Colleen Casey

Dr. Casey was always compassionate to us and would explain and answer questions we had. She isn't, however, overly warm in her demeanor and won't go out of her way to explain things unless you ask a lot of questions. Of our retrieval and three transfers, only one of the procedures was performed by her (though we trusted the other dr's at the clinic with our care). In the end, we chose Dr. Casey because we felt she would help us reach our goal of a successful pregnancy not because of her bed-side manner.

Do your own research ahead of speaking with her and come prepared with LOTS of questions.

Egg retrieval followed by a fresh transfer (failed). Frozen transfer two months later with a standard protocol (estrace, baby aspirin, progesterone in oil) which resulted in a miscarriage at 8 weeks. Tried a second frozen transfer, this time adding a two-week course of doxycycline to address potential endometritis which was successful.

Since our embryos were untested, Dr. Casey left this up to us. We transferred a single embryo for our first two transfers and opted to transfer two embryos for our third transfer.

Dr. Casey understood right off the bat that I’m very “type a” and need to know every little detail. She explained the entire process and even drew pictures. Infertility treatments are a very confusing process and she explained it all in an easily understood way

She is very direct, which is so amazing. She doesn’t sugar coat, but at the same time, she has great caring bedside manner

I was on oral birth control pills for 3 weeks, then started my stimulation medications. I was on 75 units of Menopur and 900 IU of Follistim for 10 days. 250mcg of Ganirelix was added in and I did a double Ovidrel trigger. I was monitored this whole time as well with ultrasounds. I remember being at my ultrasound on a Friday and was told to come back Monday. Knowing my body, I advocated for a Saturday appointment- not wanting to miss my small window to trigger. I came in the next day and sure enough, was told to trigger Sunday night! I had previously gone through 8 IUI cycles (7 unsuccessfully) and I learned through those to advocate for myself more. 36 hours after my trigger shots, I went in for my egg retrieval. There were 25 eggs retrieved, 18 of which were mature. After 5 days, we needed up with 11 embryos. We transferred 1 on day 5, and she is currently 7 weeks old!

My work schedule isn’t very flexible, so I had a hard time with the appointments. That being said, CRM did their best in accommodating me and my hectic work schedule.

Medications were about $4000 and the rest of the cycle was about $14,000

My husband and I wanted to transfer two embryos, but during my first pregnancy I had severe Hyperemesis Gravidarum and Preeclampsi, so they talked us out of an even higher risk pregnancy

I remember the day we went in for our consultation with Dr. Casey. I walked in with tears and ended up smiling and laughing during our consultation. The reason why my husband and I liked her so much from that moment was that she was a matter of fact, no bs, tells you how it is and what your chances are with scientific research to back it up. This is exactly what we were looking for. We didn’t need a doctor who was going to hug us, cry with us, and lead us down a road with unclear expectations.

Go into your consultation with questions and know you'll receive direct answers.

Menopur 150iu, Gonal F 300 iu, Ganirelix 250 mcg, HCG 10,000 units We did ICSI and PGS

The total for both rounds of IVF cost us $45,000 out of pocket.

Dr. Casey was very open and explained our treatment plan well in depth. Never once did we ever question what was going to happen. She really made you feel like you were her only couple she was working with.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. That is what she is there for. Just know that your treatment plan well be explained in depth and you'll feel and know that she truly cares about your outcome(s).

I was under another doctor's care at the same office my first round of IVF and with how that cycle turned out, we decided to proceed with the same. I was on an antagonist protocol. I did Lupron 20 units then 5a day, menopur 150 units a day and then follistim 225 units a day. I also added in ganirelix for 5 days. I stimmed for 9 days and then had retrieval.

Since I live over 2 hours away from the clinic they were very accommodating with the time that I'd like to be there for my appointments. They do have a window of I believe four hours that monitoring has to be done in, but I never felt like it couldn't get in when it wasn't convenient for me. I felt that the appointments went very smoothly. Most of the time there weren't many people in the waiting room. I never felt forgotten in a sea of people.

For monitoring, retrieval AMD frozen embryo transfer we were upwards of$18,000 and then with our genetic testing was an addition $6,000.

I was impressed with my one actual interaction with her. She’s very knowledgeable and thoroughly explained how we would proceed with IUI. I just wish she was more hands on with patients who aren’t doing IVF.

Be prepared to never see her beyond your consult

I chose the medicated IUI route because of the higher odds. I appreciated being able to choose. We used letrozole CD 3-5 and Ovidrel when instructed after the second ultrasound.

I thankfully have some limited fertility coverage, so I only had to pay up to my deductible and all the costs associated with sperm. I think each cycle of actual treatment (minus sperm) was billed around $1200.

Dr. Casey is warm and friendly. She hasn’t sugar coated any part of our process here at CRM. She made sure we left feeling like we had all of our questions answered. She has a calm presence to her that makes the whole process so much better. I knew if we needed any questions answered she would be able to answer them or find us the answers we needed.

Go into the appointment knowing that you’ll be able to ask anything, not feel judged and you’ll leave knowing you are in great hands. I was very nervous before our first appointment- but after I left knowing we made the right decision.

I am currently at the start of my treatment plan. We are doing IVF.

Our treatment is cost around $11,000

We have not gotten to this point of our treatment plan.

Dr. Casey is knowledgeable, direct, and takes the time to explain things in detail. She always went over our questions, even when we asked the same thing twice, or wanted things diagrammed or drawn out to understand them. She was also really pleasant when doing actual procedures with us. However, I would not say there was a true sense of warmth or investment in us as a couple, beyond just as patients. That is find I think, but it did not necessarily match my expectations before coming to this clinic. However, going back for a second treatment now, after a successful IVF pregnancy, I just know what to expect and it does not bother me. I appreciate even more Dr. Casey's matter of fact manner and her ability to help us cut through our own wishy-washiness. For instance, we were hemming and hawing about doing another IVF treatment right away, and asked whether we should maybe try naturally or try another IUI. She did not tell us what to do obviously, but quoted us some statistics that clarified where our chances stand. So I found that useful - no coddling, but rather straight information.

Come with questions, make sure you call if you think of anything else (because either she or her nurses will call back, which is always nice and useful); and finally, do not expect a super warm and engaged doctor - just a straightforward, knowledgeable, professional one.

Given my age (over 40) Dr. Casey was willing to transfer two embryos, which is what I wanted.

She is a straight talker that didn't shy away from though questions. She was able to recommend supplements that vastly improved egg quality for me and was able to steer me away from other ideas that weren't supported by science.

She's quick and efficient so have a list of questions ready. She will answer and if you don't have any ready you will feel like you are wasting time.

I don't remember any of the details, but I know during one of the three cycles they upped my medications. On the third cycle I was able to negotiate the ultrasounds and reduce the number. This really helped the whole process to be a bit more affordable and also saved me making so many appointments so I didn't have to miss work.

About $20,000/cycle including medications. IVF + PGS + ICSI + FET

I was prepared to get a sermon. In the end I was just asked what I wanted. I never had more than 2 PGS tested embryos and each time I elected a single.

Approachable and friendly. Easy to get follow-up appointments and willing to talk over the phone. Does not think outside the box or suggest alternative/Chinese medicine to help. Supplements are never discussed and not taken seriously, outside of take a prenatal.

Be your own advocate and do your research.

Gonal-f 75 Femara 5 Orividrel trigger Progesterone

I don’t remember. A list was provided at the beginning of treatment what my ins covered with IUIs.

NA

Dr. Casey was very friendly during our first meeting. Based on my prior testing, treatment and overall diagnosis from my OB, she was confident that we would have success with IVF within a couple rounds. During what turned out to be three rounds of IVF, she was supportive during our low points (chemical pregnancy and ectopic pregnancy) and still very encouraging and hopeful that we would have a baby. She never made us feel rushed, but I do feel that you had to come prepared with questions, otherwise the meetings would be very short. Overall, she was very warm, knowledgeable, and motivated to help us succeed.

Do your research and come prepared with questions! She is a wealth of information, but you need to know what to ask.

IVF #1 (antagonist protocol): Gonal-F: 250 units starting Menopur: 75 units Ganirelix Lupron for trigger shot due to increased risk for OHSS Endometrin inserts before transfer (1 insert 3x/day) Ended up decreasing Gonal-F during stimulation due to overstimulation. By the end, they lowered me to 75 units (lowest dose per their standards). This resulted in 27 eggs, most appearing mature, but only 10 fertilized (not using ICSI). Ended up with one viable morula to transfer on day 5. No embryos left to freeze. Transfer resulted in a chemical pregnancy. IVF #2 (antagonist protocol): Same as above except Gonal-F was kept at 75 units the entire time. They wanted a lower/slower stim cycle in hopes of better quality embryos. 19 eggs retrieved, 18 mature, 11 viable blasts. Fresh transferred top graded embryo, and froze the remaining 10. This resulted in an ectopic pregnancy. FET #1: After ectopic pregnancy, we decided to do PGS testing on our 10 frozen embryos. 7 came back normal. Lupron: 20 units for 10 days, then 5 units for another 10 days Estrace: Started at 1x/day then ramped up to 3x/day Endometrin: 1 insert 3x/day Baby aspirin 1x/day Transferred 1 euploid frozen embryo that resulted in a healthy pregnancy and live birth.

She suggested transferring one embryo due to the quality and success rates for their clinic, but was open to us transferring 2 embryos had that been our preference.

The course of treatment was cookie cutter and didn't change. It seemed to be the same for everyone everytime. She was a nice doctor though but the care wasn't tailored to my wife and only changed after we pressed for alternatives and went through a mock cycle. This place seems more like a farm running everyone through one protocol.

Do not use this doctor and clinic if you are having a lot of difficulty getting pregnant.

It was the same each time. The pill for a time, then lupron shots, estrace, progesterone.

25k for egg cycles and 5k due each frozen transfer

The first fresh donor transfer after a failed fresh homegrown transfer was where we had a surprise. We had told them over and over we were going to do 2 embryos. We had tried on our own for so long we wanted to do whatever it took to get one or two babies. Minutes before the transfer of the fresh donor eggs, the doctor said it was so good that we should just do one. My wife had to make her decision they're on the spot and was gently pressured to just do one. It was our choice but the were insistant that it was so good and this was very likely to work. It was a unesseccary to do two because we would end up with two babies and the complication of that.

I just wish we could hear back from her directly, so further questions could be answered in a phone call rather than waiting for a nurse to talk to her and then call back, or waiting for the next conference. She has been nice, warm and welcoming and made us feel like it was their priority to get us pregnant. She was honest in answering the questions I had for her during our consult as well, which I appreciate completely.

Be prepared to ask questions at your consult, and possibly not hear much from her until the conference scheduled or a procedure.

We are just starting out, and my husband has male factor infertility so she explained possible treatment options depending on what the urologist comes up with...but most likely IVF will be our best bet. We also talked about possible further treatments if other things were found.

So far, what I know of what we will have to pay is the tests we have had done. IVF is very much in our future and I'm needing information on that yet, but we were waiting to see what the urologist says and we have a conference with C.C. at the end of October.

I think she was really great listening and showing compassion. She takes your thoughts and opinions and really cares. I felt like we were a team with the same goal and that made me feel positive. I feel good after I speak to her and she gives me hope. I wish she would have been more active with the actual procedure (IUI) or explained who would do what as that was a little confusing. I feel like she cares about you as a person not just a patient looking to make money off of you.

Ask tons of questions and do research prior to your appointment so you know what to ask and definitely don’t feel shy asking about prices of different treatment routes.

We did Letrozole so I would produce more eggs and we did a trigger shot so we would know exactly when to do IUI and have it timed out great to give me the best chance. In having unexplained secondary infertility for more then 3 years now timing is so very crucial for me to get things right.

The IUI was about 1,200 and the Letrozole was 10$ covered by my insurance. The trigger shot was 260$ and was not covered by insurance and was a big hassle to get delivered as it came from a special pharmacy.

She seems very nice but I'm not fully convinced that we have explored all of the testing options. I would like to see her dive into our case more rather than just label us as "unexplained." Being that we have only met with her twice I would love communication even via email all the way. To know more of our numbers/stats/and potential to mix up treatment a bit.

Stick up for yourself. Ask her all the potential treatment options and fight to have them done even if she's not certain about them.

We started with follustrom treatments for the first 3 IUIs. After all three came back failed we met with her (after waiting 2 months to get in to meet with her) and she kind of asked what we wanted to do next. Our insurance covers some of the IUIs and I told her I wanted to try something else because what we were doing wasn't working. For this upcoming cycle I'll be starting on menipur instead.

I chose Dr. Casey because she was relateable - having children close to my age, being female. When I first met with Dr. Casey she was very encouraging and explained everything very well. However, I wish she would have encouraged donar eggs sooner, as my AMH level was very low.

Consider all of your options (donar eggs, adoption, etc.) in the beginning because the process rarely works the first time and can be very lengthy. Also, the treatment is mentally and financially exhausting. I don't think the mental side effects were fully explained to me.

With my own eggs, I was on bc to get my cycle in line with theirs. Then I was on Lupron for 10 days, then started Menopur in the a.m. and Follistem in the evening. During this time I had ultrasounds and bloodwork every other day. Took HCG prior to retrieval. Then, started endometrin twice a day and did day 5 transfer with fresh embryo. After transfer, started Vivelle patches and continue Endometrin. Unsuccessful. Switched to donar eggs with fresh transfer. Birth control to coordinate my cycle with donor. Lupron for 10 days. Then reduce Lupron (but continue) and start Estrace 3 times/day. After a couple of weeks, start Endometrin 3 times/day and Doxyclycline 2 times/day. Transferred only 1 embryo (per doctors very strong recommendation). Resulted in pregnancy, and then miscarriage after 4 weeks. Currently doing frozen embryo transfer with donor eggs. Started birth control to coordinate with clinic schedule. Lupron 20 U for 10 days. Drop to 5 U Lupron for 10 days and start Estrace (with Lupron) for approximately 21 days. Will also do Endometrin approximately 5 days prior to transfer and after.

It was approximately $21,000 for IVF cycle with my own eggs, approximately $25,000 for cycle with donor eggs, and approximately $5,000 for frozen transfer. Medication was an additional $1,000-$4,000 per cycle.

In talking with nurse and doctor Casey, I was encouraged to transfer 2 for higher success rate, understanding risk of multiples. Day of transfer, Dr. Kuneck was only willing to transfer 1 embryo because of high quality embryo. It was not successful, so I wish I would have done 2. Now doing FET with plan to transfer 2 embryos.

Dr. Casey is very knowledgeable and passionate about helping couples become parents. When our fresh transfer resulted in a negative pregnancy, she personally called me to discuss the results, what potentially happened, and what our next steps forward would look like. She was positive and reassuring that we would some day be parents.

Ask ALOT of questions and be sure you really understand the plan - the only dumb question is the one not asked!!

We had an antagonist protocol for our first egg retrieval cycle. I was on the lowest dose of stimulation meds. My meds included: 75 units of Menopur & 150 iu of Follistim. I stimulated extremely quickly and already had 5 mature eggs at my first ultrasound (stim day 5). I hadn't started the antagonist (Ganirelix) until immediately after that first ultrasound. However, I was a little worried that I stimulated so quickly - would they be good quality eggs? would my lining be ready to accept a transfer? ... At my ultrasound the next day, I had 8 mature eggs so they decided to have me trigger that night. I triggered with 10,000iu of HCG. I was also a little concerned that there wasn't any lining checks or measurements throughout the process of this fresh cycle. Overall, the process was pretty seamless. I was lucky and didn't have many side effects or discomfort during stimulation or after retrieval.

Baseline Ultrasound ($263 ea.) - 1 Follow-Up Ultrasounds ($216 ea.) - 2 Office Visits ($89 ea.) - ? Labs ($181 ea.) - 3 Egg Retrieval - $3791 Embryo Transfer - $1669 Embryo Culture - $1810 Identification - $680 Anesthesia - $374 ICSI - $1200 Cryopreservation of Embryos - $1200 Ultrasounds (retrieval and transfer) - $635 Lab prep for transfer - $450 Medications - $2850.84

The doctor who did our transfer didn't put up much of a fight or invite any sort of discussion around the topic. We only had 1 blastocyst at day 5 (transfer day) and a less mature morula (day 4 cell). He also said that we likely wouldn't have any that made it to freeze. So... we decided to transfer 2 because that increased our chance of getting at least one by 10%. He didn't give us any explanation about why he only recommended an eSET and just said, "it's up to you". This was disappointing - especially now on the other side of transfer still not pregnant. In addition, I have done an incredible (spent HOURS on google) amount of researching on the best route and why - something that should be presented as pro's and con's at time of transfer.

She is a fantastic listener. She is kind yet honest and straight forward. Every time we met with her, she took time to sit down and be sure our questions were answered. We never felt rushed. I have, and will continue to, recommend her to anyone I know

Make sure you ask questions. She is so helpful, so just advocate for yourself and she will support you.

For IUI we started with letrozole 7.5mg. I responded quite quickly and with many follicles. The next cycle we adjusted my dose to 5mg and got a more regulated response. We then moved to follistim (can't remember dose) and had good response to that as well. When we moved to IVF we used an antagonist protocol. We started with follistim and menopur. On day 4, we added ganirelix. I was about to stim for 10 days and had 21 follicles retrieved!

I believe IVF with ICSI and storage of frozen embryos was about 15-18000

She is so willing to listen to your concerns. The clinic obviously prefers single embryo transfers but if you are willing to have a discussion showing why you want to transfer two and show that there has been a lot of thought into this decision, they are quite understanding

Dr. Casey has a very matter-of-fact style of interaction. We had some pretty big losses during our treatment, and while she expressed sympathy, she was quite blunt. There isn't anything necessarily wrong with this--it just isn't our style and we would have preferred a little more compassion/empathy. Dr. Casey presented information about our options in an easy-to-understand format and we felt well-informed regarding the process. However, we felt like we were lead to believe that our chances of success were quite a bit higher than they actually were. We don't feel that Dr. Casey was realistic with us about our chances. Additionally, I was triggered on day 7 for two IVF egg retrievals (with egg retrieval on day 9). We were never told that triggering this early is very risky in regards to the chances of getting euploid embryos. Had we known the risks, we would not have decided to move forward with egg retrieval either time. We did really appreciate that Dr. Casey called us personally to report on PGS results, and she gave us her phone number to contact her if needed (without going through the phone triage system). We felt like we had access to her if we had any further questions.

I would recommend asking for very specific information regarding realistic chances of success, particularly for patients who are going into IVF with a lower chance of success (low ovarian reserve, low AMH, low AFC, history of a short follicular phase).

For IUI, we used Follistim for about 5 days, triggered on day 8, had IUI on day 10, and became pregnant, but miscarried around 9 weeks. Our first IVF protocol was with Follistim (starting dose 225) and Menopur (1 vial per day), with Ganirelix. We triggered with Pregnyl on day 7 and had egg retrieval on day 9. 6 eggs retrieved/6 mature/5 fertilized with ICSI/1 blast (PGS abnormal). Our second IVF protocol was with Follistim (starting dose 275, I think), Menopur (2 vials per day), and microlupron (started 2 days prior to Follistim/Menopur). We triggered with Pregnyl on day 7 and had egg retrieval on day 9. 7 eggs retrieved/5 mature/4 fertilized with ICSI/2 blasts (both PGS abnormal).

We paid about $12,000 per IVF cycle (plus the cost of PGS testing, which was about $3000).

Dr. Casey's approach was to do eSET with a PGS-tested euploid embryo. We were very much in favor of using this approach. Unfortunately, we never made any PGS normal embryos to transfer.

Colleen Casey answered all of our questions thoroughly and never made us feel dumb for asking. She was receptive and offered alternative options. The clinic operates such that you have minimal contact with your actual doctor so we only spoke with her a total of 4 times, including once on the phone. She did seem a bit annoyed when we called with an after hours question about embryo transfer. We felt we needed time to consider all of our options but she mentioned that they were going to call the next day. I was a bit taken back by this.

In general Dr Casey is encouraging but if you see her realize that other doctors at the clinic are more clinical and aren't always exactly familiar with your situation.

We had infertility due to my husband having anejaculation due to cancer treatment. I am 38 but with a health 4.8 AMH and they counted 22 follicles pre treatment. We were prescribed Menopur, follistim and ganirelex. I only stimmed for 6 days, they retrieved 9 eggs, only 5 mature, 3 blasts on day 6, all tested abnormal with PGS. Trying again this time with Lupron, Menopur and Follistim. Dr Casey is hoping to slow down stim process a touch in order to have more mature eggs to work with.

12,000

Dr Casey was wonderful in recommending PGS when we said that we were really uncomfortable risking a Twin pregnancy. With PGS we can do single transfer and be pretty confident that we are implanting a healthy embryo.

We appreciated Dr. Casey's thoroughness is answering questions and explaining procedures, as well as her confidence that she could get us pregnant. We did feel that we were "steering the ship," so to speak, and would have appreciated a little more direction on her part. She was happy to do what we wanted to do and wasn't very directive, when we would have appreciated direction.

Be prepared to have a good idea of what you want to do!

I was 38 at the time of retrieval with no history of pregnancy. I have unexplained infertility, with an AMH of 1.7 and normal hormone levels. I was put on an antagonist protocol with a Lupron trigger. We retrieved 10 mature eggs, 9 fertilized with no assistance, 7 embryos all graded excellent. We did a 5 day fresh transfer and I currently have a 4 month old son from that transfer.

I believe we paid $12,500 total for retrieval, lab work, monitoring, transfer, and freezing of additional embryos. Medications were a separate cost.

Dr. Casey originally recommended transferring two embryos due to my age, but her recommendation changed when she assessed the quality of my embryos on transfer day. She highly recommended we only transfer one. We did and it was successful.

She was always timely with consultations and follow up appointments/ultrasounds/etc. She was also timely with calling us with pregnancy results. I've since recommended her and the clinic to several friends, all who have had great results as well!

Go in with an open mind- she is the expert, and you'll make a joint decision on what is ultimately the best route to go to achieve pregnancy.

I do not recall specific protocols. Prior to my frozen embryo transfers I remember she did call me and ask me to increase my Estrace. It all worked out well though.

They handed out a pricing folder at our first visit that outlined the costs of all the tests. It's overwhelming to see initially, but ultimately helpful for planning. We spent around $5000-$7000 for each frozen embryo transfer.

I was pleased that, after having two singletons through embryo transfers, she was on board with transferring our last two embryos simultaneously. Of course my pregnancy history was totally normal- I'm sure if I'd had preterm babies she would not have been as keen to prospectively allow me to have twins. She put the odds of a twin pregnancy, with two embryos transferred + my history, at 60%. We weren't surprised then when we DID find out the transfer resulted in twins.

Dr. Casey is great. She listened to my concerns, and didn't dismiss my specific treatment requests- if they weren't in my best interest she would explain why, and then offer options. When I explained to her that I wanted aggressive treatment, she gave me a sound plan for hopefully achieving a healthy pregnancy. The perfect combination of "to the point" and people skills.

Don't be afraid to ask for a specific treatment, or for her opinion on a course of action. She is very receptive.

I started on femara, at my request. Three cycles with Femara and TI yielded no results, so I was moved up to IUI +trigger. At this time Dr. Casey was on leave and a colleague of hers was monitoring her cases. This doctor refused to bump me to injection med with IUI+trigger, which I feel wasted cycles. I did 2 femara +IUI cycles with no result. On her return, Dr. Casey apologized for the mismanagement of my cycles while she was out, and immediately started me on an inject+trigger+IUI regimen. After my 1st failed inject/trigger/IUI cycle, my AMH was tested and was found to be .6, extremely low. We tried much higher doses of Gonal-f for my 2nd and 3rd injection IUIs, the 3rd IUI with these higher doses resulted in pregnancy and a live singleton birth.

A majority of my treatment was covered by a $10k insurance benefit. I believe the initial consultation was $450. CRM is extremely good at providing costs for services.

She was friendly, but basically asked me how I wanted to proceed instead of giving her recommendation. She seemed confident I could conceive without intervention, even after 3 failed medicated cycles. I didn't feel that she had enough time to dedicate to really learning my situation and the treatment plan suffered as a result.

Demand time and specifics. Ask what the plan will be if you don't respond as predicted. Push for diagnostic testing.

I did two cycles of clomid and timed intercourse and one cycle of femara and timed intercourse. I didn't respond well to the clomid (only one follicle while taking the max dose), but did respond well to femara. I had indicated to her and the nurses that I ovulate late, but they still had me come in as if I was going to ovulate on CD14. This caused me to have to pay for additional ultrasounds which got to be very expensive. None of these cycles resulted in a positive pregnancy test.

Each cycle was extended due to my late ovulation which added at least two ultrasounds at ~350/scan. Due to this, we spent almost $5k on three cycles which was well above the estimated costs.

Dr. Casey listened well, was very compassionate and driven to help us succeed. Often times though, I would need to raise my concerns to her with data on why I thought treatment should be modified and then she would agree, and change treatment. I am thankful I advocated for myself as much as I did but wish that she would have been more proactive. If I hadn't known as much about fertility as I did, I don't think certain protocols would have been used. I did appreciate her willingness to take a call and felt that she was interactive in our IUI and IVF protocols. However, towards the end of our time with her, the clinic was growing in patient volume and her interactions were getting less. When faced with a D&C, I appreciated her sharing her own experience with us to make our nerves less. She was compassionate and thorough and put our needs as a priority.

Bring questions and know she will be willing to answer them all and make sure you understand them.

All 4 of our IVF cycles with her (2 fresh, 2 frozen) had me questioning some of my blood levels and protocols used. I was worried I was over suppressed and concerned with my hormones levels. Most of the time, she was not concerned, but after visiting other doctors, my concerns were validated. I wish I knew as much then as I knew now. The protocols seemed very basic and standard (mainly pre-printed in their guide book) and I would have like to see her individualize the protocols more. When I did express concern about estradoil levels for example, sharing that oils worked better for me than patches or pills, she was willing and happy to make those protocol changes, but again, that is something only learned through experience.

I liked that they have women who are pregnant come in the afternoon, so you are never faced with a baby bump while in the waiting room. They always ran on time, had a good amount of appointments to choose from and I never had a problem!

Competitive within the Twin Cities area

She is incredibly smart and well-informed. Her communication left a lot to be desired...phone calls were late, and she seemed to take a passive approach to treatment. She did not change the treatment plan despite multiple failures. There was no follow-up after important procedures such as D&E and D&C.

Be specific about the type of communication you want. Ask a lot of direct questions if you value being informed.

IVF monitoring was mostly covered, but donor eggs and associated procedures were not. I ultimately spent about $75,000 including IVF and donor egg transfers over the course of 3.5 years.

Preferred single embryo transfer unless there were rare factors involved that may warrant multiples.