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Need second opinion and don't know which clinic to turn to next....
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Anonymous
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We are thinking about getting a second opnion after so many failed attempts at both IUI and IVF. We can't decide between Shady Grove (Annandale) or Dominion Fertility. I know there are lots of opinions out there, but if you changed clinics after some failed attempts, I'd love to hear from you about why/how you picked your second clinic.
We don't need a doctor to hand-hold us. We've been through them all. I want a straight shooter who is not condescending who will do what he can to help but be honest with us about when it is time to stop. That all being said, I love my current RE, don't want to leave him and believe in my gut this is just a matter of continuing to try, but you never know... |
Anonymous
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you might get better advice if you give us more info: What have you tried so far? What have been the results? How old are you?
That said, i'd just do a consult at both places -- they are pretty different so I would guess you'll know which one is right for you. In my opinion though, if you've had multiple failed IVFs, I wouldn't waste my time/money at another local clinic. I'd call in the big guns if you can afford it -- CCRM or Cornell. |
Anonymous
Agreed -I feel like CFA, SG, and DF all have their own approached, and similar outcomes. Six of one, half dozen of another. As PP said, if you are seeing multiple failures, go for a consult at CCRM or Cornell. |
Anonymous
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Original Poster here - We're at CF right now and LOVE our doctor there. 4 failed IUIs, 1 failed fresh IVF cycle (15 eggs retrieved, 8 embryos, 1 transferred at Day 5, 4 frozen), and 2 failed frozen transfers. We have no more embryos left because 2 didn't make it through the thawing process at the first frozen transfer. In addition, due to a cervical issue, we only transfer one embryo at a time.
I did acupuncture with the fresh cycle. I'm 35 - will be 36 in the spring. And I am looking for a therapist in the Alexandria, Arlington, Capitol Hill area to deal with the emotional issues (some sort of anti-anxiety drug may help me relax and thus assist a new cycle work, who knows.) I believe in our doc at CF and I believe him when he says it is just a matter of time and continuing to try. However, we've spent a heck of a lot of money and I'm not getting any younger. Plus we have NO idea why these aren't working. We have no male factors and my HSG showed one tube blocked, but we think it was a spasm rather than a true blockage. At our next CF consult, we'll ask about other tests we can run on me to figure out what is happening. We just don't know what to do any more and the money is starting to run out. |
Anonymous
| Where are you located? I went to Dr. Marci Krop Cook in Reston and can't say enough nice things about her. She's a solo practice, which i liked as opposed to the "baby factory" mentality. A lot of people will say there's "oh the office/lab won't be open when you need it." Not true. (I went in the middle of the big snowstorm.) I never bothered with the baby factories, and after hearing about everyone's complaints, I'm glad I didn't. And not that SG et al aren't great facilities, but I needed and wanted a more personal touch. And Dr. Cook is great -- she's very honest and direct and has good bedside manner. |
Anonymous
What are her success rates? |
Anonymous
| CCRM does all kinds of genetic tests on the embryo/egg that may help since you can only transfer one (unfortunately it is expensive) |
Anonymous
| Dr Widra at Shady Grove is definitely a straight-shooter, which I really appreciated. If you search on this forum you'll find some negative impressions of him as well for being so blunt, but I really liked his to-the-point blunt analysis. |
Anonymous
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We changed from a local clinic to St. B's back when the biggest of guns was there -- Dr. Sable. Though he has since retired I don't think it matters as much as St. B's lab. Best in the world -- the doctors all meet in committee to decide protocol so its not like you must have one in particular (though I heartily recommend Dr. Chen or Cekleniak) -- what you really need is their lab. FWIW, CF did my initial blood tests and ultrasounds until St. B's wanted me onsite. After multiple IUIs and multiple IVFs, St. B's got me pregnant, kept me pregnant and today I have kids running around elem. school.
I also think CCRM is great. I also consulted with them before opting for St. B's. You can have your medical file copied and sent to them and they will do a consult over the phone for a small fee (or relatively small considering the cost of IVF!). They schedule these pretty quickly (as opposed to St. B's where it takes a while to get your first appointment and to get on their cycling calendar) probably because they know it is a difficult leap to get people to travel there for cycling. Can't remember who I consulted with there but I do recall that even though my case seemed hopeless here it seemed banal to him, a good sign in IVF world. Best of luck. If you think you should change then I must urge you to listen to yourself -- if you *think so* it probably is actually an imperative. |
Anonymous
Where is St. B's? I've never heard of it, but am now very interested. |
Anonymous
| Another vote for CCRM. We failed miserably at CFA. I too had embryos that didn't make it past the thawing process at CFA. Everyone was puzzled b/c I'm young and our only known issue at that time was male factor. Just as previous poster said, you can have your records sent to CCRM and they can do a phone consult over the phone. We learned so much and specific areas were identified for us just after the consult. That alone, gave us much hope. I happy to report that I am 20 weeks pregnant with twins thanks to CCRM. Everything about CCRM is far superior to CFA. The lab quality and the doctors' knowledge of the latest techniques is what sets it apart. |
Anonymous
How much did your cycle at CCRM cost? Thanks! |
Anonymous
My insurance (thank God) covers IVF up to $10k so my out of of pocket cost was around $3500 in addition to the $1000 deposit CCRM needs to get everything going after diagnostic testing. CCRM is in network for United Health, otherwise they accept very few insurance plans. Open enrollment is not too far away, maybe you can switch to United if your employer or spouse's employer offers it. Diagnostic testing should be covered by your plan so that should reduce your out of pocket cost. Also, their initial consult fee is something like $250 or $350, my insurance covered that too. The ladies in the billing office are very nice and will be happy to answer any questions regarding pricing. I think I recall seeing somewhere that if you have some to no insurance coverage, package costs were $11,000, $15,000, $18,000,or $23,000 depending upon what you are having done. I could be wrong, so double check me on that. |
Anonymous
| OP here - Is CCRM the place in Colorado? Holy crapola. I've already spent $20K here, there is no way we could do that whole out-of-state thing. Do people really do that with all the docs we have here in DC??? |
Anonymous
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CCRM is that place in Colorado.
I had consults with GW, DF and SG and ended up at SG for 3 cycles with Dr Widra. All 3 were dismal failures - nothing to freeze, embryos looked crappy, etc. I decided I had the mental/financial resources left for one more cycle and decided that I needed to go to a top clinic or I'd always wonder what might have been. I did a cycle at Cornell. It was terrifying (and expensive) to put my life on hold for 2 weeks to go up there but there was a night and day difference between the clinics and the results. Instead of only one ugly embryo remaining for a day 3 transfer, I had many embyos that looked great. We transferred two of them and I am now 34 weeks pregnant with twins. I wish you the best no matter what you decide. |