Dominion Fertility vs. Shady Grove Fertility
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Anonymous
| GW does natural cycle and mini-IVF as well. I'm thinking of going there for a consult. |
Anonymous
| I'd like to share my story as well. We have a son and two miscarriages (one of them twins) with Dr. Khan of Shady Grove. We also tried a different clinic in the area which we hated. I would think that the dr. you work will directly influence your opinion and we have been super happy with Dr. Khan. He always listens to everything I have to say and explains if the worry is or is not founded. It took me 2 years and 8 doctors to find an OB and RE to listen to me so this is quite an achievement. All his staff is excellent and being there really feels like a big family. Plus, you get random calls from your Dr. and nurse to see how you are doing and if you have any questions. If that is not personalized care I don't know what is. With our miscarriages we had a tremendous support from the whole team with the techs stopping me in the hallways when they were following the beta down and telling me how sorry they were it did not work out. Plus, based on my research, SG success rates are higher than DF (most recent as published by the CDC). I would definitely encourage anyone to see Dr. Khan if you want a superb Dr. and individualized approach to your cycle. He is a self-proclaimed paranoid, which really works for me, because I know he won't make a decision that could potentially harm me or my cycle. You always get the good and the bad depending on your luck, but this is our 4th cycle and I really don't have anything bad to say about SG. |
Anonymous
| Oh, sorry, still previous poster here, I forgot to add that my nurse always timely responds to my, sometimes multiple, emails a day. She's gone above and beyond to make sure I have all the information I could possibly want, lent me meds when the pharmacy did not deliver them on time and never once complained about me being the PITA patient that I really am (serious type A personality, an accountant - can you tell?). I don't know what I would have done with someone less patient than she is. Oh, and it's really great when you come in and you don't even have to sign in because the desk person is already pulling your file as you walk in the door because she knows you by sight. I am not quite as happy with the billing department, but I am willing to put up with that because of the medical care I am getting. Oh, and Steve, the anesthesia guy, has gotten an IV line in for me twice on the first try, unlike the nurses when I was giving birth (had to be induced because of my blood clotting) that took 3 people and 7 tries. Ouch. |
Anonymous
I had completely the opposite experience at SG though not with Dr Khan. No one ever rang me randomly to see how I was. In fact on one cycle they were supposed to be taking the donor down from the database, ringing her to ask her the question I asked, and ringing me back with the answer. After a couple of days I rang again and they had forgotten to do it and forgotten all about me. We were devastated, she was the first donor in months that was suitable for us. SG results are not higher than other clinics and have not been for years. If you look at "like for like" (and not at clinical pregnancies) they are average but with a much smaller donor pool than other clinics. Also they will not give you information about whether a donor is "proven". They tell you whether she has had donated before, but not whether the recipients (plural, they are big on shared eggs because of their small donor pool) were successful. We had one cycle with no grade 1 embryos at all. I haven't met Dr Khan so cannot comment. He sounds great. If what you say is correct, it is a shame all the drs there aren't like him. |
Anonymous
My experience also. Very healthy twins, now 12. |
Anonymous
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Another vote here for DF over SGF. I would never recommend Shady Grove to anyone who needs care. They egg share so they can offload 2 or 3 patients at a time which means that you have to cycle with 2 or 3 other ladies (1 or 2 other recipients and the donor). This causes HUGE problems. If another recipient is not responsive to the drugs, YOU are kept waiting (more time, more drugs, more money). This happened every cycle I had with them. They change the doses of drugs to fit in with this scheduling, not because you need them. It’s all about the money, not the patient.
I also have noticed that their results are way down on what they used to be a couple of years ago. I read this was because the donors are paid more and are treated better elsewhere so they have to take on more unproven donors. It is worth reading the donor forums for their views on this. |
Anonymous
| Shady Grove Fertility made a mistake with my husband, they checked his sperm only once in a year and it was good but we found out his sperm change right the day we started with IUI, i toke medication for nothing because they didnt check him at least a week before i have to start with the treatment, what i should do? i believe im right |
Anonymous
Congratulations. I hope we have the same luck at DF. Another advocate for DF over Shady Grove here. SG are running on a past reputation and care more about making money (via their own loan service, Fertility Finance) than caring for patients. I tried to ask questions about treatment and was ignored. Instead the doctor asked DH straight out if we could afford to go there and if not they have their own finance system yadda yadda yadda. I came out in tears. 
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Anonymous
| After the initial consult, I chose DF because they (Dr. Gordon in my case) seemed more concerned about what I wanted than SG. He listened to me, and was fine with (and even supported) my inclination to do single embryo transfer to avoid the risk of multiples. I felt and still feel that he cared more about outcomes for me than stats for his practice. |
Anonymous
| we have been working with givf since august of last year. i knew at that time i wanted to try iui or ivf because of my age (then 38) and because my husband and i were "healthy" and experiencing unexplained infertility that we continue to try on our own for 6 months. well those six months are in the toilet now and i've suffered an ectopic pregnancy. now that we are about to proceed to ivf i just don't have a good feeling. i had to remind them to call in the rx for bc pills, have had unanswered emails and don't feel like i really know what our plan is. i therefore went for a second opinion at SG today and met dr khan. after meeting with him, a finance person and a nurse i feel a lot more informed. i think we will switch facilities even though it will set my cycle back one month. what can i say...i need hand-holding |
Anonymous
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If you need hand holding...i would do a consult with Dominion, too.
Our choices were between GIVF and DF...my OB/Gyn said, hands down, "you will like it better at DF...it's your decision, but I would at least suggest that you meet with Dr. Gordon" She was so RIGHT...and, the day before my 42nd birthday, we harvested MY eggs, that made our beautiful twins. BEST BEST BEST decision we ever made. |
Anonymous
| i was about to consult with dominion too but they don't participate with the ins...making the consult alone $350. which is a drop in the bucket in the big picture...nothing but diagnostics covered...anyway...we cancelled the consult |
Anonymous
I did too. But then they missed when I ovulated and made me pay for the cycle anyway. It was out of pocket for us and expensive and when I tried to argue about it (that THEY kept telling me to wait a few days before coming back and then after a few days, they told me I already ovulated) so I shouldn't have to pay, they said they still did the work so I should pay. I hate them. I switched places and now have a beautiful boy. that was 5 years ago. |
Anonymous
| OP: I am VERY sorry. We could have written much the same story. Dr. DiMattina diagnosed the problem right away (different from SG). We got pregnant on the first IVF. I hope you have similar luck. I am very sorry. It was very expensive, however. No, I do not work there. Lovely twins, though. |
Anonymous
| PP here again. What I'm saying is the DF talks a good game. They "listened" and really paid attention - but then, we had the issue of my missed ovulation |