John Nichols

He performed my HSG test and had a calm/warm personality, which helped to calm me. For our consultation appointment to go over next steps, after 3 cycles with meds and timed intercourse and 2 IUI's, he was prepared with all of my previous treatment history and had already printed out information and stats IVF and how it would work for me. He was sensitive and supportive to the fact that I wanted to keep trying a few more rounds of IUI because it is covered by our insurance, but IVF is not covered. He explained in detail the IVF process and patiently answered my questions.

We couldn't even stomach the consultation with this man, and I would NEVER suggest any one work with him. You're a number, not a human. He asks no questions trying to get to know you or your husband. Every question I asked seemed to be the wrong question and I got talked over and looked at like an idiot. Zero compassion or empathy and just a complete let down. How dare someone in this field be so cold.

If you plan to see John Nichols, you better be ready for a "my way or the highway" type of egotistical attitude. This is not patient care, this is just stacking his bank account.

Didn't make it to strategies, I won't give him the chance to touch me or prescribe anything for me or my husband.

$200 just to get disrespected and leave in tears

n/a

Dr. Nichols was highly recommended to me when searching for a physician. While I know he is involved in my care, I have only seen him in person at 2-3 visits. He offers multiple options for treatment to allow me to choose what is best. He also took cost into account when recommending treatment options.

Be prepared with questions before you enter a visit if at all possible. Also, know that he is pretty straight to the point and realistic.

Dr. Nichols started me initially on 2mg of Letrozole for a few days. When my ultrasound showed no growth, we increased the dosage in that same cycle. We again had the same result and increased in the end to 10 mg for 5 days. Since this dose did create follicle growth, we continued with this in the following mont and added Ovidrel for OI to have better control over when I ovulated. He suggested that we could initially start with OI and TI in order to save on costs. We did this dosage for three more months which were all unsuccessful. We then decided to do the HSG which revealed that I have a unicornuate uterus. He then recommended we switch to IUI. We completed that cycle with OI and TI instead due to cost and then used the same medications for the month we unsuccessfully completed IUI. We planned for another month of IUI on the same medications but the follicle scan showed no follicle growth. He suggested that we could add goal f to the current round. However, since our firth month with medication at the start resulted in three increases in meds and three ultrasounds (all out of pocket) we decided to wait until the next cycle to add goal f. IN the last cycle we completed, we used 10 mg letrozole for 5 days and two injections of goal f 75 mg on days 7 and 9 I believe. The ultrasound again showed minimal growth so Dr. Nichols ordered 4 more days of goal f 75 mg to attempt to increase growth but not too much as too many eggs would be against medical advice given my unicornuate uterus. The second ultrasound again showed minimal growth and Dr. Nichols recommended finishing out the cycle with no IUI and attempting again the next cycle with increased medication. Dr. Nichols only recommends two more rounds with these meds as at this point, medication costs start resembling those of IVF. He recommends moving to IVF if we continue to be unsuccessful as the dosage we use in goal f will not matter as much with an egg retrieval as it does with IUI given my circumstances.

All of my costs are out of pocket as I am self pay. HSG was $600. Each vaginal ultrasound is $190. Progesterone test is $60. IUI costs $500 plus medications (goal-f 2 75 mg is about $200, ovidrel is around $100, and letrozole is about $9). An office visit or phone call to speak with the doctor is around $60.

As a patient, I would recommend Dr. Nichols. I felt that he explained everything to us and what to expect in our consultation. We live far away from our clinic and he was able to make progress with us in just a few visits. I also had to have a procedure completed and I felt like he was very compassionate and caring when I was anxious and nervous. I look forward to working with him and his facility in the future.

Just be patient, not everything happens overnight but he will work with you to find a solution.

I was diagnosed with unexplained infertility in early November of 2021. We started letrozole 5mg and also a trigger shot in December. We did this for 2 months and then we upped my dosage of letrozole to 7.5mg with a trigger shot. I fell pregnant that cycle. Unfortunately, the baby’s heart stopped beating around 8 weeks and I was going to have a miscarriage. I was given several options on how to treat the miscarriage. I was never pushed into any treatment that I didn’t want to do. I chose to have a D&C. After the procedure, the doctor made time to talk with me about how everything went and next steps. He called me the next week with my D&C results and what our next steps were. Even though we lost our first pregnancy, I have hope to keep trying because of Dr Nichols and his nurses in Asheville.

I have to pay my copay for a specialist when I see the doctor. That is $70 each visit. I also have to pay for my medication which is close to around $150 a month right now. I also paid for my D&C which was around $850

N/a

Strengths: Clear and Direct Communicator, Allows me to make my own decisions based on facts given, always leaves room to answer any questions Weaknesses: Can come across cold, did not seem interested in doing additional testing unless specifically requested when diagnosing unexplained infertility

Do not expect to be coddled, Dr. Nichols is a great doctor, but is not someone I would describe as warm. Cleary explain your expectations, what you are willing to do and not do and he will stay within your set guidelines and/or boundaries.

My first 3 cycles with Dr. Nichols included: Day 3-5 Letrozol, Day 12 baseline ultrasound with trigger shot and IUI performed the same day: Cycle 1: 4 Mature Follicles, Cycle 2: 2 Mature Follicles, Cycle 3: 2 Mature Follicles We continued to do the same treatment as I had mature follicles each cycle. After 3 failed IUI's we did a follow up meeting to discuss the next treatment options. I was considering doing a surgery for suspected endometriosis for years. Dr. Nichols told me I could do that, proceed with up to 6 (3 more) IUI cycles, or move on to IVF. I was given an IVF packet that explained what that would look like. I chose to follow through with the surgery. I proceeded with the surgery and found stage 1+ endometriosis that was removed. In my follow up meeting post-surgery, Dr.Nichols recommended I continue treatment immediately in order to ensure that the endometriosis did not return. He gave me a range of 3 months to a year before it could return. We chose to proceed with 3 cycles of letrozol, trigger shot, and baseline ultrasound post surgery. We found follicles everytime, but were unsuccessful each time.

For an IUI procedure it was ~$650 all in (follicle scan, sperm washing, insemination). Associated medication were about $150. Medicated cycles were about $150 for follicle scan, $150 for associated medications.

Dr. Nichols was blunt and straight forward during the initial consultation and while reviewing our initial work up. At the time it was jarring and concerning. The doctor did not show very much compassion. It felt like a business transaction most of the time. Dr. Nichols was the warmest and most personable during the egg retrieval procedure, this did help ease my nerves and made the procedure less stressful. This being said, he is good at what he does and we had success.

Be prepared for Dr. Nichols being very blunt and to the point during initial consult and when reviewing test results. This will help you to manage your emotions and not be caught off guard.

I underwent an egg retrieval, I do not remember a lot of specifics about the medications. They did recommend a specific pharmacy that ships most of the fertility drugs to your door. Be sure to speak directly with the pharmacy after receiving the shipment. They will go over each medication, how to give it and how to store all the items. The nursing staff that set up protocols can be easily reached by email, ask questions related to protocol and medications. The long term progesterone injections were the hardest to tolerate. The injection sites were painful and sore. I had to use them for weeks after the positive pregnancy blood test.

This clinic offered an “all included” IVF package or pay as you go. It did not include pregnancy testing, medication and did not cover new testing (we did a Mock cycle to make sure my body was reacting as intended). We chose the 3 cycle IVF (cycles must be done within 12 months) which cost $26,000, we only did one egg retrieval. I think the one egg retrieval package was around $16,500. You do have to meet certain qualifications to use these packages.

Dr. Nichols strongly recommended transferring only one embryo at a time. The paperwork related to a transfer also noted the strong recommendation for single embryo transfers.

John Nichols is straight forward in what's going on during your process. If you're looking for a doctor with more bedside manner, then there are other doctors for that at PREG. I personally like the straight forwardness as I want to know exactly where I stand regarding my fertility outcome. He is positive and makes you feel comfortable from day 1. He is thorough on what the best outcome for your situation is.

Listen and do what he tells you to do. If he says IVF is best for you and you try other methods, they more than likely won't work, and you'll have to do IVF eventually anyway.

I have PCOS so from the start he put me on Metformin (500 MG twice a day, extended release). I also have a thin uterus lining so baby aspirin is essential. In preparation for egg retrieval, I took Femara and Gonal F trigger shots. He retrieved alot of eggs (because of my PCOS) so I suggest sending the embryos for Genetic testing.

IVF was approximately $20,000 not including medications. Genetic testing was approximately $3,000.

We did a single embryo transfer and I was happy with the outcome.

Dr. Nichols is informative and to the point. He’s kind but he will give you the facts. He knows what he’s doing but he understands we as patients know our bodies. In fact, upon my request he knew that I knew my body and let me change injectable drugs mid cycle. I requested we switch from menopur to follistim only because I was initially not responding well. I have had great success in response to follistim in the past so we switched that day and I responded well.

He’s great, his nurse Meghan is great, but look out for Lindsay the IVF coordinator. I didn’t feel like she was a real people person. You don’t have to deal with her much though.

We ended up going for an InvoCell cell cycle because I had already had a successful pregnancy and a live birth as a result from an IUI in the past. We felt minimal intervention would be the best thing for me.

Dr. Nichols provides InvoCell and he’s the only guy who does it locally. It was on the higher end of what I’ve seen but still lower than traditional IVF.

I have only seen Dr Nichols twice so far. However, he has been polite and straightforward and helpful. On my initial visit, he answered my questions, and suggested alternative ideas as we were still trying to decide what route of treatment to take, but he respected my opinion. I had to drive quite far to get to the clinic, and Dr Nichols got me in for an ultrasound that same day so that I did not have to make another trip.

Have an idea of your plan going in. He will give suggestions and advice, but does not want to make a decision for you.

I am currently on a drug treatment plan so I do not know the effectiveness yet.

We adopted embryos and they are frozen in 2 sets of 3. Dr Nichols asked at my first cycle appointment what my thoughts were. We agreed that it will be a game-day decision to transfer 1 or 2, depending on the viability after thawing. I was going to bring this up at the appointment, but he did first and I am very thankful that we are on the same page and that he was receptive to mine and my husbands wishes.

Dr. Nichols is smart and showed an understanding of my body and the potential risks and rewards of following through with treatment. He presents options and is available to answer questions as needed. Dr. Nichols is not necessarily warm and fuzzy but he is welcoming and presents himself as a professional.

Be open and honest so that you can get the most accurate treatment and advice.

I underwent diagnostic testing for fertility and an HSG. These things were done so that Dr. Nichols could determine what procedure would be best for my issues.

So far the only costs I have incurred have been for the diagnostic and testing fees. I have spoken with one of the clinic’s financial counselors and she provided me with an itemized cost list based on my individual insurance.

Dr. Nichols (when he was around) explained things very clearly and plainly throughout the TIC, IUI, and IVF process. Unfortunately he couldn’t explain why all my embryos “fell apart” and I’m not sure if it’s because he truly did not know or if he didn’t feel like he had the time to look into it further. Or perhaps because I don’t have money he knew I couldn’t pay for more experimentation. He was wishy-washy about recommending a second try which is why I haven’t pursued anything else yet. I wish he had suggested blood testing for genetic anomalies earlier without my having to bring it up late in the process.

He speaks plainly.

I tried about 3 TICs, 3 IUIs (only went through with 2 due to where the follicles were), 1 IVF (no transfer - all embryos died before freezing), and a laparoscopic surgery to look at Fallopian tubes which resulted in “everything looks fine and now you owe 4K that your insurance doesn’t cover too bad we couldn’t tell you that ahead of time”.

Drugs for TIC were fairly inexpensive due to insurance. IUI procedures were about 500 each, out of pocket. IVF including drugs was about 27,000 out of pocket. Got some refunded due to failure. Laparoscopic procedure was over 30,000 with most covered by insurance but about 4000 out of pocket.

My doctor did not believe it was safe to transfer more than one embryo at a time and I believe he will not perform those procedures.

There were LOTS of problems with Dr. Nichols and his practice (PREG). We had issues with the following: billing (unclear and they even had a hard time explaining to us- - they seemed as confused as we were), insurance claims (would not communicate with our insurance company in a rapid manner - - took MONTHS to resolve an issues from nearly 6 months ago), nurses would sometimes call, but often NOT cal to inform us of what we needed to do when, hardly ever saw Dr. Nichols except for the consultations, I have an allergy to latex and nearly 80% of the time I would have to remind the staff of this before they went to do a check-up, procedure, etc. Overall, we (my husband and I ) felt the staff was only worried about the $ and not about the humans involved. I would NEVER recommend this practice to ANYONE! We were VERY dissatisfied and when letting them know this, they didn't seem to care - - no apologies or anything. Just "hate to hear that". FIND ANOTHER PRACTICE - - DO NOT USE PREG IN GREENVILLE, ASHEVILLE, SPARTANBURG, COLUMBIA, ETC.!!!

Go somewhere else - - anywhere else. Do not use John Nichols!

Because my husband I were both "normal" in ALL aspects, we started first with using Letrozole and then the timed Trigger shot. We did this three times with negative results. During this time, they found a polyp and removed that from my uterus. Then, we moved into IUI's, which we tried twice. I was having REALLY negative side effects from the drugs, and we weren't happy with PREG so we quit treatment until we could find another practice.

Dr. Nichols was nice at my consultation; however he did not spend a lot of time with me that day. Honestly he wanted to push IVF upfront since I had came from another doctor that did an iui already. It seemed he did not want me to try an iui. As stated before I only seem dr Nichols at my consultation as he primarily works out of the south Carolina office I was told and I went to the North Carolina office for my treatment. When the dosage of my fertility medication did not get results he didn't to my knowledge review and see if my dose needed to be increased to get better results. I was actually told on the days of my injections by the nurses that sometimes my follicles were on the small side, but they would go ahead and do my injections and have me come back for the iui. When I recieved my initial load result call from the nurse the only thing they found was low thyroid and low vitamin D. However after vitamin D supplements were started Dr Nichols never retested. As well I have had thyroid issues for 20 years. It seems to me that low thyroid could be a contributing factor in my infertility but they did not seem concerned about it.

Ask a lot of questions and ask for treatment to be re-evaluated through out the process. I literally felt like I flushed my money down the toilet

First 3 cycles were letrozole only 7.5 mg 3 more cycles letrozole 7.5 mg and injection shot Never once was it discussed to go up on the letrozole dose. Even though I was not getting pregnant

My total costs were a lot out of pocket. A good guess of my costs for my treatment there would be $6,000

As a patient the first round of IVF cycle I had different dr. for egg retreival, transfer and the ultrasounds. The 2nd time which I am still in the process of I have made sure to raise my questions and concerns and learning experiences from the first round to Dr. Nichols. I have ensured that all of the sessions in the second round has been performed by Dr. Nichols only. The second round so far has been less confusing since Dr. Nichols has explained the planning of egg retreival, but also added the ERA/biopsy testing this time.

Perhaps little bit more of followup. A phone call from one of his nurses or himself would be appreciated after egg retreival, ERA/Biopsy or even embryo transfer.

Egg Retreival protocol: Start Birthcontrol pill: 6/26/2018 (last pill 7/10/2018) Ultrasound/Baseline lab 7/11/2018 Day 1-4 (7/13/2018-7/16/2018) Gonal F = 150 units HCG 15 units Keflex 500 MG (AM & PM) Asprin low dose once daily Day 5-10 (7/17/2018 - 7/22/2018) Labs & Ultrasound on 7/17/2018 Gonal F = 225 units HCG 15 units Keflex 500 MG (AM & PM) Asprin low dose once daily Day 11 (7/23/2018) Lab & Ultrasound Gonal F = 150 units HCG 15 units Keflex 500 MG (AM & PM) Asprin low dose once daily 7/24/2018 Retreival Asprin low dose. No keflex 500 MG in the AM of retreival. ERA/Biopsy/Mock transfer protocol Start Bithcontrol and asprin on 8/6/2018 Last birthcontrol pill on 9/3/2018 Lab & Ultrasound 9/4/2018 Day 1-2 (9/6/2018-9/7/2018 1 - Estradiol 1 mg tablet AM/PM Asprin low dose Day 3-4 (9/8/2018-9/9/2018 2 - Estradiol 1 mg tablet AM/PM Asprin low dose Day 5-19 (9/10/2018-9/24/2018 3 - Estradiol 1 mg tablet AM/PM 1 Estradiol 1 mg tablet vaginally at night Day 15-24 (9/20/2018-9/25/2018 Progesterone in oil 100mg/cc (3/4 cc = 75 mg) IM AM Biopsy/Mock transfer/ERA done on 9/25/2018 Asprin low dose

18,500 first IVF cycle 13,500 second IVF cycle Mock transfer costs routine costs during 2015-2017 Estimated total: $40,000 Total estimated:

N/A have not reached to that point yet.

Dr. Nichols; when we first met I felt confident that we would be able to move forward and although I was just turned 45yr, that there was still hope for my fertility and that under his care we could turn a small percent into a true pregnancy. Since then I've read many things and in realization that some things could of been done to help me more efficiently. I have felt disappointed and let down.

Ask for ultrasound to look for polyps before anything else. Ask to have husband tested before the day of IUI transfer.

The details for these things have changed each time as per milligrams and pill choices for fertility. Protocols were same with each IUI. I have only done one IVF and one Mock cycle to fine tune the pill and shot amounts. I also wish that I had been given a choice when it came to LUPRON injections or at least a pamphlet about the detreimental side effects before being prescribed for treatment.

From my reading and comparing online prices and asking other women from other clinics, the pricing associated with PREG is mostly fair and cheaper than other states. I understand these are not cheap procedures, but some do feel higher than others. However my options are limited going anywhere else due to my age. I have one embryo left with Preg clinic and hope that it results in positive pregnancy. Im meant to start soon with next cycle and will have to request a sonogram to check for polyps.

There was no option for this with me. We purchased 6 donor eggs and only 2 viable embryos were created. The wise choice is to do one transfer to have two possibilities.

Dr. Nichols is extremely knowledgeable and very good at explaining what I needed him to explain. I like that he is very straightforward but still shows empathy when called for. If there is a patient that is highly prone to getting their feelings hurt when told they should or should not pursue certain treatments then I may not recommend Dr. Nichols but if the patient strictly wants a doctor that will do their best to give them the results they want then I would highly recommend Dr. Nichols.

Even if he's giving you information you may not want to hear, he only gives you that information because he feels it will help you in achieving pregnancy. Don't expect any beating around the bush.

We first tried ovulation inducing pills for a few cycles which did not help. He then recommended either IUI or IVF but the clinic was offering a new procedure called Simply IVF that we decided to try. We had to increase my Menopur dosage a couple times. Unfortunately I did not react well enough to the Menopur and we had to cancel that cycle. Dr. Nichols recommended then trying regular IVF so that I could be more closely monitored throughout my cycle but my husband and I wanted to try one more round of the Simply IVF instead due to costs. We did the same procedure one more time with a higher dosage of Menopur starting out and I still was not reacting as quickly as we hoped and we increased my dosage even more as we neared ovulation. We only got a couple follicles near the correct size, retrieved one egg, did IPSI and unfortunately that egg did not fertilize.

Simply IVF: $6000 Simply IVF Medications: $2000-$3000 each cycle, but I needed much more Menopur than most women do Femara: Covered by Insurance Birth Control Pills (to regulate before IVF): covered by insurance Consultations: $180 HCG: $500 Polyp Removals: I don't remember how much the first polyp removal was but the second polyp was removed during my egg retrieval so it was not an extra charge ICSI was also done at no charge because they were only able to retrieve one egg and they wanted to give it the best chance for fertilization.

We never got the opportunity to transfer any embryos but Dr. Nichols does highly recommend, depending on the age and health of the patient, doing single embryo transfer.

Dr. Nichols is a very good communicator and listener he also shows compassion. While going over my husbands semen analysis test with us (which was not good) he explained all our options and the different steps he would like to do to try and help us be able to conceive using my husbands sperm. Instead of just going straight to donor sperm he is trying to do what he can so we can avoid donor. He didn't give up on us and that means so much!! He knows its important to us to be able to use my husbands sperm so he is going to let him do hcg shots to see if that can improve his count. I do not have anything bad to say about Dr.Nichols because he has always been excellent every time we've seen him.

Be straight forward with what you want and he will do everything he can to make that happen.

So far with my treatment its basically been blood work which runs me around $300. I had to have a ultra sound and dye ran into my uterus which I paid out of pocket $750. I had to have a polyp removed in the Greenville office and that was $475. The HCG shots my husband is going to start taking is going to be $320 a month.

Dr. Nichols made me feel excited about our plan with real expectations. He gives the facts and does what is best for our journey. He really does what he can to help in anyway. Although our first cycle was not a success, I would not prefer anyone else to handle my care. He is a great doctor with an abundance of knowledge and I would recommend him to everyone.

Don’t worry! Dr. Nichols will have your best interest at heart and will guide you through the process in the best way.

Our first cycle with Dr. Nichols was a fairly new process called simply ivf. After looking at my prior history, recent blood work, ultrasound and my husbands history, semen analysis and blood work, he felt this was a good plan for us along with my own interest. The process is very controlled and monitored throughout with blood work and ultrasounds to make sure we are at an optimum for a retrieval. If my follicles were not at an optimum state for retrieval we kept going until they were with more days of medicine to get them there. We had a good number of mature eggs for retrieval however my husbands sperm were not able to fertilize my eggs properly making my number of embryos low. We transferred the one good embryo we had and ended with a chemical pregnancy. I agree with every decision made throughout the process and wouldn’t have changed the way the process went. If there is a failed treatment, the doctors come together to talk about a plan of action to get the best result moving forward. I agree with every decision and plan made for our journey.

Monitoring appointments worked perfect with my schedule and I have a full time job. I never had to wait. I never felt like I was rushed. Very efficient office.

Simply ivf cost a standard $5000 plus $1000-$2000 of medicine. That covered monitoring appointments, retrieval, transfer, freezing etc. Stephanie in the financial department was amazing with helping me understand and went above and beyond to break everything down. VERY HELPFUL!!!

Dr. Nichols does recommend a single embryo transfer is most cases, however will consider all things to allow he best option for the best outcome. I agree with his approach.

Dr. Nichols can be blunt at times, but you know he is only trying to convey all of the possible outcomes-- the good, the bad and the ugly. We all know that IVF has all of the above!! At one time, Dr. Nichols was especially compassionate when I broke down while talking about having to ask another woman to carry my child. I always look forward to my visits because I feel I am being treated and cared for by a very knowledgeable doctor.

Be prepared for no nonsense and no sugar coated communication. Dr. Nichols will guide you through everything, but you have to be willing to let him do so.

I will be taking birth control to start followed by Menopur and Lupron. I have not actually started the meds yet so I feel I cannot give much insight on this at this time.

We are using the Simply IVF method, and I know the promotional rate that we were given is no longer available, but it is still just have the cost of traditional IVF-- between 5,000 and 6,000. Of course, we will have to use our gestational carrier for the transfer, and this will be an additional $8000 plus her medications.

This office does allow you to chose whether you want to implant one or two embryos-- not more than two, but they do recommend only transferring one.

The doctor did not seem very concerned about me as a patient. He does not have a gentle manner with the way he communicates. I can say he was definitely a straight-shooter with what he had to tell me as far as my chances being lower of becoming pregnant due to age. I did appreciate him being candid and honest, but I feel a doctor should always be compassionate and show a genuine caring interest in his patients.

Be prepared to receive news in a “tell it like it is” manner. There’s no sugar coating or interest in getting to know you as a person. He seems to want to get you in and then out and on to the next patient.

The only thing we discussed on the consultation appointment is that I needed to come back and get Cycle day 3 blood work done to make some determinations.

Nichols creates the treatment plan, but any doctor performs the treatment. It’s the luck of the draw on who you get. He only treated us for one IUI. I hardly saw him at all during our IVF. He was blunt and to the point with treatment options, which is what I initially thought I wanted, however this process is emotional and he comes off very cold after failures, which wasn’t encouraging for us.

Be prepared, he’s not warm and fuzzy

Initially he starts you on the lowest dosages and then works his way up. After 3 cycles if the protocol doesn’t work, he changes the protocol for the next 3 in relations to IUIs. For IVF he had me on Menopur and Lupron.

No insurance coverage, expect to pay anywhere from $2-3k for testing, $1k per IUI and $12-15k for IVF (including drugs)

He does it based on age, 30 and younger he only likes to transfer one and for 30 and above he will do 2.

Dr Nichols explained the results of all of our testing thoroughly and in ways we could clearly understand. Once it was time to decide on a course of action, he clearly laid out our different options and the success rates of each of those options. When our first embryo transfer failed he gave us a few options moving forward and didn’t push us to go a specific way, he just laid out the options and left it up to us to decide. Our second transfer was successful and we now have a beautiful baby boy.

Ask a lot of questions and trust in his medical expertise.

We didn’t do a fresh transfer because we wanted to do genetic testing on our embryos. After testing we were left with 7 frozen embryos. Our first cycle I was on 7 estrogen pills a day, 6 oral and 1 vaginal, and .5cc of PIO. That cycle failed even though my lining and hormone levels were all excellent. The second FET cycle we did Dr Nichols advised us to do a scraping of the uterine lining to promote new cell growth so we did that. My progesterone was a little low so in addition to the 7 estrogen pills a day, he upped my PIO dosage to 1cc and I was also on a progesterone suppository. That cycle resulted in a live birth.

Egg retrieval through the first pregnancy test was around $15,000. The second FET was $3000 not including the cost of medications. We paid for everything out of pocket.

Dr Nichols advised us to transfer one embryo at a time. My only issue was tubal blockage so he seemed pretty confident that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant by FET. He advised that transferring multiple embryos could result in a multiple birth which is higher risk. We opted to only do a single embryo for each transfer because of his advice.

I wanted tubal reversal, and thought maybe we were going that route. But by my next visit, he strongly suggested IVF. I wish he would have elaborated more on why he didn't want to do a tubal reversal on me. It is like everything shifted, on my next visit. I know it was a few months after my initial work up, but I felt & still feel like I still have a chance with tubal reversal. He was excellent with my ultrasound though. He also explains things very well despite his being blunt. I can deal with that.

Know that he is smart, yet blunt. My only hang up is that he just didn't want to really hear about doing a tubal reversal by the second visit with me. My situation was a little different. My husband (fiancé at the time) was working in Maryland, and we didn't want to actually do a lot until he moved to SC. But by this time, like I mentioned earlier, Dr. Nichols didn't want to do a tubal reversal on me.

I didn't make it to any treatments. I only had an ultrasound. He was excellent at the Ultrasound.

Some of my labs and I think my ultrasound was covered under insurance. I believe everything else was out of pocket.

N/A

Dr. Nichols is a very knowledgeable and compassionate doctor of infertility. He thoroughly explained my situation and grim outlook on becoming pregnant. However, grim the outlook- Dr. Nichols allowed us to try IVF to conceive. I have DOR and only produced 6 eggs the last cycle. 3 were retrieved and one was transferred. We ended up pregnant with twins. I am so grateful that Dr. Nichols allowed us the opportunity to help in the decision to try to conceive. He was very straight-forward in my diagnosis and prognosis. Yet when we decided to try, he did everything in his power to help us be successful in becoming pregnant.

Trust him. He knows what he is doing.

My treatment strategies were IVF without birth control for stimulation because of DOR. unfortunately don't remember the medicines used.

Cost was reasonable. Medication, which they have not control over, was very expensive.

Because we only harvested 3 eggs, and because of my DOR Dr. Nichols was open to transfer more embryos. Only one embryo made it to day 5 and was transferred.

Dr. Nichols has been a great doctor. I was previously at another clinic and one of the first things I noticed here is that I actually get to see my assigned doctor quite a bit. I feel he is familiar with my situation. He takes time to answer all of my questions and even came in on a day he was not scheduled to work to perform an unexpected surgery. He is open to hearing my suggestions and feedback as well.

You will get good medical care but you will also feel like you are more than a number, which is very important.

I first had an antagonist protocol using gonal-f and low dose HCG. I transferred 1 embryo fresh, it led to a chemical pregnancy. We PGS tested and transferred one of the tested embryos. That led to an ectopic pregnancy. We then went into our 2nd retrieval, again using an antagonist protocol with gonal-f and low dose HCG. This time at higher doses of gonal-f.

the cost for IVF at PREG was significantly lower than at clinics in Atlanta

My doctor was willing to transfer more than one embryo, but suggested one, especially once we had PGS tested. My husband and I agreed with his recommendation.