Marsha Baker

As a patient, whenever I've seen her in person or during video/phone visits, she's always given me her full, undivided attention. She is also a very caring doctor who wants to make sure that even step that we go over for treatment planning is understood & is always willing to answer any questions. Her bedside manner is excellent & she even came by to check on me after an out-patient procedure.

Even though you may not see her in the office for an appointment, just know that she's still very accessible & her nursing staff always let her know if any concerns/questions arise during your visit.

After being cleared from fibroid removal, my initial treatment plan was to start out with 4-5 IUI cycles before making adjustments to the plan. Each IUI cycle, I have a baseline ultrasound appointment done between day 2-5 of my menstrual cycle to check on the uterine lining & uterus itself that it's in good shape to continue to move forward with the next step. For me, the next step then is to complete a 5-day cycle of Clomid 50mg & then seen for a follow-up ultrasound appointment to confirm/check on the progression of the number of follicle as well as their sizes. Once everything during that visit looks good, an IUI appointment is typically scheduled within the next few days after. Also, at least 24-36 hours prior to my scheduled IUI appointments, I'm prescribed Ovidrel 250 mcg injection (known as the trigger shot) to be done at home to "trigger" ovulation. Then after an IUI treatment, I'm scheduled for a pregnancy blood test to confirm if I've achieved pregnancy. Unfortunately, I went through with 5 cycles of IUI with no pregnancies achieved. After the 5th unsuccessful IUI, Dr. Baker suggested for me to have an updated HSG test performed. During the HSG testing, we found out that both of my fallopian tubes were blocked. After the diagnosis, she referred me to the Head of Radiology to have a Tubal Cannulation procedure done to unblock them. Once I underwent the Tubal Cannulation, Dr. Baker & I created a new plan to do 3-4 cycles of IUI prior to look at IVF. During the 1st cycle of IUI (post-procedure), I went through the cycle the same as previous cycles. But for my 2nd & 3rd cycles, I was given a prescription for Novarel 10mL (considered as "a boost" shot) each night that I took Clomid with the same sequence of appointments. Unfortunately, these 3 cycles I have not become pregnant. I was recently seen to begin my 4th IUI cycle & during that appointment, it was discovered that I have 4 cysts in my uterus which was caused by the medication from the previous cycle. At the present time, I've been put on birth control to help speed up the process to reducing the cysts. I will be seen in the next couple of weeks for another baseline appointment to check on the cysts & to see if we will be able to proceed with this IUI cycle.

Because I have Kaiser insurance through my husband's job, I have 50% coverage where when I factor in paying for all 3 visits in each cycle & medications, it come out to under $500-$700.

Dr. Baker is thorough with my treatment. She reviews my progress and adjusts as needed for the most positive outcome. Dr. Baker makes sure that I understand the process and treatments and answers all questions I may have.

Be patient with the process. It's not the same for everyone.

My first round, I was put on clomid. Negative result. Second round, I was put on Letrozole and then it was changed to Menopur due to my body not reacting to the last two medications. Second IUI was also a negative. Even though the test came out a negative, I had the best reaction to Menopur so I was put on Menopur my third round. I had a checmical pregnancy on my third IUI. Since my third IUI did come out as positve, Dr. Baker continued the Menopur for my fourth round with Novarel added. The end resulted in another chemical pregnancy. Fifth round was with the same meds and results were the same as the fourth round. Based off the results of rounds three, four, and five, Dr. Baker could see there was progress being made, so we tried another round of IUI with the same meds as previously. My sixth IUI was a postive. Lovenox was prescribed to reduce the risk of a chemical pregnancy this round. After two weeks on Lovenox I had a reaction so I was switched to Progesterone injections. In between I had ultrasounds done to check my pregnancy and the baby is growing and making progress, so I was offically discharged from REI at a little over my eight week mark to see a OB-GYN.

My care is covered under my insurance except my co-pay.

As I am an older patient, Dr. Baker was compassionate in explaining to me the risks I face with my egg reserve. In no way did she ever make me feel bad for waiting so long to try for a baby. She has such a beautiful manner, almost like if we have known each other for ever.

Keep in mind the game plan can always change. Be open to those changes.

My 2 IUIs had similar protocols using Menopur. The 1st one, my dosage started high and was lowered as I got close to the procedure. My 2nd one, my dosage remained the same until the procedure. I responded very well to the medication both times. Unfortunately my IUIs didn’t work. I was warned in advance that they probably weren’t the best choice for me but I still wanted to start there. For IVF, I did 2 bottles Menopur and 300 iu Follistim for 4 days only. That resulted in 2 huge follicles & lots of little ones. Dr decided to have me trigger and my IVF was officially cancelled. On my follow up visit afterwards, ultrasound sound I had a cyst on my overy. I am about to go back on Sep 26 and see if the cyst has gone away so that I can start Stims hopefully soon.

For the IUIs, my insurance covered 25% minus medications and I paid the rest out of pocket, in total about $2000 for each IUI. For the IVF, so far I’ve paid $2900 in medications alone.

My clinic will do single or multiple.

Dr. Marsha Baker is intelligent, well spoken, knowledgeable, warm, compassionate, and has an amazing bedside manner. She is a rockstar in her field and definitely the best RE I have encountered. She has always answered my questions honestly, intelligently, and kindly. She treats me like a human with actual emotions and needs. She keeps me in the loop and takes into account what I want/need when deciding on protocol. She also doesn’t stick with the same protocol over and over. When we don’t get results, she switches meds or dosage. I always feel like Dr. Baker genuinely has my best interest in mind when making decision, even when I don’t like it (a cancelled cycle for example). I have never felt like she makes a decision “just because.” There is always sound reasoning and she’s always willing to explain it to me. I wouldn’t want any other RE treating me.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! She’s not intimidating and she will answer, either directly or through staff. I’ve never had a question go unanswered.

My first two IUI cycles were unmedicated except for the trigger (ovidrel). Dr. baker, my partner, and I came to the agreement that it was the best place to start since I was only 28 at the time and had all the infertility testing done with a clean bill of reproductive health. We thought this would be a “one and done” deal. We used donor sperm. I triggered when I had a single mature follicle and had the IUI done 36 hours post trigger both cycles. Negative pregnancy test followed both. 3rd cycle I did clomid CD4-8. I didn’t respond as well as we had hoped (I only had one very mature follicle @ 26mm). We triggered and did IUI the next day. Negative beta 2 weeks later. We then moved on to menopur. First cycle of menopur I did 1.5 vials for 5 days, triggered, IUI 36 hr later. Negative. For the next cycle we did back to back iuis with 4 days at 2.5 vials of menopur and 2 days at 1.5. Then trigger. I had 3 mature follicles. IUI was 12 and 36 hours post trigger. Also negative beta. The cycle after that I hyperstimulated and the cycle was cancelled. I did 6 days of menopur on 2.5 vials, and 2 nights on a single vial and my e2 levels went from 700 to 1861 in only 36 hours, something that was very unexpected for all of us. My body just over responded, and it would have been too risky to do an IUI (higher order multiples were extremely likely). Dr. Baker put me on birth control to calm everything down before moving on to the next IUI cycle. For our next cycle we plan to try to find the happy medium medication-wise between the cancelled cycle and the cycle preceding it. This will be my 7th and hopefully last IUI.

I haven’t started the cycle yet. But I was quoted $15,200 for everything except meds. This quote includes 100% icsi and pgs testing, all lab fees, physician fees, freezing, etc..

Dr. Baker plans to transfer only a single pgs tested frozen embryo if I move on to IVF. This is due to my age and the fact that I don’t really want multiples.

Extremely caring and honest. Dr. Baker was and has been very upfront with us about the odds and the risks of what we are trying for. She has been kind and patient with us, especially given our lack of knowledge on the subject of infertility. She has treated us like people and has always taken care to make sure we felt like the most important people on her caseload.

Bring questions when you meet with her. She will answer them all, and will do so in a very honest manner.

I honestly don't remember the details. It's a difficult thing for me to have to go through - especially knowing the slim chances of it working - and anticipating the disappointment. I mostly listen and let my wife be the expert.

At first, before we took on double coverage, we were paying about $145 per visit, and over $800-1000 for medication. Once we added double coverage, our IUI treatments we basically fully covered.

I completely back her approach (multiple). She understands my wife's situation and has recommended we be as aggressive as possible.

She is thorough and talks to me like a smart human being. She will draw diagrams and pull up our data to help us interpret it.

Dr. Baker is great. I wish all my interactions were just with her. Unfortunately, it's mostly with RNs. She's only available for consults or irregular procedures.

All the tests came out fine, so the plan was to start with Clomid. Clomid only lasted for 2 months because it only yielded 1 and then 2 good-sized follicles, respectively. Then we moved onto injectables (Menopur). I got a good response 3-4 follicles. For this next cycle, she'll increase the dosage of Menopur.

I have 50% insurance coverage, which covers most things except for IVF. The annoying this is even if you just go for an ultrasound, the charge you for their time (15 mins). ultrasound (including time)- 119 blood estradiol test - 24.5 suppositories (projesterone)-102.73 ovidrel Shot- 61 needles and shit- 2.33 10 Menopur shots- 322.5 IUI- 69 Sperm wash - 12.5 10 min visit - 50 Preg test - 13.5

Dr Baker reviewed my many years of medical records, she adjusted my course of treatment each cycle and she did a saline ultrasound after my miscarriage which led to a procedure to remove something she found that I think helped me avoid another miscarriage.

Take notes and be sure to be clear about your course of treatment so you can follow and ask all your questions.

1. Clomid and a trigger shot (ovidrel). First cycle and I had Pcos and my husband tested mostly in the normal range - so the focus was on developing fully grown eggs and releasing them. Pregnancy then miscarriage at 6 weeks. 2. Clomid and no response and holidays prevented shots. No trigger because I didn't respond to the clomid. 3. Letrozole + menopur shots + ovidrel trigger. Because I didn't respond to clomid. Negative pregnancy test. 4. Letrozole + shots + trigger + IUI because timed intercourse was not successful. Negative pregnancy test. 5 and 6. Same as 4 but with adjustment to the shots 7. Similar protocol to 4 but adjusted shots and amounts. Live birth - single

The costs were covered by insurance except for a $10 co-pay each visit

She was very friendly and did most of my procedures. for monitoring appointments I mostly saw nurses but they would refer to her about adjustments in medicines if needed. also, she was able to get me the meds I needed through my insurance when they didn't want to cover a specific medicine but that was the only one I responded to so she knew it was worth getting for me.

be patient because it can take a bit of time to start treatment. I was hoping to start treatment within the first month of seeing Dr. Baker but she wanted to get my body ready for doing a treatment cycle so I didn't start meds until 7-8 months after my consultation with her. Again, that was also partly due to the way Kaiser works and it took a bit of time to get surgery booked.

we did clomid 150 mg with trigger and timed intercourse, clomid 150 mg with trigger and IUI, menopur 75 IU with trigger and IUI, follistim 75 IU with trigger and IUI, Gonal F 100 IU with trigger and IUI, follistim 75 IU and femara with trigger and timed intercourse.

because my insurance was through kaiser, I had a reduced rate than if I went through a private clinic and had to pay out of pocket.

IVF was not an option at my clinic =(