Good RE for older women

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do not go to CFA. So disorganized. Really bad. They will waste time you do not have. GW/Frankfurter would be my first stop, and then a phone consult with Cornell/Davis. Good luck.

GW is not open on the weekends. So, if you’re near the time of trigger on a Friday they’ll just tell you to trigger on Sunday without checking. This is not normal and most places monitor daily to decide the trigger since it’s such a critical step. This resulted in a disaster of a cycle for me. Also, it takes a long time to get appointments with Frankfurter even for established patients. He also wants an appointment at every single possible step rather than just going through a nurse for some things at other places. For example, you can’t just start a new cycle after a fail; you have to wait at least a month to discuss it at an appointment which wastes a lot of time.

Yup this happened to me too. They are open on the weekend actually but really try to minimize the monitoring appointments. I begged to come in the day they wanted me to trigger and they assured me it wasn’t necessary—>disaster. My cycles since then at SGF have been so much better monitored and led to much better results. In part I think that’s because SGF has a much better lab which is important if you are only getting a few eggs or your quality is lower.

I’m surprised by this - I triggered on the weekend and they opened the clinic to monitor me (they actually insisted upon it). For what it’s worth, the retrieval was successful, they got me PGS normal embryos and I am pregnant with my second now through GW. All the doctors have been caring and readily available with questions. I had a Covid exposure scare the weekend right before my last transfer and Dr. F was so patient and talked to me about 5 times over the phone that weekend. I’m sorry others didn’t have a positive experience but I highly recommend GW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, there are none of those in this area. Older women here have to go to NYC for any hope of success. A lot of people like Dr Davis at Cornell.

So glad to see Dr Davis getting some love. I went to Cornell from Ohio back in the day (kids are 18 and 14, the cycles were wild, I needed protocols for old ladies at 34/38) and he, and the lab there, were just amazing.

[Anonymous]

What does Cornell/Davis do differently? Why are they so good?

I’ve done 8 cycles at CCRM and wondering if I should change.

[Anonymous]

I did a bunch of cycles with SFG and CCRM, never had success. I did a consult with Dr. Davis and really liked him, but couldn't make the logistics work to cycle there. His suggestions were put in a bunch of embryos, whatever the max is for your age, mini stim protocol, no PGT testing. But you can push for these things at CCRM Tysons too, if those are strategies you want to try. I did all of those things with Dr. Owen at CCRM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to CFA and see Dr Abbassi. She’s willing to try and she is amazing. No issues with age or BMI.

I couldn’t agree more!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to CFA and see Dr Abbassi. She’s willing to try and she is amazing. No issues with age or BMI.

I couldn’t agree more!

Dr. Abbassi might be amazing, but the CFA office is in disarray. I was there in 2019 and then again in 2022 and it was a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to CFA and see Dr Abbassi. She’s willing to try and she is amazing. No issues with age or BMI.

I couldn’t agree more!

Dr. Abbassi might be amazing, but the CFA office is in disarray. I was there in 2019 and then again in 2022 and it was a huge difference.

She is worth it in my opinion. And I was there in 2021/2022. She wasn’t just throwing IVF at me, but gave us the right tests, and advice! Someone who genuinely cares. Helped our family grow after secondary infertility and mc.

[Anonymous]

Don't waste your time with CFA. They aren't worth your time, money or sanity.

[Anonymous]

I had two children at 41 and 43 at SGF. There are some pros that come with their high patient volume - they have a lot of data on what works and what patients are likely to be successful. I saw Dr. Chang and he treated several of my friends as well. We all got different advice and approaches based on our testing results and I was the only of the four of us that was recommended IVF. All of us are now parents. I do think that SGF does stick to standard approaches supported by science, which will lead some with unusual conditions not getting specialized treatments. They do also talk to you about your odds of success and some older women do get told they are not likely to be successful and IVF is not recommended for them. I think SGF is the best place in the area to start because they have a great lab and among the highest success rates.

[Anonymous]

Go for a consult with Fady Sharara at VCRM in reston. He is the only doctor at the practice and he works on your case directly- you see him at every appointment. He will offer out of box treatments like ovarian PRP which I’m not aware that other clinics in the area offer. Myself and 3 other friends have had success there and I would recommend, I selected him for the same reason that you mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CFA

I heard they’re unorganized and billing sucks

Yes on both. They also have dismal stats on success for older patients. The only way it's worth it if you suspect immune issues, nobody else will touch that locally.

Don't know about their stats, but I had a successful pregnancy with CFA at 44 using my own egg. I saw Dr. Sacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CFA

I heard they’re unorganized and billing sucks

Yes on both. They also have dismal stats on success for older patients. The only way it's worth it if you suspect immune issues, nobody else will touch that locally.

Don't know about their stats, but I had a successful pregnancy with CFA at 44 using my own egg. I saw Dr. Sacks.

When? For me the difference in the office between 2019/2020 and 2022/2023 was shocking.

[Anonymous]

Dr.Abbassi at CFA is phenomenal. I had two children at ages 39 and 41 because of her. Had pretty serious autoimmune issues that she tackled one by one. You will undergo a million tests and she will prescribe lots of meds including those that are usually for cancer patients. IVIG also. We did ALL of what she recommended to maximize our chances. I had two PGS tested eggs and two transfers only, total. The office is indeed a complete mess, rude, and billing was awful (and put a log unnecessary stress on us) but seeing Dr. A is so worth it. She wants nothing but success for her patients. She is a scientist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had two children at 41 and 43 at SGF. There are some pros that come with their high patient volume - they have a lot of data on what works and what patients are likely to be successful. I saw Dr. Chang and he treated several of my friends as well. We all got different advice and approaches based on our testing results and I was the only of the four of us that was recommended IVF. All of us are now parents. I do think that SGF does stick to standard approaches supported by science, which will lead some with unusual conditions not getting specialized treatments. They do also talk to you about your odds of success and some older women do get told they are not likely to be successful and IVF is not recommended for them. I think SGF is the best place in the area to start because they have a great lab and among the highest success rates.

Finding the best lab was the most important factor to me as AMA, and we had success at SGF when I was 43. I did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that the best lab was the critical component when working with the expectation of few quality eggs.

[Anonymous]

Generation Next in NYC. Experts over 40 and with DOR