Michele Cho

Though most of our meetings are done online (zoom), Dr.Cho spent sufficient amount of time with us to listen to our concern and our plan, explain the procedures, and answer our questions. We appreciate her sincerity when we asked something impossible for her to answer. We really appreciate that she listen to our thoughts and adjust the treatment plan accordingly (when possible).

Her schedule is very tight, so make appt ahead of time, although she is always able to fit us in.

It's aways a learning process. It was our first frozen embryo transfer, and we were recommended to have just a single embryo transfer. As putting the thought of safe and healthy pregnancy first, we just go with it.

Dr. Cho has a very calming and reassuring demeanor. She explains things methodically and in a way that is easy to understand. She is honest with information and realistic about expectations. She spends times explaining but also listening and giving the opportunity for questions. She also is responsive and reaches out to check in on you on her own volition. I have no complaints about her methods or approach to my treatment and care.

Ask your questions, no matter how small or seemingly silly. She will be more than happy to answer them and will do so thoroughly and respectfully.

I don't remember specifics, but I do know that we did change medication protocols and found one that worked well for me and stuck with this one once we found it (on the second cycle).

Monitoring appointments needed to be done in the morning, I think before 10am, sometimes labwork was involved so this needed to be done early to get results before end of day to make decisions about treatment same day. I was usually able to get a first thing appointment so it did not disrupt my schedule too much, and there were a few occasions where they allowed a later day appointment when information was needed STAT (nurse just needed to approve). Always felt very individualized.

My health insurance would not cover any costs so it was expensive.

Most doctors now only want to do single embryo transfer as there are higher risks to mother and babies with multiples, but she was willing to transfer more especially when presented with some failed transfers. My statistically odds decreased with repeated failed IVF so multiple embryo transfer is less likely to result in multiples and gave me better odds.

Dr Cho is extremely knowledgeable and even though I spoke to her only once, I could tell instantly that I was in good hands. I would suggest sharing everything on your mind with her and then just follow her recommendations blindly.

Be honest about your challenges and expectations when you first meet her and then trust her judgement and the plan she decides for you. Keep the communication channel open and keep the clinic posted about how you are feeling and doing through the treatment process.

I went through a Letrozole cycle with timed intercourse based on my partner’s and my test results. Even though I was expecting that we will start with IUI, but the doctor recommended Timed Intercourse based on the sperm analysis. This worked out great for us because we conceived without IUI.

I was covered by good fertility insurance so only had to pay deductible and co-pay.

I have been a patient of Dr. Cho's since September 2014. To be able to articulate why I would recommend her so highly, I want to share more about my journey with secondary infertility. First, I was referred to SRM by a friend in the summer of 2018 after removing my IUD a year earlier, but still having irregular periods. Dr. Cho was the first doctor with an available appointment within a week, so I said yes. I immediately felt drawn to her warmth, ability to explain difficult concepts and overall bedside manner. Dr. Cho quickly diagnosed me with PCOS in October 2014. I took Letrozole for one month and conceived a healthy baby boy, who I delivered in July 2015. We waited a few years before trying again, and Dr. Cho was ready to support our journey when we returned to SRM in November 2017. I still had PCOS, and she recommended the same treatment. I conceived in December of 2017 with Letrozole again, but miscarried at 9-weeks due to triploidy. After I healed, we wanted to try again. My husband was about to visit a Zika-virus affected country, so we used frozen sperm for IUI in June - August 2018 and I did not conceive. We then decided to try IVF in October 2018. I have a high AMH and responded well to a low dose of meds, but had to have the egg retrieval early when my estrogen level neared 10,000 due to the fact I had 50+ eggs! Of those 50+ eggs, 16 fertilized, 6 made it to Day 6, and I lost all of them on Day 7. We were devastated - but Dr. Cho was there every step of the way to offer support, connect me to resources, and respect our decisions along our complicated journey. Dr. Cho explained how she would change the treatment plan if we did IVF, but also said that because I had already conceived twice on my own, that we could also try again using Letrozole and timed intercourse. I then conceived again in December 2018, but miscarried at 8 weeks - again due to a genetic abnormality on my egg. Dr. Cho offered us different options, and supported our decision to try Letrozole one more time. I conceived in late June 2019, and miscarried at 8 weeks - again due to a genetic abnormality on my eggs. While we feel confident that we could have a different outcome with a different treatment plan for IVF and PDG, my husband and I have almost made the final decision to embrace our life with one amazing son. We've been through an intense few years, and while we are so grateful for the care that we've received, we do not want to have any more interventions. Over the past 5 years, Dr. Cho and her colleagues at SRM have provided us with compassionate, evidence-based care, and have supported my family thorough the joys of conception, grief of loss, multiple D&Cs, numerous blood draws and clinic visits. I can be completely honest with Dr. Cho and the others who I've seen for some of my procedures. She has made us feel supported and confident during this time of uncertainty and I am so deeply grateful to her.

She will provide you with all of the info that you need from a medical perspective, and will work with you to help you make a decision that feels right to you and your family.

I gave some info about this in my LONG response at the beginning. I don't remember the specific IVF protocol, but the Letrozle to help me ovulate was very successful.

Wow - I really don't know. We have access to insurance for fertility treatments (Progyny through an employer) and almost everything was covered. There were a few instances when I received a bill for the genetic testing, but the Finance team was able to connect the dots between Progyny, Regence, SRM and Natera. We were very fortunate and privileged to have insurance and financial support, and know that so many families do not. I hope that WA state will pass legislation that requires HMOs and insurance companies that cover pregnancy-related benefits to cover medically necessary expenses of infertility diagnosis and treatment.

Unfortunately, we did not have any embryos to transfer. However, she did explain all of the different options to us, and we felt very informed and empowered.

I would not recommend this doctor for a woman who is at an advanced maternal age. I feel that I left without a sense of hope after the initial consultation. I do feel confident, however, that this doctor would explore appropriate treatment plans for patients with known fertility issues that did not include diminished ovarian reserve. She was willing to answer any questions I had, but I didn't always know the right questions to ask. I was left to research ways to support my own treatment.

Ask Dr. Cho, "Is there anything else that I should/could be doing to support my treatment?"

Dr. Cho limited us to 3 cycles of medication with Letrozole and IUI before we would be required to explore a donor egg. The rationale was that she only believed I had a 5% chance of conceiving with my own egg because of my advanced maternal age. I conceived after our first complete IUI that included: Letrozole, Gonal-F, and a trigger shot. This pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage at 8 weeks.

Medical Services $220 IUI $367 Gonal-F $1,165.88 Letrozole 183.02

Dr. Cho is very compassionate, thorough and knowledgeable. She herself has been through IVF so she was able to provide information from both a medical and personal experience perspective. I always felt like she took time to answer my questions and talk through anything I had questions on.

Utilize your appointment times to the max. Come prepared with all your questions written down and do your own research ahead of time. Then you can have meaningful discussions at each appointment. Don’t be afraid to ask your nurse to ask Dr. Cho questions through the portal in between appointments as well.

I have PCOS + husband’s MFI & genetic issue. We did 3 cycles with one canceled due to a dominant follicle and early surge. My protocol was birth control leading up, 350-400 Gonal F, 75 Menopur, and Cetrotide with Lupron trigger. No OHSS. Cycle 1: Retrieved: 29 Fertilized (ICSI): 14 Frozen day 5/6 blastocysts: 7 Good PGT/PGD: 0 Cycle 2: canceled Cycle 3: Retrieved: 31 Fertilized (ICSI): 24 Frozen day 5/6 blastocysts: 10 Good PGT/PGD: 4 (day 5 good & fair, day 6 good & fair) We did a natural transfer with the day 5 good embryo. It was a natural cycle but with some medication assistance because of my PCOS and irregular cycles. This included birth control leading up, then a few days of Letrozol and an HCG trigger. Crinone progesterone suppositories, which I highly recommend as I had no side effects and no mess. In addition to SRM’s protocol, I also started infertility acupuncture treatment after my first cycle to try and improve chances. I took recommend supplements (DHA, inositol, coqu 10, açaí berry). I maintained regular exercise as well.

I loved the ultrasound person (Jamie) at the Kirkland clinic. She was so sweet and knowledgeable. I actually looked forward to seeing her.

We have amazing employee coverage through Microsoft via Progyny so everything was 100% covered.

Dr. Cho generally recommends only a single embryo transfer unless there is reason more would have better chances. In general I think the clinic takes the single embryo approach as standard and multiples would be on a case by case basis if medically necessary.

Michele Cho is GREAT about assessing the overall situation and making a recommendation as to how to proceed. Her initial guidance to us turned out to be the exact thing that worked. (It's our fault for wanting to try a more conservative approach first, which only delayed things....if we had listened to Michele in the first place, we'd already have a baby!)

Take Michele's advice....she knows what she's talking about!

When we first came to Michele, she looked at our case and recommended we do an embryo transfer, as we had 3 frozen embryos banked. However, we wanted to try a more conservative approach first, so we did several cycles of TE (with Letrazole and Gonal-F), which didn't work. Finally, we took her advice and tried the transfer, which worked on the first try!

I had some insurance coverage, which helped defray a lot of the costs.

I left our first time meeting feeling good. Nervous but happy to have been able to see a doctor who listened to us and explained things. Just wish I would hear more from her when I would email the clinic or at least see her. I haven’t seen her since the initial consultation.

Write down any questions you have and ask them when you meet with her for the first time. I wish I had done so. I had so many questions I wasn’t able to ask because I didnt think of them at the time.

I was prescribed levothyroxine and metformin right off the bat. Also was put on progesterone to help induce a period then to take letrozole. Was advised to track ovulation with OPKs. First few cycles were unmonitored - however the progesterone never induced a period. So then started to go in for baseline ultrasounds every week to see if there were any progress. I would not end up producing follicles but would have cysts instead. The protocol was then changed to a higher dosage of letrozole and added dexamethasone. The cysts went away and started producing follicles. Tracked ovulation using OPKs and timed intercourse. Did one cycle with ovidrel. Ended with a negative pregnancy test but now I am getting my periods on my own like clockwork.

Insurance has covered a good portion. Have had to pay out of pocket for whatever insurance hasn’t covered. I would say we have spent about maybe less than $1,000 within the year including any prescriptions.

Dr Cho is compassionate and thorough. She is direct about concerns and clear about risks and setting reasonable expectations. When something changes she is compassionate about the setback and thoroughly explains options.

Choose her

I did a natural-start IVF cycle because of risks with using birth control due to aural migraines. Did Menopur and gonal-f with cetrotide antagonist. No particular rationale for those. Lupron trigger due to mild OHSS with previous retrieval at another clinic. Intending a natural cycle for FET since I’m cycling an ovulating naturally. Love that the clinic and Dr Cho are flexible enough to accommodate a fluid schedule for that.

Not sure. I have insurance coverage so costs are all negotiated and won’t be billed u til the cycle is completed. Genetic counseling appointment was not covered and cost $250.

Doctor Cho is open to both options depending on the situation and the patient’s willingness to risk multiples.

We were comfortable with Dr. Cho at the start of our very first conversation. She is incredibly personable, she's compassionate but also doesn't beat around the bush. She is very forward with her opinions and answering questions, which I really appreciate. There are so many unknowns with infertility, it is nice to have a doctor that can answer things clearly. She has adjusted our treatment plan as we've gone along to tailor it to our needs as a result of what she is seeing in each monitored IUI cycle. We have had 4 unsuccessful IUI's with her (1 chemical) and she has tried different/more aggressive approaches as we've continued. We just had our IVF consult with her, and I'm very happy to have my care, healthy and future children in the hands of Dr. Cho.

Ask all your questions! You will get honest feedback geared towards your own situation and needs. Don't be nervous, she's so kind and personable and you're in good hands!

4 IUI'S. #1- Letrozole/trigger #2 Higher dose of letrozole/trigger #3 Same dose of letrozole w/ gonal-f #4 Same as iui 3

$650-ish for IUI Looking at anywhere from $22k to $48k for IVF based on our situation. There base cost for IVF is $14k (but doesn't include medication, pgs testing, or the transfer). Multi-cycle programs available.

Dr. Cho is a very intelligent positive person that is looking out for the best interests of her patients. She didn't over prescribe or over treat. She was very available to us and allowed open communication.

Don't be scared to come to her with a list of questions, she takes the time to answer them all and relieve your anxieties.

Every time that we had a failed cycle Dr. Cho would look at the lab work and talk to us about different options. She was always trying to find a solution to why things weren't working. It was difficult because we have unexplained infertility so when everything looked like it should work, it wouldn't. Because of this, it made Dr. Cho really get creative with different cycle options.

I don't remember off the top of my head how much the IUI was versus the IVF and egg retrieval. I do remember that the IUI was a couple of hundred dollars more than our small town clinic and the IVF was a couple of thousand dollars more than our small town clinic. But the money was better spent at SRM for the care that we received.

SRM and the providers there really encouraged single embryo transfer due to the high risk nature of a pregnancy with multiples. They also provided us educational resources regarding the risks and benefits of each option.

She seemed knowledgeable and compassionate when I met with her. I always had lots of questions, and those questions were answered. I did not get pregnant, but I never felt that was due to poor treatment.

Make sure to schedule an appointment specifically with the doctor if/when there are major questions -- the support staff are amazing with the day-to-day, so it's easy to forget that the doctor is there to talk about the major treatment options.

There were no indications of infertility (other than age), so we started with unmedicated IUI treatments for the first few months. When those did not work, I added letrozole for a couple of months. After meeting with Dr. Cho, we decided to add fertility injections (keeping the letrozole as well) and a trigger shot before the IUI.

My insurance was good at the time, so costs were manageable. Even copays were in the hundreds of dollars, however, so it did cost a lot of money -- without insurance, I assume this would be extremely expensive.

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Dr. Cho was always positive but always realistic with explanations. She was compassionate but didn't sugar coat the realities, risks, and expectations. She provided statisycs as well as her expert opinions when needed in a helpful manner. I wish she could have been my OB throughout my entire pregnancy.

Ask the hard questions, understand where you as a specific patient fall with regards to realistic expectations and outcomes.

IUI with clomid x5 cycles- Dr. Cho recommended IVF sooner but we wanted to ensure a good try with IUI. IVF with ICSI - x2 fresh cycles - cycle 1 wasn't as successful with retrieval as we hoped. This resulted with a chemical and 1 frozen. I did an immediate 2nd cycle making changes to simulation medications with a much more successful retrieval with a successful fresh transfer and multiple frozen embryos.

$30,000 for a fresh IVF with ICSI. This included medications.

My nurses and techs would relay to Michelle any concerns and she would call or email me right away and address everything. She would recommend the next course of treatment or testing but would always let us be in the driver's seat of the decision. She is so compassionate and her bedside manner was exceptional, especially when she had to consult us after our first successful round during the ultrasound that the baby no longer had a heartbeat. She checked in with us often during our short stop of treatment and was our biggest cheerleader for the next treatments. We successfully got pregnant on our last round of IUI before having to move onto IVF. I appreciated her honesty that we needed to move on for a better chance of getting pregnant if the treatment didn't work this time, especially since we were paying completely out of pocket.

Ask questions. She is a wealth of knowledge and helps you understand everything.

over 10,000

Dr Cho was informative at the consultation, but that is the only time I have seen her. She cared about my history and listened to my concerns. However, Dr Cho did not cover in the consultation that she would not see me for follow ups, or be the one to do the IUI.

My advice would be to ask more questions regarding the procedures. Be sure to ask who does the procedures and what she recommends if the procedures fails. Does she ever do the procedures?

I did three days of Femara and an Ovidrel injection, followed with an IUI. We have been trying for 2 years and this was her first recommendation.

This is still pending insurance, which won’t cover anything, but estimated $1000 for one IUI

She’s very informative and answers all your questions honestly without giving you false hopes. She remembers you and what treatments you’ve done. She made me feel welcomed and provided us care and information during our loss.

You are in great hands, be ready for bumps in the road but Dr. Cho will guide you through it.

First 2 IUIs failed and after requesting a more aggressive approach she agreed without hesitation and it worked, although it ended at 8 weeks she saw me through it.

Each IUI after insurance cost us approximately $350 with medications. Insurance has covered labs and ultrasounds.

Dr Cho was always real, she didn’t sugar coat anything to make me feel better. She has always given me real expectations and explained why things were important to my case. She offered her opinion but also respected my thoughts and opinions as well. Dr. Cho has her own personal experience with fertility which brings I believe more understanding and trust with the patient. She has helped me Feel at peace with treatment.

Don’t wait so long doing IUI. If it doesn’t work after 2, move on

Dr Cho from the initial consultation on a piece of paper the different routes and steps throughout the fertility we would be taking and in non technical ways explained everything step by step. She was very knowledgeable about anything and everything we had questions about.

If you wish to see her you missy book in advance a few weeks she is usually booked.

She said first we try and help you ovulate with meds with specific dosages. If assisted ovulation doesn't work we will try usually 3 rounds of iui with medications and if that doesn't work we will try off a bit more invasive with ivf. But throughout we will do different ultrasounds like hsg and amh bloodwork and do genetic screening etc.

Everything usually went through insurance and bills later popped up in mail. Although a prepayment was made before the IVF treatment.

I feel like every Dr will scare you with saying there are high risk multiples I wanted to do 2 embryo transfer and went back and forth with 2 or 1 FET . She didn't explain what the Risk were for transferring two embryos instead of two because my husband agreed to transferring one embryo at the off consultation. I was kind of bummed that I was the one going through all the Is not my husband just because she preferred and my husband agreed to one embryo transfer doesn't mean I was agreeing with her.

Dr.Cho explained treatment options and answered all my questions in thorough manner referring to ongoing scientific research. She was candid and honest about the treatment outcomes and was flexible in changing the treatment course based on our previous cycle results. I felt like she always suggested/ recommended what’s best for me.

Ask questions and express your concerns if you have any, because Dr.Cho definitely answers all your questions and she is very much open to discussing other available options to ease your concerns.

I had really nice experience while working with her. She was super supportive and very much involved in our case. She was explaining all things in detail with pros and cons of the treatment. She helped us to create detailed treatment plan.

Nothing particular she is very good. It’s just that patient should be open with her and explain her all their issues in advance so that she can help to create proper treatment plan.

I immediately felt comfortable with Dr. Cho. She has a warm friendly nature and is very good at explaining things in a way you will understand. I feel that she genuinely wants what's best for myself and my husband in our journey and helps us decide what next steps we need to take.

Go for it. I was recommended by a college to go see her and was so glad I listened.

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Estimated IVF cycle to be around $17,000

Makes sure you are aware they recommend single embryo transfer to begin, but also are willing to discuss why multiple could work foe you.

She is very clear in her communication. She was always well prepared for our visits, had all the data at hand, walked us through her observations, conclusions and recommendations clearly and thoroughly. She was warm and friendly always, supportive when things went awry and celebrated with us when they went well. She did our embryo transfer herself, and it felt like just the best way to end a successful cycle.

Ask her anything you'd like to clarify - she always clarified things for us.

Dr. Cho thoroughly explained everything to us, laid our our treatment plan, and supported us throughout the process. We met with her three times and each time she was personable, funny, caring, and really listened. I would say the only “weakness” for us was that she frequently recommended IVF when we told her we won’t be able to for a year or two.

Write down your questions before your visit because she is great at answering them!

We started with Letrozole at a low dose for 5 days. Each round we did (5) we increased the dosage/went to 7 days. And also added in Dexamethasone. When I didn’t ovulate she had me do a round of Chlomid which also didn’t work. Then we did a 20 day cycle of menopur injections. Also didn’t ovulate. We met with Dr. Cho again and she said to try something different- nutritionist and ovasitol. I also added in fertility acupuncture. I recently had a period so we are doing another cycle of Letrozole and if that doesn’t work we will do another cycle of injections.

Expensive. After insurance we have paid over $3000 not including medicine.

I know she has a strong preference to a single egg. She frequently talks about not wanting multiples and cancelling a cycle if there are multiple eggs growing.

Dr Cho is not only.an exceptional doctor but human being. Her kind and calm manner made going through the difficulties of infertility feel almost normal. She knows how to deliver hard news with a positive upside and made sure that the great news was celebrated . I have and will continue to recommend Dr. Cho to anyone that has reproductive needs.

Be open and honest, there is no such thing as a silly question. Dr Cho will always give you respect and make you feel a part of the whole process.

After our consultation Dr. Cho advised we should try a couple cycles of IUI. We scheduled our IUI and I was prescribed clomid. After the negative pregnancy test from the IUI Dr Cho recommended we do IVF with ICSI due to my depleted egg count and my husband's low count/low motility sperm. She had my husband schedule with a fertility urologist to evaluate his sperm. His dr advised it was genetic and unfortunately was not a candidate for any treatment. We went ahead and scheduled IVF. Due to an estrogen producing uterine fibroid I had to go on birth control to suppress the fibroid. Once my estrogen levels were good I started a cycle of injections. Follistim 300 IU and 150 IU Menopur daily. Then Cetrotide .25 mg daily half way through cycle. Followed by the HCG trigger shot.

We were blessed to have insurance who paid for one treatment of IVF. We maybe had a total out of cost of $1000. The medications needed were the most expensive part of the treatment and used almost the entirety of our benefits. Seattle Reproductive would have been very cost effective if we were to have paid out of pocket.

Prior to our egg retrieval Dr. Cho felt that we would be lucky to have 1-2 viable eggs. At that time we opted to have 2 eggs placed if that's all we would get, however reserved the right o change our minds at the time of implantation. The day of implantation our emryologyst advised that we did have 2 healthy embryos that were identical in shape, size and blastocyst. After discussion we opted to have 1 embryo transferred and 1 frozen for a later date to risk the chance of multiples and have healthier pregnancies.

You will notice Dr.Cho is a very heartwarming and trustworthy one once you talk to her. She listened to me and understood my struggles. Respect my natural cycle rather than asking me to take birth control pills. She suggested a different approach when we failed.

Nothing

Spontaneous natural cycle with fresh embryo transfer without PGT except if there is more than one biopsy level embryo the rest embryos go to PGT. We used the maximum dose of the drug for the stimulation and the number of the retrieved eggs was great. However, the fresh transfer failed and the two biopsy level embryos couldn't pass the PGT.

I don't have enough experience since I mostly asked through the portal and they called me back.