Shahab Minassian

Dr. Minassian is incredibly knowledgeable on all aspects of the fertility journey. From day one he told me he suspected it was MFI but we would do all of the necessary steps to make sure I wasn’t an issue as well. All of my previous doctors told me to not bother getting tested, so I had a growing anxiety that something may have been wrong with me. Dr Minassian truly cared about getting to the bottom of the issue. He asked me what were my goals and then got right to work. He wasted no time in getting my tests done and moving on to my egg retrieval. He made sure to review my blood work every single day, and to call me and let me know that my reserve looked great and I was on a good path. He called me and explained the entire IVF and PGT testing in depth and really made me feel respected and appreciated. I am so thankful to him and know I am in the right hands once my transfer finally comes around.

Do your research and go in with questions. He doesn’t hesitate to answer questions, you are better off asking things you may be unsure of. The entire IVF process is daunting, and it’s better to ask a trusted professional then just be left in the dark.

Due to my age and my fertility health, we did standard protocol. My baseline follicle count showed 21(age 32) and I had no endometriosis or any blood work issues, my tubes were open. We concluded it was MFI and so I did 150 units of menopur and follostim every night, I started ganirelix on day 5 of my cycle. He originally suggest that I use pregnyl as my trigger shot but upon seeing my blood work results closer to trigger shot time, he suggested changing it to Lupron because my estrogen levels were around 4300. He made sure to have my nurse explain to me why we were switching to lupron and that it would leave my system quicker. Upon egg retrieval day, we got 18 eggs and 15 of them were mature, so I would say the protocol was very successful and right in line with what he wanted. 9 of those eggs were fertilized(again, mfi so im grateful that any of them did) and 4 of them became day 5 blastocysts with 1 day 7 blast(5 total) they are currently out for PGT testing.

Scheduling monitoring appointments was really easy. This office runs so smooth and knows exactly what they are doing, I never had to wait very long at all. I would schedule them usually first thing in the morning and be in and out within a half hour with blood work and ultrasound done each time. They would call me each afternoon to go over results after Dr Minassian reviewed.

I had to pay for everything out of pocket. Unfortunately my insurance did not cover anything, but Dr Minassian did specifically ask me about my insurance when I went in for my consult. As a previous medical office employee, I’ve never had a doctor take my insurance into consideration at all so this was a nice surprise. I did receive a main line fertility discount for my prescription meds because I used their pharmacy. This is not a doctors office problem but an insurance problem. Insurance needs to take fertility a lot more seriously so that women of all kinds can have the chance to have a family of their own.

No comments yet as I am not yet at that stage

Dr. Minnassian was often very blunt and I feel did not do a good job of explaining everything to me. When I did question things it seemed to be swept under the rug and I felt like I didn’t know what I was talking about so my thoughts were not considered. He often seemed rushed and in 2 years only felt like we had two good conversations.

Do your own research and be an advocate for yourself. If it doesn’t feel right don’t agree to it.

We only did one cycle of clomid and trigger shot with him because he would not allow us to move forward. He was very intent on treating my endometritis (infection in uterus) with very heavy antibiotics and multiple biopsies. He felt that this was the only reason I was not getting pregnant and once we cleared it up we would have no issues

We have a $1500 deductible and a $50 copay every time I saw him

Dr. Minassian is a good & kind hearted doctor. He seems to want what’s best for his patients. Dr. Minassian answers the questions as best as he can and like any doctor, sometimes they don’t have the answers you are looking for. I have felt like nuisance once when I needed to call him over a weekend but later he apologized after checking my circumstance out. During my transfers, he seems rushed but I know that timing means everything.

Make sure to ask all the questions you want answered and listen closely because he does seem to talk fast and it’s okay to ask for a repeat. He cares what you have to say and he does his best to answer you. Be patient because he does run late for appointments sometimes so make sure you schedule enough time between jobs and other activities.

I had a laparoscopy from a previous doctor before Shahab to diagnose me with Stage 1 Endometriosis through an Endometrioma and she didn’t write too much for Minassian to go off of to start with us. He recommended another laparoscopy to see what he was dealing with. After the laparoscopy, we did a lot of blood work to check hormone levels. My husband had a couple semen analysis after some things were found wrong with him and Dr Minassian had my husband start on Vitamin E, CoQ10 & Selenium. We were told that IVF would be the best option for us. Through much blood work & testing I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and my prolactin levels were a bit high. I was told I have low egg quality & Ovarian Reserve. We have had a few set backs & all but we have accepted them because reality is infertility sucks! We started IVF last April 2017. We had our first transfer last May with two frozen embryos and a pregnancy did not occur. August 2017 we had our 2nd transfer with one frozen embryo. It resulted with a low HCG level. The numbers did not increase but lowered. I consider it an early miscarry because I felt the cramping & back pain when the little one was implanting. One of my babies was transferred, it’s still a life. I hate the term “chemical pregnancy.” It’s still losing a life. Dr. minassian wanted to do a Mock transfer to see how progesterone was affecting my body, we did get some results to know how much progesterone I needed, so that’s good I guess. We were planning to start back January 2018 but our clinic is temporarily closed due to an inconvenience on their end with much confusion on our end. We are still currently waiting to hear back from them. We have two frozen embryos left.

My monitoring appts have been mainly for our IVF & transfer treatments. Usually they are scheduled for a particular time. I have a good job that works with my treatments and has not been an issue. Sometimes I need to go in for a random appt but they have been pretty good with setting them up when it conveniences me.

Insurance doesn’t cover anything, we have to pay out of pocket. The costs are expensive as we knew it would be before starting any type of treatments. They have worked with us for payments and such. Everything is expensive.

Dr. Minassian said that he prefers to do single embryo transfers only due to the high possibility of multiples. My husband and I made a plan before going into IVF so that we don’t drain our bank accounts. We are okay with the decisions that he stuck to. We plan to do two embryos for the last round in future.

The doctor focused on invasive diagnostic procedures instead of interventions to assist with conception. He also failed to explain how one test would lead to missing an entire cycle.

Go to another provider. I had much better success after one cycle with the fertility center.

I stopped going to this doctor after he kept focusing on endometriosis when there was no evidence for this. Rather than start me on medication or appropriate interventions, he kept trying to do more tests even though nothing showed up. Testing is useful to a point but not when valuable cycles are being lost for no good reason.

Costs seemed consistent with rates in this area.

He was very helpful in understanding what was happening. And he also helped us to decide on a plan for us to have a child. It took a little bit for all the bloodwork to come back, but when it did we got our diagnosis and we moved forward.

Everything takes time, so be patient if you want the best treatment. It takes time for the test to come back, and even though you want it right now, it works better when you have all the answers.

We are in the process of treatment now, so we didn’t get to protocols yet.

We did not have any procedures yet where we needed to be billed. Just office visits covered by insurance.

No comment

A very kind sweet doctor! He worked so hard to figure out exactly what was going to work best for us to have a baby! He was always very attentive and never rushed through appointments! He always showed compassion but in a professional manner!! He always explained things so well, and answered any questions! A very patient doctor!

See him!!! He’s worth any time of travel and time out of your schedule! An older school practice but worth it!

My clinic worked directly with a credit union called diamond credit union. This process was extremely simple to use. We had to go through the credit union in order to apply for a line of credit. Once we were approved the credit union paid our clinic directly. This took any pressure off of us when it came to making sure things were paid for! It was all taken care of prior too!

He was not in a rush-- sat down with me to have an in-depth conversation and answer my questions. He seemed respectful. I have a same-sex partner and he was respectful of that. We only did one IUI because I got pregnant on the first try.

Don't be afraid to ask any questions you want to ask or to ask if something is possible. He is realistic but also reasonable to work with.

We did an unmedicated IUI because that's what I wanted to do. I had no known fertility problems, just needed to do IUI because I have a female partner. He did recommend I take progesterone for the first trimester because I got pregnant while still nursing my first child and so my progesterone levels were a bit low.

I don't remember the specifics. Probably under $1,000.

N/A

He met with my husband & I each time we were there for a good amount of time, gave us ample opportunity to ask questions. Sometimes a bit rough w/ the tools however, some procedures were painful.

Make sure to ask questions

I live about 2 hours from this clinic, they allowed me to have all Bloodwork & ultrasound monitoring at my home obgyn office

Base price $12000, cash customers (no insurance) got 30% discount, so we paid $8400, plus meds which were about $1200

Minassian is extremely to the point and detailed which I liked. He is thorough and thoroughly reviewed by charts and history from my prior fertility doctor. He is not overly compassionate, but very smart.

Be prepared for a surgery to look at your uterus. I feel like this is a standard of his.

Injectables with gonorelix to delay ovulation. No IUI. Multiple rounds, zero results.

Very expensive

He's a little quirky but a pleasure to deal with. He was able to quickly diagnose me with a complication that was completely missed by my previous doctor. He answered all of my questions patiently and made sure I was comfortable before we moved on.

Ask questions!

I had two surgeries to remove blockages. When I conceived my daughter I had taken daily shots and was inseminated with IUI.

The costs were high because my insurance covered nothing.

We like him. He talks everything out with us and answers all of our questions. He has good bedside manner too. Initially the process was scary and stressful and we felt we didnt know what was going on but he explained when we asked. The 2nd IUI was much better and less stressful since we knew what to expect.

He is good.

1st IUI 50mg Clomid 5 days, cycle day 4-9 then ultrasounds and bloodwork until ovulation noted, then trigger shot to release eggs, IUI, then 5 days later booster shot of 1cc hcg, pregnancy beta blood work 14 days after IUI

my insurance covered so we had to pay full deductible out of pocket. We were not allowed to start a new cycle unless the balance was $500 or less. I had to pay 900 and another time 700 out of pocket and without knowing i would need to pay that amount the day of the appointment

We didnt have that.

Dr Minassian easily explained all information clearly to us from our initial visit. We left the office each time having a clear understanding of the process and steps to follow. After our first appointment Dr. Minassian reached out to me asking if I had any additional questions after all of the information that was provided. It made us feel cared about and valued as patients.

Develop a list of questions you may have. Dr. Minassian does a very good job at addressing questions and concerns.

Our continued IVF process has been placed on hold due to COVID19 but my process so far has been blood testing and hysteroscopy to complete process for ivf and retrieval

Total so far including labs and hysteroscopy $600

IT was recommended to only perform ivf with single embryo transfer because it was safest for myself and potential child

He was kind but to the point. He expressed his concerns. Gave detailed description of the procedures that need to be done. Treated myself and husband with respect. And at the same time had a sense of humor which made us feel comfortable.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, he will answer to the best of his ability. He's great.

We just had 2 consultations with him. Blood work, semen analysis done. Next up ultra sound and hystroscopy and biopsy.

Friendly, but states things honestly and up front. He always used my name and answered any questions that I had. He made me feel comfortable when I was extremely nervous to have a Male doctor. He has definitely met my expectations and exceeded in excellent patient care

Ask questions and be sure to be involved in the decision process

We did clomid and a trigger shot. Then did an iui. It worked but miscarried

Most of it has been covered by my insurance except my husband's chromosome testing

He mentioned the multiple embryo transfer when we do ivf