Rachel Weinerman

Dr Weinerman has been trying to figure out what’s been going on with me for the longest time. I’ve had a successful pregnancy without even trying and carrying my son to term in 2014. Ever since then, I’m a mystery because my uterus, tubes, labs, etc have all been great. Once my husband and I were able to afford IVF, Dr Weinerman scheduled our egg retrieval and was able to get 16 eggs. At the very end we had 5 embryos ready to go. She guided us to do testing to reveal we had a 4BB male, 3BB male, one a euploid male, one chaotic girl and one low mosaic girl. In January of this year we transferred our 4BB male and it was a success! Until it wasn’t… Everything looked great but something with my body didn’t like it or want it, and next thing you know I miscarried. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. Dr. Weinerman called me to apologize and let us know that she was sorry that it happened. And acknowledged how hard we worked to make it this far and how hard we worked to get it to happen. Dr Weinerman scheduled the other two transfers after we healed but those had failed. We are out of luck now because since we don’t have any insurance coverage, we can’t go through another round even though Dr Weinerman says it’s our best option. Knowing the cost is hindering us from trying again, Dr Weinerman has tried to come up with other alternatives that we could consider moving forward. As we near 40, IVF is our best shot and would love for a chance to have that happen for us. Through this whole process, Dr Weinerman is staying strong for us as well.

I would advise to do your research and ask as many questions to ensure you work along with her to cover all your bases.

We always said that there was a missing puzzle piece with me and we’ve yet to figure out what was missing. Dr Weinerman took it upon herself to try many scenarios and strategies to see if anything fit with helping me get pregnant. We’ve done many ultrasounds, saline ultrasounds, hysteroscopies, we’ve tried to suppress my endometriosis by taking various medications, I’ve had polyp removals, and everything lead for me to go towards IVF. we could have done it sooner but paying for it out of pocket was too much for us until this past year. I transferred one embryo in January which was successful. I miscarried in March and because the embryo was a 4BB we knew the issue was with me. We ran a bunch of blood tests but nothing came up as suspicious. I wanted to try a few more options with my immune system to see if anything was there but Dr Weinerman and her staff I felt like were limited to what they knew what to look for. We tried two more transfers over the summer, 3BB and a low mosaic and neither stuck. We have no clue why. I’d like to continue with tests to find more answers but after our last consultation with Dr Weinerman, there have been no ideas to try out but to try another round of IVF.

Appointments were only scheduled during the week between 6:40am-8:20am. If there weren’t enough technicians at the location closest to me, I had to travel 30-40min to go to the main facility to have my appointment.

The office tried their best to offer generic medications to help with cost. They also went through their own specialty pharmacy to help with costs. Their billing department was upfront with the costs of the IVF procedure or package pricing. When we did the additional transfers, we didn’t know there was an additional cost out of pocket for that procedure and anything else in addition to that.

Before testing the embryos, Dr Weinerman was fine with transferring two due to my age. After testing , we opted for one single embryo transfer.

I have only had contact with Dr. Wienerman twice in person and once over the phone during 6 months of treatment. This seems to be normal though for the clinic. When I did have contact with her she was easy to talk to and laid everything out pretty straightforward. I did ask about immunology testing after my 2nd failed IVF cycle and all she said was that they don’t do that. No recommendations on where to get it done or explanation as to why she wouldn’t think I needed it. That kind of upset me because I really want to cover all bases before transferring my last embryo. Also during treatment, when I wasn’t responding well to the stims I feel like she waited until the last minute to increase my dose and we only ended up with 3 eggs retrieved both times.

Advocate for yourself because they seem to follow a standard protocol.

IVF CYCLE #1: started with BC pills to manipulate my cycle. Began microdose Lupron once my cycle began and continued that until trigger. Stims were Gonal-f 150 twice per day and Menopur 75 once daily. I used HCG trigger. Only had 3 eggs retrieved. 3 fertilied with ICSI. 1 embryo transferred on day 3. The other 2 arrested shortly after day 3. Result- BFN. IVF CYCLE #2: Began clomid on CD5-9. On CD 7 I added Gonal-f 150. A few days before retrieval I used Ganirelix once per day. Triggered with HCG. 3 eggs retrieved, 3 fertilized with ICSI. Transferred 2 on day 3 and froze 1 day 5 embryo. Result: BFN

I had phenomenal insurance so I paid $0 out of pocket for both my IVF cycles besides meds. My meds were less than $1000 with insurance for both cycles. Out of pocket cost for self-pay would be approx $10,000 for a full fresh cycle(not including meds) and $2500 for a FET.

I had no issues when I requested to transfer 2 embryos during my second cycle.

I decided to change physicians to Dr. Weinerman from another doc in the group. Dr. Weinerman entered the picture when I really needed someone who was going to advocate on my behalf. From the first time I spoke to her via phone, she said what I needed to hear and genuinely expressed her apologies for the loss of all of my eggs. She took the time to speak with me and answer my questions at length. I felt that I could be myself, honest and vulnerable with her and that I wouldn't be judged. Dr. Weinerman didn't sugarcoat anything, but she still maintained a warm demeanor, which I also really needed. After talking via phone, she made it a point to meet me during one of my monitoring visits and again spent a substantial amount of time talking with me.

My protocol didn't change with Dr. Weinerman at first. I used follistim, menopur and ganirelix as well as the hcg trigger. I was taking the highest doses and got 8 eggs. For my second cycle with her I asked to alter things and used lupron instead of ganirelix. I got 10 eggs with that cycle.

Monitoring was fine.

I transferred to Dr. Weinerman after struggling with my former clinic because I felt like just a number to them. Dr. Weinerman has provided reassurance and guidance during a stressful time. While my treatment has so far been unsuccessful, Dr. Weinerman has taken time each month to personally call me to talk through our next steps and options. I feel that she is using her best judgement and trust the choices she is making during our fertility journey.

Make sure that you have time set aside to meet with Dr. Rachel Weinerman. My appointments have been longer than expected each time I've seen her because she takes the time to talk through each step of the process.

I saw Dr. Weinerman after I already had one frozen embryo. I had 2 transfers cancelled with a prior doctor because of thin uterine lining and fluid in my lining. Dr. Weinerman prescribed a hormone patch protocol for 2 months to increase my estrogen and thicken my lining. She also suggested a book, The Fertility Diet, and made personal diet suggestions to naturally increase my hormone levels and improve my fertility chances. When the patch protocol did not adequately thicken my lining, Dr. Weinerman prescribed an oral birth control. When again my lining was too thin, Dr. Weinerman suggested a simulated retrieval cycle before my transfer. I am on 150 IU of Menopur nightly and will trigger with HCG. She prescribed Menopur so that I could have a follicle large enough to trigger ovulation and try to trick my uterus into preparing for implantation.

If I had chosen to do a full IVF cycle including retrieval and transfer, the total cost would have been roughly $5000 without medication. The out of pocket cost of an embryo transfer without medication is $2250. Each time I have follicle monitoring and labs, I pay roughly $200 out of pocket.

For my current age of 30, Dr. Weinerman suggested transferring only 1 embryo, though if I did have 2 to transfer, she would be open to discussion.

My doctor took the time to listen to me and go over all of my medical documents together. She helped me understand my new diagnosis and the next steps in the treatment plan. I was diagnosed with PCOS during a thorough ultrasound with her. She helped me understand what it was and what we were going to do about it.

Be honest with you doctor. She will help you! And she listened!

My doctor prescribed medication, metformin to help with insulin resistance. And also vitamin D supplements. I am also taking letrozole 2.5 (x2) cycle day 3-5. With timed intercourse. Hoping this cocktail works for me now! Fingers crossed. I don’t want to have to go through iui or injectables again. But I will, if it comes down to it.

The cost seems to be appropriate with what was being done.

We have not spoken about that yet

Although Dr weinermen took lots of time with us and was very nice she percribed me with too high of a dose of clomid which I even called twice to verify. The clomid made my ovary swell to three times the size and landed me in the hospital. Dr weinermen didn't call me back or seem concerned

She's very nice and smart but make sure your question everything you think you should and write everything down

Dr weinermen started me out on 100mg of clomid for our first iui which I thought was a lot considering I ovulate on my own already she didn't seem concerned about the dose So I took the clomid as persecuted. The clomid made my ovary swell and I ended up in the hospital because she started me at too high of a dose which I told her nurse I was concerned with. Her office wanted me to take 50mg the second iui and I told them I'm only taking 25mg so I did the 25mg Wich I'm glad because our iui was cancelled anyway.

My insurance doesn't cover anything so around 500$

Na

Dr Weinerman is very compassionate and understanding. She is eager to try new treatments and different ideas. However she and her staff are also very eager to use ivf as a treatment and tend to be pushy about it even if the patient is not in a position to use it.

Use an open mind. She is very compassionate and willing to help. She tends to a dress one matter at a time instead of treating the whole thing at once this tends to take time. Be patient!

As with any fertility treatment the cost can be overwhelming. Luckily for most things insurance was able to be used. However the iui's and some medication werw not cover and for that their staff had a person to discuss the cost of treatment and set up a payment plan. They also provided a discount for some procedures that were put of pocket if they were paid in full at the time of services provided.

Dr. Weinerman had a thorough consultation with my husband and I. She then did a transvaginal ultrasound right after the consultation in the same day. Went over three times with me the next procedures. She then ended the visit with a blessing of a successful pregnancy. She had me do a HSG test, she was quick and thorough through the pain and discomfort. The Dr. Explained my results. Set up time for surgery consultation and time frame for surgery. Gave me assurance I have lots of eggs and that it good news. Went over blood results and explain all important information. Extremely helpful. I feel like I am on the right path having Dr. Weinerman as my Doctor.

Listen to the Doctor she knows what she is doing, be patient and stay positive.