chart and know who you are when you meet with him for consultation.

Be honest with him and he will be honest back. Also, ask all your questions. He will provide as much information as you ask for.

For my first IUI, we used femara to increase my number of eggs and ovidrel to induce ovulation. We attempted a second IUI with an increase in my femara dose, but I ovulated too early. The next month, we kept the femara increase, moved the ultrasound up in the cycle, and used ovidrel. I was given estrogen after ovulation. Both IUIs resulted in negative pregnancy tests.

The IUI itself was about $600. The ovidrel shot was about $100. A follow-up ultrasound not covered by insurance was $100.

Not relevant to my current treatment

I loved how much she cared. She didn’t let me give up when I felt like I couldn’t take anymore. She was very encouraging. After multiple transfers were cancelled because of lining issues I wish she had listened to me about changing up medications because that is what ultimately ended up happening. It would have saved months and months of heartbreak and frustration.

Come with any questions you have because she will make the time to talk with you.

After cancelled transfers she had me wear 8 estrogen patches at a time and change them out every 3 days to try to get my lining to thicken. After that didn’t work she did 2 ERA biopsies and found what would work for me and we ended up being able to do a transfer.

$23,500 for egg retrieval, embryo transfer, labs, ultrasounds covered until a positive pregnancy (1 cycle)

He is an amazing doctor. He has a good bedside manner and is very knowledgeable. He was very honest about options and potential outcomes. He was patient and answered all of my questions. He is very thorough. At one point he was concerned I could have ovarian cancer, he immediately repeated an ultrasound in office and referred me to a gynecologic oncologist for work up. He called the physician’s office himself while I was still in office to set up my appointment. Most physicians would not do this. I would highly recommend him. I am confident in his care and know he will give me the best care possible.

You are in excellent hands from the clinical staff to the doctor. They genuinely care about you and will do everything they can to help you. Make sure you call the office prior to consultation so you won’t be surprised by your copay when you check in for your first appointment.

We completed our work up to determine if we are candidates for IVF. We are unable to start IVF at this time for financial reasons so we are saving money and fundraising. All of my cycles with Femara, Metformin, Pregnyl, and IUI were completed at my first doctor’s office.

Consultation was about $300. All of our testing to determine if we were candidates for IVF was less than $1000.

He prefers to transfer one embryo at a time especially for the first transfer due to the health risks that accompany pregnancy with multiples.

Amelia has the perfect balance of compassion while still explaining all of the risks. She makes sure that you fully understand the next steps and is very patient when explaining procedures etc. As her patient, I never doubt whether I am receiving the best care and attention. I fully trust her judgement.

What are you waiting for? Book your appointment now.. she can take a little while to get into.

I came to Dr. Bailey after experiencing 3 ectopic pregnancies. The first resulting in the loss of my right tube, the second being a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, and the third being a diagnosed cornual ectopic pregnancy. My regular OBGYN diagnosed it and referred me right over to Dr. Bailey (I had done IVF out of town at a different clinic). Dr. Bailey was honest about what to expect and tried to treat with methotrexate. I was closely monitored and then when it was determined that the methotrexate was unsuccessful, I was admitted to the hospital for open surgery to remove the pregnancy and the upper right corner of my uterus. Post surgery, Dr. Bailey recommended to move forward with surrogacy. We are preparing for our first transfer at the end of October.

While my surgery was covered by insurance, all of our surrogacy bills will be out of pocket.

For our case, she recommended a SET.

We felt like he was a very compassionate doctor. Like he truly wanted to help. He could see that we really wanted to conceive. And think this may have been the down side. Him knowing how we really wanted this, I think maybe we shouldn’t have done some of the cycles but he did them anyway.

Just make sure to ask him for his honest opinion even if it is against your desires.

If I remember correctly the first cycle was a luteal lupron protocol and the second was antagonist. Some of the medicines I took were birth control, ganirelex, menopur, clomid, crinone, prednisone, and pregnyl, along with fertility vitamins and estradiol.

It was a cattle-call, but it was early in the morning and more convenient for me. Even being open on weekends was helpful.

There was no specific breakdown of what each procedure costs. That’s one thing I didn’t like. It was like a packaged deal. The cost is the frozen transfer was not clear and a lot more than I expected. After 4 IUIs, 2 IVF retrievals and 3 transfers, you’d think that some discounted rates would be offered. I know for a fact that some patients are given discounted package prices because a couple I know was given a 50% discount after the first cycle failed. We were never given such a huge discount. The cost is so expensive it seems that there is more the doctors could do financially to help patients

Each transfer except the last was multiple embryo transfers. On the second transfer I think we should have transferred all three embryos instead of two and then coming back and transferring a single embryo. This is because the first cycle was unsuccessful and the doctor was already concerned about the egg quality. So why not just transfer all three on the second transfer instead of doing a third transfer that costs us more money.

In my prior response, I have already shared details with regards to our high estimation of Dr. Brezina as an outstanding communicator. We have faced a number of sad situations, including the loss of one of our babies, and Dr. Brezina has always responded with deep and genuine empathy and presence. I think it is also important to share how much we respect and admire Dr. Brezina's fund of knowledge and his clinical acumen. Since I and my husband are both physicians, we have high expectations for the physicians in whom we entrust our medical care. Dr. Brezina trained at Johns Hopkins, and his knowledge and clinical judgment are outstanding. He never appears to be following an algorithm by rote; rather, he takes the time to familiarize himself with the details of each case, thinks outside of the box, and is willing to share his honest reflections and recommendations with you. He has mastered the art of active listening, and he remains self-confident while also humble and open about what he knows and what he does not know. I could not admire Dr. Brezina more; he is the best physician with whom I have ever entrusted my own medical care, and one of the best physicians whom I have ever known.

Trust him.

I am embarrassed that I know few details; I made an intentional choice to remove myself from these details, because I worried that I would try to micromanage my own medical care in the context of my medical degree, while having zero actual expertise in RI. But this is what I remember. We had a failed IVF with a prior doctor, which was a truly horrific experience. When we switched to Dr. Brezina, we decided to start with an IUI. However, when my husband gave the sperm sample right before the procedure, we learned that his sperm had no motility, which was attributed to cross-linking of the tails secondary to an anti-sperm antibody (based on gross microscopy assessment). We went ahead and did the IUI procedure anyway, since we had already paid for it and I had already done the whole hormonal prep - but it was a failure, unsurprisingly. We then did an IVF (ICSI), and we opted to do a frozen cycle, because this would allow for higher doses of hormones in an effort to get more embryos to freeze (this decision was based off the fact that we had fewer eggs than expected retrieved during the first IVF cycle). They had expected to retrieve 15-20 eggs, but we ended up only with 9. We had 5 that fertilized, and only 2 that matured to 5-day embryos and were frozen. Dr. Brezina strongly advises using 5-day embryos, and we agree with his rationale for a variety of reasons. The first frozen transfer resulted in a chemical miscarriage. The second frozen transfer ended up splitting into 2 embryos (seriously, what are the odds?! Actually, I know that the odds are <<1%...it was an extremely rare event). I had an intrauterine hemorrhage at around 6 weeks, and we lost 1 of the twins, which was heartbreaking. But we were so blessed with the birth of our daughter in 2016, after years of trying to conceive. We are now hoping to do another IVF cycle next month. Unfortunately, my repeat labs show decreasing ovarian reserve, so there is urgency to proceed with this cycle, as well as poorer odds of success projected...but we are still trying to be hopeful. We are planning to do another frozen cycle, followed by transfer.

This is a painful topic...I have tried to block it out. When we did our first IVF cycle, although it was a horrible experience, it was largely paid for by insurance because we lived in a state in which IVF was mandated for coverage. In our current state, however, IVF is not covered at all by insurance. So we have done IUI, a frozen IVF cycle (retrieval), ICSI x5 embryos, storing 2 embryos, and 2 frozen transfers, all out of pocket. I honestly don't know exactly how much that all cost...probably $25,000. Possibly more. And are about to do it all again, which is a huge financial burden that we cannot afford, since we have a total of ~$500,000 in student loans between my and my husband's medical training. Thankfully, my parents are so kind and are helping us, otherwise it wouldn't be possible.

Dr. Brezina is supportive of single or double embryo transfer, but he recommends eSET. I am a pediatrician, and I have years of experience caring for preterm infants in the NICU, which has significantly informed my preference for eSET. As much as I would so so love to have twins, I do not think I could live with a decision that increases the risk of premature delivery and its associated morbidity and mortality risks.

He is very smart but is able to explain things in such a way that my husband and I can understand these intricate processes taking place. He doesn’t keep us waiting during appts and is methodical in his process of planning our course of treatment

Be honest, if you don’t understand something ask him to repeat it or explain it in another way

Our first cycle we planned to do IUI but the transfer date fell on thanksgiving and the office was closed so we timed intercourse and fell pregnant—i had unusual bleeding and he followed me very closely until it was discovered to be an ectopic pregnancy. He gave us the option of taking methotrexate or having the tube removed—explaining the pros and cons of each. We elected to remove the tube. We tried IUI again a few months later which was unsuccessful and we make the desicion to move onto IVF; assuming that our best tube was the one that had been removed. We worked through the routine protocol for IVF which yielded 12 follicles/6 eggs/3 five day blasts. We froze those to let my body recover prior to transferring them. He also told us he typically sees a slightly higher success rate with FET vs fresh. We elected to transfer one embryo (to avoid the risks associated with multiples). That cycle failed and our next cycle he added Lupron and changes from oral estrogen to vaginally estrogen, telling us that it is typically absorbed better vaginally also Lupron was to keep me even more suppressed than I had been to eliminate that variable. Everything looked “perfect” the week before transfer but I contracted C-diff and we decided to cancel the cycle rather than risk my embryos. We are currently waiting to start another cycle but our plan is to repeat the protocol from our previous canceled cycle

It is very efficient. They have some women getting lab work while others are getting ultrasounds to keep people moving and get us out quickly

Egg retrieval was about $15000 including ultrasounds and lab work. Meds were about $5000

He advised us to only transfer 1 embryo our first cycle as there are several risk factors for mom and babies with muptiples. Our last two embryos were of average quality and we were advised to transfer them both together to increase our odds

One of the things I appreciate most about Dr. Bailey is that she understands I am a self pay patient. Therefore there are no nonsense meetings. We only meet when it’s to discuss more aggressive treatment options. The first time I met Dr. Bailey I was coming from a clinic where the Doctor didn’t know what to do next. Dr. Bailey had a game plan with multiple options and prices. She advised and let me choose which direction to go. She also shared personal experiences and made herself very relatable. After my first IUI she called to congratulate me and wish me good luck since we had a hard time getting my periods and then eggs to cooperate. It was a process and she was genuinely happy for me. It’s a phone call she didn’t have to make with her busy schedule. I have never felt misguided by her and I always leave complete informed.

Go in ready to take notes and ask questions. She will give you a lot of information and likes open discussion.

Each ultrasound was around $130. My IUI cost just under $600 (not including medicine). My husbands sperm wash was around $500.

Dr. Kutteh is very knowledgeable and experienced. I appreciated his candidness at each stage of our fertility treatments. He was also willing to give us options and let us decide what treatment we wanted to do next. While he did not have the most comforting bedside manner, he was compassionate and understanding of my fears and feelings. I always appreciated his expertise in the field of recurrent pregnancy loss and infertility, so I felt like I was in good hands simply because of his vast knowledge.

He is very factual and will thoroughly review your file at every visit. If there is anything that concerns you, just bring it up and he’ll listen and address it.

IUI #1 - 2.5 mg Letrazole IUI #2 - 5 mg Letrazole IUI #3 - 5 mg Letrazole Egg Retrieval - 250ml Gonal-F, Cetratide, Lupron trigger shot, doxycycline, steroid Transfer - 75ml Progesterone in oil, 2 pills of Estradiol then up to 3, progesterone suppositories (all taken until 10 weeks of pregnancy), Valium (morning of transfer), “couch”rest for 24 hours

The overall cost for an IUI was $497, but that did not include ultrasounds. The cost for the entire IVF procedure was laid out in very clear terms. With the ultrasounds, procedures, doctor’s fees, and meds, ours cost around $15,000.

Dr. Kutteh advised us to use one embryo based on my age (31) and the quality and number of our day 5 blastocysts. We trusted him and didn’t want to have multiples.

I believe Dr. Kutteh is very smart and compassionate about his work and helping patients achieve their goal of getting pregnant. I was disappointed that when my 1st ivf cycle was canceled and changed to an IUI that he didn’t want to meet with myself and my husband to discuss a new plan and protocol. He did call me on the phone and we discussed it but I think that is something that needs to be done in person.

You have to be your own advocate. Do your own research as well.

My first ivf cycle I did 75 or menopur and 275 of gonol f. I made it to day 6 of stims when my cycle was changed to an IUI. They only found one follicle on my right ovary and the ultrasound tech said she couldn’t find my left ovary. (Which I have, it had never been removed). On day 6 my estrogen dropped and the said my progesterone was over one so they knew I would ovulate that follicle. I took the trigger shot at 5pm that night and the next day we went in for the IUI. When I finally talked to Dr. Kutteh over a week later he said he knew this was a possibility because of my numbers. We all knew going in to this I might not respond well. So this time we will be doing the Schoolcraft protocol with Lupron.

I think we paid them close to 10,000 for our first cycle not including meds or what we would have paid for the retrieval or transfer since we didn’t get that far. The money we didnt use we have as a credit for our next cycle.

We haven’t made it to an egg retrieval yet but I do believe if the patient wants you to transfer two embryos then they should. The patient should be able to have a say in that decision.