Michael Sobel

Dr. Sobel was a great communicator and clearly explained our options, tests, and treatments. He never pressured us to start a new cycle before we were ready. He personally called me to update me on all bloodwork and tests, including my negative pregnancy tests, which helped to soften the blow of that bad news. We didn’t get pregnant through any of our cycles with Dr Sobel so far, but still plan to continue seeing him.

Speak up about what you want to do and any questions you have. Dr Sobel was accommodating with treatments I requested or explained in detail why certain treatments weren’t the best fit for us at this time.

We did 4 cycles with letrizole and a trigger shot, then added an IUI to the last 2 of those cycles. We used this protocol because no red flags appeared in my or my husbands bloodwork or testing. Negative pregnancy tests on all 4 cycles.

Because our insurance doesn’t cover any fertility costs, our cycles all cost a flat fee of $1000, not including medication. Our IUIs were an additional ~$400

We did not do IVF so no comment

Dr. Sobel is very caring, and has a good balance between explaining candidly our test results and treatments, while also recognizing that this experience is difficult for us. He not only cares for the physical infertility issues that we’re experiencing, but wants to make sure that mentally and emotionally, we’re doing well and getting the support we need. He was sincerely empathetic and supportive each time I had a negative pregnancy test, and personally called me to let me know that he understood how difficult and disappointing it was to head that news, and encouraged me to take a break if I needed before beginning a new cycle- the choice was always up to me.

He does treat you as a patient with the assumption that infertility is hard for you. I appreciate this, because infertility IS hard, and I enjoy having someone to talk to about it. My husband is less keen on discussing our infertility himself with anyone, including our doctors, and so he finds Dr. Sobel’s extremely empathetic nature a little off putting. Be prepared to let Dr. Sobel know that you’re doing find mentally and emotionally if you are, and be straightforward in asking him to give you the facts straight up without the emotional cushion if that’s what you want.

We had two cycles with letrizole (as opposed to chlomid because I had reacted negatively to chlomid under my OBGYN’s prescription) and an ovedril trigger shot, complete with regular bloodwork and monitoring. After the timing and bloodwork seemed to look great in both of those cycles, but we still received 2 negative pregnancy tests, we decided to add in an IUI. We had 2 cycles with the same protocol including IUI, both ending in a negative pregnancy test.

Our insurance doesn’t contribute at all toward our treatment, so we had to pay a flat rate of $1,000 per cycle, with an additional $400 for each IUI and around $200 in medications each cycle.

He was incredibly nice and compassionate at our consultation meeting. He wanted to know everything about us and our hopes and dreams. He promised that I was at the ideal age and in ideal health for the treatment we needed to do (IVF with ICSI) to be successful. That was where that kind of treatment ended. From there on he made no effort to know who we were or figure out why things weren't working for us. I barely saw him in office. He didn't physically have any hand in our treatment (retrieval, insemination, transfers) like his colleagues don't trust him either. His call to tell me each time the transfers didn't work was uncaring. He had no answers for us for what more we could do to help the process. He never gave me the information for the option of freezing our remaining donor sperm so it was discarded (like we had an extra $1,000 to buy it again for further treatment). He told me I must be depressed, that's why things weren't working. This was incredibly insensitive considering what we were going through. It turns out he missed my cycle change (ovulation impeding) in my bloodwork... An easy adjustment, as it turns out. His colleague caught it when I switched to her. She adjusted the timing of my transfer and we got a positive result. I don't think he even looked at my bloodwork.

Pick someone else.

We had to go right to the intensive treatment (IVF with ICSI) because of my husband's condition. There were no known medical conditions with me. We started the IVF medication for egg retrieval (12 eggs retrieved), used donor sperm to inseminate when my husband's procedure failed (8 inseminated), and did a fresh transfer. We had a total of 4 viable embryos. This transfer did not work. (3 embryos left). He gave us no indication as to reason and made no changes to our treatment. He said we had "plenty" of embryos. This is when I found out the lab discarded our remaining donor sperm because he never gave me the option or storage information in order for it to be saved. We had purchased the last of that donor's sperm, so we'd have to do the selection process all over again if we needed more sperm. He informed me of this, and unprofessional and cold is the only way to describe it. Next, we did a frozen transfer with no change and the same result. For the third try, I saw a colleague of his after a last minute schedule change. She suggested that we do one more test to get more information about my cycle. We did. The results came back normal, but because of how thorough she answered my questions, how she treated me and how she explained her rational and thinking, I switched my treatment to her.

My costs were mostly covered by my amazing health insurance. I had a copay of $35 for each visit and test. An optional test ($650) and anything associated with donor sperm ($900 for purchase and storage) was out of pocket.

He told me he wouldn't do a multiple transfer because I wasn't 35 yet. That was his reasoning and I should have realized he was incompetent right there. Yes those were the guidelines but he couldn't explain why they were the guidelines and what would constitute a reason to ignore them. He just didn't know why, he just knew the "rule".

Dr. Sobel was never there. When he was he was so out of the loop that he had no idea who we were what we were doing or why. Our first impression was that he seemed very compassionate, but we saw his true colors pretty soon after when he did not care at all about us or our treatments, how they effected my wife, and myself.

Do your research yourself because he explains things to you like you are an idiot and leaves out important information.

He had my wife take Clomid for a cycle by itself to see how she responded. Then we tried Letrozole and had 4 IUIs with the Letrozole. We switched because she did not have a good response to Clomid. We were told originally that we would probably only do 3 IUI's, but through miscommunication and poor treatment we went through a fourth. When my wife tried to ask why it changed we received a very unprofessional email from his nurse. Hind sight we should have left then, but we went through the fourth IUI with the same result.

Our first impression was that he was overly sensitive. We commented how I’m sure some couples need that, but we wanted to hear facts and base our decisions off of reason. We then did not see or deal with him, he handed everything off to his physicians assistant. They gave us conflicting information, constantly. He would call every so often, with lab results but not usually. He was unclear with his reasonings to do certain things, and again his staff (PA and nurse) conflicted his information to us.

Ask for facts.

We did a Clomid cycle with no IUI and had “good results” but no pregnancy so we did Clomid again with the intent of an IUI but my body did not respond the same way. We switched to Letrozole and had four IUIs all unsuccessful.

I truly was pleased and impressed by how he treated me as a patient. He cared about our life, our goals, and our vision for our fertility journey. He was honest, but with a caring heart. He explained things in detail and took time to make sure my husband and I understood. Bedside manners we're top notch, always making sure I was comfortable with everything.

Be honest and open about your vision/goal for your fertility journey. He respects wishes (example: we want to go as natural as possible) of you both.

I did medicated cycles with ultrasounds to track the process. They were very structured with how the process went, and gave a complete outline of the process. It was easy to follow. Medications, ultrasounds, and blood work. He also did a great workup of exploratory diagnosis of our fertility. When he found that I had a septum in my uterus, he moved forward with removing the septum before any pregnancy. I also had the HSG done to check my tubes.

Insurance covered the diagnostic testing. It was about $1000-$1500 per medicated cycle, and only about $20-30 per cycle for the medication. Per visit was our copay of $40.

N/A

He is very clinical, but also very knowledgeable. Fertility is such an emotional and complicated process, but it is difficult to have a doctor that is real and compassionate at the same time. We only say Dr. Sobel 2 times during our cucle- first to confirm our pregnancy, and to do my D & C after miscarriage.

Be prepared to be told negative information at each appointment. The staff will share all information regardless of your emotional state. I was not given any advise or guidance after my miscarriage and had to contact my OBGYN to find a therapist that deals with infertility and loss of pregnancy on my own.

I only did he Clomid challenge so far. Surprisingly my body responded well and I became pregnant the first try. I lost the baby at 7 1/2 weeks. We will be trying Clomid with IUI next.

My first cycle was covered under insurance, but moving forward will be out of pocket. Each IUI will cost $1400 a month.

N/a

This doctor seemed rushed and annoyed to be performing my retrieval. He barely spoke to me after, and provided really no optimism. When he called to say that both embryos had fertilized abnormally, I distinctly remember him also saying " We may have to give up on you soon." He seemed to have no desire to help me. I left this clinic immediately.

Don't expect to see him often, or receive undivided attention.

My protocol was completely messed up. When I wasn't responding well to the drugs, he basically threw up his hands. I called desperate to speak to him or any doctor about what we could do to save the cycle. At the final hour, they agreed and prescribed medication and hastily scheduled me for retrieval. It was too late. The cycle was mismanaged, its no wonder the eggs were not healthy.

I had insurance coverage for some of the treatments. Each IUI cost me 200, that I know for sure. 500 for a hysteroscopy.

Dr. Sobel is very knowledgeable and also caring. He stays up to date with research and implements that in his practice. He has high expectations with numbers (lab results, endometrium thickness), which I feel is a good thing. I had a lab result which was in the normal range, but barely. He called me and explained we need to add on a medication to get that closer to the middle of the normal range, which is better for trying to conceive. I do not know how many other doctors would do that.

Trust his judgement!

Very understanding, does not waste your time. He sets a plan and sticks to it. Explains everything that happens with the process. He works great with the main nurse. They both work together as a team to establish what will happen with the fertility process.

Just be ready for a lot of testing an information given to you.

I was on clomid for the first course to increase my chances with strengthening my ovulation. The clomid did make me ovulate however I produced too many follicles. So no IUI that round. I then did Letrozole and IUI my second round. My husband has low sperm count but the IUI was not successful and due to the Pandemic we are unable to get further rounds of IUI till the Pandemic ends

My insurance covered 70% after I met my deductible, my bill was around 60 co pay for every appt and the procedures were billed over 2,000

Did not have that done

Dr. Sobel is a great guy, but in our case, lacked insight to get my husband's sperm cultured for an infection that ultimately prevented us from getting pregnant. His sperm would not fertilize an egg, but we didn't know that until 1 year into treatment and several thousand dollars later. The infection is cleared with a simple course of antibiotics. We went through rigorous blood work, appointments, and 3 IUI treatments, none of which were successful because of this oversight. Changed doctors, they flagged it right away. Get a second opinion.

Talk to someone who has battled infertility before. They will help you understand more than your doctor can in a one hour session, plus you will need a lifeline when your head is spinning after an appointment. Don't be afraid to ask questions and ask them to repeat or re-explain. Keep a calendar or journal of treatment so you can refer back - you WILL forget.

IUIs were about $1,500 each

He was excellent, even though it was a tough road, he explained everything and walked though it with us. He gave us a realistic understanding of what our chances were despite having unexplained infertility.

I would say if you want excellent bedside manner, you can’t go wrong with choosing him.

After we had tried a few months of Chlomid with our OB, we went to Dr. Sobel. We tried 4 rounds of IUI (according to Dr. Sobel, we had an 80% chance of conceiving after 4 attempts). We had one chemical pregnancy but was not successful in conceiving. We then had a lot of hope that IVF would be our final treatment, hopeful that it would result in a baby. Unfortunately for us, it didn’t result in a pregnancy.

Up until my IVF cycle I liked Dr Sobel. Little did I know that I won't see him at all during the cycle itself. He was not the Dr who did my retrieval or transfer. I felt that Dr Sobel was a good sales person and offered an overwhelming amount of hope for a positive outcome. I passed Dr Sobel a few times in the hallways of the office when I was in for monitoring appoints and he didn't even say Hi to me. It was not the experience I was hoping for and it completely turned me off for doing another round of IVF.

Don't go there....after comaring notes with the girls in my support group there are better Dr's in the area.

He was very pleasant to work with. I felt comfortable under his care. He clearly explained options and answered my questions. He performed a procedure the other practice had never mentioned. I had the stomach flu just prior to my scheduled hysteroscopy, and he quickly called back to address that.

Ask questions - he was always willing to answer.

One cycle after hysteroscopy to repair uterine septum (undiagnosed at other practice.) Only did Femara with no injectibles and IUI which was less than previous practice. Positive pregnancy test.

He has very kind and caring bedside manor. His team works together to accomplish his goals. He calls mid cycle to let you know your blood results, and his team works hard to make sure you feel comfortable during procedures.

Make sure you know what the expectations are moving forward and be sure you are on the same page, they want to make sure you are comfortable with your treatments.

We were planning on doing medicated IUIs with Chlomid until that stopped working for my body, so we switched to letrozole which seems to be working. We have done this for three IUIs and plan on doing one more then we will meet again and talk about future strategies of number four is not successful.

About $1,000 per cycle plus additional costs for medications and proceedures.