Southern Illinois University

My consult about fertility was focused mainly on lab results. Opportunity for IVF cycling was not offered based on AMH level. Provider was not willing to clarify questions that followed in regards to billing for encounter

Not sure that this provider or practice in general offer services based on individual clinical picture. It seems the rate and their statistics for IVF success is valued above patient's fertility needs.

Not applicable since I did not complete and IVF cycle with this provider

One consult for patient is charged double simply for a partner being present in the consult visit. If you don't want to billed double for fertility services, seek fertility care at a different practice. IVF is expensive as it is. This practice bills as much as possible simply because they can but not because it is the right thing to do based on their services.

Not applicable since I did not pursue treatment with this provider

Dr. de Mola is incredibly patronizing and assumes very little medical knowledge. While that treatment might be helpful for some, I found it incredibly frustrating to be given the definition of a laparoscopic surgery after stating I understand what the procedure is and how it works. At said surgery, de Mola checked in with my husband while I was in recovery and told him that I was at a high risk of ovarian cancer later in my life. He never checked in with me in recovery, but when I saw him at my follow-up appointment, I asked him what I should do to be proactive with my increased risk. He claims never to have stated that. I told him that I would be sending my files to my primary gynecologist just for a second opinion, and these records have never made it to my gynecologist after a year of repeatedly asking for them. De Mola never consulted my husband's chart during our two years of seeing him, assuming that I was the only one with fertility problems despite our statements to the contrary. When he wanted us to do timed intercourse for the 6th month instead of moving up to IUI, I asked him to check my husband's chart and the recommendation for his male-factor infertility issues. He never apologized for giving us bad advice for over a year at that point and quickly over-prescribed my husband to attempt to help quickly raise his sperm counts after over a year of poor medical advice. For some reason, we continued with the clinic for another year, and we never saw him again. We've had no appointments with him, no communication from him, no advice from him. We have communicated entirely with nurses & office schedulers since that moment.

Avoid him. I understand the desire to have a baby, but I feel like he capitalizes on couples' desperation and gives advice that benefits his pocket book rather than your family planning goals. I just wish we never went to him or stayed there for three years. Such a waste of time, money, & energy.

We initially were told that we were young and should just focus on timed intercourse (even after I was diagnosed with PCOS & my husband had documented low-sperm count with a referral for IUI or most likely IVF). Those charts were never opened unless we asked for him to check our records when the advice seemed misguided & based on false medical assumptions. After 1.5 years, he began us on a cycle of IUI, but we never saw him during this time. IUI was repeatedly done even when they themselves said that my husband's count was lower than they would prefer for IUI. With my PCOS, it seemed as though I would always get a cyst the cycle after failed intercourse, so I would have to take BC for a month before rechecking for no cysts. We are currently signed up for an IVF cycle in the summer after we requested it (of course, they would have let us continue IUI and its billing ad nauseam) , but I honestly do not think I can trust this clinic based on their surprise billing tactics and lack of knowledge of my chart.

Office visits typically cost me $80 out of pocket (my insurance covers 80% cost). Ultrasounds cost my $190 each (they used to only charge me once a month for all of my ultrasound scans-- baseline during period, day 9-14, & additional if needed; but now, it is for each ultrasound). In January of 2023, their costs raised so significantly that my normal monthly out of pocket of between $80-$300 was $1300. Reba in their billing is a trooper though. She was always so kind and helpful on the phone, and she really advocated for my husband and me in this journey. She is hands down the single person in the office who redeems all other experiences.

We had a powerpoint read to us for the cost of $100, and he then explained that he almost always goes the eSET route except in rare cases.

In my experience Dr Loret de Mola has been wonderful, he found an ectopic pregnancy that another office missed and explained to me the risks of it happening again. He talked us through our options and when we discussed IVF he was honest in his opinion. While being straight forward with us also made us feel like we mattered. I have an incredible about of respect for this doctor.

I would let them know he is a very straight forward doctor, but not in a cruel or rude way, he does not sugar coat things.

As of right now we talking about doing IVF because I have a blockage in one of my tubes. He discussed the pros and cons of this treatment. I have yet to go through any treatment with him because I recently had an ectopic.

As of now the initial appointments have been covered by insurance mostly. A lot of the things I need done aren’t covered by my insurance and those are ranging from $250-$12,000

We have not discussed this.

Dr. Loret De Mola is the second doctor I have seen for infertility. He has given me treatments options that no other provider offered. He thinks outside of the box and individualizes your treatment plan to best fit you, not just follow a "protocol." I have been able to get pregnant twice while treating with him. Those pregnancies ended in miscarriage; However, I still very much trust him. He has never appeared to be losing hope in me and has actually told me he would not. My experience has been very positive and I will continue to treat with him.

My advice would be to trust him and his plan for you. Make sure that you see him and not the PA. He is a very straight forward person, but very compassionate when needed.

A big treatment strategy that Dr. Loret De Mola used was the addition of viagra suppositories. He did this because my uterine lining would not thicken during my cycle. This treatment was successful and resulted in 2 pregnancies. Viagra is started at time of estrogen and ends when you start progesterone.

Costs for IUI are more expensive than other clinic, if I remember correctly. All other coats seem reasonable. I have not had any issues with billing.

N/A

I really enjoyed Loret de Mola as my doctor. He was very blunt about my situation and had an exact idea for a solution. It may not have always been what I wanted to hear, but he gave educated answers backed by research. As a nurse, this was something I really appreciated.

You are your own best advocate. Stay on top of your treatment plan. Ask every question!

My insurance didn’t cover anything both times we used their services. I was responsible for all labs. IUI was around $1800. IVF was $9500 + labs for ultrasounds, egg retrieval, and a fresh transfer. For our frozen cycle, I believe it was around $3800 for ultrasounds and transfer. In total for 2 IUI, 1 IVF retrieval/transfer, and 1 frozen transfer, plus all the medications, we spent just under $30,000.

We did eSET for the fresh transfer. At that time, for my age and not knowing I would have issues getting/staying pregnant, it was the best option. I researched the topic before I received treatment and I agreed with his recommendation of eSET.

He is an extremely knowledgeable doctor; however, he is gone way too much. When I first treated with him, I felt like he was present and knew exactly what was going on. Returning to the clinic, I did not get the same experience. Further, when cycles failed, I was always made to feel like something must be wrong with me even though he never changed the course of action.

Do all of your own independent research. Know your own chart like the back of your hand. Constantly stay on top of the nurses otherwise you won’t get responses or the medications you need. Double check ANYthing a nurse tells you.

When I first attended this clinic I had very minimal costs due to insurance. When I returned, lots of additional costs were added in. With the same insurance, I am paying significantly more for the same treatment 1 year later.

I completely understand the risks association with multiple embryo transfer and appreciate that Dr. Loret de Mola would rather have healthy pregnancies than quick pregnancies. However, I think he uses a fear factor to keep patients from considering transferring 2 and doesn’t pay attention to each individual patient’s circumstances when being so forceful about only transferring 1. I think he exaggerates the risks of multiples and chances of multiples.

We waited 3 hours to see this physician. When the Dr. came in the room, he was rude, showed no compassion, and dismissed my concerns. I had to fight back tears during the consult-it was that bad. He went ahead and ordered baseline workup labs for myself and my husband, but told us we pretty much weren't doing anything right in regards to timing and frequency during the ovulation phase, and to 'just keep trying' but add back in the OPKs. He didn't think anything was wrong. I left there in tears, and immediately made a consult with a different physician.

Read the reviews! And talk to anyone you may know who has seen him. I wish I would have listened to the people I talked to, and saved myself the upset.

Only had consultation with this Dr. No treatments.

I only paid like $50 out of pocket after insurance for the consult. Most, if not all of the labs were covered under insurance.

LDM is extremely blunt, honest, and to the point. However that does not mean he lacks in compassion whatsoever. Our first appointment he sat down on the table next to me and apologized for the experience I had with a previous RE. He was honest about why he felt our previous course of treatments were wrong but also explained what he felt he could do to help us. When I had a med error and had to call for the on call nurse, it was actually him. He was so kind and could tell I was upset, even though it was late he stayed on the phone talking me down and reassuring me that everything was going to be okay. He remembers special details about my life and is always sure to ask about things.

Be prepared for his bluntness, it does not mean he is heartless or does not care. He just doesn’t sugar coat, which while harsh- is exactly what you need when navigating infertility.

I first had an HSG which my previous RE had refused to do. We had also previously been told my husband had extremely low count, after rechecking multiple times, he told us that was incorrect and like due to lab errors. I did IVF with Follistim, Menopur, Ganirelix, Medrol, Doxycycline, PIO. No med adjustments were made throughout stimulation.

IVF Cash package price $9500 Meds $6700 Mock Transfer and SIS $1200 FDA labs $1100

He has a very strong stance on single embryo transfer. We did end up transfering 2 ( per Jim the embryologist) due to fragmentation.

Dr. LDM gave us our twins in 2014. We only had two embryos from our retrieval so we transferred both. We were due with a boy and a girl but unfortunately they came early at 23 weeks. We lost our daughter after 17 hours but now our son turned 4 and we have been trying for the last 3 years to give him another sibling. We had no doubt that returning to SIU for another cycle of IVF would do the trick. We did a fresh cycle/transfer and had six embryos. We were so excited - but over a years time not one of those six embryos and 4 transfers later turned into a successful pregnancy. We had one miscarriage but all the rest were failed transfers. After all this he said we could "try again" but did not mention what to do differently or how we could increase our odds. Just try again doing the same thing that resulted in six lost embryos and a year of our time. Needless to say we are not returning but now looking for a new clinic with a different approach. We did have success our first round and I also know a handful of women who had successful pregnancies with him as well.

Do labs and ultrasounds early in the morning! Less wait time then. :)

A fresh cycle of IVF was about $10,000 plus meds $5-6,000. Every FET was $4,000 plus meds $1,500-2000.

Because of our previous history with 23 week twins, we did eSET for the first three transfers in 2017/8. And then for our last transfer we put in two because there were only two embryos left and our history of failed transfers. Again, it didn't work.

I liked Dr. Loret de Mola. My experiences with the clinic as a whole would deter me from recommending him to anyone. I had multiple problems with others. I felt he was very educated and had a great bedside manner. I just needed more time to understand the process because I do have a healthcare background. There was just not enough time to explain things to me as I needed them explained and other than the appointment times, I could not get questions answered by Doctor or other staff. See staff/nurse comments. I will say that things did get better once a PA was added to the staff.

Have your questions written out and make sure you are able to ask them at appointments because you may not get another chance to ask them.

I had dysfunctional/occluded tubes (Hydrosalpinx dx) and had to have them removed before I could even start IVF procedures. Hydrosalpinx tube contain embryo toxic fluid. Once removed I started meds for egg retrieval, folicle and blood level monitoring, and had egg retrieval. I only had 3 eggs (1 mature and 2 immature). They fertilized the only mature egg and implanted 2 days later. The procedure was unsuccessful.

There was an IVF "package" of $9500, Egg Donor/Surrogacy/Donor Clinic are extra, Genetic Testing Facility are extra, Embryo Bx are extra, Meds are extra, ect. We spent close to $20,000.00 and I only produced 1 mature egg that was not even optimal. I was told there was no indication by my blood work that would indicate the results I got. If we can raise the funds to try again, I will have to have an egg donor which will increase our costs $14,000-$20,000 more.

I did not have multiple embryos, so this does not pertain to me.

He didn't try to sugar coat things, recommended treatment but allowed us to make decisions for ourselves. We achieved the results we were hoping for within an acceptable time frame. He personally called to let us know our beta was positive.

Go into it with an open mind. Write down questions you may have before seeing him.

He recommended that we move straight to IVF due to my husband's diagnosis. Because our first was conceived after my husband having surgery, he hoped we would get lucky again. My husband insisted we try one IUI. He allowed us to do just that with clomid and an Ovidrel trigger. When it wasn't successful, we moved on to IVF with icsi. Due to my diminished ovarian reserve, he told me he was expecting around 5 eggs at harvest. I stimmed with follistim, menopur, and ganarelix. My trigger was 2 Ovidrel. I took Doxy after retrieval, and then doxy and prednisone after transfer. My beta was 15 days after retrieval. I had multiple blood draws and ultrasounds during swimming to monitor my progress.

We did have insurance coverage, but still spent approximately $10,000 over the years with our appts, treatments, and medications.

I have had a successful pregnancy as a result of Dr. Loret de Mola’s treatment. I’m currently trying for a second, but have unfortunately had 3 failed cycles as a result of my age. He has advised that I use a donor egg, which after much consideration I have decided to try. He was very open and honest about my chances if I continue to use my own eggs. He talked with me as I was his own daughter. I feel 100% comfortable under his care and his advice!

Ask questions

I used menopur and Follistim injections, followed by 2 injections of Ovidrel. Then the progesterone injections every evening.

They were flexible during the time frame window and tried the best they could to accommodate my work schedule.

He takes time to explain things to you, and will answer your questions. But if I didn’t arrive already educated, I might not get all the information. He does seem to care and is compassionate, but it doesn’t always come off that way. He can sometimes seem cold and clinical.

Come prepared with questions after doing your own research.

Agonist protocol, menopur and follitism for about 14 days the first cycle and 11 days the second cycle. Didn’t have a great response, but moved forward with ovidrel trigger anyways. Used Medrol to prep for transfer and day 5 transfer.

We had good insurance coverage. Paid $6000 per cycle for medication out of pocket and about $6000 for procedures. They offered a cash of price of $11000 for a full cycle.

Embryologist recommended eset based on healthy embryos and no prior losses.

He is very blunt and direct which is appreciated. I didn’t feel like I was just another patient. He looked over our labs and told me what he thought was best because of my low egg reserve. He comforted me and was willing to answer any and all questions.

He’s direct so be aware of that. He doesn’t beat around the bush, but he still is very empathetic.

He told us that we should skip IUIs and move straight to IVF because of my low AMH. We are in the beginning stages of IVF, but I trust his reasoning more than previous doctors. Regardless of the results, I feel more comfortable with him than anyone else.

The IVF package is $9500 plus medications. Not everything is included in the package, but everything that we need is included.

Dr. Loret de Mole is very thorough. He is kind, compassionate, and very knowledgeable in his field. He has given me the greatest blessing, my daughter. When in the midst of treatments they discovers irregular ovarian cysts, he held my hands and reassured me despite having to tell me that there was a chance for cancer. He genuinely cares for his patients and you can tell he loves that he is helping families grow.

Ask questions.

Doctor urged me to transfer only one embryo during both our fresh and frozen transfers. I trusted his expertise. I regret not transferring two during the frozen transfer as I miscarried our single embryo.

He is very good at what he does and wants to have good success rates. He is honest and upfront about course of treatment and what he believes will work best. I like that he doesn’t sugar coat things because his end goal is what everyone wants who sees him - to have a baby!

Take what he says at face value.

He warned me that due to male factor infertility, IUIs most likely wouldn’t be successful, and they weren’t, so we had to move on to ivf. He knew looking at the semen analysis.

$1000 for freezing embryos $3500 out of pocket (from insurance plan)

He is very respectful and detailed. He is personable. He is frank. It mattered to me that my physican was also spiritual and I learned he was by the fact that he was going to mass after he finished doing monitoring during a Sunday visit I had to the clinic.

He is frank and it's hard to get an appointment because he is the only doctor in town.

Health insurance coverage

The nurses were very kind and helpful. I felt like I grew to know each nurse with my time spent at SIU clinic. If I had any questions, big or small, they always got an answer back to me.

Be open and ask questions

My husband and I love seeing Dr. De Mola. We feel like he is very passionate in his work and very thorough in what he does. He seems like he takes great pride in his patients and what he believes in the miracles he is helping make. He always makes sure all of our questions are answered and we understand everything before we leave.

Write down any and all questions you have during your journey and do not be afraid to ask.

I did 4-6 rounds of clomid days 4-7 of period then ovadril (trigger shot) and timed intercourse then switched to a cycle of femara with ovadril. Currently have all the medication for an IVF treatment, have not taken any or gotten my dosage information due to COVID 19 it is on hold.

Costs vary with what my insurance covers and not covers/ OUr IVF cycle and testing is around 20,000

He is very detailed in explaining what all needs to be done and does great with answering any of the questions that we may have. I feel like I am clueless on a lot of things, but when I ask questions, he does great to make sure I understand what he is saying and he has never made me feel "inadequate" for asking all of the questions that I do.

My costs were very high, as my insurance does not cover infertility, but that staff was great working with me and would let me know what each procedure that I needed to have done was going to cost. Example: blood work, ultrasounds, etc