Joel Brasch

Dr Joel is very experienced in what he does. I haven’t done treatments yet because I have yet to get to that portion, I’ve only done labs and testing. Even with doing just that him and Dr Schultz are AMAZING people! They explained everything to me in detail and if I had any questions they let me ask them all without rushing me to see their next patients. I’m beyond happy that I chose Chicago IVF to go on this journey.

Give all of your fears to Dr Joel. He will do everything in his power to make sure you’ll have your miracle baby whether it be your own or through donors. You are in good hands!!

I have yet to make it to treatment cycles.

Unfortunately I haven’t gotten to the financial consultation part for treatments so I’m unaware of the costs. I remember Dr Joel and others saying since my insurance doesn’t cover treatments only labs and testing that it was going to be expensive but no costs were given as of yet.

I have yet to make it to this phase yet.

The first visit was telehealth which is a bit impersonable. I met him in person at the surgery center where he performed my hsg. He did not address me before performing the procedure which I found a bit off putting. He has a brusque business like manner of relating to patients. He was very clear and concise as well the point which I appreciate. He recommended ivf based on my husbands counts but I wanted to do IUI first and he allowed it instead of demanding his recommendation. We were successful on round 2 and have a beautiful little girl now.

Don’t be afraid to be your own advocate- he is willing to work as a patient physician team.

IUI 1- clomid, insemination with ultrasound and lab surveillance IUI 2- I asked to change to letrozole and he was ok with that, otherwise the same

He is knowledgeable. Up front but compassionate. He is patient. Answers all questions. Spent more than enough time with us. He is a busy person. Only negative is I wish he was more available to speak to face to face.

Make sure to have all questions ready. He will give you the answers as best as possible. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed. Ask anything you need to whether it’s regarding you or your partner.

First consult was $350 -IUI cycle with injectables $1500 plus medications which cost up $1200. there were some labs that were not covered by insurance and I had them done at clinical which ranged between $50-80 One cycle of IVF is 12K plus required medications.

Dr Brasch is very intelligent but had a way of simplifying and breaking down complex science for us. He displayed a sincere interest in us as a couple and our family. Each meeting we've had with him after our initial visit he makes us feel as though we are among a handful of patients rather than the thousands he's treated due to his ability to recall conversations we had and personal details of our journey. We have had 2 successful pregnancies resulting in 2 healthy children and plan to visit Dr. Brasch again to grow our family.

He's quirky in a funny way and again just very intelligent. Be honest with him about your concerns so he can address them with you.

Since we only met with Dr. Brasch once I dont feel like I know him all that well. He suggested IVF after 3 rounds of unsuccessful Clomid. He said that IUI was a waste of money. We decided to try IUI because it was a much cheaper option and all fertility test came out positive. We are very glad we did not listen to Dr. Brasch's suggestion of IVF.

Way out all of your options and get a second opinion if you do not feel like something is right.

I was prescribed Clomid for 3 cycles on days 5-9. If 3 cycles did not work he suggested IVF. I called the clinic to schedule monitored cycles for my 4th month and they did without talking to Dr. Brasch so an IVF was not scheduled. I added IUI to my monitored cycle.

I think the initial appointment with Dr. Brasch was around $300. Some testing and blood work was done off site. HSG test was $1000 off site. One month of monitored cycle was $1000 and an additional $350 for the IUI. I have probably spent around $6000 in the 6 months I was seeing the clinic.

He has an interesting bedside manner and can come off as insensitive at times. He was always running late for appointments which was frustrating as he seemed to have limited availability for convenient appointment times to begin with. He once downplayed our situation saying "we were the easiest patients he had seen that day" which may have been true but our situation was not easy for us.

Ask questions about everything. Do research before going to know what to expect. Look into other clinic options

IUI-no reason why it wouldn't work based on test results IVF-found out tubes were blocked by more in-depth testing; risk of trying to open them successfully not worth it so IVF is option

25,000

No guidance provided for number of embryos transferred on day of transfer by assistance

Dr Brasch is very compassionate. He takes care to not only make sure you are well informed of your options, but also sees to the emotional needs of a couple. When I found I had additional questions after a consultation, Dr Brasch was quick to take a phone consultation with me to further inform me.

Come prepared to ask questions & be ready to partner with Dr Brasch. He is as invested as you are in a favorable outcome!

As I suffer from annovulatuin & a progesterone deficiency, Dr Brasch recommended the use of Clomid to assist in ovulation. My husband suffers from Varicocele, which can cause his sperm count to fluctuate or be unpredictable. So to further asssist in conception, Dr Brasch offered us the option of monitored IUI rounds. I was prescribed progesterone suppositories to assist in ensuring my progesterone levels stayed up through the end of each cycle.

Costs seemed industry appropriate. Being that my husband & myself were self-pay, due to no fertility coverage though our instance, the office offered to assist, where possible, with our injectibles medications via donated or sample medicines.

Dr. Brasch, at every visit, reviews the least to most invasive interventions as well as the cost associated, as we are dealing with a lack of insurance coverage because fertility treatments are not covered by our insurance plan. He is reassuring but also honest, straight-forward, and realistic. He expresses his professional opinion in a way that still allows us the freedom to make decision moving forward with treatment. He is sure to explain things in a way that we understand and answers questions thoroughly.

Do not hesitate to ask questions or for clarification.

Dr. Brasch prescribed me the lowest dose of Clomid and my body reacted very well to the medication, without severe side effects. My first IUI treatment, I had overstimulation and created 6 eggs. It was left up to us to continue with treatment due to the risk of a high-order multiple pregnancy. We felt the risks were well explained to us and we decided to move forward with the IUI procedure. We completed inseminations on back-to-back days, to improve our chances of conceiving. Our first round of IUI was unsuccessful. We decided to move forward with another round of IUI the following month, with the same medication doses and back-to-back inseminations and again the procedure was unsuccessful. The treatments occurred in May and June 2017. Presently (March 2018), we have not had any further treatment and instead attempted to investigate and treat what we believed to be the cause of infertility (male factor). My husband was diagnosed with multiple varicoceles and had surgical repair in July 2017. Numerous post-surgery semen analysis showed no improvement in sperm count. We again consulted with Dr. Brasch who suggested we investigate surgically on myself and I completed a laparoscopy in November 2017 and results came back normal. It was at that point that we decided if we attempt any further treatment, we would proceed with IVF. Due to the financial burden of IVF without insurance coverage, we are unable to proceed with treatment at this time.

Our insurance covered many of the tests, procedures, and office visits under Dr. Brasch's care, but did not cover the cost of fertility treatment. We had numerous $40 co-pays for office visits. My husband's varicocele surgery costs approximately $1000 out of pocket, my laparoscopy cost approximately $600 out of pocket. Each IUI procedure cost $1,850 so for us we paid a total of $3,700 since we completed 2 IUIs. In addition to that expense, we also paid approximately $120 for medication each cycle. We have spent approximately $6,000 since we began seeing Dr. Brasch in the fall of 2016.

I cannot comment on this as we have not experienced our doctor's approach to eSET vs. multiple embryo transfer.

Very informative... gave all details and risks. Helped me achieve pregnancy through IVF but unfortunately I miscarried. Have full confidence in him. I am starting my 2nd IVF and will be having him do it this time as well.

Be ready to hear full details. Dr does not hold back, which I actually prefer - does not sugar coat. Very professional.

We started with a plan to do 2 IUI’s before moving on with IVF. We actually did 3...his nurses are fantastic but wish it was the Dr doing them, unfortunately no success. We did IVF in June... we used a couple injectables (follistem and ganarellix and trigger shot) for procedure. Retervial went well, it was performed by Dr Braash. Little to no cramping. 4 eggs retrieved, 2 fertilized... 3 days later both were implanted by the embryologist. One took, but baby stopped growing at 6 weeks 3 days, I had to miscarry. Dr Braash ordered extensive blood work, my husband and I are all good. We will proceed with another round, unfortunately it will be all out of pocket for us.

I have a $10,000 lifetime max on fertility with my insurance. That got eaten up fast. With 3 IUI’s and 1round of IVF I paid about $10,000 + out of pocket... deductible, paid for meds out of pocket and what was left over after insurance ran out. We are now completely out of pocket for our upcoming IVF cycle... with electing PSG, we are looking at over $20,000 (all on us). We sadly have to take out a loan.

We picked to implant 2, due to my age (40).

De. Brasch was very kind and came across as a gentle man. We spoke very calmly, almost zen-like. I did have a unique case so he scheduled an additional phone conference to discuss. He was very arrogant though, speaking a lot about how great he was at his job.

You will need to do a lot of your own research. If I hadn’t educated myself on the IVF process, I would have never known what was going on.

I had a standard IVF Protocol using Menopur, Follistim and Ganirelix. He never changed my dosages and I felt like it was very cookie-cutter.

$14,000 Fresh embryo cycle + Meds $1500 for retrieval/anesthesia $650 to freeze embryos + $69 per month to store. $500 for transfer fee

You could tell him how many you wanted but you did need to justify your reason. Once you did that you could transfer multiples.

Dr Brasch was very sympathetic. Very kind, but it also seemed like he said the same thing to every patient. I only saw him twice in my entire two years with the clinic. And each time he said the exact same words. Drew the exact same picture and told us to do the exact same thing. Now looking back I would’ve appreciated him being more blunt and pushing us to try something different, instead of saying that he thinks what we’re doing is good.

Write down all your questions, and all of his answers. Push for what seems right for you and your future.

3 iui cycles with letrozole. Because letrozole was supposed to work best for pcos. The first 2 cycles failed and we canceled the 3rd bc I was not responding to the medication at all. 3 more cycles with iui and clomid. All 3 failed.

Each iui was $1350 I believe. After each iui I’d get a bill anywhere from 200-400 for random labs and whatnot. And then the medications would cost me anywhere from $200-900 each cycle.

I feel that he is likely to jump to doing IVF or donor eggs before any other procedure. I also feel that for being a patient at his clinic for almost 3 years, I should have more contact with him. I have only had contact with him a few times. My initial visit, and if I call to set up an appointment to talk, in which I have to pay for. I have done 5 IUIs and one of those included a miscarriage. Not once during any of these procedures did I talk with him. Also, after my surgery for endometriosis, he was going on vacation and I was not going to get to talk to him about my results for weeks. I had to bed the receptionist to at least read my the report so I knew what my condition was. I have not done IVF because at his clinic we have to be put on birth control so that all IVF patients are done at the same time. This is simply for easiness on their part, and not the best interest of the patient.

I did not talk with him about any treatment strategies. It is basically left up to me what I would like to do next. I speak with the nurses, not him.

Appointments with Dr. Brasch were a couple hundred. IUIs were around $1300.

Dr. Brasch is obviously very knowledgeable. He is strong in what he believes and believes what he recommends to his patients; however, he can be rather pushy in his recommendations. He was late to my retrieval and transfer. The wait for any office visit was well over 30 minutes each time. He performed the laparoscopic surgery and diagnosed my endometriosis, and I was happy with that. When he came in prior to the retrieval and transfer, he had no idea about my history. I really felt he could have at least looked at a chart or something before meeting with us. I felt like I was a new patient every time I saw him.

Do your own research, and bring in many questions. Before you commit to any protocols or treatment, go home and do your own research again. Don't let him talk around your questions. Demand a straight answer.

Long protocol. I was on birth control for a month prior to starting injections. When the cycle failed, he could not give me a rationale for why he chose that protocol versus a protocol better suited for diminished ovarian reserve. I started with the same dosage of medication that I have used for my IUIs, which was very successful with both of my IUIs. I had very little to no growth during the first several follicle checks. I was soon place on the maximum dosage of injections. I had four large follicles at my last ultrasound before by egg retrieval. Two eggs were retrieved. One became an embryo that we were able to transfer.

Visits to be diagnosed/laparoscopy follow-up: $30 copay (x3?) IUI: $1850 (x2) IVF: $12800 Surgicenter Retrieval: $800 Anesthesia: $400 Surgicenter Transfer: $500 Approximate total without medications: $18290

We did not run into this issue, as we only had one embryo. Had we had two embryos, we would have implanted both.

He's a very kind and great doctor. He makes me feel comfortable and important. And makes sure that we understand everything that is going on, including any and all risks possible. He makes me feel confident that we will be able to accomplish our goal.

Be very open and honest. He is there to help you and if he doesn't have all of the information, he won't be able to completely help.

We started with diagnostic testing which included blood work, an ultrasound, and a pap smear. There were a few other things that I can not recall at this time. I have PCOS and do not ovulate on my own, so he suggested that we do a HSG. Sure enough it showed that my tubes were blocked. We then had to do a hysteroscopy to in block them. I haven't been able to go back due to COVID-19.

Each visit to the office is about $130. The HSG was $525 and the Hysteroscopy was $1200. Not including the cost of blood work.

I felt that he did show compassion and care. He felt confident in my diagnosis and how to treat it which I was happy about. I needed surgery before and that was where I became unsure. I felt that he didn't do everything he could have in regards to a surgery. I followed with an IUI anyway kind of feeling like it wasn't going to work. At that point I decided to go for a second opinion.

Ask lots of questions. He will try to answer them to the best of his ability during your consult. Any follow-ups bring lots of questions and do your research.

I only saw Dr. Brasch like twice during my 6 treatments, I felt like a number. And every treatment it didn't work I felt like a failure. When I was finally able to conceive, I lost my twins at 19 weeks and when I returned to try again my loss was ignored.

Be your own advocate, ask questions and ask about other options.

I did 6 IUI rounds with injectables one resulted in a twin pregnancy (#3 out of 6 cycles) The first round started with clomid, it did nothing for me so with switched to follistim and was watched. It started with a small dose under 100 and we ended up doing 225 units for 13 days on average for each cycle.

I don't remember

we only did IUI

Joel Brasch told me I was an "easy case" and made it very clear that I was going to get pregnant without any issues using IVF. When I had 2 IVFs fail, I went to him and asked what was next, and he said "another IVF". I asked about an ERA test, and I was told "that is not part of our protocol." I was treated as a number - he did not care if I got pregnant or had a baby. He cared about how much money he made from me.

Switch doctors before you start.

$32K for one full IVF, $26K for surgery that didn't work

He took the time to talk and discuss my options and listened to what I had to say and my concerns. When trying to decide how many embryos to transfer he took the time to show me my odds. He treated me like family and told me what he thinks the best desision would be

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You can trust him

I was on hormone shots, and other medication leading up to my egg retrieval. They retrieved 24 eggs which led to 10 embryos. I only transferred 1 embryo leading to a singleton birth

My medication was about $500 and treatment was about 12,000

I was very pleased with my doctor and the care I was given

He was always straight forward with us. He was able to answer every question we had and was caring when I was upset about having to do treatment. I would recommend going to him if you think you need fertility help.

Keep your head up. You are so much stronger then you know. The Dr is there to help you.

My strategy was to do 3 IUI's. If that did not work, which didn't, we'd do IVF.

I was lucky that my insurance covered most of the cost but I did have co pays. Each visit was $50 which was hard to pay as you have to be seen every few days. It is a huge financial burden.

I found Dr. Brasch to be an excellent doctor. He was very thorough with explaining the treatment process and was able to answer all of my questions.

To go into the appointment open minded to treatment options.

We did two cycles of iui with Clomid and trigger shots.

Doctor was friendly and very clear when explaining things to us. He gave us diagrams and examples. There was no waiting for any of the tests that we needed. I was nervous about the whole situation and he put me at ease. Everything was explained great. No questions were needed as he covered everything before I could ask

Be patient, he likes to talk.

We just got done with all the testing. We're having our financial meeting in a month and then we will proceed

We haven't gotten that far yet. So far we have paid almost $1500 for just the testing. I still owe $930 for my last test.

Dr Brasch is great. He does not sugar coat, but is very sensitive to your well being. I appreciate that he cleared up any fibroids and issues I had before we started treatment. he also said he would only have me do 3 IUI's before moving onto IVF because to keep doing IUI's we would almost pay for an IVF round after a while

DO NOT GO TO MUNSTER OFFICE, go to Valpo

I was watched very closely once I was done taking Letrozole. They were monitoring me at one point every day because my ovulation was crazy

$1300 for single IUI, $1650 for double IUI, plus medications, shots, and beta test

I only ever saw him for the initial consultation. I never saw him again. All other interactions and treatment was done with the nurse. That's what ultimately lead us to a different clinic. I didn't like that he didn't even do my IUI.

You won't ever see him.

IUI with letrozole and trigger shot

$1,300 for the IUI procedure out of pocket. Other miscellaneous charges around $500