Allison Petrini

Dr. Petrini is new to Texas Fertility Center as of July or August 2021. During the time of transition from my priori clinic doctor to Dr. Petrini, I was recovering from a miscarriage. I'd been doing blood tests through my OB to check my beta as the number went down for 3 whole months, when my number started to plateau right around 20, which was incredibly frustrating because I wouldn't be able to start another transfer until it was zero. My OB immediately diagnosed the issue as a molar pregnancy, without even doing a saline sonogram (which I didn't even know was a think at that point). I called Dr. Petrini, who was new to me and the clinic, and she nonchalantly said it was probably retained tissue, immediately had me in for a saline sono, and had me in surgery the next week. She also called Natera, the company that had done my miscarriage genetic test, to check if their tests cover for molar pregnancies (which would rule out that being a possibility) without me even asking or knowing that was a possibility. She's on the younger side, but I know she's just come from one of the most prestigious REI fellowships in the country and I trust that she has the most recent research at her disposal. She always answers me in facts and the data from the research, and walks me calmly through all the scenarios. I never feel like my questions are a nuisance to her (especially since my journey has been so long at this point) which makes me feel like I can ask anything. She performed my surgery to remove the tissue Aug 2021, and then went on maternity leave. Her recommendation during that time was to make sure I did another saline sono before trying for another transfer -- and sure enough, we found even a little more retained tissue and a polyp in there. While I wish she'd been able to remove everything the first time, she mentioned there had been a lot in there and there was a lot of bleeding, so just wanted to cover the bases. I'm glad she recommended it, rather than approaching with hubris and assuming she'd gotten it all out (which is basically what had happened with my OB). She has such a warm and friendly personality, and I can tell her nurses really like working with her, too. The south office feels like a fun place to work because of what she brings to it.

She's the best! No advice, I find her the easiest to work with of all the Texas Fertility Clinic doctors.

With Dr. Petrinie I've done a total of one full femara (natural) transfer (resulted in miscarriage at ~8 weeks), one cancelled femara cycle transfer, and am in the middle of a programmed transfer cycle (transfer soon). Natural transfer (miscarriage) This was our second transfer, the first had ended in a miscarriage as well. We had done a natural transfer cycle for the first and also for my ERA prior to that, so she was confident this was the right type of transfer. I took femara (letrozole) first ~5 days and then went in for my first lining check at ~day 10 or 11 of my cycle. My lining was still pretty thin (less than 7) so she had me up my estradiol dosage (2mg pill vaginally at night) and also 75 units of Gonal F each night each night to support the growth of the follicle. I did this for about 3-4 days total before the lining was thick enough (only just about 7, but mine tends to be thin) for the trigger shot. Dr Petrini didn't do my transfer bc it was on T-giving weekend, but I worked with her once I was pregnant and through the miscarriage. Cancelled natural transfer cycle: After the 2nd miscarriage (above) it took about 5 weeks to finally get started on another transfer cycle again. We did almost the exact same thing this time (including Gonal F), but at like day 13 or 14 of my cycle, she was not happy with the lining thickness or follicle size. She sent me for a blood test the next day and another lining check (it was on weekend with Dr Vaughn) and my lining had not changed. They called later that day to tell me my blood test indicated I'd already started the ovulation process (LH increase) so we'd have to cancel. Dr Petrini called me the very next Monday to talk me through what happened, which basically was that my uterus had probably been through a lot, and I had an irregular cycle (which, I've learned, can happen after miscarriages). She recommended a programmed transfer cycle to control for this sort of thing, but ultimately said it was my decision. What I liked was that she helped me figure out what I was deciding between, in detail, which really helped. Programmed transfer cycle (in progress): Once I could do another cycle we started with the programmed cycle. I started taking estradiol (2mg) twice a day, and then after about 10 days you up to 3x a day and an ultrasound to check there's a dominant follicle. I didn't have one and lining was good, so kept going with 3x a day. I went back for a lining check on the day that was supposed to start the progesterone, but the lining was just barely 7mm so she wanted to give it a few more days. But she also had me take cetrotide for those 4 days just to be extra careful I didn't ovulate in that time. Four days later lining was in a much better place (7.4-8.6) so we could start the progesterone then. I have transfer coming up soon.

The biggest costs have been my surgeries and medications. I use Progyny and so most is covered under that - and I don't get billed the day of visit, which is what they do with other insurance.

I actually don't know Dr Petrini's philosophy, but I know she recommends 1 embryo transfer.

Allison has treated us with respect from our very first visit. She is always happy to answer questions and never makes us feel stupid for asking. The way she handled my miscarriage with such warmth and compassion made a difficult process a little easier. I will stick with her for as long as this journey lasts.

Go in with questions prepared.

The original plan was to do Femara with IUI. The 2.5mg initial dose was far too low for me and caused bleeding, so within the same cycle we bumped up to 7.5mg. We missed the window so IUI was not possible. However, we did conceive on that first cycle with regular intercourse. Unfortunately that pregnancy ended in miscarriage. The current plan is to just do Femara 7.5mg with timed intercourse since we had previous success.

With my insurance, costs have been fairly reasonable. I believe each ultrasound costs around $200. And IUI would be $400-500.

She was nice and seemed knowledgeable, no complaints with her, we didn't get passed the testing stage because my wife got pregnant naturally with the help of a $15 supplement to help regulate hormones. The clinic tried to over bill us and sent a surprise bill months later

Go else where, they will try to over bill you and send you a surprise bill months later, otherwise as a Doctor she seemed fine the few times we saw her

She had us go through full testing to check my wife's fertility and my sperm count. All steps seemed logically. We probably would have continued going if they didn't send a surprise bill and my wife didn't get pregnant naturally

I paid over $1,000 total between their clinic and other tests they ordered. They lied! They sent a surprise bill months later for $650 after we paid for consultation and genetic testing as well as a sonogram. I asked multiple times to pay in full and that I did not want a surprise bill, they assured me that I would not.

No comment, we didn't get this far