Dr. Widra or Dr. Levy? SG Rockville or DC?

[Anonymous]

I love Dr Widra. He helped us to get a baby when I have no hope.

[Anonymous]

Saw all the SG docs mentioned and a few others in my 4 failed IVF cycles, but found none of them were able to find the right protocol for me so we moved on to another clinic.

[Anonymous]

I had a very bad experience with Dr. Widra. I was in the office for my first appointment, and my OBGYN hadn't managed to send my bloodwork despite many calls from me AND the front desk nurse at SG (grrrr, another post altogether). Nevertheless, Dr. Widra felt that he had enough information to make a full diagnosis of PCOS and come up with a full plan of treatment. I said, yes, but I think I just had a complete cycle, with ovulation and a period - his response: well that must have been a anovulatory period. He had a COMPLETE lack of interest in hearing what I actually thought was going on with my body, despite having ABSOLUTELY NO clear medical evidence to the contrary.

My fault in part for not figuring out how to get my bloodwork to him, but I was completely offended by the way I felt like he treated me. Plus, I was just then coping with discovering that I was infertile, and his attitude was so shocking and unpleasant... it's been six months since then and I haven't managed to be able to see another RE. It put me off of medical treatments altogether - at least for a while. Reality is now striking but I will not be going to Shady Grove, that's for sure.

[Anonymous]

I had success with Dr. Widra. He was very optimistic about my chances when I had just come to him after another doctor made me feel bad about my age at 37. I would not say he is not compassionate - just maybe not a hand holder. I really liked him, the way he treated me, feel he is very knowledgeable, and recommend him highly to anyone on this board. He is a great RE.

[Anonymous]

I am newly pregnant after my first IVF thanks to Dr Levy, so of course I'm a big fan. Great bedside manner. Took the time to talk through our situation and options.

I also really like the senior sonogram tech there (who I saw a LOT, so it was great that she was always so sweet at 7 in the morning) the nurses I dealt with and the finance woman.

I live in Bethesda and the only hassle was heading back down 270 after my appointments. But otherwise super convenient. Also nice that they have a pharmacy downstairs that specializes in fertility meds. OH, and Pulling Down the Moon is in the same building, so I was able to easily arrange acupuncture appointments for important days (if you're at all interested in that).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do Widra's patients have such opposing views. I'm going to D.C. and I'm going to meet with Osborne becuase I would like a female dr, but I hear I will mustsee all the REs at D.c.

I like Widra a lot and I credit him with a successful IVF. He is about the science and the process and perhaps is not the best hand-holder, I agree. But I did feel that he was the best doctor so if I needed hand-holding I got that elsewhere. On Dr. Osborne, she was not my primary doc but I did see her probably 5-6x within a short period of time and she never got my name right. I go by a nickname (so if my name for instance is Abagail but I go by Abby or Elizabeth but I go by Libby) and no matter how many times I corrected her and I know it was on the first page of my chart too, she never got it right and that really bugged me. I could excuse the lack of hand holding from Widra but he was impersonal. Not knowing my name made me think she didn't read the chart, paid no attention to details, didn;t think it was important -- whatever the case may be -- I know they see a lot of patients but if someone corrected me multiple times, I would remember.

[Anonymous]

PP 12:04 I had a similar experience with Dr Widra, he was very arrogant and condescending, and I think the positive comments on this board are generated by the SGF marketing department.

[Anonymous]

I am definitively not with the SG marketing department....

I saw Dr Levy and found him to be very caring and optimistic. I had success 2x with him and am forever grateful.

I'd pick the office based on convenience factor. All of the doctors I saw at SG were excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP 12:04 I had a similar experience with Dr Widra, he was very arrogant and condescending, and I think the positive comments on this board are generated by the SGF marketing department.

I wonder if the patients who were disappointed with Dr. Widra have unrealistic expectations about the doctor-patient relationship. I'm certainly not the first patient the SG publicity department will want to call at any point for a feel-good story about this process. I've had a very difficult time -- although none of these challenges were in any way due to Dr. Widra's role. As far as I can tell, he's the best RE in the SG practice and area -- a clinician who's handled an enormous patient caseload over many years, while also keeping up with every research area in the field. Given his superior expertise, it seems to me that it's in the patient's interest to figure out a way to establish a good working relationship, so you can benefit from his supervision of your case.

Has anyone here read [i]How Doctors Think[i]? It touches on the patient's responsibilities in the relationship. I'm sure all doctors are very smart, but Dr. Widra is just very, very quick and sharp and doesn't strike me as the type to "suffer fools gladly" -- although I've seen him try to be patient and I'm sure he does work on that. Given how many patients he sees each week and month, it's probably best to lower expectations and help make the most of each meeting or exchange by writing down specific questions and asking for clarification if he goes too quickly. It must be easier for doctors if the patient is prepared and seems willing to do some homework reading from credible sources.

Re. the previous comments about the hand-holding. I don't know what the posters above have experienced with their other doctors or what they think they're missing out out on. I really, really like Dr. Widra. If he weren't my doctor, I'd totally go have a beer with him (if I drank) -- but he is my doctor, so I focus on the expertise he can provide. I think Dr. Widra at times shows a lot of compassion in his own way and does get invested in the process. Boundaries are important too, though, and after a while maintaining them must be kind of automatic for doctors. I can't imagine being an RE for decades without them.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I just had our first appointment with Dr. Widra. We both really liked him. He was very nice, straightforward and didn't talk down to us at all. However, we had already been through 3 IVF cycles elsewhere and were coming to SG for donor egg. He was very compassionate about what we had already been through. He was very upbeat about our chances of success with a donor egg. I have no idea if I would have had a different impression had we said we wanted to try one more round at SG with my own eggs. He was honest about the fact that at 42, my eggs are probably spent but that there was no reason I couldn't have a perfectly healthy pregnancy and baby. He was also honest about the fact that even with donor eggs that it may not happen on the first try but that over 3 cycles that we would more than likely have a baby.

[Anonymous]

I was referred to Dr. Widra by the doctor who has been my Internist for the past 10 years. She referred me to Dr. Widra because he helped her get pregnant. I think it is a great sign of a good doctor when other (Washingtonian Top Doctors) use them. Dr. Widra seems very competent and I actually appreciate his manner. He's not touchy-feely but in my experience most doctors aren't. Any hand-holding I may need is my husband's job. Dr. Widra didn't come off at all arrogant to me, I'm actually surprised to read that in previous posts.
Although I've just started the IUI process (my first treatment will be next week), I finally feel confident that at the end of this journey I'll have a baby.
* BTW I do not work for the SGF marketing dept

[Anonymous]

I saw Dr. Widra a few years ago (ok , the baby is now 4, so 5 years ago). I thought he was fine, even nice. It took a few nurses to get one I could work with.

I'd make the choice based on logistics. Do you work downtown? If so, it is really nice to be able to just walk over to the SG from your office. If you don't work downtown, then Rockville is prob. better b/c there is parking etc. and you don't have to deal with going downtown.

Also, remember for IUIs your partner needs to show up in the office for "deposits", so think about where he works too. IVF is going to get done out in Rockville either way.

[Anonymous]

Late to this thread but I saw this and want to weigh in. Dr. Widra holds a very special place in my family's heart, as we are now pregnant with our third child because of his work. I never thought of him as not being compassionate before reading this thread, but I suppose I see why people have that impression, which I personally think is inaccurate. For us, I thought his straightforward approach was very compassionate. He always gave us very clear answers and set very clear expectations for us, but was never condescending. I personally didn't want someone who was overly warm and fuzzy, but I wanted someone who I thought was level headed and could keep us level headed in the process. And because he was generally pretty matter of fact, his moments when he was visibly happy for us or sad with us were that much more special for us. Now that we are done having children (assuming all continues to go well with this pg), I can say I was honestly sad to think we would potentially never see Dr. Widra again.

[Anonymous]

i went exclusively to the rockville office (i live in SS), and had a great experience. really nice staff, efficiently run, got results very timely, etc. i know you've narrowed it down to two docs, but i want to just add one more to the mix: Dr. Doyle in rockville. he's fantastic. can't say enough good things about him. kind, patient, understanding, smart, skilled. we're newly pregnant on our first IVF try with him. he's wonderful, as is his nurse, Azure. Dr. Widra did my ER and was obviously good at what he does. he barely said two words to me beforehand, which was fine with me, but some might find it off-putting. Dr. Doyle has wonderful bedside manner - like i said, can't say enough good things. good luck!

[Anonymous]

If you want to get preganant I would not worry that this doc or that doc is not a comapssionate hand-holder. What you need is someone who is a good doctor and it really is all about the science of it. I am a long-time patient of Dr. Widra's and he is incredibly competent. When I wanted hand-holding I went to my mom, my husband, my best friend but not my doctor. You can get your BW done in Rockville (no fee to park) but make the trip to DC for Widra.