Worth it to switch to SGF?

[Anonymous]

I'm a current patient at GW with Dr. Humm and we love her. We are considering following her to SGF. For those who have gone to SGF, do you think it would be worth it to follow a specific doctor? Would we really keep seeing/consulting with Dr. Humm, or would we just see whichever dr was on call for procedures (pretty used to that at GW right now)? FWIW, when/if we switch we'd also be doing IVF for the first time (have only done IUIs so far at GW).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a current patient at GW with Dr. Humm and we love her. We are considering following her to SGF. For those who have gone to SGF, do you think it would be worth it to follow a specific doctor? Would we really keep seeing/consulting with Dr. Humm, or would we just see whichever dr was on call for procedures (pretty used to that at GW right now)? FWIW, when/if we switch we'd also be doing IVF for the first time (have only done IUIs so far at GW).

I left Dr. Humm at GW for SGF and it was a great choice primarily because SGF has a better lab, which matters a lot for IVF. If you switch, you’ll also have access to SGF’s financial options like shared risk, which is a huge benefit if you are self pay. SGF does do something’s a bit differently. You’ll rarely see a doctor for monitoring but the ultrasound techs are very good and give you the same info. Also you’ll see who ever is on call for procedures, but Dr. Humm would be reviewing your results every day and making your treatment decisions. You also have to go to Rockville for ERs and transfers but can do everything else at k St. Its a bit of pain to go to Rockville, but the facility there is very nice. Overall it’s a bigger place so things are a little less personal, but I had a great experience. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

When I went to SGF I had the same nurse for all the monitoring appointment and she even helped me figure a way to save money on the IVF drugs. I did switch doctors there and the one I ended up with (Dr. Levens) was very good. I did not have him for every procedure, but he did some of them and he was the one making decisions about my protocol. He always called me personally with updates. So I felt that there was continuity in care. We have DS1 thanks to him.

[Anonymous]

No! Run far away. Those doctors are incompetent. I had Dr. Levens and he failed to diagnose hypothyroidism - you won’t get pregnant with TSH OVER 4. He never changed a single thing in 6 IUI cycles and I left after that. Doing the same thing that clearly wasn’t working was a waste of my time and money. None of my friends have had a positive experience there. You have to fight for everything you want.

[Anonymous]

Curious where you switched to? Scheduled for a SGF next week as I'm frustrate with my current fertility office and about to finish my last IUI

[Anonymous]

SG is like the Walmart of fertility clinics.

[Anonymous]

where are you at instead? I'm at a small- 4 doctor practice where my dr. does each ultrasound... he's great but the office is disorganized hot mess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SG is like the Walmart of fertility clinics.

+1

This is the perfect description. Best thing I ever did was leave SG (not that they wanted me as a patient, they tried to push me out because I had a bad diagnosis and they only care about their stats). Succeeded on my first IVF cycle at CFA.

[Anonymous]

I went to SGF for a fairly uncomplicated case. 38yo husband had low count otherwise unexplained. We did our monitoring at one of the satellite office which felt more personal. Rockville felt more like a factory but at the end of they day we were successful which greatly impacts my opinion. From what I’ve gathered if you respond to their treatment template you’ll be fine there. If your case is more complex I’d probably look somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a current patient at GW with Dr. Humm and we love her. We are considering following her to SGF. For those who have gone to SGF, do you think it would be worth it to follow a specific doctor? Would we really keep seeing/consulting with Dr. Humm, or would we just see whichever dr was on call for procedures (pretty used to that at GW right now)? FWIW, when/if we switch we'd also be doing IVF for the first time (have only done IUIs so far at GW).

It sort of depends which SG practice you go to. I went to the Annapolis practice which is amazing. I monitored a couple of times in DC and that was not great. It definitely felt factory like.

[Anonymous]

Great experience with SGF, switched from another practice. I thought the quality of the egg retrieval and return at the lab seemed top notch - a benefit of being an assembly line is that the staff just seemed super experienced at those procedures. Monitoring at K st was easy, and going to Rockville once in a while is manageable.

[Anonymous]

Where did you switch from? currently at CFA and love my dr but dislike managing my own care

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:where are you at instead? I'm at a small- 4 doctor practice where my dr. does each ultrasound... he's great but the office is disorganized hot mess

I know that this is CCRM! this is exactly how I would have described them. Don't know if they've grown too quick or what's going on. I'm looking to do the next cycle and weary of going with them again - but also like Dr. Payson. Now consulting with other places in state (SGF) and our of state (RMA NJ) to figure out where I want to go.

[Anonymous]

I’m thinking that it really depends on your case but we had a fabulous experience at SGF (K street & Rockville). My husband and I were so nervous about the IVF process, worried about so many things but they really set our mind at ease and we were able to let them focus on the best path, and our DD is the result after one try. So I can’t say a bad thing about them. I wish you luck on your journey, stay positive.

[Anonymous]

We also had a good experience at SGF Rockville. The quality of the lab is important for success.