Shady Grove vs Weill Cornell (Dr. Davis)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it not as much a SG problem, it's Dr. Widra problem. He is busy, overbooked and not very diligent (in my view).

That said, SG also does Zpack, and daily blood checks before retrievals, it's standard with all doctors, perhaps you just don't remember that?

Cornell is marginally better, but in the end, same type of conveyor belt as SG, only fancier.

Can you share more about your experience at SG and Cornell?

PP here. I didnt have success at either. Cornell protocol with Femara start and low dose stim yielded most eggs. I am not DOR, so i wasnt looking to make more egges, but for at least one embryo to stick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - Did you do any local monitoring?

OP here. Yes, I did most of monitoring at Shady Grove up until day 7/8 of stimming when Cornell insisted that I come to NY. I knew the ropes and it was comfortable, but you can do it anywhere. It was fairly seamless except for one time that Cornell didn't receive the results and we had a fire drill where Cornell doc had to call Shady Grove doc to give him results. Really kind of Shady Grove to do this. One caveat is that I pay for everything OOP, so that is an added cost to be aware of.

New poster here. I switched from SG to Cornell. I did my monitoring at Cornell starting on day 3 or 4 (whenever my estrogen level hit 100 if my memory serves). Davis encouraged me to monitor there. He said that each doctor measures follicles slightly differently so when you are measured by docs at Cornell he can better interpret the results because he knows their quirks. Plus he did my morning monitoring once so that gave me another chance to talk to him and ask Qs. I was also lucky that I could take 2 weeks off work and pay for an airbnb in NYC. After three failed cycles at SG (and my failed I mean I barely had ever one embryo to transfer on day 3) I then had about 4-5 great 8 celled embryos to transfer at Cornell, transferred two and have twins. I was 33 at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - Did you do any local monitoring?

OP here. Yes, I did most of monitoring at Shady Grove up until day 7/8 of stimming when Cornell insisted that I come to NY. I knew the ropes and it was comfortable, but you can do it anywhere. It was fairly seamless except for one time that Cornell didn't receive the results and we had a fire drill where Cornell doc had to call Shady Grove doc to give him results. Really kind of Shady Grove to do this. One caveat is that I pay for everything OOP, so that is an added cost to be aware of.

New poster here. I switched from SG to Cornell. I did my monitoring at Cornell starting on day 3 or 4 (whenever my estrogen level hit 100 if my memory serves). Davis encouraged me to monitor there. He said that each doctor measures follicles slightly differently so when you are measured by docs at Cornell he can better interpret the results because he knows their quirks. Plus he did my morning monitoring once so that gave me another chance to talk to him and ask Qs. I was also lucky that I could take 2 weeks off work and pay for an airbnb in NYC. After three failed cycles at SG (and my failed I mean I barely had ever one embryo to transfer on day 3) I then had about 4-5 great 8 celled embryos to transfer at Cornell, transferred two and have twins. I was 33 at the time.

What do you think made such a difference at Cornell? Had you started taking supplements? If so, do you think that had an impact by the time you reached Cornell? Really curious about why you think you had success at Cornell but not SG.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - Did you do any local monitoring?

OP here. Yes, I did most of monitoring at Shady Grove up until day 7/8 of stimming when Cornell insisted that I come to NY. I knew the ropes and it was comfortable, but you can do it anywhere. It was fairly seamless except for one time that Cornell didn't receive the results and we had a fire drill where Cornell doc had to call Shady Grove doc to give him results. Really kind of Shady Grove to do this. One caveat is that I pay for everything OOP, so that is an added cost to be aware of.

New poster here. I switched from SG to Cornell. I did my monitoring at Cornell starting on day 3 or 4 (whenever my estrogen level hit 100 if my memory serves). Davis encouraged me to monitor there. He said that each doctor measures follicles slightly differently so when you are measured by docs at Cornell he can better interpret the results because he knows their quirks. Plus he did my morning monitoring once so that gave me another chance to talk to him and ask Qs. I was also lucky that I could take 2 weeks off work and pay for an airbnb in NYC. After three failed cycles at SG (and my failed I mean I barely had ever one embryo to transfer on day 3) I then had about 4-5 great 8 celled embryos to transfer at Cornell, transferred two and have twins. I was 33 at the time.

What do you think made such a difference at Cornell? Had you started taking supplements? If so, do you think that had an impact by the time you reached Cornell? Really curious about why you think you had success at Cornell but not SG.

NP. They use lower dose protocol on older patients with Clomid start, same Dr. adjusts your meds based on monitoring - you're a patient of the same dr. In SGF whoever is on duty makes that call, not someone with in-depth knowledge of your previous protocols. I saw Dr. Davis for a consult only, but 2 weeks in advance I sent in at their request all my medical records which he thoroughly reviewed and had follow up questions on. This is not something done in SG, just too much volume of patients, too many doctors, 23 y.o. techs doing monitoring and messing up measurements. If you're an easy case that's probably all fine. If you have unexplained and multiple failures, SG will take your money but will not personalize their approach or think out of the box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - Did you do any local monitoring?

OP here. Yes, I did most of monitoring at Shady Grove up until day 7/8 of stimming when Cornell insisted that I come to NY. I knew the ropes and it was comfortable, but you can do it anywhere. It was fairly seamless except for one time that Cornell didn't receive the results and we had a fire drill where Cornell doc had to call Shady Grove doc to give him results. Really kind of Shady Grove to do this. One caveat is that I pay for everything OOP, so that is an added cost to be aware of.

New poster here. I switched from SG to Cornell. I did my monitoring at Cornell starting on day 3 or 4 (whenever my estrogen level hit 100 if my memory serves). Davis encouraged me to monitor there. He said that each doctor measures follicles slightly differently so when you are measured by docs at Cornell he can better interpret the results because he knows their quirks. Plus he did my morning monitoring once so that gave me another chance to talk to him and ask Qs. I was also lucky that I could take 2 weeks off work and pay for an airbnb in NYC. After three failed cycles at SG (and my failed I mean I barely had ever one embryo to transfer on day 3) I then had about 4-5 great 8 celled embryos to transfer at Cornell, transferred two and have twins. I was 33 at the time.

What do you think made such a difference at Cornell? Had you started taking supplements? If so, do you think that had an impact by the time you reached Cornell? Really curious about why you think you had success at Cornell but not SG.

PP here. I had been taking a prenatal vitamin for years by the time I went to SG or Cornell. right before Cornell I switched to a different pre-natal supplement recommended by the MD at my accunpture place - no other supplements. I also stopped exercising for my cycle at Cornell. But I think most of why I had more success at Cornell is just Dr Davis was much better able to precisely calibrate my meds. At SG I always ended up with follicles of all different sizes. at Cornell they were better able to give me a group follicles that were all about the same size. As another PP noted, at SG it was always random doctors who didn't know my history adjusting my meds. I liked Widra but for each of my 3 cycles, he was on vacation for at least 5 days. Dr Davis only takes vacation when Cornell is closed (each Dec and June) and he was the one reviewing my measurements and labs and adjusting my meds each day. I also did co-culture and that probably helped too. But I think most of it was Dr Davis.

I went here for accupuncture while in NYC.
http://meridianmedical.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - Did you do any local monitoring?

OP here. Yes, I did most of monitoring at Shady Grove up until day 7/8 of stimming when Cornell insisted that I come to NY. I knew the ropes and it was comfortable, but you can do it anywhere. It was fairly seamless except for one time that Cornell didn't receive the results and we had a fire drill where Cornell doc had to call Shady Grove doc to give him results. Really kind of Shady Grove to do this. One caveat is that I pay for everything OOP, so that is an added cost to be aware of.

New poster here. I switched from SG to Cornell. I did my monitoring at Cornell starting on day 3 or 4 (whenever my estrogen level hit 100 if my memory serves). Davis encouraged me to monitor there. He said that each doctor measures follicles slightly differently so when you are measured by docs at Cornell he can better interpret the results because he knows their quirks. Plus he did my morning monitoring once so that gave me another chance to talk to him and ask Qs. I was also lucky that I could take 2 weeks off work and pay for an airbnb in NYC. After three failed cycles at SG (and my failed I mean I barely had ever one embryo to transfer on day 3) I then had about 4-5 great 8 celled embryos to transfer at Cornell, transferred two and have twins. I was 33 at the time.

What do you think made such a difference at Cornell? Had you started taking supplements? If so, do you think that had an impact by the time you reached Cornell? Really curious about why you think you had success at Cornell but not SG.

PP here. I had been taking a prenatal vitamin for years by the time I went to SG or Cornell. right before Cornell I switched to a different pre-natal supplement recommended by the MD at my accunpture place - no other supplements. I also stopped exercising for my cycle at Cornell. But I think most of why I had more success at Cornell is just Dr Davis was much better able to precisely calibrate my meds. At SG I always ended up with follicles of all different sizes. at Cornell they were better able to give me a group follicles that were all about the same size. As another PP noted, at SG it was always random doctors who didn't know my history adjusting my meds. I liked Widra but for each of my 3 cycles, he was on vacation for at least 5 days. Dr Davis only takes vacation when Cornell is closed (each Dec and June) and he was the one reviewing my measurements and labs and adjusting my meds each day. I also did co-culture and that probably helped too. But I think most of it was Dr Davis.

I went here for accupuncture while in NYC.
http://meridianmedical.org/

Not sure if you remember the details, but when you say around the same size do you mean they were all for example 18-20mm - as in that tight of a range (varying only by a couple of mm)? I've had a range of 15-24mm and am not sure if this would be considered "about the same size" or if Cornell goes for an even closer range? Also, I've heard mix things on exercising... Does Cornell recommend not exercising during stims?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - Did you do any local monitoring?

OP here. Yes, I did most of monitoring at Shady Grove up until day 7/8 of stimming when Cornell insisted that I come to NY. I knew the ropes and it was comfortable, but you can do it anywhere. It was fairly seamless except for one time that Cornell didn't receive the results and we had a fire drill where Cornell doc had to call Shady Grove doc to give him results. Really kind of Shady Grove to do this. One caveat is that I pay for everything OOP, so that is an added cost to be aware of.

New poster here. I switched from SG to Cornell. I did my monitoring at Cornell starting on day 3 or 4 (whenever my estrogen level hit 100 if my memory serves). Davis encouraged me to monitor there. He said that each doctor measures follicles slightly differently so when you are measured by docs at Cornell he can better interpret the results because he knows their quirks. Plus he did my morning monitoring once so that gave me another chance to talk to him and ask Qs. I was also lucky that I could take 2 weeks off work and pay for an airbnb in NYC. After three failed cycles at SG (and my failed I mean I barely had ever one embryo to transfer on day 3) I then had about 4-5 great 8 celled embryos to transfer at Cornell, transferred two and have twins. I was 33 at the time.

What do you think made such a difference at Cornell? Had you started taking supplements? If so, do you think that had an impact by the time you reached Cornell? Really curious about why you think you had success at Cornell but not SG.

PP here. I had been taking a prenatal vitamin for years by the time I went to SG or Cornell. right before Cornell I switched to a different pre-natal supplement recommended by the MD at my accunpture place - no other supplements. I also stopped exercising for my cycle at Cornell. But I think most of why I had more success at Cornell is just Dr Davis was much better able to precisely calibrate my meds. At SG I always ended up with follicles of all different sizes. at Cornell they were better able to give me a group follicles that were all about the same size. As another PP noted, at SG it was always random doctors who didn't know my history adjusting my meds. I liked Widra but for each of my 3 cycles, he was on vacation for at least 5 days. Dr Davis only takes vacation when Cornell is closed (each Dec and June) and he was the one reviewing my measurements and labs and adjusting my meds each day. I also did co-culture and that probably helped too. But I think most of it was Dr Davis.

I went here for accupuncture while in NYC.
http://meridianmedical.org/

Not sure if you remember the details, but when you say around the same size do you mean they were all for example 18-20mm - as in that tight of a range (varying only by a couple of mm)? I've had a range of 15-24mm and am not sure if this would be considered "about the same size" or if Cornell goes for an even closer range? Also, I've heard mix things on exercising... Does Cornell recommend not exercising during stims?

I don't remember what Cornell said about exercising but it was my very last cycle so I decided to take a break from it just to be sure. The two things Dr Davis told me to avoid were canned tomatoes and microwave popcorn. I don't remember the size of my follicles - sorry! But I will say that I usually didn't have very many eggs fertilize in my SG cycles (we did not use ICSI) and then I only had 1 or 2 follicles on day 3. Hope this helps -- good luck!!!!