Meike Uhler

We have only seen Dr Uhler once for consultation before Covid-19 limited further assessment and treatment. After reviewing our physical history, our conception history, and our current concerns, she reviewed what her assessment and treatment plan would look like. She was patient when she explained the rationale for holding off on treatment until at least 3 months after we returned from a trip to Mexico, and while we were disappointed in the delay she helped us understand the concerns and current CDC recommendations in regard to Zika. She was very encouraging with us and explained the process thoroughly in a way we would both understand.

Don't expect a warm and fuzzy moment, but her clear depth of knowledge in RE is very reassuring.

We have only completed the consult thus far (after a fertility awareness check up), but she plans to further assess my hormone levels, follicle count, and complete a ultrasound to assess the health of my uterus and fallopian tubes. She will likely start a round of Letrozole with monitoring, which I was prescribed by my obgyn without montioring, to determine where things might be going awry.

Both my insurance and my husband's are restrictive in terms of fertility coverage, but it does cover the consultation, evaluation, and non-artificial treatment (e.g. no IUI of IVF coverage). A handout explaining our coverage and associated costs was provided for each treatment option.

Dr. Uhler was the second Dr. I saw as my other doctor was put on an emergency medical leave. I was very impressed with how well she knew about my chart and my history. She took the time to explain things to me and go over every detail with me. The only bad thing I would say, if i had to choose, was she did talk fast, so make sure to tell her to slow down if you need her to. Other than that she was sweet and had great compassion when speaking me with.

Ask her to slow down when explaining things.

The clinic I went to worked well with appointments.

My husband had amazing insurance. However we did spend a little bit. Between medicines, ultrasounds, and visits I would say we spent about $3,000 in total so far, but we are not done. This will vary depending how if insurance covers. We do not have that insurance anymore, unfortunately so we are waiting to see how much the total of everything else will be.

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Dr. Uhler was very compassionate and smart. She explained my diagnosis to me in medical terms and then broke down to me what that meant for me and day to day life, and for the future of our fertility. In regards to treatment she was concise and clear about what the options were, as well how they worked/how we would proceed.

Keep your folders, and read all the extra papers and packets they give. So much useful information that dives deeper into treatments, and meds.

Dr. Uhler think it’s best to try Letrozol after 4 failed round of clomid, it is too early to tell results.

The cost so far has been manageable. We are lucky for great insurance. We did have a debacle with genetic testing but the clinic took on all responsibility to battle it out with the insurance, making sure it was mostly covered.

Dr Uhler is extremely honest and does not sugar coat anything. You know exactly the odds and she gives her professional option by each individual case.. The odds were against me because of being 44 years old. However, Dr Uhler was optimistic due to my medical health and egg reserve. I’m 45 years old and pregnant with my own egg.

Get in early because it is a long process. Also, check with your insurance about coverage. I was told some items were covered and they weren’t which resulted in thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Too many drugs to remember. Dr Uhler did have to decrease them for my second cycle which gave me much better results.

It cost me to do all the diagnostic testing even though I was told it was covered under insurance. I later found out I had to pay out of pocket. I paid for the 2 cycle package.

Dr Uhler had us do PGS which I’m extremely grateful for. She then recommended that we only transfer one egg due to that.

I feel that Dr. Uhler has a good grasp on gauging her patients and the level at which they need the information. I went into her office with all of my knowledge and she treated me like an equal in the room. She never bypassed any bit of detail. She always checked in at each step to make sure we were on the same level of understanding. When she started to discuss embryo transfer with us, she made she we knew every option we had available. A drawback to Dr Uhler is that she speaks in a very blunt manner. It is not mean or dry. It is, however, sharp, so it can be a bit unnerving.

Go in with questions! She loves questions! She wants to help get you pregnant. She will tell you what you NEED to hear.

We are still in the process for embryo transfer. We did IVF for egg retrieval using Follist, Gonal-F, Menopur. We did our egg retrieval and after all was said and done, we only got one embryo. During routine blood work and ultrasound, they found polypsnon my uterus and Dr. Uhler immediately consulted with my gynecologist to find a resolution. I had them removed and the embryo frozen. I am now taking Lupon to prepare for FET

I am lucky in that my insurance covers a cycle of IVF. Freezing embryos cost $1200 per IVF cycle and $500 every year for maintenance annually Genetic testing on embryos was $2600 I believe? There was also a test she suggested to diagnose and try to pinpoint what day it would be more beneficial to do the transfer. That was $1000 The only thing we opted to do was embryo freezing

Based on my medical history, she insisted we only do single embryo transfer. I have an incompetent cervix and I have had a transabdominal cerclage placed. She felt because of that, it would be very risky to place more than one embryo.

I began seeing her in 2011, after my OB at the time recommended me to her (her son was born through IVF with Dr Uhler). When I first met her, I realized she’s very honest and straight forward, I knew I could trust her immediately. In 2012 after my 7th IUI, I finally got pregnant. However it was an ectopic. I was given methotrexate to dissolve the pregnancy by my nurse at Dr Uhlers office....Dr Uhler was present and walked me through it all as hard as it was. 2 weeks later, the fetus still had not passed but was stuck in my tube. I was having the most horrible pains I had ever felt...I broke down and called Dr Uhler at 2AM. She actually answered and had informed me to go to the ER, but specifically to one where she had rights. I arrived and she had precalled to them I was coming, staff was awaiting with a wheelchair for me. She arrived shortly after, giving me the bad news that if the fetus doesn’t pass she will operate and remove one of my tubes. She gave me 24 hours in the hospital before surgery (mostly because I couldn’t bare for her to remove one of my tubes). On the 23rd hour the fetus finally passed. In hindsight I should have just had her remove the tube, that tube is fully blocked due to scar tissue now from the ectopic. In 2015 we got pregnant again via IUI, our first heart beat ultrasound....there was not a heartbeat. Another devestatimg blow, and she was there every step of the way to comfort us. We had been putting off IVF despite Dr Uhler urging us for at least 6 cycles.....we just couldn’t make the jump financially out of pocket. She knew best though, so we finally decided to do what she recommended. We decided to finance IVF (still paying for it), and began the cycle. Egg retrieval in Nov 2015. Freeze all due to hyper stimulation, embryo transfer in Feb 2016. Our son was born at 36 weeks due to severe preeclampsia. 2 weeks in the NICU. We have 5 embryos left and are back trying with Dr Uhler again for number two. She always remembers me, always wants to see photos, always asks about my best friend who I also recommended to see her for IVF (her son was born 7 months after mine with IVF with Dr Uhler). A couple hiccups bu she’s diligent in working with me to overcome them (polyps, D&C....I’ve been bleeding non stop fo 13 months so we have to stop that first), and then hopefully we get to start another cycle for our miracle baby #2! I would recommend her to anyone! She is very literal, very educating, and I always leave her office with a full understanding. She urges me to ask questions and know what’s going on with my body. I wouldn’t go elsewhere.

She’s very black and white, no grey area. If you’re looking for sugar coating - she’s not the one for you.

Clomid for 2 IUI cycles with trigger. Injectables for 8 IUI cycles with trigger and progesterone suppositories. IVF was birth control, estrogen, baby aspirin, progesterone oil & suppositories, lupron.

I go for an easy time before my 8am shift at work started, so it barely disrupted my day. I am in and out within 30 min for blood and ultrasound. Rarely do I wait to be called, and the room only full of 1-3 other people waiting to also see staff.

$45K total to date. $3K per IUI ($30K) and IVF at $14K with embryo storage at $500 per year (2 year). Includes medication costs

She was extremely knowledgeable and understand of our position. With some male factor issues we felt like with our age and my good results we would have had a better outcome by now. We do feel like she has made the best treatment decisions but that we have been on the wrong side of biology. The only downside was that it’s hard to reach her directly and we had to schedule a separate consult to speak with her directly.

Be prepared to speak with the nurse often and ask your questions for her when you have her in person. Also she rotates among offices so be sure that she is available at your location before scheduling a procedure unless you’re okay with seeing someone else.

We were pretty straightforward in the initial cycle. She was careful not to over stimulate me. For the second we moved forward with an ERA test and strongly considered testing our embryos. We ultimately decided not to but we’re made aware of all of the options. We are in the two week wait of our third attempt with two embryos.

Pretty efficient, some waits were longer than others but usually moved pretty quick. You’re able to have monitoring from 645 am to around 12 which is pretty flexible.

I unfortunately have a high out of pocket max so we will end up paying around 7k and but they never do a procedure without coverage.

We chose to place two embryos on our third attempt and were made aware of risks and downsides, we have been lucky with great quality embryos, are healthy, and have done pregenetic testing so we are holding off on PGS testing for now.

Dr. Uhler may have cold hands but she has a warm heart. She always made sure I understood what was happening, what to expect and what to look forward to. She always explained the procedures and plans to me and did not hesitate to find a way to explain it to me if I was not understanding. She also did not sugar coat anything and gave me straight information when I asked.

Ask questions if anything confuses you or you don't understand. You are paying for a service and deserve the best quality service you can get.

I was started on birth control as soon as my cycle started for two weeks. I cannot remember what they called the protocol we used but I did use Crinone gel every day HCG 10,000 units minivelle patches .1mg x2 Follistim pen I believe i injected 150IU daily Menopur 75IU ganirelix acetate 250MCG I stimmed for 10 days with follistim and menopur. After about 5 days we added ganirelix to the mix to help the follicles grow. I had about 10 follicles on each side. I triggered with HCG. I used the minivelle patches post Egg retervial and crinone gel along with PIO shots daily. We stopped the PIO after 12 weeks We ended up with a positive Beta number of 213 after our two week wait.

I went for monitoring appointments in the morning and if i remember correctly that is the only time they do it. It worked well with my schedule so I did not have difficult but i do recall seeing many women waiting in the waiting room for them to call their name. some techs were great and telling you how you were doing and some just left you in the dark until you got the call with the update later that day.

I am not sure how to answer this. Every appointment we did not have a co-pay but would get billed by insurance. We had to pay for medications from a special pharmacy and appointments with dr. uhler we expensive.

Dr. Uhler gave use all the pros/cons to transferring one egg or two. Because of my age, health and grade of the eggs she was comfortable with me transferring two embryos

She was kind, compassionate and caring, but obviously stretched thin between multiple FCI locations. She only was at my location a couple times a week and I only saw her twice I believe. She did seem to believe she had my care figured out from the beginning but clearly there were other factors and we should have gone right to IVF to not waste time or money on IUI.

Be persistent and assertive. If she says something you don’t agree with, so not be afraid to express your opinion. She will be accepting of it.

We did very normal cycles for iui because my follicles grew fine with the medication. I did have a reaction to the first medication I took for follicle growth, so we stopped that pill and my follicle continues to grow and we were able to try iui but was unsuccessful. Also, one thing that sticks out to me is that I was going to the Bahamas right before we were planning on stopping treatment but they wouldn’t let me continue for 6 months due to possibility of Zika. Which I considered a good thing.

She seems to be an experienced and seasoned RE. she can come off as stoic, but that is also a good thing; She does a good job of not instilling false hope. I feel like she is a good communicator and explains things well. She practices at two 'satellite' locations with FCI which tend to not be a monotonous as the main river north location. I think this helps with a reasonable patient load in turn giving you an individualized experience and not one of "a number."

She will not give you false hope. She will tell you what she thinks based on research and her experience. She can come off as blunt but good clinicians are transparent.

Ivf self pay 11,500 (inc ICSI, assisted hatching if needed) no insurance coverage

Dr Uhler was very educational, informative, and compassionate. She took time to get to know me as an individual outside of family planning. She offered multiple options to reach our end goal and I am looking forward to beginning treatment with her and her team.

Know the limitations of how an RE can help you. For me, my questions I had ready for Dr Uhler needed to be answered by MFM. Dr Uhler opened a world of opportunities for us, but only in a fertility manner. The entire process will take a village.

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Again, we never saw her. She is nice and shows some compassion, but we have seen her two or three times as a couple and I've seen her for two saline ultrasounds. Apart from that, we never see her. Her nurses are fantastic, but again, she is barely involved.

Don't expect much physical interaction with her.

Four failed IUIs with Clomid and progesterone. Heading to IVF now.

So far with IUIs and various consults and dna tests, we have spent around $3-4k after insurance.

She is truly a good doctor. Changed up my protocol each time and was very compassionate about my ectopic pregnancy that resulted by one of the IVF cycles. She is very clinical however and its't the most jokey-smiley? But that is what I preferred in a doctor.

She was willing to talk to me about my own research I did online, and when I suggested an endometrial scratch she did it for me etc so I would come in and ask questions and not be afraid

1st IVF cycle, BCPs then anatagonist protocol. 2nd IVF microflare lupron protocol. 3rd IVF estrogen priming protocol

Most of it was covered by my insurance but with cost of monitoring co-pays and medicines with 3 IUIs and 3 IVFs I would say I spent around $6K

She was open to whatever we wanted

My PCP doctor recommended Dr. Uhler, and made sure to warn me that Dr. Uhler was not as bubbly as my PCP. However, she was great, and seemed more relaxed after our initial consult. She was on time, and willing to get me in as soon as possible in order to work around my school schedule.

Letrozole for 5 days, trigger shot, IUI = BFP on first IUI, successfully gave birth to a baby girl

Dr Uhler is very professional. She also has a great sense of humor. She wants you to be comfortable with every step you go through. She will never rush you.

Do not be shamed by the things you have to do.

Dr. Uhler's expertise, compassion, and accessibility have made our IVF journey with Fertility Centers of Illinois truly exceptional. We are grateful for his guidance and support, and we wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone seeking a knowledgeable and caring fertility specialist. Dr. Uhler and the nursing team demonstrated unwavering transparency, reassurance, and consistency throughout every step.

Dr. Uhler is compassionate, friendly, and very knowledgeable. She thoroughly explains everything and goes into detail with diagrams and handouts/pamphlets. Even though trying to get pregnant while struggling with infertility is overwhelming, Dr. Uhler is kind and helps break it down step by step. The clinic as a whole does a good job making sure you feel heard and have all your questions answered before you leave.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you have to ask it multiple times and have Dr. Uhler repeat herself. She is very patient and kind.

We had a specific financial staff member assigned to our case who was very helpful in explaining our estimated cost.

She did adapt to each of my cycle, trying to get a protocol that worked. I saw her before each cycle and after each failure. She totally missed my endometriosis and that made the IVF drugs destroy my ovaries.

If you have DOR at a young age without explanation, go to an endometriosis specialist. Dr. Uhler doesn't think this is impactful or doesn't know how to recognize it.

I did an antagonist protocol, an agonist one, estrogen priming with antagonist, testosterone priming with agonist, 2 sher protocols and another antagonist. 150 Menopur, 425 follistim, clomid

it was covered by insurance, so once i reached my out of pocket I was ok.

Dr Uhler is approachable and friendly. She explained things and my options in detail. She made sure if I had any questions she would answer them. She was realistic in the plan due to my age. I felt comfortable talking to her about my treatment and I really had to make a decision.

Ask all the questions you may have.

$19,000 fibroids procedure. $13,000 to $15,000 for egg preservation

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Dr. Uhler was fantastic to work with! She was very thorough in her review of our medical histories. She provided explanations as to what she was looking at in our diagnostic testing, the treatment plan she proposed (clomid + IUI), and the reasoning behind it. She explained the risks, potential side effects, and made sure to stop and see if we had questions.

Many doctors & clinics get knocked for not being warm and fuzzy. In my opinion, patients shouldn't expect their doctor to be warm & fuzzy, but to do their jobs well. I wanted a doctor and clinic who was going to take my concerns seriously and would do what they could to help us have a baby. Dr. Uhler did just that. She was clearly very knowledgeable in her field and that's what we wanted in a doctor. She was direct and straightforward.

It was recommended that we try three cycles with clomid and IUI (with monitoring.) This was due to our age and diagnosis. The first cycle did not work. The second cycle resulted in pregnancy and we are in the first trimester. They also monitored me closely after confirming the pregnancy. (Bloodwork to check hormone levels and then ultrasounds at 6, 7, and 8 weeks.)

I covered a lot above but mostly, Dr. Uhler is very kind but presents things very factually based on current studies and clinic data. I was overall very fearful of the whole process and I felt that she respected my fear and didn't make me feel shameful for it. She doesn't try to sell you on any particular treatment option but presents risks and benefits. One example was when the question of whether or not to pursue PGS came up, I asked her what she thought. Now obviously, PGS would be additional money for the clinic. But her response was the chance of chromosomal abnormalities in pregnancies for people my age which made me feel comfortable enough with not pursuing it (which is what I had initially been leaning toward).

Be honest about your concerns or questions so there can be honest communication. Dr. Uhler can't know what you are wondering unless you bring it up. I always had a list of questions that I wrote prior to meeting with her so that I wouldn't forget.

So remember, my diagnostics were pretty much perfect other than I had hyperprolactinemia and I was placed on cabergoline for this. First, I did 2 monitored IUIs with clomid. When neither were successful (my uterine lining was made too thin by the clomid), we moved on to letrozole which is not supposed to have the same effect. Unfortunately in my case, my lining was still just too thin. After those, we moved on to an IVF cycle with a low dose of stims because my AMH and AFC was a little high.

Everyone was friendly and it was super quick. I could typically count on being in and out in 15 minutes.

I had insurance with a 10k max for infertility. An IUI cycle was about $1600 with the medications. An IVF cycle was $7500, cryopreservation was $1500, and medications (not covered by my insurance) totaled to about $3500. I met my in and out of network out of pocket max for the year from the IVF cycle.

I think it's a clinic policy but it reflects the ASRM recommendations for eSET over multiple embryo transfer except for in specific instances related to age or other special circumstances.

Dr.Uhler was amazing!! I couldn't have picked anyone better to be our fertility doctor! She is so knowledgable and compassionate! Every question we had, she was able to answer! She was always honest in our conversations regarding our treatment plan and really understood how we we feeling during our waiting periods.

The length of time that you wait for your first appointment is worth it!

5-15,000$