Who is the best to see at Shady Grove? Do you have to monitor at the same office?

[Anonymous]

I have been working with Dominion, am in my 2ww, and I have to get out of there. I want to schedule an appointment at Shady Grove right now so that if this cycle doesn't work (I can't imagine it will), I don't have to sit out any more time than necessary. I am closest to the Annandale office but keep seeing Dr. Widra's name on this post.. thoughts? I am not going to be able to get to the DC office, where he is, for monitoring every day. Should I go with a Dr. in the Annandale office? (Greenhouse, Saffan, Levens) or would they let me see Widra in DC and do monitoring in the Annandale office?

I know this might seem like I'm overthinking it, but I made a rash decision about who to see at Dominion and I regret that tremendously.

[Anonymous]

We loved Widra. You can do monitioring anywhere.

[Anonymous]

I see Widra and really like him. I go to the DC office and I actually don't see him very often. However, he is very responsive by email or telephone. I was with CFA and there you see the doctors for monitoring appointments almost every time. I have found SG to be really organized and responsive. I like the nurse I work with very much.

[Anonymous]

I saw Michael Levy and wouldn't go with anyone else again (after switching from another practice after years). He's fabulous. Wonderful bedside manner, absolutely up to date on the research, and on the ball. Also, he's very senior in the organization (I think maybe he's a cofounder) and can bend or break the rules as he sees fit, which he did for me on several occasions.

[Anonymous]

Can I ask you what happened at Dominion? I am a refugee from there too and ran crying to Dr. Stillman at the Rockville office. I'm in the 2WW now too, and truthfully, my husband's urologist who we love so much recommended Levy and Stillman at Shady Grove. I did all my monitoring in DC but went to Rockville for embryo retrieval and transfer only, so don't worry about the office part. Just do your consult with the doc you want and tell them you need to do monitoring in Annandale. They're totally cool about it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the recs! 9:06, I'll update this with my story after my beta. What happened in your case?

[Anonymous]

Oh honey where do I start?

I have a blog out there and I've been very vocal on it about there and here. If you google Dr. Dimattina you'll find me. You can email me through that site if you want.

I'm at SG and much happier. Also on my countdown to beta.

[Anonymous]

You can email me if you want - the "who is" page on the right has my email address. I just did a post comparing Washington Fertility in painful detail to SG. I'd do Dominion next but that post I just wrote depressed the hell out of me. I'm tired of people masquerading as RE's when they really aren't equipped to change the oil in my freaking car.

I am a tough customer but loved Shady Grove. I went to Dr. Stillman on a recommendation 2 years ago, and just didn't believe him that we had to go the IVF route. Like a moron, I shopped around. Ended up making two bad stops before I basically went back to Stillman and said, "Here's what we did, here's why, and here's why we messed up totally and lost over 2 years." The guy basically looks at us and says, "I'm sorry that happened. When do you want to start." The process couldn't have gone smoother. Even if this doesn't work, we'll go back to him again.

Which doc are you at with Dominion?

[Anonymous]

I'm going to email you in a few minutes! Thank you for being so open!

[Anonymous]

Another fan of Dr. Stillman here! He saw me through every crazy issue/ scenario imaginable and was always unbelievably supportive. Some folks think he lacks in bedside manner, but I think it's more his personality (a little quirky and a dark sense of humor) and I never had an issue. He's the medical director, too, which doesn't hurt in the rule breaking dept. He broke them several times for me and I was most appreciative.

Also, if you see Levy or Stillman as your primary doc, then you are likely to have them do your procedures, as they are in the Rockville office and do their own patients retrievals and transfers schedule permitting. If you go with a doc in another office, then you will be scheduled with the doctor doing procedures today (and will likely not be your own doc). Monitoring can be done in any office.

[Anonymous]

I see Dr. Saffan, but lately get a lot of monitoring done in DC. I really adore him, and would recommend him to anyone. That said, all of the doctors I've met at Annandale and DC seem great, so don't think you can go wrong.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you have plenty of options already but my recommendation is for Dr. Greenhouse. Had success after multiple miscarriages and are about to return to try for baby #2. He is very responsive by phone and email. I would highly recommend him.

[Anonymous]

I have heard great things about Greenhouse (we used Widra because we live in DC). we are former dominion patients too. good luck!

[Anonymous]

i just set up a meeting with them and they are sending me to dr. khan in leesburg? anyone have experience with him? i catn find much on him...

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who has seen Dr. Khan and loves him, FWIW.