Galina Karpenko (OB/GYN)

Dr. Karpenko is very knowledgeable and compassionate. I trust her advise and direction as a doctor completely. She made me feel like she was caring for a family member, not a patient. Moving on from her office was a difficult decision.

Ask all of your questions. She is a sole practitioner. While she spends time working with each client and returns all calls but she does not have the large staff and literature available for contact and information that larger clinics make available.

We did 3 clomid assisted IUIs with trigger shot. The 3rd one would have been an ivf cycle but I had scheduling issues so another IUI was scheduled. Nothing changed in protocol. Thereafter we did 2 ivf cycles with follistim, ganirelix and trigger. The only change from first to second cycle was increase dosage of follistim for the second half of the cycle. The second cycle resulted in more eggs retrieved. Not sure if this was a result of higher dosages of follistim or something else.

IUIs cost $500 plus medication. IVF cycles were just under $10,000 plus medication and certain costs at the off-site surgical center and lab. Genetic testing was exorbitant at over $5,000.

From the start, Dr. Karpenko qas the only person who gave me a clear understanding of what was wrong with my husband and myself and was so compassionate about it. She had a great sense of humor which made me feel so comfortable given that I was exposed to her multiple times a week for approximately a year. As a patient, I was on time for every appointment and went with the flow putting all my trust in her and her staff. It worked and I am grateful.

Do not be shy about what you're going through emotionally or physically. She will talk to you like a friend and give you the best advice to help you.

I had to take 3 different types of supplements every day each for a different concern and inject myself every night with Gonal F until the procedure and then give myself a trigger shot which was Ovidrel 2 days before the procedure. With IUI it was different because I didn't need to use the other trigger shot, Centrotide. That was with my IVF treatments. The supplements increased my amh and fsh hormones and the gonal created and grew eggs for me. I also had to take progesterone after the procedure to make sure the sperm caught with the egg and stayed. My husband also had to take 2 supplements for his sperm motility and sperm count which resulted in a positive outcome. After so many times, I became pregnant on my 2nd IVF cycle and am currently 34 weeks.

I was covered with my insurance so I only had a $15 co pay. I had to pay to freeze my extra eggs after the first egg retrieval which was $1500 and then a monthly storage fee of $100. It was for only 1 month.

I feel the doctor should give her best professional opinion and the patient should consider what she says before making a decision.

Unfortunately we haven’t been successful yet but I firmly believe that she will get the job done. Dr karpenko is compassionate and patient and is a wonderful communicator. I know we’ve done a lot of ivf cycles with her but we were combatting the endometriosis and attempting pregnancy through ivf before choosing endo surgery.

Call and make an appointment. Her office isn’t a factory. She is very personable and compassionate and if you want to feel like a human and not a number, she’s the one to make you feel that way.

Because of my endometriosis we always did lower dosage cycles. They all included menopur (1vial). Along the way follistim was added (150), cetrotide and ovidrel was always my trigger shot.

At the start I was under my insurance which was United healthcare with ZERO coverage for anything infertility related. I don’t recall what we spent exactly but the iui cycle which was the only one with dr karpenko was $1500 for everything involved, blood, ultrasound etc. As of 2018 I am covered with Cigna through my husbands insurance and we are covered 100% for medications, ivf/iui etc!! I pay $40 a co pay for blood/ultrasounds but never a copay for beta bloodwork.

I only had 1-2 embryos at a time. When we got 2 embryos on the last cycle we transferred 2.

Dr. Karpenko was lovely, but I often felt rushed through the process, without having enough information about what I had to do next and when. She also didn't take as much time to explain the reasoning behind her treatment decisions, but to be fair this was my first round and I feel it was somewhat diagnostic.

Write everything down and ask lots of questions, because the doctor may not lay everything out for you ahead of time.

I started with a low dose of Femara, which created regular cycles, but no natural pregnancy. Then we did one IUI before doing IVF. I had a very low dose of Gonal-F, because I was producing a lot of follicles, but when we did the egg retrieval we got many fewer than expected. I moved across the country after this cycle, so I can't say how she may have adjusted treatment for the next round.

This was covered by insurance, so I had a $50 co-pay that I paid at each visit, plus embryo storage fees.

We agreed together to transfer single embryos, although she was very willing to do two at once.

It was hard to get details from her about steps in the process. Then she made a major mistake with prescribing the correct amounts of medication to be covered by insurance that has cost me a lot. She also did not prescribe medication to sync my egg production and the IVF procedures I did with her were a big waste--got 7x as many with a different course of treatment, after she said nothing else could be done differently.

She was fine for unmedicated IUI with no concerns. I wouldn't go back for other procedures. Do your homework on your own and ask informed questions, don't expect her to give you the information.

The office was only open after 9:30 or 10 so I was missing a lot of work to get to morning appointments. They did usually take later appointments, though.

The costs for IUI were negligible with my insurance, but costs for one round of IVF were about $4k after insurance. Plus there was the debacle with the prescriptions.

Dr. Karpenko has been a clear and thorough communicator, and I have never felt rushed in her presence. Prior to beginning fertility treatment, I saw her for years as my general gynecologist, and there too I always felt well cared for.

Don't be afraid to ask all of your questions and advocate for your needs. It's been my experience that this often falls on deaf ears at other practices, but it has been my experience that Dr. Karpenko is willing to take the time and make the effort.

Approx $6k in total for egg freezing

She is by far the best doctor we've had so far to generally manage this process. We've now worked with her for about 9 months. She is very careful about being too liberal with medications and moving too quickly with any procedures, but is also open to all ideas and trying new strategies. She is careful to analyze the data and the situation and to offer an assessment that she think works best for the patient. Dr. Karenpko is also very open to working with other doctors and sharing findings and information so that she can provide the best possible care for her patients. She is not territorial and her ego does not come before her patients. She advocates on behalf of the patient and works extremely hard (even if it's off hours) to make sure the process is as smooth as possible. When it comes to lab results, she will sometimes call us at night or weekends with results herself, so that we don't have to wait until the next day or a Monday -- she knows how stressful the waiting process can be for anything and is careful to eliminate stress wherever she can. I would have to say that she is also extremely patient and meeting with her or talking with her on the phone never feels hurried. She always makes time to answer all questions and doesn't make you feel stupid for any concern or question you may have. You do not feel like just another number to her and you don't feel like she's out for the money. Dr. K is very dedicated to her profession and to the health of her patients and clearly wants the best for them. She is the first doctor to run tests that discovered MTHFR (after a few years of doctors) and to identify high glucose blood sugar ratios...again, after other doctors tested for it and missed it or failed to test for it. I did get pregnant with her and have a miscarriage this past summer and she offered great advice, welcomed us talking to other doctors to bring in more information, and was very sensitive throughout the process. We've now had her talk to a few other doctors and read their analyses and and are finding ways to still work with her and find the best possible protocol.