Verified
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
2019 - 2020, Unsuccessful
She [Dr. Belinda Yauger] does not order labs to check vitamin levels...Ovidrel was to be the trigger shot; however, my cycle was canceled before that...is in and out of the room as quick as possible and does not explain anything. My very first fertility appointment ever, she mentioned follicles - I did not know what that was yet, gave me zero hope of ever getting pregnant again, and said I could not do IVF. She never shows the screen for vaginal ultrasounds and only speaks to the resident and nurse while doing so and again, explains nothing.
The nursing staff [at Brooke Army Medical Center] would have gotten all excellent reviews from me; however, there is one that runs me the wrong way every time I speak to her!...Kristin is the head REI nurse and so compassionate and knowledgeable!...Dependent on patient's age, quality of embryo, and 3 or 5 day transfer, they will sometimes transfer 2 at the patient's discretion...I have had issues with correct labs being ordered, timely ultrasounds, and all day delay in RX being sent to the pharmacy.
How was your experience with Belinda Yauger at Brooke Army Medical Center?
My very first fertility appointment ever, Dr. Yauger mentioned follicles - I did not know what that was yet (I'd only ever heard of hair follicles), gave me zero hope of ever getting pregnant again, and said I could not do IVF. She never shows the screen for vaginal ultrasounds and only speaks to the resident and nurse while doing so and again, explains nothing. Dr. Y will often bring in a resident or student with her. A few times she has asked if that's okay, but usually does not. Sadly, though she is the highest ranking of the 3 doctors currently in the BAMC REI dept, she seems the least knowledgeable.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Belinda Yauger at Brooke Army Medical Center?
Do your own research!!! From speaking to several other women, patients are given cookie cutter treatment. She does not order labs to check vitamin levels (many women are deficient in several vitamins and more is needed than avg numbers for fertility). She is clueless about the treatment for the mthfr gene mutation. I've been researching my own condition for 6-7 years. Not every doctor can know every one thing, but I wish I had saved my money, spent a little extra and gone to a real fertility clinic.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Belinda Yauger at Brooke Army Medical Center?
Dr. Y is in and out of the room as quick as possible and does not explain anything. My very first fertility appointment ever, she mentioned follicles - I did not know what that was yet, gave me zero hope of ever getting pregnant again, and said I could not do IVF. She never shows the screen for vaginal ultrasounds and only speaks to the resident and nurse while doing so and again, explains nothing.
Describe the protocols Belinda Yauger used in your cycles at Brooke Army Medical Center and their degree of success.
For my canceled IVF cycle I did 10 lupron a.m. and p.m. 300 follistim a.m. and 3 vials of menopur p.m. Ovidrel was to be the trigger shot; however, my cycle was canceled before that.
My 2 (failed) IUI'S were with Dr. Lewis, but for both I took letrozole for 5 nights and did 75 follistim for 2 days, triggered with Ovidrel.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Brooke Army Medical Center.
The nursing staff would have gotten all excellent reviews from me; however, there is one that runs me the wrong way every time I speak to her! Aside from her (Yalonda), Kristin, Sandy, Eileen, Rena, and nurse Rodriguez are just the sweetest! Kristin is the head REI nurse and so compassionate and knowledgeable!
Describe your experience with Brooke Army Medical Center.
The only strength is the kindness of 80% of the staff.
I would say if you're local and on Tricare, go ahead and try the free IUI (covered by a grant). Know that they will NOT do IUI appts on weekends or holidays (they will with IVF though).
For IVF, go elsewhere. Don't bothering travelling in from out of town and hanging out for 2 weeks. Though it is discounted from real fertility clinics, it is still about $7500. Many clinics will do military discounts and there are discount programs for the meds. They do not do pgs testing here (which is expensive) but will do icsi. They have recently started doing frozen transfers more often.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Brooke Army Medical Center.
Monitoring appts were far from convenient! For some working women it might be great, but for myself, having to beg and plead with neighbors to watch my one child at 5:20am so I could be there at 6 for labs, and wait around over 1.5 hours for an ultrasound was NOT well-timed for me. I was told that was so labs would be available by the time of ultrasound. Makes sense except most of the time, my labs were not ready yet.
Pre-covid, you would rush in to REI, put your name on a FCFS list, go upstairs to get your lab drawn, then at 7:30 you would wait around to be called in order of arrival. During/post covid they are having us do 6am lab then going to REI dept for a scheduled ultrasound at 7:30/8/8:30/9....
Describe the costs associated with your care under Belinda Yauger at Brooke Army Medical Center.
IUI at bamc/sammc is free, covered through a grant.
Tricare does not cover fertility expenses; however, IVF has a portion covered by a grant (I think the meds), so it is about $7500 which includes meds, monitoring, egg retrieval, icsi, implanting embryos, and 1 year of embryo storage at Fertility Center of San Antonio. That is also who payment is made to.
Describe Belinda Yauger's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Brooke Army Medical Center.
Dependent on patient's age, quality of embryo, and 3 or 5 day transfer, they will sometimes transfer 2 at the patient's discretion.
What specific things went wrong at Brooke Army Medical Center?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to call with results
- Failed to order appropriate test
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
- Canceled a cycle due to clinic error
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Brooke Army Medical Center.
I cannot say much because it would give away my identity. I have had issues with correct labs being ordered, timely ultrasounds, and all day delay in RX being sent to the pharmacy.