Halina Wiczyk

Dr. Wiczyk is a tell-it-like-it-is kind of doctor, but in a process that is emotionally and physically draining, I found that refreshing. Thanks to her I went into the process with hope, but realistic expectations. From day 1 she recommended that we consider donor eggs but didn't push us in that direction. She answered all of our questions thoroughly and when she felt she had exhausted the options for treatment using my own eggs, she referred us to a top specialist. In the end, we decided to continue our treatment with her using donor eggs.

Be prepared not to have things sugar coated. It's a good thing, trust me!

My first protocol was a microdose lupron protocol, which is what they use for woman expected to be poor responders. This wasn't wildly successful, we got two eggs and one resulted in a good blast and a transfer, which didn't take. She decided to mix it up for round two and I did the patch protocol with the addition of HGH. This cycle was a disappointment resulted in two more eggs, but none survived for transfer. My third protocol, which was the most successful, was back to the microdose lupron with the addition of HGH and we got 7 eggs, three of which made it to blast. We transfered 2 fresh and 1 frozen. None of these resulted in pregnancy. I did not have any genetic testing done on any of the embryos.

It was very easy to get in and out. I usually showed up right when the opened so I was first on the list. There was one ultrasound technician who was more gentle than the other, but everyone was kind and efficient.

I am lucky that my IVF cycles were covered by insurance. The only out of pocket costs I incurred were co-payments, storage fees and HGH was not covered because it was considered experimental by the insurance company. This was about $1,000 per round. I am currently in the middle of a donor cycle, which is not covered by insurance because of my age, but the meds are. I have paid $15,000 for a frozen egg cohort from Fairfax Egg Bank, which is their partner organization and I anticipate about $10-12K in expenses for the procedures.

We had so few embryos available to us that we didn't have much discussion of this, but we did decide to transfer two fresh embryos, which was recommended for someone my age.

She was honest about what treatment would likely and would not likely work for us. She was aggressive in treatment but not too aggressive. She listened to our concerns and provided answers to most of our questions (We're diagnosed as unexplained so there simply are not answers for everything). She knows her stuff and is confident in the information she provides and her treatment recommendations.

Go talk with her.

IVF Down regulation, control cycle with bc pills for 3 weeks Started 10IU of Lupron on day 18 After day 3 US, reduced Lupron to 5IU and mixed in 300IU Follistim and 175IU Menopur (this was not for a set period of time; time on the meds differs by response). I took these for about 10 days 9 follicles, 6 were eggs. All 6 fertilized. 4 were ready on day 5 and 2 were ready on day 6. Transfered 1 fresh on day 5. It stuck but only in week 5 so far.

They are a well oiled machine. The facility has a lab downstairs for blood draws. The staff there are very friendly and fast. Then you sign in at the office upstairs and wait for an US. I think the longest I waited was 45 minutes but I got there toward the end of open hours.

There was a mix up with my insurance. My primary insurance doesn't cover IVF but we purchased a secondary plan through my spouse's employer that does. They had his insurance as the primary and mine as secondary which is wrong and making the claims reps at the insurance company cranky. They fixed the order in their system but I have yet to be charged for anything (not even copays) so we'll see how that works out.

For my age (31), she highly discouraged multiple transfers. They only do day 5 embryos and the lab is very good. They have decient success rates so the they focus on counseling patients about health of the baby and risks with multiples.