ORM Fertility Oregon

Dr. Bankowski is very matter-of-fact and to the point when it comes to delivering information. He doesn't sugarcoat things and will lay the facts our plainly. He's not the warmest in regards to bedside manner, but he is smart and does his job well.

If you need more from him - be it empathy, information, or warmer bedside manner, speak up and ask for it.

My first IVF cycle was a typical antagonist protocol. Each monitoring appointment, my dosage was increased as I was responding poorly. Dr. Bankowski and I mutually agreed to cancel the cycle after 7 days of stim meds due to poor response. The second IVF cycle was a Lupron flare + HGH protocol, which my body responded to better. 8 eggs were retrieved, 7 were mature, 6 fertilized via ICSI, and 5 made it to day-5 blasts. Grading were all between AA and AB. We opted not to PGS test. We did a single embryo fresh transfer which failed to implant (negative pregnancy test). Then did a double frozen embryo transfer which resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Last we did another double frozen embryo transfer which resulted in a singleton pregnancy. At our 20 week anatomy scan it was discovered the baby suffered from bilateral multicystic kidney dysplasia and severe oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid). The MFM explained the diagnosis was fatal and there was no chance to have a full term live birth. We chose to terminate for medical reasons at 20 weeks.

We have spent approximately $28,000 at ORM for professional services in addition to approximately $9,600 in medications.

Dr Hurliman was extremely thorough and seemed to be very up to date on the latest research and ideas. She tailored the the plan specifically to us, and was always thinking two steps ahead, meaning we knew what was coming next and the various paths out treatment course might take depending upon how things went. These were always communicated clearly to us, which was very helpful for me for managing expectations. Further, our treatment outcome was exactly what she predicted it would be. She is very direct in her communication and doesn't sugarcoat things. That doesn't mean that she is uncaring, but certainly it is something I would advise potential patients to take into consideration when selecting a doctor if that style doesn't fit them.

Take what she says as face value: she is very open, honest, and straightforward in her assessment and how she communicates things.

First cycle attempt was cancelled on day 5 due to poor response (natural start antagonist). Second cycle was an estrogen prime antagonist, which ultimately resulted in one PGS normal embryo was was transferred and resulted in a singleton live birth.

Retrieval with PGS testing and transfer ~20K, meds 8-10K

Dr Hurliman strongly recommends single embryo transfer of PGS normal embryos, at least in my age bracket at the time (under 35)

Dr. Barbieri was very kind and made us feel at ease and really helped us to feel good about our cycle- which ended in a pregnancy and live birth! Our first child. We are grateful not just for her care, but for everyone in her office who treated us so lovingly and made us feel right at home at the clinic. We have referred multiple people to ORM, and to Dr. Barbieri specifically. I could not speak more highly of her level of competence and care. We were very nervous and excited to try, and our hopes were met with compassion and a high level of competence at every turn. She even gave us recommendations while doing the IUI to a wonderful place to eat, which to this day I think of as the place where our Marigold came into being, right after we completed the IUI. Just very personable and lovely. Great experience.

Ask questions!

I liked that Dr. Barbieri suggested every intervention to ensure we would conceive since we had been trying on our own for over a year. We cleared my tubes, did all the monitoring, used clomid, and trigger shot. We felt like she gave us every option,

The initial consultation was about $600, which we paid up front. We were able to make payments for the other services.

He has a ton of experience and was very clear about what should / was occurring. He backed his choices with the latest research and was realistic about the options / chances we had. I preferred his direct explainations to vague statements. He was open to other options. We had unexplained infertility. With Dr. Hesla, we did a cycle where the eggs were split into 2 cohorts. One cohort was fertilized with my husband's sperm and the other cohort with a donor. It was the easiest and least expensive way to hedge our bets in case some part of the issue was sperm based or just an interaction between my husband and I. Some doctors we had spoke with were uncomfortable with that idea. We had 2 successes with the sperm donor embryos despite the unexplained infertility diagnosis.

He will be direct and explain the chances of failure and success. You'll either really like that or really won't.

It's been a couple years so I don't recall the exact protocols. I did have to switch vaginal progesterone due to a reaction to the oil, and used the pre-mixed trigger shot for the same reason. We also did a modified natural transfer instead of forcing the hormones. We split the eggs retrieved into two groups - one fertilized by sperm donor and one with my husband's sperm in order to increase the changes of success. He was amenable to that, where some doctors weren't when interviewing them. We did cancel one FET due to low levels of one of the hormones and when I asked, he sent me the studies that supported that - so it wasn't just about how he felt about protocols but rather research.

Costs were higher than many clinics if I recall correctly, but they had good success rates and were very close to us.

He supported both and allowed us to determine it after presenting the information. We did multiple (2) embryo transfers for our 3 transfers with him. 2 of the 3 resulted in single births.

She described everything as perfect or beautiful, which gave me false hope every time since all perfect and beautiful got me was 3 failed IUIs, a failed fresh transfer, and one chemical pregnancy from the FET. She never explained why I was having trouble conceiving so I thought it was unexplained. It turns out I have PCOS, she just never told me. I was told my bw was fine even though my AMH was 10. I had a ton of eggs (which she made it seem like that was a good thing). After a year in her care I had to ask her myself if I had PCOS, to which she responded yes. Why did she never bring this to my attention? During the few phone calls we had she always asked if I had any questions but it is hard to have any questions when she doesn't give you any information to form questions. She could never tell me why I constantly tested positive on the OPK when my follicle was no where near mature. She approved an IUI when my follicle was only 14 or 15mm. I had to have a meeting with HR with them saying sorry, this should have never been approved. She told me I tested positive on the receptiva test for inflammation but didn't explain what that meant, just that I needed another medication. I had to google what it meant instead of my own doctor explaining my test results.

Ask for another doctor. If you can't get a new doctor, advocate for yourself. Google your symptoms to ask her if that is your issue. Have a list of broad questions since she never guides the conversation.

Basic egg retrieval protocol (menopur, gonal-f, ganirelix, HCG trigger shot). Produced 32 eggs, 10 5-day blasts. For fresh and FET cycles she did 81MG Aspirin, 2MG Estrace (vaginal), 0.3ML Delestrogen, 50ML Progestrone in Sesame Oil PIO SO 1ml, 16MG Medrol, and100MG Doxycycline Hyclate. Fresh transfer resulted in failure to implant. FET resulted in a chemical pregnancy with two embryos. First beta was 309 and the second was 806. The bleeding started the day after the second beta.

Monitoring was based on their schedule, which does not work with certain jobs. Monitoring appointments were never on time, there would be a full waiting room and once you were in a room you waited even longer. They quickly did their ultrasound with little attention to detail.

Billing is always late, as expected. We had to pay upfront for the egg retrieval and fresh transfer, about $20,000.

She strongly suggested one embryo for the fresh transfer and approved two embryos for the FET.

She is great! If a portal message hasn’t been answered by nurses within a day or so, she answers it herself. She is thorough and clinical and also kind. Her bedside manner is confident and knowledgeable but also warm. Shes a good fit for us!

No advice really, she’s good at answering questions and making sure you understand the process for the most part.

We were on a pretty typical medicated protocol. We’ve only done transfers with her and no retrievals. But for transfer we used birth control, delestrogen, and progesterone and it all worked as it should.

It was about $13k for our donor embryo cycle. $4500 for donor program fee, meds, testing/monitoring, and about $4000 for transfer I believe.

She prefers to transfer one at a time

We were referred to Dr. Hurliman by both my doctor and my fertility acupuncturist. We started out with the intention of doing IUI and did all testing prior. During my baselines, the nurse practioners kept noting cysts in my right ovary, month after month. I had 2 IUI cycles cancelled & one that was performed but without stim meds because of a cyst. I finally saw Dr. Hurliman in person and upon seeing my ovaries on the ultrasound in person, immediately detected an endometioma/endometriosis. Even thought I was frustrated that we couldn't move forward, I ended up being very grateful that Dr. Hurliman detected endometriosis- because for many women, the diagnoses is far more delayed with far more wasted treatment. Dr. Hurliman wouldn't move me forward with any other treatments until I consulted a surgeon & she recommended surgical removal for best chances. She provided excellent references. I am now working with Dr. Hurliman & ORM to do embryo banking this summer, then I'll be having surgery to excise the endometrioma/endometriosis, and then hopefully transferring in the fall. I can tell Dr. Hurliman is extremely knowledgeable. She could have sent me straight to IVF, but she instead referred me out to give me (hopefully) the best overall results.

Dr. Hurliman herself is great and knowledgeable. What I wish I had known was how hard it would be to deal with ORM (getting ahold of them, scheduling, not having case managers anymore) and actually feel like a person to the clinic and not just a number.

Due to my cysts (which actually turned out to be endometriosis), I was only able to do 1 unmedicated IUI cycle out of 3 tries. The cycle we did do was unmedicated because one of my cysts was large enough to make my estradiol levels elevated, so Dr. Hurliman did not think it was responsible to use Clomid. Clomid was what I would have been on for the 2nd & 3rd IUI. When Dr. Hurliman detected endometriosis, she immediately nixed the Clomid and wouldn't allow stimulation until I did a pelvic MRI. The MRI confirmed Dr. Hurliman's opinion, I consulted a surgeon who deemed my endometrioma stable, and now I'm waiting to start an IVF egg retrieval in the summer.

I thankfully have insurance that covers my care with Dr. Hurliman

ORM highly recommends PGT-A testing of embryos, thus reducing the need to transfer multiple.

During my first IVF cycle I was fortunate enough to have a lot more interaction with Dr. Barbieri than my second cycle. I felt like I was in good hands when I was actually able to see the provider I was assigned to and she was giving me information about my cycle real time (not being relayed through another staff member). Dr. Barbieri cheered me on and was always positive. She answered my questions and was attentive. I did not get that same care the second time around. I felt like I became a number at that point. I was never given an explanation of where Dr. Barbieri was or given a variety of appointment times so that I could meet with her if I wanted to. I'm not sure how much COVID had an impact but I definitely felt I was treated differently in 2021 than I was in 2020. I like Dr. Barbieri and would have preferred to have every appointment with her or at least to be able to see her a few times over the course of the IVF cycle.

You probably will not see her very much so be prepared for that.

I was on a regimen of Follistim, Ganirelix, Menopur and Omnitrope. With this course of treatment I had a couple of follicles but no eggs in either follicle. With the exception of Omnitrope this was the regimen I was on during my first cycle when five eggs were able to be retrieved. Dr. Barbieri added in Omnitrope in hopes that would help improve egg quality.

About $20K for the deposit for services with Dr. Barbieri. No medications included.

Dr. Barbieri is a phenomenal doctor - she really knows her stuff. I feel like I may have not had the same good outcome had I went somewhere else. Her experience both personal (she underwent IVF for all 3 of her children) and professional (over 12 years experience), knowledge, and dedication to this work is very evident. She strives to answer questions the best that she can often drawing out pictures and diagrams if necessary. I highly recommend her.

She's compassionate and sweet, but also very honest and transparent. She doesn't sugarcoat anything and will be very honest with you. Go with her if you appreciate and value this.

Over $7,500 in medications Over $15,000 for treatment

She left it completely up to me. She did describe the risks associated with transferring two but allowed me to make that decision... which I very much appreciated.

Dr. Hesla was kind and did answer all of my questions. I think he is a good doctor but he isn’t at a good clinic. I did like that he would listen to and consider options that I brought up. I also wish they were more up to date with emerging science and treatments.

Take a note pad because he gives great information. Make sure to write down any questions before you meet with him so you don’t forget to ask.

Dr. Hesla suggested I keep taking prenatal vitamins with folic acid and also suggested I take Ovasitol. He said he suggests me trying 4 cycles of timed intercourse with Letrozole and statistically if it doesn’t work by the 4th time, I’ll need to move to the next step which is IVF. For reference I’m 35 with PCOS and my husbands sperm is above average quality. Fast forward, that didn’t work so we did 3 egg retrievals, 2 transfers, and 1 embryo didn’t survive thaw. We did change up the protocol each time but didn’t get better results. On the 3rd retrieval we used human growth hormone but results were similar/not great.

$80k for 3 retrievals, 2 transfers, and 2 mock transfers for uterine biopsies.

He did not go into details about that but did say that chances of success don’t increase much by doing multiples.

Dr Bankowski was great. On our initial consultation phone call (due to Covid) he took all the time that I needed to answer all my questions. He was very understanding of my situation and seemed to ask all the right questions for him to have a better understanding of what I was going through. If I didn’t think to tell him he knew to ask.I happen to ovulate so that I had to have my IUI on a Sunday. He doesn’t work Sundays but he was so nice to introduce me to the doctor that would be performing my IUI. I felt comfortable at all times.

Don’t be afraid to ask him any and all questions. Even if you feel like it’s a silly question.

Minimal Letrozole. 2.5mg a day for 5 days. CD3-7. I didn’t respond very well, only produced one egg. But I did get pregnant! Unfortunately it ended in an ectopic. To no fault of anyone.

This is one of the best parts. They do their best to code your treatments so that your regular health insurance will cover such costs as ultrasounds and different monitoring appointments. I was able to pay very little for my IUI. Much less than I thought I was going to have to pay. It is such a great asset to the clinic that their billing department knows how to do that.

Dr. Bankowski showed he cared for our story and what we are going through. He asked about our journey and what our goals are. He explained things thoroughly and made sure we asked any questions we had. He did explain all the details of how the reproductive systems work, which was review for me, but I think it helped my husband understand more clearly the state of our situation. Dr. Bankowski made it clear what the next steps would be for us. We knew who would be contacting us and when.

Be as candid as you can. Share your story with him. He will listen.

When I came to Dr. Hesla to start the IVF process I was very scared. I had already been through the IVF process once and it ended in a miscarriage. I so desperately wanted the process to work and to not feel the pain that I had gone through before. From the very fist consultation with Dr. Hesla I felt at ease. Dr. Hesla is soft spoken and very calming, he was willing to spend time with my husband and I answering questions and making sure we felt comfortable with the plan prior to moving forward and once we started the process he has there every step of the way and I felt like he really cared about me and wanted this process to be successful.

Ask questions! Make a list before you go in for an appointment so you have something to reference. I tended to get very anxious and nervous for each appointment and would forget things that I wanted clarity on or concerns I had.

Delestrogen No Lupron FET.

$25,000 or more

For him it depends, usually, no more than two embryos transferred at a time.

He was very complete with explanations and helpful. He gave realistic explanations and explained failure rates fully. He was experienced and prompt with communication. He gave good clinical advice when needed

Feel free to ask any questions. As a medical doctor myself I was very thorough with queries and Brandon Bankowski answered all my queries immediately.

We used an experienced egg donor with a proven egg donor record to increase our chances of creating viable embryos. We did a split cycle with both partners fertilising half the eggs collected with their own sperm with the hope that we would save on overall costs and only have to do the egg retrieval procedure once. We then tested the blastocysts created to ensure they were chromosomal normal. We were lucky that both of us ended up with at least 2 chromosomal normal Day 5 blastocysts. We transferred only one blastocysts to lower risks to our surrogate and were lucky to have a single live birth following that transfer.

$55000 for egg donor, embryo creation, testing of embryos, surrogate assessment and transfer of blastocyst

He explained both to us and the risks involved as well as the success rates of each. We made the decision to do an eSET

She is succinct and honest, as well as completely professional. She doesn’t go into as much detail as I prefer, but I’ve always had opportunity to ask questions. She is thorough and thoughtful in her responses. She does a thorough chart review so she isn’t asking redundant questions, and clarifying questions are appropriate. We were never made to feel judged or poorly as to question our decision making process even when we chose to pursue more conservative treatment, despite it did not concur with her recommendation for ideal treatment; we were aware of the statistics of our choices, and those were honored and respected. We never were made to feel pressured or rushed to follow through with her next step recommendation. I’ve never felt judged. She is also honest and doesn’t hesitate to answer slightly direct or difficult questions (like the providers at ORM are stakeholders as owners); I also felt she is able to separate bias or potential personal gain from sound and fair clinical judgements. I find her to be honest, trustworthy, down-to-earth, and reassuring. She has alleviated a lot of anxieties around I fertility. I feel good about our decision of having switched to ORM with Dr. Hurliman in particular.

Don’t be shy to ask questions as she is very receptive to clarify anything that is creating uncertainty or stress. Also, if you’re someone who prefers a what-you-see-is-what-you-get personality and a friendly introvert for a provider, she’s the doctor for you. If you need a bubbly extrovert provider who will small talk or schmooze, make a different selection if that is your personality preference.

The diagnostic workup is as thorough as one can imagine with no stones unturned; the treatment plan choices are based on individual factors and not a generic hit list. We pursued IUIs and Clomid then Femara fully understanding she recommended IVF as ideal treatment; this was due to fear of what-ifs associated with cost, and our bad experience with a different physician at another facility with janky IVF before ORM.

IUI cost is mainly related to the number of ultrasounds each cu or required, so a firm figure isn’t helpful.

I’d read different things online, and paradigms change, but currently ORM does a single transfer the first time. A two-embryo transfer is not considered until a first transfer fails.

Extremely knowledgeable, completely confident in his wisdom, insight, and protocols. Will move along quickly if you don’t have questions so be forward with any questions. When you do ask, he is very thorough. He deferred to my PCP a couple times due to unexpected complications, which caused my care to feel disjointed at those times, but overall he is a great doctor.

If you ask questions you will get thoughtful and thorough answers.

I have PCOS so he watched very carefully so I would not hyperstimulate but was also sensitive to the fact that the egg quality was likely not great. He adjusted dosages/treatment length to accommodate (upping Follistim when follicles were not growing, then tapered off once they started developing quicker). Because of the amount of eggs (31 at retrieval) and symptoms of overstimulation he called for a freeze-all and a month to get my body back to baseline.

Around $30,000 though we are not pregnant yet.

I did not feel like Dr. Hesla pushed either way for one or two embryos. He answered our questions, offered neutral and data-based reasoning for both options, and supported our choice without hesitation.

I went to see Dr. Bankowski at age 40, after a lifetime of unexplained infertility, and finally a diagnosis of mild endometriosis at age 35. I had had one terrible experience at CCRM in Colorado at age 36, in which the doctor there told me that because of my AMH of 1.0 and FSH of 8.7, I would need to commit to doing 3 cycles of IVF, which would have cost $60k, plus more to travel to Colorado 3 times. I felt like this must mean IVF would be a huge gamble for me, and didn't think it was worth investing $60k and maybe not even having a baby to show for it in the end. So I ended up making the decision to go straight to donor eggs, to improve my odds. So we spent $40k on 13 frozen eggs, and had 2 embryos in the end to transfer. At age 40, when I went to see Dr. Bankowski, he explained to me that there was no need to require 3 cycles at 36 with an AMH of 1.0, since patients like me who have never gotten pregnant naturally, are often successful when an embryo is actually transferred. And even though my one attempt at an IVF cycle at age 40 was not likely to result in a live birth (and so could impact their success rates), he was totally fine with me trying. From that cycle, we retrieved 4 eggs and got 3 day 5 embryos! That is better results using my 40 year old eggs than we had using 25 year old donor eggs at CCRM! I did get pregnant; unfortunately I later miscarried due to a chromosome abnormality, but I would expect that at age 40. It really made me wonder how things would've gone if I had gone to ORM at age 36, instead of CCRM.

We did an antagonist protocol with BCP to prime. If I had been able to try another cycle (insurance covered only one), I would've requested estrogen priming and Micro dose Lupron flare.

I was fortunate to have insurance that covered the majority of my cycle, and everything was handled well. I paid up front for the cycle, and was reimbursed at the end. It took a few days after my last bill was paid by insurance to get reimbursed. I paid around $13k up front and was reimbursed around $11k.

I was given the option to PGS test or not, and I chose not to, so we transferred 2 embryos. At my age, the chance of both becoming babies was slim.

Dr. Hurliman’s strengths: she was patient and kind and showed compassion. She was able to explain things clearly and even drew pictures to help explain the process. Weaknesses: this isn’t a weakness of dr. Hurliman specifically but infertility treatment is extremely expensive and she would offer up suggestions on next steps without ever discussing cost (minus saying that the next treatment would be “expensive”). It’s hard to make a decision without having all of the information (including financial info).

Get all the facts before embarking on this journey. It’s time consuming and emotional. Dealing with the cost in addition to the stress can be overwhelming. Write your questions down and take all the time you need

I was on an agonist treatment cycle. I used menopur injections and follistim for egg retrieval. First time I had 22 eggs collected but only 4 made it to blastocyst and then only 1 was genetically viable. Transfer prep was progesterone injections (which are painful!) and endometrin suppositories (which are gross). Transfer resulted in a positive pregnancy test, but at 6 weeks it was a blighted ovum and I miscarried. Second attempt was the same protocol with the addition of omnitrope, human growth hormone, which is supposed to help increase quality. 24 eggs were collected and again only 4 made it to blastocyst and none were genetically viable for transfer.

Each IVF cycle was approximately $13k

Amanda Hurliman seemed to be very conservative and let us know that she would only ever transfer 1 embryo at a time. We only had the 1 so it wasn’t an issue but I would’ve liked to have a choice and assume the risk as the patient (and the one paying for this)

Dr Hesla went over my complex history fully. He listened to my concerns and needs. He helped me to see two high risk OB’s for additional opinions if I should carry a pregnancy. He was always ready to answer questions and give details about treatment. I appreciated that he was always willing to give information on current research in the field to help us feel like we understood our best, most up to date options. He was kind and supportive through our hardest moments.

Ask questions

Our protocol seemed pretty straight forward. I don’t recall doses, but we were able to monitor locally.

Each time we were given a clear estimate of costs for retrieval, medicine, monitoring, transfers, and storage.

Dr Hesla provided appropriate information on the value of eSET. All of our transfers were single embryo transfers.

Dr Barbieri is very good at being present and answering every question you have. She is thorough at explanations and truly cares.

I'm currently in my TWW for my first IUI at ORM. DR Barbieri discussed that depending on my bodies response to medications we may do 2-3 IUIs. She explained she would tell me after the second one what her plan would be for us and then we would move on to IVF if we haven't gotten a BFP. She put me on 100 mg of Clomid for 5 days this cycle (due to my low follicle count in Arizona earlier this year) she explained that we could get too many mature follicles and have to cancel. She was very straight forward with this information. We ended up with one perfect, one almost big enough and two that might catch up so she explained again that we could trigger then or wait a few days and hope the other catch up and have a better chance. Again straight forward and made sure I was on the same page as her and wanted the same things. We waited a few more days and triggered with an Ovidrel injection. I had my IUI with a nurse yesterday and now we wait!!

My IUI totaled from cycle day 1-insemination approx $1,200 (including meds). You pay for each appointment separately at time of service.

After nearly four years of trying to conceive on our own and at other clinics, we made an appointment with Dr. Hurliman on a friend's recommendation, and from the first visit I knew we had come to the right place. She took a lot of time to talk with us and explained our options thoroughly. She did all of my IVF procedures including egg retrieval, a fresh transfer (two embryos), and two frozen transfers (one embryo each transfer). I always felt confident knowing she was orchestrating my treatment. I needed two surgeries while I was in her care, and she connected me with surgical teams that she trusted, which really put my mind at ease. Even though she didn't do my surgeries, she followed up with me about them before and after to see how I was doing. I went through a lot while I was in Dr. H's care, including a twin pregnancy that ended with one blighted ovum (empty gestational sac) and a complicated ectopic pregnancy. It is heartbreaking to lose a pregnancy after years of trying to conceive, and Dr. Hurliman recognized that. She had just the right mix of compassion and professionalism that helped me get through that devastating time. Also, I really like that Dr. Hurliman is part of a larger group at ORM. When my treatment got unexpectedly complicated, she was able to talk with her colleagues, and I felt like I had a team of some of the best doctors in the world recommending next steps for my treatment. I conceived again after our second frozen embryo transfer, and I continued in Dr. Hurliman's care through my first trimester. If she delivered babies, I would have loved to stay in her care through my whole pregnancy!

To the extent that you can, you can stop worrying about the medical aspects of your treatment while you are Dr. Hurliman's care. She has that covered, so you can spend that energy taking care of yourself instead.

We had already been trying to conceive for four years when we started seeing Dr. Hurliman, and we went right to IVF. I received a detailed calendar for each cycle and treatment. It was really easy to follow my calendar, and when I had questions, my nurse always got back to me within a few hours.

I can't remember the exact cost of our IVF cycle, but we put down a deposit before the cycle started, which was nice because we didn't need to pay for anything during my appointments. The office also did a great job of billing my insurance. And even though IVF wasn't covered, a lot of the office visits and lab work was.

Dr. Hurliman was amazing to work with. I always saw her for my appointment except for one IUI transfer out of 6. Although many of our encounters were brief it was usually because I had no questions as she had already answered all of them. However, when needed she spent the time explaining things to us or in reassuring us about how things were going. She was always concerned about how we were doing emotionally as well as physically. I would recommend her to anyone!

Don't hesitate to ask clarifying questions. She does a great job at communicating but everyone has different questions and there is no way to cover everything for everyone. She is one doctor who will not make you feel stupid or like you are taking up too much of her time if you ask the questions you are wondering about so do it.

Initially we tried to IUI with medication and did 6 rounds. We did 6 instead of the standard 4 because of cervical stenosis problems making it unclear whether the first 2 were as successful as they could have been. Due to my age (relatively young) and no other known risk factors or reasons for infertility it was thought it could be secondary to genetic issues either with my eggs or my husband's sperm. For that reason, when we decided to do IVF she recommended (although did not push) that we do CCS. It turns out that was a good idea as we had a low yield of embryos as compared to the number of eggs that were retrieved and of those embryos half had problems genetically. I did have problems with mild ovarian hyperstim but do not remember the specifics regarding the medications.

Overall cost for the 6 IUIs was around $8000 including medication, ultrasounds, testing, and visits with Dr. Hurliman. 1 round of IVF with all the fixings =) (ICSI, CCS, medication, egg retrieval and transfer, tests, ultrasounds, visits with Dr. Hurliman, as well as post-transfer monitoring) was around $25,000. Insurance did not cover anything until after I became pregnant.

My husband I are very happy with Dr. Barbieri. She is straight to the point but also very encouraging and hopeful. She takes the times to listen to our concerns/questions. We never feel rushed when we see her.

We started with IUIs. Our diagnosis is "unexplained". We got pregnant after our 3rd IUI but it ended up being ectopic. We had to wait several months after that for the medication to get out of my system/run its course and then we started IUIs again. She even let us do one additional IUI because we asked for it. Unfortunately, it did not work out for us. We have now moved onto IVF.

We have spent about $6500 for 8 IUIs (includes, initial consult,testing,meds and procedure). We have spent about $22000 for IVF/ICSI (includes appts/consults, testing and meds). Our insurance only covers items that diagnosis infertility (basically just the testing), does not any cover treatment.

I saw Dr. Bankowski at almost every visit, which was important to me. He was very personable and genuine and always left me feeling informed and confident about the next steps.

Dr. Bankowski can come across as a little too confident and it can be mistaken as dismissive. Ask the questions that you need answers to and make sure you have him elaborate on his reasoning. He is confident because his experiences and education allow for him to be so, but again, if you have concerns, make sure you get answers.

I had a good AMH and FSH and my follicle count was always on par or higher for my age. 36. I was considered a “good responder” because of my test results. Also, my cycles were always normal and I achieved 3 natural pregnancies prior to seeking treatment. I was on the antagonist protocol, menopor, gonal f and cetrotide. I stimmed for 10 days before my egg retrieval. I had 23 follicles, 17 eggs retrieved, 12 mature and all fertilized with ICSI (our choice, not required). By day 6 we had 4 embryos to send for testing and 1 was chromosomally normal. I can currently pregnant with that little girl.

We paid an estimated $30,000 for IVF, ICSI, CCS and FET.

Dr. Bankowski is confident, knowledgeable, and informative. He had a clear idea of what treatment was appropriate for us given our history, but was willing to discuss our questions, concerns, or hesitations. Although our appointments occasionally felt a bit rushed, in general he showed care and concern for our experience.

Ask questions about what specific protocol/treatments are appropriate for you given your history, and come prepared with specific information to give him about your fertility history.

For my retrieval, Dr. Bankowski used Menopur, follistim, and ganirelex, given that I had had good results on that protocol before. The protocol worked well. 17 mature eggs were retrieved, which resulted in 5 blastocysts and 3 genetically normal embryos. For my transfer, Dr. Bankowski used progesterone in oil and delestrogen. This was the first time I had used that protocol and I am pregnant with twins.