Wake Forest University

Dr. Deaton showed compassion and a willingness to listen to our concerns. He took our concerns seriously and came up with a plan of action for a second IVF cycle. He responded quickly to any emails I sent me and I felt like he took an interest in my case and wanting my second cycle to be more successful than the first (which it was). Roxanne would sit with me after each ultrasound to discuss my progress and send me medication updates through the portal.

I like to understand the process, I would recommend that you come to each appointment with a list of questions so that you can make sure you get the answers to everything you sit up and think about at night. Also, be sure to monitor your medical claims and billing and know the ins and outs of your medical coverage. It becomes a part time job keeping up with everything. The financial specialist (Patty) is amazing as well and helped us get prior authorization for our cycles and FET. She is so warm and welcoming and truly makes the experience so much better (which I don't think you will find many places). She emailed me specifically after hearing of our results and treated me like a friend and not another patient.

Our first cycle was the antagonist protocol. I primed with birth control and then started on daily menopur and Gonal-f. Ganirelix was then added. We had MFI, so everyone thought this protocol would work well. During our second cycle, we used Lupron to prep, then added menopur and Gonal-F. I had much better success during the second cycle and was glad that the doctors and nurses came together to make the needed changes. I also stimmed for fewer days and retrieved more viable eggs during the second cycle. The embryologist used ICSI on half the eggs and conventional IVF on the other half. When conventional IVF didn't work, he performed rescue ICSI on them, which pretty great success! We did PGT-A testing on the embryos (1 in the first cycle and 4 in the second cycle) and had great results from that (1 normal in the first cycle, and 3 in the second cycle, one of which was formed with Rescue ICSI). The lab is amazing and they care about the results and will do anything they can to help you succeed.

Our first cycle was covered under our insurance. Once we met our deductible we paid 20% of covered services. Costs such as embryo storage and PGT-A testing were not covered.

Going into my cycle he prepared me that it might not be successful but if I wanted to try he would. We decided one cycle to try Ivf and then we would go to donor eggs. On retrieval day he explained my one ovary would be hard to get to but he would try his best. It was more comforting knowing the possibilities before hand than getting a shock at the end. Still when he finished he broke the news gently and encouraged me to be optimistic through the next couple days.

We started one cycle but stopped it my Cycle was off from what the clinic had tracked. Dr deaton then started another cycle with maximum doses of all hormones and added omnitrope to give my eggs the best chance possible. We were going to have a fresh transfer. My embryo made it to day 4 then stopped growing. I was told we could transfer but that it would most likely end in miscarriage. We opted not to transfer to save money

I owed 1,900 out of pocket my insurance covers a percentage of IVF and the medicines. I have a payment plan for that amount through the hospital

She incredibly thorough, kind and a great sense of humor which can make difficult situations less difficult. I felt very confident with all her courses of treatment and she was always spot on with what she’d expected. I never felt rushed or pushed. She always gave very thorough answers to ALL of my many many questions no matter how silly some of them were. I was always very confident in her decisions. I’m very thankful to have used her during some very difficult experiences.

She knows what she’s doing, so you can feel confident to trust her plan.

After multiple Miscarriages from having a Tubal Reversal to try and repair my tubes with a different dr, Dr.Johnston first preformed an HSG to be sure there were no blockages. The next step when I had another Miscarriage was to take 5mg Femara on CD 3-7 to try and encourage my good side/tube for the embryo to use which could then prevent possible ectopics that I was experiencing on my left side. The first two cycles I did in fact ovulate on my right side just as she predicted, the third cycle it was my left. After not getting pregnant during those cycles I chose to take a break. When I went on to have more Miscarriages she started to encourage IVF and that bypassing my tubes would give great chances of success. I was never open to trying IVF but feel more confident after speaking with her to try that path which is where I am now.

My HSG, Bloodwork, And Medicated cycles were all covered by insurance. The quote I was given for IVF was 8995 for the procedure. An estimate of anywhere from 3000-7000 for IVF meds and another 2000 roughly for embryo testing. Around 500 a year to store fertilized eggs. And then around 3000 per FET cycle not including meds

When discussing IVF she highly encouraged an eSET due me being Type 1 Diabetic and the Toll that twins would have on my body.

Dr. Johnston communicates effectively with her patients, even calling them herself at home if questions arise. She has made every effort to include us in decision making for treatment options. There have been several times where she has spent additional minutes out of her busy day talking to us like people, not just her patient and spouse. Her bedside manner is second to none.

She is worth waiting weeks for an appointment with.

She started me on femara with Ovidrel with timed intercourse following 2 failed rounds of clomid. We then moved to injections of menopur with ovidrel for three IUI cycles, in hopes of increasing my number of mature follicles

most not covered under insurance. Injectables for IUI were partially covered as were labs. The IUI and numerous US are out of pocket expenses

Dr. Deaton was very thorough and took the time to meet with us and answer all of our questions. We never felt rushed and he was very thorough. When we asked him about risks or odds, he was honest and did not get our "hopes up" but was still optimistic about treatment options. He is very knowledgeable and empathetic.

Ask any question you think of, even if you think it is a silly question. He can answer anything you are questioning or unsure of, and never makes you feel like it isn't a valid thing to question. It will really put your mind at ease, rather than wondering.

I came to Dr. Deaton from a previous clinic that was very bad. He gave us an honest evaluation of our situation and changed our diagnosis from "unexplained infertility" to "diminished ovarian reserve." He said IVF was our best option (over IUI, etc.) but was not sure how my body would respond to medications and how many eggs I would produce, and the quality of them. However he said if I did not respond well to the meds we would not have to complete the transfer, but my body did respond reasonably well (I took Menopur, progesterone, estradiol, doxycycline) considering my AMH levels, so we went ahead with an egg retrieval. Our embryos were not developing well and I was brought in for a day 2 transfer. It was suggesting that I transfer all 3 formed embryos, however my husband and I decided to only transfer two so we did not risk having triplets. The two embryos transferred did not take, and the remaining embryo never formed enough to be frozen for future use. After this we took a few months off of everything and are now in the process of looking for donor embryos or donor eggs to proceed with a new IVF cycle.

We spent approximately $9000 on the treatments and appointments at Wake Forest, and approximately $1700 on IVF medications. We received a discount on our medications through the clinic helping us sign up for a discount program at a pharmacy they work with frequently.

Our doctor worked with the embryologist to make a recommendation for how many embryos to transfer. He told us from the beginning that because my egg quality was unknown, they would make that "call" as the embryos were forming in order to give us the best odds. I think this was a smart approach, as we were informed of the risks of multiple transfers vs. increased odds, etc. and I believe they made the right decision based on the information at each stage.

She was very nice and informative. She spent quite a while with my husband and I and answered any questions I had. She made us feel like everything was going to go great and we had great chances for success. However, after only 1 embryo to make it out of 10 eggs and no explanation, I was kind of put off. There was no "answers" to be had, however Dr Johnston did seem compassionate and understanding about the cost of treatments and not being able to afford further treatments

Go in knowing that although you could have a 99% chance of conceiving, things still may go wrong.

I used menopur, Lipton, /and gonal F during treatments. We used a birth control antagonist protocol before Begining. We did this because she said we should have great eggs, egg quality, and be able to produce lots of good embryos given an Unexplained dx, and young age.

I paid for all blood draws. Typically about $100 each time. I also was billed for some of the IUI, and for IVF. Still currently owe about 5,000 from last IVF

Her strengths included her willingness to be aggressive, listen to my concerns, compassionate, and very smart. I felt like she did great explaining test results as well as different procedures. Her weakness would be that on busy days in the clinic I occasionally felt rushed. It is turly difficult to think of her weakness.

Be honest and open about your desires and expectations.

Oh goodness! First cycle:started with birth control pills and then we did menopur and gonal-f. I can’t remember the exact dosages but my body did not respond well and she felt that the BCP had supressed my system too much. Ended cycle with IUI. Second cycle: tried estrogen patches. Then menopur, gonal-f and lurpon. Ended up stopping lupron due to no response. We were able to retrieve eggs for this cycle. Third cycle: did estrogen patches again. Menopur, gonal-f and growth hormone. By far this was my best cycle!

I was fortunate enough to have a fertility benefit with my insurance. The first $15000 was covered. Patty Joyner was the financial advisor at the clinic and she was also amazing.

No concerns.

Dr. Patel was great. For our initial visit for IVF, she went over all of my paperwork with my husband and I, and we talked about our past treatment (we had been at a different clinic for a year and a half). She explained all the risks, rewards, statistics, etc. She was very up front and direct, but she was still kind and positive throughout the entire experience. I was nervous, and at some appointments emotional, and she always made sure to ask how I was feeling and why, and then she would address anything she could help with.

To just be honest with Dr. Patel - I don't think anything could shock her, and she is always willing to answer questions.

I did Gonal-F and Menopur injections for 12 days, adding in Cetrotide to prevent ovulation on Day 6 of stims. I was on low dosages, due to my PCOS and high AMH and follicle count, so I stimmed lower and longer. She and my nurse made adjustments throughout the cycle to help prevent OHSS. I ended up with 24 eggs at my egg retrieval, 18 fertilized, and we ended up freezing 9 good quality embryos. I ended up with mild OHSS anyways, but it was not serious.

Our IVF cycle + meds was about $12,000. An additional $900 for cryopreservation.

She was knowledgeable and compassionate. She listened to every question we had even if they were silly. She always made sure we understood everything that was going to happen and every side effect from whatever medication we were trying next.

Don’t be afraid to ask dumb questions.

I really don’t remember exactly- we were prescribe gonal-f and other medications the first round. Thw first round resulted in four embryos, two of which were implanted and two were frozen. The first transfer resulted in miscarriage after 8 weeks. We then did a frozen transfer that resulted in a chemical pregnancy. During our third round our medications were changed. We got 5 embryos but only two made it. We implanted those two and the result was my now 2.5 year old son.

For all three rounds of IVF we were close to $50,000

Our option was always one or two embryos transferred, never more. I preferred two because it gave me a better piece of mind.

On day one with Dr. Johnston she candidly told me at my age she would move straight to donor eggs if my objective was to have a baby. She showed me the statistics of other options. She was informative and supportive. She spent as much time with me and my Husband as we needed to answer all of our questions. After the first meeting I had her email address. I didn't hesitate to use it and her response time was amazing. Our first two transfers resulted in negative betas. After each she sat with me to plan our next steps and to answer long lists of questions I had. She allowed me to be involved in the protocol planning. When I had ideas she was open to them. After the 2nd negative result she ordered aggressive testing and found an issue which she was able to correct. The next transfer resulted in a positive beta. My betas don't double like other people's betas. Because of this, I didn't get my results from the lab or a nurse. Dr. Johnston worked directly with me through this. She explained what would likely occur and kept me informed of what to expect. When my little wonky beta turned into a heartbeat and numbers aligned to what the norms are I think she was about as happy and excited as my Husband and I were. Dr. Johnston worked with me to plan my 2nd pregnancy in a manner and time-frame that worked for my Family. Throughout my journey she was not only the doctor, she was the overall care manager. She individualized my plan of care to meet my goals. She directed her staff in a manner that made each step as painless and as efficient as could be. She accepted and worked with my need to be involved in each step. She offered the information needed to allow for true informed consent. She stayed focused on the big picture while not missing a single detail. I have a Known Donor. As she did with me, she took prodigious care of her. Donors provide no income to facilities. All of their expenses are incurred by the intended parent(s). With Dr. Johnston it isn't about generating revenue. It's about offering the care it takes to help women come our of the nightmare journey of infertility with a baby(ies) in her arms. She will treat everyone with respect and dignity and be as gentle and thorough as possible. I've taken my Children back in to show off to the staff and Dr. Johnston. It feels like coming Home. They still care about me and they care about my beautiful Children they helped bring into this world!

Listen to her and talk to her about your wishes and needs... she has the knowledge and your best interest at heart. She probably wants you to have a baby as much as you want it.

The below is from memory and my oldest Child is 3, so I could be forgetting parts. Also, I had previous to infertility had tests related to blood-clotting factors, so these were not part of my protocol, but would have been if it had not been done previously. 1st cycle for me and Known Donor... Lupron, Estradal tablets, Vivelle Dot patches, Progesterone in oil, Follistim, Menopur, hCG trigger, and antibiotics for my DH and Donor. Transferred 2 fresh embryos. I think this is all pretty run of the mill. (Negative beta.) 2nd cycle: Dr. performed a SIS. Same protocol for me minus Lupron. I did acupuncture as well. Transferred two thawed embryos. (Negative beta.) Prior to 3rd transfer: Hysteroscopy and an endo biopsy. The hysteroscopy uncovered a medical issue that was corrected during the procedure. The issue was probably what was keeping implantation from happening. We did some basic immunological testing at this time as well, but I do not remember the specifics. Dr. Johnston was open to every idea I had during our appointment following the failed transfer. We discussed all options and decided together how to move forward. 3rd cycle: Same protocol as 2nd plus low-dose aspirin, Medrol, Folgard, and Valium at transfer. Continued with acupuncture. Transferred two thawed embryos. (Positive beta resulting in a live birth!) I remained under Dr. Johnston's care until we heard a heart beat and was release to my midwives' care. 4th cycle: My period returned on its own, so we did a "natural" cycle protocol. I was still breastfeeding my Daughter during this transfer, so medications were limited to what was not contraindicated. Transferred onethawed embryo. (Positive beta resulting in 2nd live birth!) My Family is complete.

I do not remember the specifics for the fresh transfer, but know it was in line with what other clinics charged. An FET was $2700 (2012 & 2014). Because our insurance covered very little, but we still paid as we went, we were given significant discounts of overall costs. Patti, in billing was great!

He explained the process well and detailed the reasons why he recommended ivf . Very knowledgeable . He went out of his way to call with updates on the growth of our embabies and gave number 4 a chance to grow longer which allowed us to send 4 samples for genetic testing and maximize our chances of success. Also explained mosiacs.

Do research on ivf be prepared so you know what questions to ask

I did gonadal f 450 units and menopur 150 ... I was stimmed for 14 days.

We re still in it but around 6k in so far with meds and genetic screening. Ultrasounds were 250 a pop and I had to do 8 so far

The clinic was clear on guidelines and evidence based medicine transferring only one esp if genetically tested

I have been under the care of Erika Johnston-MacAnanny and 2 other doctors from other clinics. She is the only one that treated me as a person that she understood my goals and really wanted to see me succeed. She didn't make me feel like it was all about the money as they did. She made me feel uplifted in my journey regardless of the outcome.

Be honest with her regarding your goals

She has used clomid and IVF

about 8500

No comments

We did one round of IVF with ICSI, PGS and 2 FET (first one ending in chemical). When we first met Dr. Johnston-MacAnanny she was very straight forward about our unexplained infertility diagnosis. During our first meeting she had clearly reviewed our charts and knew everything we had been through and already had a plan In place for us based on her opinion and was very positive about the likelihood of use having a baby. She was very comforting. She was willing to start treatment as soon as we were ready. We were very excited about not having to wait months to get started, especially after all we had been through. Of our 13 embryos only 4 came back genetically normal from PGS. We transferred 2 embryos durning our first FET which resulted in a chemical. The staff were heartbroken for us and very supportive. Dr Johnston-MacAnanny got us back in to review what may have happened and proposed a new plan. She remained positive which is what we needed! We proceeded with FET of our last embryo (one did not survive the thaw during the first FET leaving us with only 3 embryos). Dr. Johnston-MacAnanny ordered blood thinners for this transfer even though my clotting factors were normal and now we have a beautiful healthy baby girl!! Dr. Johnston-MacAnanny definitely had our best interest at heart. Her and her staff were caring and supportive throughout our treatment. We would not have our daughter had it not been for Dr. Johnston-MacAnanny and her wonderful team!

We are early in the process. But so far, Dr Deaton was at my first appointment and explained our goals, procedures, expectations. Since then I have only seen the nurse and sonographer each time. He was genuine, knowledgeable, realistic and sincere on our consultation meeting.

Go in with realistic expectations and a list of any questions you may have.

So far I have tried two rounds of femara 5mg for 5 days. Was planning for an IUI this month but my endometrium was too thin. We are upping the dose of femara to 7.5mg next month if we don’t get pregnant naturally.

This office is in network for me but I have a deductible to meet. Not 100% sure on specifics.

Dr. Patel was great to work with, she felt like a friend who was also my doctor. We also worked with Dr. Johnston who was great and Dr. Deaton who was a bit harsh about our reality (though we were already aware).

I don't remember specifics, but she did use gonal F, hcg, and ganirelex. My ovaries were totally shot and didn't really respond, but that has nothing to do with her.

Around $12k for a regular IVF cycle, not including meds.

I have seen two previous physicians for infertility treatment and Dr. Patel is the only physician who has been willing to refer my husband to a urologist after we were diagnosed with male factor infertility. She is not adamant about jumping into IVF, as the others were. I feel that she is very knowledgeable and caring.

She is kind and is very good at her job.

Our first scheduled IUI with her was cancelled and post-poned.

IUI is approximately $500.00 IVF is approximately $10,000 for retrieval and extra for meds

I had setbacks all along but she always had a new idea. She was always willing to talk about any questions or concerns. Her bed aide manner is great. Talks to us like people and even emailed me personally after I got pregnant.

Ask anything. I always asked questions about what was on ultrasound screens. She always explained.

Started Ivf because of my age. When we went through several losses still had new ideas and encoruragee us not to give up.

It was not cheap. We paid less that 12000 for procedure and 5-7000 for medication each cycle. Visits were 70 copay. Most visits were covered up my insurance

That was not an issue for us.

She has a great personality and bedside manner that can make even the most anxious person (me) calm. She is so compassionate and empathetic; she genuinely seemed as upset and disappointed as I was after each failed cycle. I love her! I want everyone to be treated by her!

Ask as many questions as you want about whatever you are concerned about. She will take as much time as you need to explain everything, and she treats no question like a stupid question.

I did three cycles of clomid then after a brief break, I had the procedure to check the patency of my fallopian tubes. That procedure is usually done first but I am allergic to the dye used, so Dr MacAnanny wanted to try a few cycles prior to the procedure since I could possibly develop some scarring from an allergic reaction. The procedure went well without any residual effects. Afterwards there was a month break then my medication was changed to letrazole. I was using the letrazole with a trigger injection when I got pregnant.

The VA paid for it.

From our very meeting, she was always great to work with. She was very pragmatic but also positive. It was clear that she cared about me as a patient. She did a good job of explaining the science behind my diagnosis and treatment. She was great about communication as well.

She is a wonderful RE and you should work with her if given the chance.

She used a very standard treatment given my diagnosis.

We did not make it to transfer.

He is very detailed and makes sure that you understand everything. He is also very easy to talk to and puts things in easy terms so you can relate/interpret. He is willing to sit down with you and answer any questions you may have without rushing you and/or ending your appointment early for the next patient.

Ask many questions and don’t feel like you are bombarding him. He is there to help you throughout the journey and you can definitely feel that.

No complaints at all from her! She helped and guided us through out the process.

None. She is great

I feel like Dr.Deaton is very good at what he does and examines your results and is very thorough with his instructions for your next step. My experience as a patient has been very good, although we have not conceived yet, I will continue my treatment process with dr Deaton soon.

Be open with what your plans are so that you and him are on the same page with treatment.

With my insurance not paying for any medications we tried femara for several months paired with ovidrel trigger shot. We got pregnant the first month there and unfortunately I had a miscarriage. We tried several more months of that same procedure with no luck. We finally tried the femara with trigger and IUI. No luck there either. They always leave it up to you as to how aggressive you are wanting to go with treatment.

My insurance did not cover medication, so I was paying around 100$ for the trigger shot every month. And around 4-5$ for the femara. The IUI was more expensive as I cannot remember the exact cost.

Dr. Deaton is very compassionate, Knowledgeable, and helpful. He took the time to explain to me every part of the process for my treatment and provided information about all my options. we were able to discuss the cost of treatment with him .

to bring all the questions you have written down , he is very busy but he will take the tome to answer.

after all the blood work , I started my treatment taking letrozole on day 2 of my period to day 6 at night, and the trigger shot two weeks after to get my ovulation on time, at the time of the insemination it was very painful and we did not continued because the NP could not see my utters due to my endometriosis that I never knew I had.

My insurance covers IUI rounds and We have a health savings account to pay the over standing amount, I had surgery when I almost met my deductible so they pay for it, sorry to not be able to answer.

She was from our home state and knew of where we went to school. She shared the experience of being away from a place we called home and gave us suggestions about where to find good food. Whenever we got what felt like bad news she was able to give us an action plan as well. She also reassured use after getting poor HSG results back. She was able to provide a diagnosis after years of misdiagnosis. She completed a laparoscopic surgery that resulted in minimal scaring.

Be open to what she suggests and take it into consideration even if the suggestion goes against your original expectations.

Paid over 5000 trying to get pregnant between the HSG and the laparoscopy. Then the bloodwork when I did not have insurance it was all very exspensive.