Christine Skiadas

Dr. Skiadas was caring and compassionate. She tried hard to find a solution to my infertility. Her suggested treatments seemed aggressive and she adjusted treatment appropriately when my first retrieval with her resulted in none of the embryos being fertilized. She did all the tests that I read about that should be done that some doctors shy away from.

Do research on your own to make sure you are comfortable with the recommended treatment plan.

I don't remember, but I do know that I reacted very well to the medicines.

Most was covered by insurance so no costs to me out of pocket. Genetic testing was not covered and was 3,300 for 7 to 8 embryos. My husband needed some sperm testing that wasn't covered by insurance and that was $600.

I was allowed to transfer 2 embryos if it was a fresh transfer, but only 1 for genetically tested embryos.

Although I have not been seeing Dr. Skiadas that long, I have been incredibly impressed with her. Having been through two previous egg retrievals and three failed transfers of PGD/PGS tested embryos, I feel that she worked really hard to put together a new protocol with aggressive monitoring that, so far, has yielded positive results. It was very clear to me that, prior to our initial appointment, she had carefully reviewed my previous cycles and results to find new treatment or tweaks. I had lots of questions about how to do things differently and different tests we could try and she took the time to fully respond to all questions that my husband and I had. She was very supportive of my desire to do some outside testing. Dr. Skiadas explained all of the risks and odds of success at each step of the process, something that I felt in the dark about prior to meeting with her. Although I really liked my previous doctor, I never felt truly informed about important factors to me, such as the rate of fertilization with ICSI, how many embryos can be expected to make it to biopsy, etc. Dr. Skiadas provided me with all of the information I was looking.

Dr. Skiadas seems to be a very popular doctor so make sure to always schedule a follow up appointment right away. So far I have to say that the initial delay in seeing her has been worth it!

Dr. Skiadas turned my retrieval protocol on its head, using Gonal-f and microdose Lupron with a 37 hour HCG trigger, each twice daily. I had daily monitoring and my doses were adjusted frequently. Because of my good response to this protocol, Dr. Skiadas had concerns for OHSS so she added in Cabergoline and Cetrotide post-retrieval, which was very effective.

Luckily, my insurance covers most of my fertility care and treatment so I paid co-pays for office visits, procedures and medications after meeting my deductible. I did not have to pay for monitoring bloodwork or ultrasounds. I paid out of pocket for PGD/PGS testing through Igenomix ($6k - $9k per time for both).

Dr. Skiadas is clearly knowledgeable, compassionate, and understanding. I have chosen to try to become a mother on my own (SMC) and have never felt anything but support from her. Her approach has been clear and honest, and progressive relative to what has happened. Again, while I have primarily interacted with the nurses and other members of the medical team, rather than Dr. Skiadas, that hasn't troubled me and so far the convenience offered by the large practice has been a plus.

Because of the nature of the practice, and the opportunities to interact with Dr. Skiadas directly tend to be more limited, I would recommend being prepared to ask all your questions in those consultations if it's important for you to get answers from your RE. The nurses have also been very available to answer questions, but some patients may feel strongly about communicating directly with their physician.

Dr. Skiadas' plan and preference was to do three natural cycles of IUI. The first cycle I did was completely natural and I had a short luteal phase and early period (less than two weeks post-insemination). After that, Dr. Skiadas added a progesterone suppository to the next IUI to help maintain a pregnancy if indeed fertilization and insemination happened. IUI's 2 and 3 were natural, and 2 was with a trigger shot. The 4th was with Clomid and a trigger shot and progesterone, the 5th (due to a cyst being present) was unmedicated but with trigger and progesterone. And the 6th was with Clomid, a trigger shot, and progesterone. Cycles 1-5 did not produce a pregnancy. I am currently in Cycle 6.

To date (after 6 IUIs), I have had to pay a co-pay for IUIs and for the HSG test, as well as a copay for medication (Clomid, progesterone). Labs and ultrasound monitoring were covered by insurance.

If I had to do this process 1000 Times, I still would only choose Dr. Skiadas to coordinate my care. She performed several surgical procedures on me and I trusted her judgement and clinical skills above anyone else. Every time I had a procedure done at the hospital, all of the nurses would say “oh, you are so lucky to have Dr. Skiadas”. I could not agree more. Not only did she work to surgically improve a problem that is quite rare and not well understood, she also was always there to answer question and provide guidance and emotional support along the way during our visits. Once my issue was surgically improved, we did several rounds of Ivf. And— while it was certainly a long road— I have a beautiful baby to show for it. I could not be more grateful for dr. Skiadas. I feel like I owe her the world.

Wait for her no matter how long it takes. She is the only doctor I would ever see. Trust her process— it works!

I had multiple surgeries in the operating room prior to starting Ivf with dr. Skiadas. She performed all of my surgeries and the entire process was seamless. Once my uterus was improved, we did an IUI which was successful but ended in miscarriage. She was so compassionate during this time and helped me recover both physically and emotionally. We then did IVF and had an unsuccessful transfer x 2. The third one worked and I have a perfect little baby to show for it.

She strongly recommended single transfer.

Dr. Skiadas is very skillful as a physician and a wonderful, warm person. She is incredibly knowledgeable, but won't hesitate to consult with colleagues if a situation arises that she hasn't treated before. She was appropriately aggressive and didn't try the same thing that failed too many times. She truly seemed to care.

It is worth the wait for appointments to see her; don't settle for another doctor at the practice!

Insurance copays.

She recommended a single embryo transfer based on my age and other factors, but was very patient as I asked her about a lot of statistics, the possibility of a selective reduction if we transferred multiples, etc. She never judged but gently advised what she thought was best.

Dr. Skiadas is compassionate, caring, and I felt she was truly interested in getting me pregnant. She was patient with questions. I enjoyed seeing her during visits. I wish I saw her more during treatment

Come armed with questions, information about who will communicate with you and how, and how you can reach her personally if there is a staff communications issue.

Textbook antagonist protocol with a traditional hcg trigger. There was a miscommunication along the way and the nurse increased my menopur along the way, yet my Doctor hadn’t recorded it. I’m convinced this is why I had so many eggs and a mild case of OHSS. She did not recommend ICSI or PGS due to my age and the severity of my husbands MFI. When we did a second cycle, I did antagonist again with a lower menopur dose, CoQ10 for my husband and I both, thyroid meds for me, ICSI due to low fertilization rate the first time around, and PGS due to a loss.

I used insurance so we only paid for PGS

She wanted to transfer more than one due to my age, but my insurance required an eSET for the first attempt. It just worked out that each time I did a cycle and transfer, I had one embryo remaining and insurance did not allow banking.

She is very supportive and kind. I trust her knowledge and experience. Even though we haven’t had the results that we are hoping. I know she cares and really is trying her best to help us be successful. I hope that it will work someday…

To always be honest about your emotional process and ask her any questions. she will be there for you. Don’t be scare to ask.

ICSI Natural transfer A lot others I don’t remember

A lot! My health insurance cover part of the it . But I have to pay out of pocket for part of the cost.

No comments

My experience with Dr. Skiadas, although we have not been successful yet in having a child, has been positive. I do not think that I could have made it this far without someone so intelligent thoughtful and caring.

None.

IUI and first round fully covered. Subsequent rounds I had to pay for the screenings and monitorings.

Dr. Skiadis has been warm and helpful as we have navigated unexplained infertility. She has been proactive when treatments have been unsuccessful in encouraging us to progress to the next stage, but has respected our decisions when for instance we chose to do another round of IUI before moving on to IVF.

Her schedule is quite full, so if you will want appointments with her specifically make them in advance. She did not perform any of our 3 IUIs.

Covered by my health insurance except for some copays

She was very compassionate and understanding. Was patient with my issues, I'm not great at this. Let me make informed decisions about everything, did not try to sell me any procedures, made us feel like it would be fine if we quit at any time.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, she'll give you an accurate answer.

Natural frozen cycle (the BEST IVF treatment I've ever done). She also did a lupron protocol for the egg retrieval and used high does CoQ6 during stimulation that resulted in a lot of viable embryos.

Covered by insurance

She will only transfer one unless there's a reason to do more. In my case we did genetic testing on day 5 embryos, no reason to do more than 1

Dr. Skiadas is sweet and seems caring but her patient load is too high and she is never the doctor that attends the retrieval or the transfer, she just sets the protocol. I also felt she could have provided more information and assistance early on and after my insurance ran out I felt abandoned and hopeless.

Just be aware she does not handle your retrieval and transfers. You also need to speak up and advocate for yourself if you have questions and concerns.

I felt it was very random and specifics weren't discussed too much. I felt so naive through the first cycle and wish I would have known more.

Insurance covered 90% of my costs.

She was a good communicator and direct. She explained the process and logic of each step well. At one point we had an early miscarriage, and she was sympathetic but not overly so.

You don't see much of the dr, most everyday items are handled by the nurses and other staff.

She tended to take the more conservative method in terms of treatment and dosing (which I generally agreed with given my history)

My experience with Dr. Skiadas and her whole staff was wonderful. She and all of her nurses were calm, professional, and warm. I felt like they knew how emotional this whole process is and took that into consideration with their care. Dr. Skiadas also pushed our insurance paperwork and process faster so that we could move onto the next level of care within 24 hours. I don't remember any specific people at RSC but overall I had a good experience, everyone was professional and moved us along quickly which was nice.

Very nice and thorough, I only wish she had more appointments available! It took awhile to get the first appointment and then scheduling could be difficult at times. She was very supportive and made sure to know all of my history.

I don't remember.