Kristin Holoch

I had no idea the doctor actually isn’t there when my IUI’s were done, but she fully mapped out everything and explained things in great deal. She has been a very personable doctor, but I feel like more investigating needs to happen with my case instead of just slapping on the unexplained infertility diagnosis. I feel like more ultrasounds should have been done throughout my cycles and progesterone should have been prescribed after each IUI. Her bedside manner is awesome. She gets to the point but is also very patient. She hasn’t pushed us to do IVF just yet and I respect her understanding that IVF is very expensive.

Ask as many questions as possible. Get to the bottom of your diagnosis and just have a conversation with her if you don’t understand everything.

I saw Dr. Holoch for the first time on October 14, 2019 and we put together a plan. My husband and I had been trying for over 1.5 years. For my next cycle, I was to take Letrozole 5mg on CD3-CD7, come in to check how many follicles I had on CD 10, then take Ovidrel trigger shot that night of CD10, and do an IUI two days later in the morning of CD12. I did this for two more cycles which included November 2019, December 2019, and January 2020. I was asked to report through their online portal the findings of an in home pregnancy test 14 days after each IUI. All of my IUI’s failed so I reported my CD1. Then the nurse would give me a new protocol. I asked about adding progesterone after the IUI’s and was told I didn’t need it since my uterine lining was thick enough. I also asked about doing more ultrasounds throughout each cycle and was told they are expensive and usually not necessary. Dr. Holoch explained that it may take a few IUI’s to get pregnant and to come see her again after 3 IUI’s. I made an appointment the beginning of February for the earliest date and wasn’t able to see her for another 2 months. I just did a telehealth video appointment with her on March 25. She said we should do at least 3 more IUI’s and use Clomid this time. She doesn’t want to push us into IVF due to financial burden. I didn’t have bad side effects using Letrozole and they produced follicles large enough. So once I am able to get Clomid prescribed (I can’t now due to COVID-19), we will start another cycle to do another IUI.

The Letrozole was covered through insurance two out of the three times. The third time it was $45 for the 5 day supply. The follicular ultrasound was around $150 for each IUI. The doctor’s visits are around $200. The ovidrel trigger shot was $100 including shipping to our house. I think each IUI was about $300 and my husband’s sperm sample to be washed was about $300. I think we spent around $4,000 for all three IUI’s.

The original visit was very interactive. Answering questions and planning for surgery. I did leave this conversation with a clear understanding of how the surgery would play out. However, when it came to starting the Frozen Transfer and mock trial there were more questions than what was answered. I even had a medication error due to changes mid-cycle. Dr. Holoch never discussed the mock/ERA results or most recently a negative HCG post-FET.

Educate yourself on your history and have all of your questions/concerns ready! Review the SART and CDC data that is reported by the clinic!

Egg retrieval: Follistim and Menopur 1st FET: Estrace, Progesterone 100mg & endometrin 2nd FET: Estrace, Progesterone 50mg

Roughly 20K.

The clinic will only allow for one embryo transfer.

She was great and easy to talk to and let me ask all the questions I had. I felt very comfortable speaking with her. I don’t feel like I got all the information all the time just because there wasn’t enough time to cover everything. And I only talked to her twice on video and once on a phone call which was when my egg retrieval cycle wasn’t looking too good. She didn’t cancel it but left it up to my husband and I (I kind of wish she had said we should cancel or not). She was definitely very empathetic and knew it was a hard situation. She did tell me the good side and the bad side and asked if we wanted to go forward or not with the info we had. We wouldn’t know until we did retrieval whether it would work out or not. We felt confident about moving forward after speaking with her.

She’s a great doctor but you won’t talk to her much

We did 3 iuis (medicine, trigger shots and follicular ultrasounds). I felt confident they would work since I’ve been pregnant before but unfortunately they didn’t. Then we moved to ivf. Unfortunately, I have diminished ovarian reserve so it was only looking like I’d have a couple eggs but after talking with Dr. Holoch we decided to move forward and hope for the best. Unfortunately, after the retrieval we only got 2 eggs and they did not fertilize. We are now waiting to talk with Dr. Holoch next week about next steps.

Iui- $600 each (I did 3) $100 for trigger shots (3) Ivf- $13,750 and $5,000 for medicine (I will get back around $6,000 since my egg retrieval didn’t result in anything and we couldn’t move forward) Lab work - $300 each for my husband and I for infectious disease labs Zoom calls- a few hundred dollars each based on time (2 times)

Does not apply

Dr Holoch is kind, meet me at my level of knowledge and politely answered all of my questions in depth. She was also very straight forward about what to expect and cost requirements for each type of treatment. She included helpful information such as most affordable places to pick up prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance, and how to start tracking fertility affordable at home.

I would tell them to come with all of the questions and concerns that they have without fear of being told they are being too anxious or asking too much, because she understands fertility is exciting and can also be scary.

Dr Holoch took into account my age and medical history to recommend treatment. She recommended IUI as we will be attempting pregnancy for the first time, and gave the option of several medications, including their effectiveness and risks

So far I have only gone for initial visits which was $40 copay through my insurance, but it was made clear to me that my insurance will cover most of my infertility testing, but will not cover any medications or procedures associated with fertility

I am so grateful to Dr. Holoch and the guidance she provided us during our journey. She treated every conversation thoughtfully, she always presnted scnearios with alternatives and implications - I felt as though the decisions were in my power, but that we were informed with her recommendation and the reasoning behind it. With our MFI, she offered us the option to try IUI first, but set the expectation from the ouset that we more than likely would need IVF (but anticipated us being very successful in that process). I felt encouraged and supported throughout.

Be prepare with your questions whenever you have the opportunity to meet with Dr. Holoch, since more often you will be engaging with the nursing team. Know your preferences going in, but be open to her professional opinion.

Dr. Holoch worked in partnership with Dr. Nanjia, the primary Urologist on the KU Advanced Reproductive Medicine Team, to manage the overall protocol for mysely and my husband. This was a HUGE advantage for us, as we felt that we were being seen as a team, by a team. Multiple sperm analyses informed us that we were likely in the IVF range, but we did have one outlier above that range which led Dr. Holoch and Dr. Nangia to be open to IUIs. We had one full IUI fail, and a second one canceled due to volume. Following that, Dr. Nangia prescribed chlomid for my husband. After the canceled IUI (and after COVID stay at home orders were lifted), we moved forward with planning for our first (and only so far) IVF cycle. Dr. Holoch is a firm believer in genetic testing, which I am grateful for. It gave us a better sense of the success of our cycle and allowed us to better plan for our future. We had our first transfer in October, which was successful - we're currently 8.5 weeks pregnant!

We had coverage and did not have to pay for everything out of pocket.

Dr. Holoch seemed to be very firm in her recommendation, in our case, for single embryo transfer.

Dr Holoch was very transparent with us when setting expectations. She worked with us to develop a treatment plan that she believed would achieve a pregnancy, however I turned out to be a low responder. She was not afraid to try different protocols or new treatments, which I appreciated.

If you’re looking for a doctor who is kind, but also honest about your chances, Dr Holoch may be a good fit for you. She stays current with fertility research, so ask a lot of questions! She’s very patient and wants you to be educated about your options and the risks.

IVF Cycle 1 - high dose antagonist; used because of DOR diagnosis. Cycle cancelled due to low response IVF Cycle 2 - low dose antagonist; she thought the high doses from previous cycle “fried” my eggs; cycle cancelled due to low response. IVF Cycle 3 - Lupron flare protocol; retrieved 7 eggs, 4 mature, 3 blasts, all complex abnormal.

She is very good about explaining everything clearly. She is very respectful of us as patients and is very LGBTQ friendly. I really feel like she's invested in our success. She is up to date on the latest treatments and is very sympathetic when things don't go as planned. She understands how costly everything is and works with us to make a plan that fits our needs.

Bring all of your questions with you to your appointment. You usually only see Dr. Holoch during the consults, so you want to make sure to get your questions answered then. You won't be seeing her on the days where you have an ultrasound or insemination.

We did hybrid cycle IUIs with Letrozole plus Gonal-F injections. This was particularly helpful with making sure that we ovulated. For the IVF cycle we used Menopur, Gonal-F, and Cetrotide.

IVF is about $13,500 plus medications plus additional costs if you decide to do genetic testing. IUIs are $400 for the insemination. Ultrasounds are about $187 each.

This clinic really only does single embryo transfers. They might do multiple transfers, but it isn't encouraged.

Dr. Holoch is a very personable and empathetic doctor. She delivers information with a softness that I find comforting when receiving pertinent information. During IVF, she was attentive to our situation and was able to explain procedures in a simple and concise way. She always made an effort to ask about our lives and get to know us as more than patients. One thing I do think this clinic could improve on is communication outside of the physical clinic. A good portion of IVF (injections, pills, etc.) is done in your own home. This requires a good deal of communication between your nurse, your doctor, and your pharmacy. I would have liked a more spelled out guide about what the nurses would be in charge of and when I would see my doctor or if I needed to contact the pharmacy myself. As much as I love my doctor and this clinic, what is obvious information to a medical staff is not always obvious to their patients.

Write down your questions beforehand and ask for specifics

I’m sorry, I cannot remember at this point.

We paid around $12,000 for IVF including retrieval and one transfer. Additional transfers were around $2,000 each. Our IVF medications from Freedom Pharmacy were around $15,000, but most was covered by my insurance. We opted to not do genetic testing, because we couldn’t afford it.

Dr. Holoch suggested one embryo transfer at a time. She explained the pros/cons of one vs. two and ultimately let me choose.

Dr. Holoch is friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful... if you can reach her. You aren't able to communicate directly with her, rather only with nurses through the portal. Communication is terrible and this makes cycles much more stressful than they already are.

Have a list of questions for your initial appointment and ask for a followup once you begin and get a better grasp.

Treatment is overall based on what a "normal" woman's cycle is. If you want to switch things up, you really have to self-educate and self-advocate.

IUI - $600 medication - varied by cycle ultrasound - $90 follow-up with dr - $75

single embryo transfer

Dr Holoch has been a great Dr and I would highly recommend her. Dr Holoch is very trustworthy, kind, and compassionate. She found a uterine polyp on my exam, and called me directly to discuss it. She explained the process to remove the polyp and all of the risks. We also discussed my next steps in our fertility journey. We had a 20 minute conversation at 6pm and she didn’t try to rush me off the phone. I could tell she genuinely cared about me as a person!

I would advice a prospective client of Dr Holoch to make a list of questions before your appointment. Dr Holoch allows plenty of time to make sure all of your questions are answered, so be prepared so you can make the most of your appointment time!

Dr Holoch recommended we start with fertility pills (clomid 1 cycle, letrozole the other 5 cycles). Clomid caused me to have some intense side effects and it made my lining too thin, so Dr Holoch switched me to letrozole the next cycle. The first two cycles we did timed intercourse and the last 4 we did IUI. None of them have been successful, but we plan to move onto IVF in the near future. During my saline sonogram, Dr Holoch found a polyp. She plans to remove the polyp before we move onto IVF.

We liked that she was up to date on current research and treatment options being performed. She handled our miscarriage appropriately without babying us but with compassion. We had issues with the staff and she was very understanding about helping us, including calling us the day of a funeral she was at.

She seems wonderful but her nursing staff is terrible.

We started with well defined plan on what we were testing for and why. When they came back unexplained, the plan made was for timed intercourse with femara to help induce healthier ovulation, since I did ovulate, progesterone supplements, and the antihistamine protocol. That resulted in only a miscarriage, still at 5 weeks. From there we are currently moving into an IUI with the hopes that we may have better luck with a trigger shot.

Most of it has been covered under my insurance. Without insurance costs will be: IUI $600, + the trigger shot, $120, femara, $8, plus 2-3 ultrasounds at $250 each

Dr Holoch has called me directly to discuss next steps, results and even to tell me I was pregnant (I later miscarried). She is AWESOME... ***IF*** you can talk/connect with her instead of the clinic and nurses.

Be prepared to only see her at the initial consult, which is usually far out from when you are actively "needing" to see her (and when you will want advice from her and live conversations vs portal messages). She is an amazing and empathetic doctor, just very hard to get in touch with due to barriers the clinic puts in place.

6 IUIs - Levothyroxine 1 Retrieval - Gonal-F, Menopur Prep for Transfer - PIO, Estradiol

In hindsight, I wish I would have let her suggest what we do. I basically told her that I was told by my last doctor that we needed to transfer only one, since I had preeclampsia with my first baby and was at risk of developing it again.

She was very patient. I had a ton of questions and was very scared due to my past pregnancy losses. She was very empathetic and supportive. She always knew my labs and reviewed my chart. She remembered personal details and even checked up on me during the pregnancy. Being with her and the network at KU was like being part of a team that supports your vision of having a family. She was honest about protocols and treatment plans. After we had our child we decided to transfer another about 2 years later. I did miscarry at 6 weeks and came to the clinic to be checked out and while she did everything she could and my levels prior to the loss were excellent, she was supportive and followed up with me afterwords to discuss options and next steps.

To be open and honest with what your main goals are and be open and trusting to treatment plans.

Before seeing Dr. Holloch I was pregnant with triplets from OI meds and and IUI cycle. I went into labor at 22 weeks and my daughters passed away shortly after they wore born. We decided to try again but with Dr Holloch at KU medical. She was cautious and encouraged IVF to help reduce the risk of multiples by doing only 1 transferred embryo. It only took a few weeks for the stimulation meds of follistem to work. We did a frozen cycle because my body needed time to heal from the retrieval. Once healed we did estrogen to build up the lining. When my body failed to respond we did a low dose or letrozole to build the lining and it worked for me beautifully. I had my child 9 months later with no complications during the pregnancy or delivery.

I don’t recall the cost. We did several procedures and protocols that ranged. She let me use the pharmacy of my choice to save on cost or bundle IVF meds.

In my case loosing a multiples pregnancy it was no question for me and my doctor to only transfer 1 embryo.

I didn't have a good experience as a patient with Dr. Holoch. We only saw her 3 times in the year that we went through treatment with her. Our treatment plan never changed, despite several failed IUI cycles. She was late to every appointment. She was 30 minutes late to our last appointment and then was very defensive when talking with us. No one came in to tell us that she was running behind, so we just sat there waiting. Then our appointment only lasted maybe 15 minutes.

Advocate for yourself and push for your protocol to be changed if what you are doing isn't working.

Every IUI it was Femara for 5 days, Gonal F for usually 2 days at 75 units, and progesterone supplements after the IUI. I had 7 IUIs done and every single one resulted in a BFN.

IUIs were $600 each plus medications, so for me each IUI was around $1,000. Monitoring and lab work was covered by my insurance.

N/A

Dr Holoch was amazing at listening and explaining everything to me and my husband. She even called me directly a few times. She is amazing at her job! I would recommend her. The only thing I don't like about this clinic is you deal with the nurses majority of the time and only see the doctors if needed.

We did 2 IUIs with no success. We wanted to move forward with IVF. We did 3 months on depo for my endometriosis after my retrieval. Then a frozen transfer of 2 embryos. They let us decide on number of embryos to transfer but encouraged just 1. We ended up with twins.

I had appointments sometimes others were a range normally when they opened and these were normally more for weekend during my treatments

I believe with everything IUIs and IVF it was around $22,000

They encourage PGS testing and single embryo transfers

Dr. Holoch is incredibly smart and up to date on all new medical treatment options. She clearly explained each and every step of the way so we never left the office feeling confused. She made it a point to include us in each decision that we made for our treatment. Her bedside manner is impeccable and I truly felt like she was invested with us during our entire process. I did not feel like I was a part of a large "system" where all treatments were directed down the same pathway, each step was highly individualized. Honestly, I can not say enough great things about Dr. Holoch and I will continue to recommend her to any of my friends who need infertility help!!

Be honest and open with her. She is incredibly responsive to each person's wants/needs and does all she can to make it happen.

The cost for each IUI was definitely in the range of what I have seen everywhere. I am not completely sure on the exact amount.

Our initial visit was very straightforward and a plan was developed. I think after that I had more concerns about discovering the true reason behind my infertility and multiple miscarriages and so far have no answers in that regard. Not sure if they don't explore as the treatments are all the same though. She has adjusted medication behind the scene but have not seen since first visit.

Make sure you write out your questions up front and don't be afraid to ask as there is not time later on to go back over them with her.

Medicated IUI cycle with clomid on cycle day 3-5, an ultrasound around day 12, an ovedril injection shot, and then prometrium for two weeks after insemination. Prometrium as I have had two miscarriages. For cycle two added additional medication, letrzole as I had one ultrasound showing small follicles and my second ultrasound showed they shrinked so started that for 5 days and by third ultrasound there was one mature follicle. Both cycles resulted in negative tests. On third cycle now

Medications ranged form 50-$100 dollars for each and I have taken four different types with each cycle. Ultrasounds are around $150 and I had to have three one cycle. Insemination is $650.

Preference for single embryo

Upon meeting Dr Holloch she was kind and compassionate. She provided my husband and I with our first feeling of hope to expand our family in a year. We were disappointed that it would be the only time we ever actually saw her over our treatment of 8 months. And we’re told the only way we would be able to see her would be to schedule an IVF consult.

I would say to have done research. Know the important questions to ask, things to expects, and to discuss your expectations as patients with her.

After reviewing my medical history and tests I had already completed through my obgyn at an attempt to discuss the factor causing my infertility. She determined the best plan was to have my husband complete two separate semen analysis - both which came back with “perfect” little swimmers. After ruling out make factor and knowing all my tests came back “normal” Dr. Holloch suggested we try 4 rounds of chlomid (50 mg) in our own aka take a pill everyday for a week then use our OPK at home kits to know the days we should be doing the baby dance. 4 months later no baby. Month 5 and 6 Dr. Holloch had planned to increase chlomid to 100 mg and start IUIS. Neither helped. Dr hollochs (aka her nurses) next recommendation was to schedule an IVF consult (for a small fee of 350$) with Dr Holloch as this was the “next best step and only solution” for my family.

600 dollars for one round of IUI. 200 dollars per sonogram before the IUI (this cost depends on your insurance, my insurance covered 60% of cost 200 is what I was still owed) 250 dollars for an initial consult. 350 dollars for IVF consult. My HSG test was quoted at up to 2500 dollars and thankfully insurance covered almost all of that. Each semen analysis was a couple hundred dollars (do not recall specific amount).

Very caring and showed understanding with any setbacks. Would explain process and test results in a way that was easily understandable. Even while not directly working with her, she would take the time to answer any questions I had and again make sure it was understood.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions or ask for further explaination

It was recommended I go straight to donor eggs for a successful pregnancy. I first used estrogen patches that increased to 3mg that changed every couple days. My lining did not get thick enough during this time so that IVF cycle was cancelled and never used the remaining meds- progesterone of some sort. I then went to estrogen and progesterone shots twice a day- dosage unknown. We transferred two eggs in which both stuck but later miscarried one at 8 weeks. I stopped shots at 10/11 weeks and went to obgyn. This was a successful pregnancy. We still have one frozen embryo.

$15,000 for donor eggs. Roughly a thousand or two for medications and roughly $3500 for transfer. Appointments were around $1-300. Unknown for blood work/tests.

Doctor was comfortable transferring two embryos. Both stuck but miscarried one at 8 weeks. I wish I asked about success rates in regards to if it is better to transfer one or two as I wonder if I would have miscarried if only one was transferred.

She is professional, kind, and honest. She is compassionate in the deliverance of suboptimal news, is honest but not blunt about predicted outcomes, and is able to have a sense of humor along the way!

Be upfront with any concerns- she is willing to listen and doesn’t take things personally.

We originally used all injectables on my first transfer with her. My lining grew slowly so she offered ideas to adjunct the medications that worked. After my miscarriage, my uterus behaved differently with the injectables and she cancelled the transfer with concern for suboptimal lining. She was very thorough in describing that she didn’t want to chance losing an embryo. The subsequent transfer we used vaginal estrogen and injectables and it was perfect.

Copay, STD testing, HSG ultrasound, transfer, costs for our donor for all of that and embryo storage.

She gave us the option of what we wanted to do and outlined the probabilities of both as well as the risks involved.

Dr. Holoch was a great doctor--caring and compassionate. I never felt rushed during my appointments with her. Her explanations were also clear and easy to understand--she was talented at explaining complex concepts to patients without any medical background. I would recommend her to anyone experiencing infertility.

I don't really have any advice to give. Dr. Holoch was great.

I went through 3 unsuccessful IUIs with my own eggs with a different doctor who ended up leaving the KU Med clinic I went to. A few months later, thanks to funding we received from the Baby Quest Foundation, I was able to begin ovarian stimulation with Dr. Holoch in anticipation of going through IVF. Unfortunately, the stimulation was not successful. I only had 5 eggs, and my estrogen levels were low enough that Dr. Holoch did not think I would have more than 1 viable egg. She therefore recommended canceling the IVF and instead doing an IUI, which was not successful. I was then 37. My wife at the time was 28. Given the lack of success with my eggs, we decided to begin an IVF cycle with her eggs. She went through the stimulation and had 13 eggs retrieved, 11 of which were mature. We ended up with 5 fertilized eggs (with sperm from a donor), 2 of which gave us good embryos. We froze the embryos and 1 of them was transferred into my uterus a month later. This is how we had our son.

The canceled IVF cycle, the successful IVF cycle, and the egg transfer ended up costing about $15,000. This does not include any of the medicine.

Given the higher risk associated with twin pregnancies, and because my wife was younger and her eggs were likely to be healthy, Dr. Holoch recommended transferring only 1 embryo at a time, which is what we did.

Dr.Holoch was lovely and we had a very good first impression after our first visit. When we had multiple failed IUI’s we came back for an IVF consult, it seemed like my chart had not been reviewed prior to our consult. The IVF spiel seemed very standardized and like they didn’t vary their protocol much and she was in and out within 10 minutes.

Be your own advocate with nursing staff

Took letrozole 5mg with 2 follicles on US until I asked about a protocol change when we increased letrozole to 7.5 mg.

$650 per IUI. Letrozole covered by insurance. Trigger shot $107. Ultrasound partially covered by insurance.

Dr. Holoch was kind and had a good bedside manner. I wish she was more realistic about the severity of our condition and the fertility treatments that would give us the quickest positive result. Our appointments started 10-15 minutes after the scheduled time which made it difficult when I had to leave and return to work. She usually has students attending during our appointments which I enjoy because students needs clinical experience.

Come to appointments prepared with questions to ask her

Letrozole Ultrasound to locate/count follicles Trigger shot (ovidrel) IUI with husbands sperm (count less than 10k, motility less than 20%, 0% morphology) Negative pregnancy test Dr. Holoch encouraged IUI stating that "it only takes 1 sperm"

Ultrasound: 280 Semen Analysis and processing: 250 Meds: 150.00 IUI:600

n/a

She was articulate and spoke plainly about what lie ahead. But after the initial consult I never saw her again. I don’t think that it is too rare but it is weird. I would have loved to have a more hands-on doctor, but I’m not sure that exists in the fertility world.

Be prepared with your own questions and arm yourself with as much research as possible. Get a personalized plan and go for gold the first time. Don’t wait around for someone to give you all the answers. Get them yourself.

We had unexplained infertility for 4 years. Every test was clear and endo surgery showed no signs of endo or inflammation. We did 1 round of IUI with fertility drugs and a trigger shot and it worked the first time.

Less than 2k for one round of IUI and general labs, semen analysis and consult fee.

She was nice and truly wanted the best for me and she was always willing to try something I suggested unless it was not safe to do so. She was always available to call if I wanted to speak to her and able to set an appointment with her as well

You won’t see her but she is available when you ask for her

I started with timed Intercorse and meds and a trigger shot and tried that 2 times and then we moved onto IUI and talking about ivf if IUI doesn’t work

IUI was $650 and meds $200 each trigger shot was $120 and you need one for each cycle. Ivf will cost $12,600 and meds for Ivf will be $3,000-$6,000.

None