best fertility clinic in D.C. or Maryland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was very old (43-3) and had success at Shady Grove. I asked lots of questions, had repeated consults with the dr., got tests elsewhere when I needed to, asked for modifications which my dr agreed to do (Widra), and they did a lot to advance my chances (3 day transfer, high # transferred etc.) It's a numbers game.

PP whose DW went to Cornell after leaving SG. Just curious - when did you cycle with Dr. Widra (as in month/year)? He was DW's doctor and was not really willing to adjust her protocol. The day 3 transfer was never, EVER discussed (a huge reason we went to Cornell, to couple day 3 transfer with co-culture). Just wondering at what point he changed his tune.

(We have since met with him after having our rainbow baby at Cornell to discuss doing an FET at SG, and he's aware that we also worked with an immunologist, so I'm wondering if he has become more receptive to alternative routes, so to speak)

[Anonymous]

It was not that recent. I am certain he would be receptive to incorporating information you received from your other medical consults when planning for a frozen transfer. He's very plugged in the profession and aware what other clinics do. He will (of course, like any doctor) object and explain why if he thinks you're proposing something that could be harmful. Otherwise he talked through options I had researched. When I was at SG, a day 3 transfer seemed to be encouraged for older patients (at least it was recommended to me) since inside is presumably better than culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was very old (43-3) and had success at Shady Grove. I asked lots of questions, had repeated consults with the dr., got tests elsewhere when I needed to, asked for modifications which my dr agreed to do (Widra), and they did a lot to advance my chances (3 day transfer, high # transferred etc.) It's a numbers game.

So happy for your success. Can you share more about the modifications you asked for and what types of tests you had done elsewhere?

[Anonymous]

I don't want to out myself, but I had several medical issues along with AMA. So there was a lot to deal with and manage during the cycling. I don't think much of it is relevant for other patients, or I'd share.

[Anonymous]

There are the stats and numbers overall - but then there are individual differences for patients and also by doctor. I interacted with several of the doctors at Shady Grove and also at GW - even within the practice they had different expertise or risk tolerance. But overall the bigger clinics are going to be more 'by the book' unless they have a reason to know you have particular issues.

[Anonymous]

If you are a risky candidate - stats for a clinic DO NOT MATTER. The bigger clinics - like Shady Grove - will steer risky patients towards IUI so they don't mess up their IVF stats. Just find a doctor who works with you. Personally, I talked to all of them - almost went with Columbia - but loved GW.

[Anonymous]

I would consult with SG no matter what, and see an experienced RE. I do not agree they do not take hard cases for IVF.

They obviously do. Search through this board:

They take tons of PCOS patients, high BMI, and older patients, among many other categories of challenging issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would consult with SG no matter what, and see an experienced RE. I do not agree they do not take hard cases for IVF.

They obviously do. Search through this board:

They take tons of PCOS patients, high BMI, and older patients, among many other categories of challenging issues.

Does SG work with (and have success with) IVF patients with endometriosis? Where is the best place to go for that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would consult with SG no matter what, and see an experienced RE. I do not agree they do not take hard cases for IVF.

They obviously do. Search through this board:

They take tons of PCOS patients, high BMI, and older patients, among many other categories of challenging issues.

Does SG work with (and have success with) IVF patients with endometriosis? Where is the best place to go for that?

If you suspect you have endo, the best thing you can do is get an laparoscopy. Dr. Braverman, who is an RI, argues that endo can affect egg quality, and many of his patients go on to have success having retrievals and transfers post lap surgery.

[Anonymous]

Shady Grove has high success rates because they do weed out difficult cases or steer them towards donor eggs or non IVF treatment. Yes there are some stories on this board about hard cases having success there, but if your diagnosis is severe DOR or POF I'd go elsewhere. I had a bad experience at SG, really liked GW (their success rates are lower because they generally do not turn patients away) but ended up at CCRM. I'd just do some consults and see what doctor is the best fit for you. SG is good though if you can qualify for the shared risk program, I would have loved to qualify for a program like that but my numbers wouldn't allow it.

[Anonymous]

You may not have liked Shady Grove for whatever reason, but you are not qualified to state they "steer patients away" from IVF and that is the reason for their success rates. It's ridiculous that you insist on making that bald assertion as if it were a fact.

We can all read this board and see that they treat people with high BMI, PCOS, AMA, and a whole range of other issues. They treat more women in the 41+ category than any clinic in the area. They obviously do not tell them regularly to go to donor egg immediately. Good grief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may not have liked Shady Grove for whatever reason, but you are not qualified to state they "steer patients away" from IVF and that is the reason for their success rates. It's ridiculous that you insist on making that bald assertion as if it were a fact.

We can all read this board and see that they treat people with high BMI, PCOS, AMA, and a whole range of other issues. They treat more women in the 41+ category than any clinic in the area. They obviously do not tell them regularly to go to donor egg immediately. Good grief.

I don't want to derail this thread but all the issues you mention are very different than severe DOR or POF. Which is why I specifically mentioned those two diagnoses. I have POF and was diagnosed at 30, that's a hard diagnosis and I was very much told that my options at Shady Grove would be donor eggs. Even though I knew my chances were not great both GW and CCRM were willing to let me cycle with my own eggs. And I did end up cycling at CCRM 3 times. I used to lead a support group for infertility in this area and heard similar stories from women with POF and DOR about their experiences with Shady Grove. So just sharing my own experience with that particular diagnosis.

[Anonymous]

I got pregnant using clomid with SG but when we had to do IVF and the protocol wasn’t working after three cycles, I went with GW where I was successful in getting pregnant. SG doesn’t like to venture outside the box and do different protocols. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I had a terrible experience with Shady Grove but know others that used them and had success. I would look at Dominion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You may not have liked Shady Grove for whatever reason, but you are not qualified to state they "steer patients away" from IVF and that is the reason for their success rates. It's ridiculous that you insist on making that bald assertion as if it were a fact.

We can all read this board and see that they treat people with high BMI, PCOS, AMA, and a whole range of other issues. They treat more women in the 41+ category than any clinic in the area. They obviously do not tell them regularly to go to donor egg immediately. Good grief.

NP here...they absolutely did that to me. I went to get checked and even though all my numbers were good, they said donor egg immediately. They didn't want to discuss any other options.