UPMC Magee

I feel like appointments were rushed. I mainly met with the doctor through video appointments and only once in person during the egg retrieval process. She was helpful and reassuring in person but the interaction was brief and most updates were with nursing staff

Don’t hesitate to ask questions

Antagonist was used and dual tigger with hcg and Lupron. My body released the majority of the eggs prior to retrieval and only 9 were retrieved

Our IVF round cost about 13,200 prior to medication costs

My doctor recommended eSet but we have not made it to that stage in our IVF cycle yet

He was able to explain items in common terms, however did not appear to always state all the steps to the process. Twice he approved for nurses to order drugs for the next step prior to testing being complete, this resulted in me paying over 1,000 in drugs that I can't use.

Make sure you know your nurses name. They are the most important.

He discontinued my metformin after having a blood sugar test, and stated I did not need it. He uses letrazole for ovulation for PCOS, as he stated that Clomid does not work well with PCOS. They have changed to a different drug for IVF, so they can control when you have your period, as they only have embryologists on certain weeks in Pittsburgh/Magee now. They used to use Ganirelex. He uses pregnyl, follistim, progesterone oil/injections for IVF.

My IUI was covered with insurance. IVF would cost 12,000 for a single cycle with ICSI.

He prefers single embryo transfer for decreased risk of miscarriage.

He was always professional and optimistic. The first RE I ever saw at 27 years old mentioned IVF at the very first visit, before running any diagnostic tests. I had met with Dr Collins several times before he even mentioned IVF. I feel as he is determined to figure out what is wrong with me before jumping to conclusions.

Be prepared and ask questions. He is fairly quiet and doesn't necessarily provide all the information upfront, so ask questions if you need clarification.

I don't ovulate regularly, and Clomid doesn't work for me. So we started with 3 cycles of Letrazol and Pregnyl, followed by timed intercourse. After that, 2 cycles of IUI with the same drugs. After taking an extended break, we are trying another ~2 cycles of IUI before moving on to IVF.

My insurance didn't cover any procedures, so I was given a "cash discount." IUI cycles were approx. $1000 each, not including drugs.

Dr.collins is not warm and fuzzy but honestly that’s what we needed. Doing any fertility treatment is draining. He came in told us what to expect and what was happening. He is very compassionate about his job and takes time to listen. I needed that and still do during this emotional roller coaster.

Just be honest and express your needs. He is there to help and guide you so go in with a list of questions.

For my iui, it was getting vaginal ultra sounds and bloodwork. He then completed the iui and if it was on a weekend we went to Pittsburgh, or during the week did the iui with him.

Insurance does not cover iui and no longer pays for my ultrasounds and blood work. Each iui cycle has cost us around 1000 dollars

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After working with Dr. Collins I did not find any weaknesses, he is very supporting especially much history I have with fertility. I recommend Dr. Collins and his staff all very supportive, welcoming etc.

He is very honest and dedicated to his patients and work.

I have had many procedure/ treatment with Dr. Collins from 2011 to 2022 and he was very detail with everything. I did not like the news of not getting pregnant, but his news was accurate and honest. He is willing to take time to answer all questions and explain if needed.

$25,000 with medication and procedure for IVF

I do not regret looking into other doctors Dr. Collins I would recommend to anyone he is very helpful, caring is more than just a doctor to me and my family.

Dr. Collins has the worst bedside manner out of any physician I’ve seen. He gave me two diagnoses that I had never heard of and used acronyms while giving the diagnoses. My husband and I had to keep asking him to explain and we could tell we were clearly bothering him. Dr. Collins also didn’t care to come up with a new course of treatment or do any new testing. He was borderline negligent. There are far better RE available who care to do the necessary testing. He is outdated and rude.

Go somewhere else.

Dr. Collins had me do letrozole with trigger shots and timed intercourse. I had RPL and didn’t need assistance getting pregnant. I needed help sustaining a pregnancy and he didn’t alter a course of treatment to assist in this. One visit at another fertility clinic and they were able to diagnosis my underlying condition for RPL.

Insurance covered appointments and testing.

Dr. Menke is honest about your expectations, but she’s not willing to go outside the box. I presented to her research of similar patients in my situation and requested injectables in addition to Clomid. Because my hormones were normal, she’s refused to add them.

Be prepared to see her and actually speak to her only a handful of times. I think she’s thorough when she gets the chance, however I feel that she’s overwhelmed with patients and they get lost in the shuffle.

We started at 50 mg of Clomid which didn’t result in ovulation so we stair-stepped immediately to 100 mg which resulted in a positive ovulation. I took Clomid with timed intercourse for three cycles and then after fighting with the nurses to try to move on to IUI, we did two IUI cycles that failed. I seemed to be the only one who knew my protocol because I constantly got misinformation from the office staff when I’d call on CD-1.

My insurance only covers a $2,000 lifetime max for infertility. I’ve had several bills from blood work and ultrasounds that I still haven’t paid off yet.

I only met with him once in three years. He just told me to lose weight. He looked at my chart and said it could be endometriosis but he didn’t want to test for it as I have a severe reaction to some anesthesia and he did not want to risk it.

Do not get your hopes up. Be prepared to feel like you are being processed. He did not give me any insight as to why I was infertile. He wanted me to try iui and see what happened.

Dr. Sanfillipo wanted me to start weight watchers and did a full blood work up. Nothing was concluded from the blood work. He then wanted me to begin with an aggressive letrozole dosage for an iui cycle. We also did vaginal sonograms and HSG.

The cost was higher than their clinics. An iui cycle out of pocket was around $1800 with all medication and testing.

None.

She was quick to read and respond to all inquires we had. Was familiar with our case, as we were transferred to her since our previous Doctor was not working for some time. She was very humble and empathetic.

Always advocate for yourself. Ask why but also be amenable to what the suggestions are.

She followed our previous protocol as we asked. Any suggestions or add-ons were taken fully and implemented in our protocol. She was able to accomodate our request to get our transfer scheduled within a certain time period. We needed a last minute baseline ultrasound and she made sure it was provided promptly. We have to drive a decent distance to the Clinic and she was very empathetic to that when scheduling things.

$15,000

It was not discussed. We did not bring up the topic as we have no interest in a multiple embryo transfer. We are already high-risk to begin with.

Dr Snook first met with us for an IVF consultation. She was very thorough in explaining the process. She indicated that I was at risk for OHSS and said I would be put on low/moderate medication. We had put together a plan, but she was absent throughout the appointments and there was no communication leading up to the egg retrieval. Half way through the medications, my dosage was increased, which almost led to a canceled cycle. Luckily we continued on to have a successful egg retrieval.

Keep your expectations low for communication and be prepared to be a number.

The protocol was for me to be on low-moderate dosage of medication due to being at high risk for OHSS. During my cycle, halfway through my meds were increased then we received a call from another doctor saying we may need to cancel the cycle because the medications were too much. Next my medication was decreased for the remaining days.

The cost of the cycle itself. Additional clinic costs. PGT-Testing is billed separately. Medications were self pay separately.

She indicated that only one embryo will be transferred at a time.

I think if you have a straight forward case, he is great. He definitely knows his stuff, he just doesn't take the time to explain things when it's not working. He is lovely, he cares, but he just didn't provide the communication that I needed after a few failed tries.

If you are not confident enough or outspoken enough to be able to advocate for your needs or ask for what you need, Dr S is not going to work for you.

My first egg retrieval, was 6 years ago so I don't recall the full protocol, but it was pretty straight forward - PCOS so lots of follicles and produced 19 eggs were frozen. We lost a ton when we thawed them this year and only got 3 blasts. 2 came back euploid. My second stims/egg retrieval started in April with Gonal F (150) and Menopur (75) and then added in Ganurelix in the am on day 5. I went to day 12 or so before triggering with Lupron (2) and HCG (10,000). My follicles grew more slowly this protocol (I had slight OHSS my first cycle so they wanted to be careful) and we ended up with 20 eggs 16 mature which is pretty good for my age (37 at the time). 11 blasts went to PGT testing 5 were euploid. I did a day 5 fresh transfer with one of the tested embryos and it did not implant. My second FET cycle got canceled due to my lining not getting past 7.4mm. We used 4mg of estrace to start and went up to 6mg. This third FET cycle we started with 9mg of estrace and added 4mg vaginally after day 8 scan and my lining was 7.5mm. Day 13 my lining had not increased, but we decided to transfer anyway. The embryo did not implant again.

I paid out of pocket for egg freezing cycle. I used insurance for all of my current IVF care. It is expensive however you pay for it.

They always do a single FET i think unless you don't do PGT testing, are older, or have multiple miscarriages. the risks associated with multiples outweighs anything else.

Our experience with Dr. Katari has been very positive. She is informative and thorough in her explanations and treatments. She delivers information in a direct way while still being compassionate about your emotions and experience.

Dr Katari is very thorough and collaborative but you should have your thoughts and questions organized and also be prepared for changes in your expectations so you can feel satisfied with your appointment and treatment.

$19,600/cycle including ICSI and PGD testing. Clinic also works with ARC for financing

I was diagnosed with Asherman's Syndrome a few years ago and my uterus was about 80% scarred. Dr. Sanfilippo was able to clear my uterus of all scarring and does frequent checks to make sure it hasn't come back. When all of my gynecologists didn't listen to me when I said I had pain, Dr. Sanfilippo did and found that I had stage 3 endometrosis which he removed and I had to have one of my tubes clipped. I have been through 2 retrievals and I am getting ready for a third but Dr. Sanfilippo is always very realistic with us regarding our odds and has looked into research studies and consults other doctors to try to assist us the best that he can. He is always willing to change protocols to increase positive outcomes and he listens to me when I want to do things a certain way. I have had multiple surgeries (getting ready to have a 10th soon) due to miscarriages, removal of scarring and removal of endometriosis and Dr. Sanfilippo has never left me in the dark about anything. He always makes sure I understand everything that is going on. He is so compassionate and empathetic and I have never had a doctor listen to me as much as he does.

Dr. Sanfilippo is extremely thorough and spends time with you to really make sure that you understand everything going because infertility can be really scary. For those with Asherman's syndrome, he has a lot of experience with it an has done wonders for me. I cannot say enough great things about him. There is a wait to get in with him though but once you have your initial visit, he is always willing to give you a call if you have questions or if you want to discuss treatment options.

Due to having Asherman's, Dr. Sanfilippo has had to do multiple surgeries on me to remove scarring. He does a hysteroscopy each time to remove the scarring and inserts a intrauterine balloon for a week to prevent the walls of the uterus from sticking and causing more scarring. He has also put me on estrogen for 28 days with progesterone for the last 10 days of that in order to start a new cycle. The estrogen helps to thicken the lining to prevent scarring as well. I get sonohysterograms every couple of months now to double check for scarring. For my endo, he did a laparoscopy and removed endo from my bowels, ovary and cavity walls. I also had to have my tube clipped due to it being blocked and fused to my ovary. It was a 3hr surgery to remove everything. I have done 2 retrievals with Dr. Sanfilippo and the second retrieval he was able to switch up meds which resulted in better response. Unfortunately we think the first transfer we had didn't take due to harmful fluid leaking from my tube into my uterus which has now been taking care of and and my second transfer was negative for unknown reasons. I have trouble getting my lining to thicken due to the Asherman's and Dr. Sanfilippo tried different protocols and was able to get my lining to 8mm for my 2nd transfer which is the thickest it has been yet. I am getting ready to do my 3rd retrieval soon.

Costs vary depending on what all you are getting done. My insurance does not cover any IVF treatment so it was around $10,000-$12,000 each retrieval and that was with a little discount that I get due to being employed through the same healthcare system. My insurance covered my surgeries. They do use a private anesthesia group for retrievals that do not take insurance. All retrievals are done in the office with that group. The billing department will try to bill insurance first before billing you. You pay a lump sum up front and they take what is not covered from that and then they reimburse you for anything that was covered by insurance such as ultrasounds and what not. The billing department does check with your insurance first to see what all should be covered or not covered.

Dr. Sanfilippo prefers to do FET with genetic testing if needed but is totally willing to do fresh transfers too. Due to us having 2 failed transfers, he was willing to do a fresh transfer with 2 embryos to increase our chances but we have decided to do another freeze all cycle and do PGS testing instead.

Dr. Menke would follow up with the PAs under her regularly and give prompt feedback on results if clarification or more information was needed. I interacted with her PAs more than her, her PAs were quite wonderful though.

She's a great physician and knows how to interpret results and adjust treatment, but due to the amount of patients UPMC RE sees, be prepared to be treated like a number and not a human.

We were in the testing phase and I had to have surgery (performed by another physician). I feel like Dr. Menke has a standard, but conservative process. Start your testing, do IUI for 3 cycles and then see where it takes you.

The majority of my care was covered by my insurance. This was all relating to testing with the exception of the follow up SHG after my hysteroscopy. That, I had to pay $100 towards my deductible for. If/when we move onto IUI, the cost will be roughly $400 for un-monitored, plus the cost of clomid, and roughly $1400 for monitored, plus the cost of clomid and the trigger shot.

Knowledgeable and answered all my questions. Visits were short and to the point. Willing to accept remote monitoring for bloodwork and sonograms. Throughly completed any needed medical procedures prior to IUI and gave step by step guidelines for treatment. Little bedside manor and time with doctor is quick. He comes in, tells you next steps, asks if you have questions and leaves.

Ask questions

IUI without insurance costs about 1,600 a cycle including monitoring (bloodwork and 2 sonograms), a monitoring fee the clinic charges, and the procedure it’s self. There are additional charges for medication.

I felt like Dr. Menke was kind, compassionate and, really cared about helping her patients to the fullest of her ability. I always felt very welcome and, you could tell she was genuinely upset about your negative pregnancy test as you were.

Make sure you book very far in advance cuz, getting an appointment with her can be hard.

Dr. Menke put me on 2.5 milligrams of letrozole which I took on days 3-7 of my cycle. I was to start having timed intercourse on cd 9 and starting on cd 10 begin testing with ovulation tests. Once a positive test was confirmed I was scheduled for an IUI the following day. Sperm count was good and, I laid flat for 15 mins after the IUI. I then went home and, relaxed for the remainder of the day.

I thought they were very upfront with you about costs of certain tests and procedures they wanted you to have done. On our first consult appointment we got a packet that had all the procedures and tests listed with the cost and the code to check with the insurance to see if certain things are covered or not.

Dr. Wakim is older but is great at what he does. I know multiple women who he has treated who have ended up with families. I only was able to see him one time, and felt like I dealt more with his staff that him. During the initial meeting and reviewing, he was very straight forward and honest. He did not sugar coat anything and was very factual.

If you are looking for someone who is warm and fuzzy, Dr. Wakim may not be the doctor for you.

The treatment strategy Dr. Wakim thought was best for use was a medicated IUI cycle with a trigger shot. Unfortunately, it took 3 months for me to even be able to have the IUI because during baseline testing, my uterine lining would be too thick or they had already missed my ovulation. The month that I did have my IUI, I took Clomid as prescribed and had 4 mature follicles when I did my trigger shot. Unfortunately, my IUI failed. The next month, my uterine lining again was too thick. The following month, same thing. I did ask his nurses if we could discuss a different course of action considering that this kept happening and I was getting very frustrated with not being able to have treatment. There was really no change to my plan. Then, the pandemic hit and all of my further treatment was put on hold.

Because I have a high deductible plan, I didn't have very many costs associated with this journey yet due to meeting my deductible. I did have to pay $200 for a trigger shot. My Clomid was covered. I also paid $500 for my IUI and ultrasound.

My heart would like to give my Dr. one review and my head would like to give her another. It is hard for a Dr. to get to know a patient when they are rarely seen by them. In the past year I have maybe seen my Dr. 3 times. However, I have probably visited the clinic sometimes twice a week. The majority of my interactions have been with the nurses and residents. Each time I go to our clinic I am seen by a different person. This was something I did not expect. I had 3 IUI's and they were all performed by different people, to my knowledge none of them were the Doctors in the clinic. I do not have anything negative to say about the individuals I saw for my various testing and procedures other than they were not my doctor. I feel like there should be a little more consistency with who is treating the patient. I had to have a pollup removed from my uterus before I could start my IUI's. My Dr. did not perform that procedure, She made it known that her schedule did not make her available and that a different doctor would need to do it. A Dr. who I had never met until they were wheeling me into surgery. To me, that is a bit odd. Infertility is dealing with emotions, it is dealing with intimate parts of your body and I feel that you should know and trust the person handling them. Dr. Katari did come to visit me and wish me luck before my surgery, which I thought was very nice. However, it is very odd that I am in her care and rarely speak or meet with her. On a phone consultation her and I had she told me that IVF is probably a better option. When I told her that I would like to know why I cannot have children before I consider putting a financial strain on my family because we could not afford such a costly procedure she suggested I get another job so I could afford the procedure. Whether her comment was meant to be helpful or not, it was hurtful and unprofessional. I also do not feel that I have received definitive answers on medical things that were found while doing testing. I think my Dr. could be more descriptive with what they found, such as fibroids, and if they are or are not hindering my ability to carry a child. I feel that a lot of the times I was reeving half answers instead of all possible scenarios. There were days where I really appreciated my doctor and felt I was in the best hands, and there were days where I did not believe that to be true at all. Does that have to do with me thinking emotionally vs. rationally? Maybe. However, I do not know anyone on an infertility journey that is not feeling the same way.

Be your own advocate. Be your own voice with your infertility journey and what you are and are not willing or able to do. You are in good hands, however you may struggle from time to time wondering if you are.

I believe I am diagnosed with unexplained infertility. I am not too sure since I was never told my exact diagnosis. The first year there were many tests. Egg quality, egg count, sperm quality, sperm count, more internal ultrasounds than I have ever experienced in my entire life, so much bloodwork that I actually began producing scar tissue in my arm from the amount of needles. The testing was thorough and necessary. When they said be patient during this journey they were right! I feel that all the testing was done appropriately. If there were negative findings, such as fibroids, we would do another test and another. From the time I met Dr. Katari the goal was to be healthy enough to have an IUI performed. After almost a year we go to that point. We did two u-nmonitored cycles and for the third cycle it was supposed to be monitored. I appreciated that Dr. Katari was trying to save us some money by not doing all monitored cycles and she said that I was ovulating very regular so doing at home testing would be fine. The third cycle she wanted monitored to give us the best chance. My communications for the IUI procedures were with the nurses and residents only. I never saw my Dr. through any of the procedures or testing. After my second IUI failed and I was told to get ready for my 3rd I received a phone call right before I was supposed to start taking the chlomid. It was the Dr. office stating the the Dr. would not like me to do the third IUI this round because she wanted to me have another ultra sound to check my tube stability. This threw me for a loop. I was prepared for another cycle and without much explanation the plans changed from one day to the next. I had to have an ultrasound in a different department, who always had difficulty scheduling me within the correct time period my infertility Dr. needed the apt. to be. When it was time for my third and final IUI I knew that it was supposed to be monitored. When I called to start this cycle I said I was told this cycle was to be monitored and asked for them to explain to me what else needed done. I was received with the response of "this one does not need to be monitored the Dr. said you can do the at home tests". Again, this was frustrating because I am preparing to get ready for our final cycle, and the information I am receiving is different than the information the Dr. had already given me as a game plan. Again, no explanation about the change in plan. I never knew if it was a miscommunication because I am dealing so little with the Dr. or what. I did end up doing a monitored cycle for round 3 but unfortunately it still did not work.

The testing and surgery to remove the pollup was handled by my insurance. The un-monitored first IUI cycle cost approximately $400. That was for the insemination only. The second un-monitored IUI cycle cost approximately $700 because aside from the insemination I also needed blood work done one time because my at home tests were not reading correctly. The monitored cycle I did, which was my last IUI cost approximately $1,300.

Dr. Sanfillipo is always very thorough in all of my appointments. He is also very candid about any health risks that I might encounter during treatments, which I appreciate. He never makes me feel like any of my questions are stupid.

Healthy diet and weight is very important to him.

We used femara with an ovidrel shot for 4 cycles without ovulation. We then tried 1 clomid/ovidrel cycle during which I did have one small follicle and ovulation, but did not get pregnant. I am currently trying to lose weight before we try the clomid again with IUI. Dr. Sanfillipo did not recommend injectables without IVF for me due to the high number of immature follicles on each of my ovaries during my 5 cycles. I found this frustrating at times but I appreciate that safety is always his number one concern.

With my insurance, each femara cycle was roughly $150.00. My initial testing was around 500.00

Dr. Sanfilippo was not knowledgeable compared to other RE's that I have worked with. He was not compassionate or willing to take ownership of his patients. It was a very impersonal visit with him reciting what seemed like a script. He had not even reviewed my records beforehand. It was an overall terrible experience. I would never do an IVF cycle with him or his staff. I had a special request, and they were unable to make any accommodations despite the circumstances. They definitely did not show any compassion.

Go elsewhere if you can.

He gave me very generic recommendations, and did not provide specifics at our consultation because he did not even formulate a plan.

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She was very knowledgeable about infertility and was willing to explain things in an easy to understand way. She was very upfront about options and potential outcomes and tried to make you feel confident about the decisions you were making.

Go in knowing that you will have a strong support system

We had 3 IUI cycles. They all included a pregnancy blood test to confirm negative during period. These all were done using 5mg of letrozole cycle days 3-7. I was instructed to use ovulation predictor kits at home. Then a vaginal US on cycle day 12 or 13 and based on follicle size I was instructed to give the Ovidrel trigger shot and within 24-48 ours they did the insemination with a urine pregnancy test 15 days post insemination.

So far OOP for 2019 I have spent over $600. However, it might have been more if this MD was not considered in my preferred network

Dr. Sanfilippo has amazing bedside manner. He takes the time needed at EACH visit to go over everything and always makes sure he answers any questions you have. He also will go over your history at each visit to make sure HE stays caught up on changes and refreshes his memory for any specifics to you and your case. He sees hundreds and it's refreshing to know he always has YOU on his mind during your visit.

Listen to him. He knows what he's doing. Do all the tests, they ARE necessary and he will find a treatment plan suited to you and your needs. He has a positive pregnancy test as his main goal when it is yours.

First you will have a sit down consultation with him and potentially one of his partners. He will go over your previous history and what you wish to accomplish in his care. He orders a full panel of blood work depending on your case (you'll also find out your blood type!). He then ordered a sonohysterogram (SHG) to check on uterus health. From there, he ordered a Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) to check on Fallopian tubes and more detailed uterus health. After all results, he goes over them with you during a follow up and together you make a plan of treatment. He then prescribed timed intercourse with either clomid or letrozole. We would do a few treatments of that and if nothing worked, we would do some monitored cycles with ultrasounds and continue from there.

Costs are average to above average for infertility treatments. He bills appropriately, it really depends on your insurance and what is covered. This is not his fault.

From our very first visit she was very down to earth. It was like sitting there talking to a friend. She was very warm and answered all of our questions. We told her to be as blunt and up front as she can and she did exactly that. She throughly explained the testing process for me, she even came in unexpectedly when one of the tests they were doing were not going well with two of the other PA’s. She made sure I was ok and asked if I was ok to get home/back to work. She’s very considerate and very through and she makes sure you understand the process before leaving her office.

Go with an open mind and heart. She can either beat around the bush and be soft but we asked her to be brutally honest and she was- as an RE should be in my opinion.

I used clomid 100mg from cycle days 3-7. Ovulation kits starting day 9. They had me come in for an ultrasound on day 12 to see how my follicles were. If I had a surge when I tested on day 12 or before I was to come in for bloodwork. Unfortunately I didn’t have a surge the first 2 times so they did Ovidrel on day 12 or 13 and did the IUI 48 hours after that and used progesterone 100mg suppositories until my next period. My 3rd IUI they waited until cycle day 17 ( I surged later in my cycle than most women) but I still had a negative pregnancy test.

Each cycle was about 1,300. A visit with her was only 40.00 (my copay) And my preliminary testing was not covered by my insurance, which I had to pay my deductible (1,200)

Dr. Marie Menke was caring and compassionate. She was also professional, she offered hope but didn't offer false hope. She always remained professional. Dr. Menke was easy to talk to and have difficult conversations with.

I would advise them to go in with an open mind. Dr. Menke doesn't sugar coat odds, however she does give you hope.

I had various blood work and ultrasounds, including a sonohystergram in January 2018. All bloodwork and US's came back normal, providing no answers to why we are not able to conceive on our own. We decided to move forward with IUI/Clomid cycles. After each IUI I also used vaginal progesterone. During my second round of IUI I got severe headaches from the Clomid, the headaches were solid all day for over a month. For the third and fourth cycles I was switched to letrozole. After 4 failed IUI cycles, we re-evaluated and decided to move forward with IVF. After deciding to move forward with IVF we switched Dr's.

My insurance covered office appointments and some testing/diagnostics. It did not cover the IUI rounds themselves, which were $485 each.

Although we discussed moving forward with IVF with Dr. Menke, we did not discuss in details the IVF procedure.

Dr. Menke has a very pleasant bedside manner. She was very open with what her expectations were. She listened to our questions and answered appropriately. The only negative thing I can say is she was not very open when I suggested other options. I questioned possibly adding a new medication to the regime multiple times after researching success with other patients in our situation. She quickly shut it down and told us it wouldn't work.

Stand your ground. You need to sometimes be your own advocate.

I have tried Clomid unsuccessfully for many cycles with a previous doctor. Due to that, Dr. Menke decided that we should try 7.5mg of Letrozole to bring on ovulation. After roughly 4 cycles she suggested adding an Ovidrel trigger shot along with the 7.5mg of Letrozole. That cycle, I ovulated on my own without the trigger shot resulting in negative pregnancy test. We have unsuccessfully done two more cycles with 7.5mg of Letrozole alone. Dr. Menke suggests going to IUI next. I asked her to add Metformin to the regime, she refused. She stated that my levels were fine. When explaining the research I had found showing the success with women who have PCOS, she said that my case was different than those women.

Charged roughly $500 per ultrasound in a treatment cycle. Cost of Ovidrel through special pharmacy was approximately $100 without insurance.