Geoffrey Sher - anyone?

Anonymous
Whenever I search for anything related to infertility, I find Geoffrey Sher's blogs. Upon more searching, I found out that he is like a father of IVF. Has anyone consulted him and recommend him? If so, how do the appointments work? Looks like he practices in Las Vegas. Any idea about the fees? Any responses greatly appreciated.
I am a difficult case - Category D per his success rate table.
Anonymous
We didn't consult with him personally but did cycle at his clinic in NYC and they got me pregnant twice (we had multiple failures at local clinics before we opted to go out of State). SIRM has a great reputation and I would definitely recommend them. I was particularly impressed with their willingness to think outside the box and try new approaches based on the latest research. Protocols are tailored to your individual needs. They are also a good option if you have concerns about possible immune issues. Good luck!
Anonymous
Well, I consulted with him, as well as discussed him and other alternatives with the RE I was moving from.

He is known to experiment and has premiered some of the more accepted ART procedures to date, then throws them to the researchers to figure out why they work (per my local RE). His blog is definitely very informative. He also offers free consultation; however, he had not really read my file carefully and kept confusing me with a different patient while doing my consultation, and also sounded very pushy, so to me this is his marketing technique. He was also making recommendations on protocols that in the end can lead to OHSS and I overall did not feel comfortable with him.

He is one of the few that are on the bandwagon for immune issues. However, his knowledge there is limited (he is not a reproductive immunologist, and picks and chooses whatever he wants from the RI playbook, primarily written by Alan Beer who is now deceased). I was particularly irked when he ordered some very partial immune tests, and quickly concluded what kind of treatment I needed, despite the results being at most marginal. I then sought a second opinion from another doctor who addresses immune issues and she said she didn't think that was at play at all. Then I did more extensive testing with everything coming up normal. Yet he was on the phone, sounding like a used car salesman trying to convince me to fly to Vegas to have my baby.

If you do some Internet searching for personal experiences with him, they will come up hit or miss. However, I have read (but have no personal experience with) good things about the doctors at SIRM NYC/NJ and PA (Tortoriello in particular). If you have concerns about immune issues I would definitely consider them, but would do more in depth testing and research than they would offer and get second opinions from some of the other people who work with immune issues.

If immune issues are not at play and you are looking for an alternative clinic, my recommendation would be CCRM (based on my personal sometimes frustrating but overall successful experience), but that is an entirely different topic.
Anonymous
I had a wonderful consult with Dr. Peters in NJ. I'd highly recommend him. We were in the middle of a multi-cycle thing at SG which ultimately ended up working but I had full confidence in Dr. Peters, he was great.
Anonymous
I consulted with Dr Peters too. He was amazing and I would have cycled with him if my diagnosis (DOR) was treatable with IVF. However since I have gotten pregnant 3xs on my own it only made sense to see him if I decided to bank eggs I.e. multiple rounds to bank the eggs then test them all. Since I wasn't interested and quite frankly can't afford multiple rounds I am no longer working with him. However, I would highly recommend him. Smart, funny, nice and willing to think outside the box.
Anonymous
How easy/difficult was it to cycle with Dr. Peters in terms of living in DC and getting treated in NJ?
Anonymous
I'd like to know also what are we talking in terms of costs to treat with this clinic? Whether in Las Vegas or out of their NJ/PA office. I know they say they work closely with your PCP.
Anonymous
I agree if immune issues are not at play and you are planning to travel CCRM is a good choice. Though if immune issues are something you want to explore go see Dr. Braverman if you are going up there anyway. He's leading the field of RI with his research and tests he developed.

Dr. Sher is knowledgeable but as PP said he does things without knowing why and Dr. Braverman is the man who knows why, or at least the why behind what the research supports.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:How easy/difficult was it to cycle with Dr. Peters in terms of living in DC and getting treated in NJ?


One of the PP's who consulted with him but stayed at SG to use up my other cycle I paid for.

You do monitoring locally, then plan to spend a few days up there for retrieval and transfer. Unless you really need the IV meds for the immunity stuff, then I'm not sure how that works. He's good. I really liked him.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I'd like to know also what are we talking in terms of costs to treat with this clinic? Whether in Las Vegas or out of their NJ/PA office. I know they say they work closely with your PCP.


We cycled in NY and got a discounted price because DH and I were both government employees. I can't say for sure if that would apply at the other offices or not. Don't recall the exact cost but I remember thinking it was pretty reasonable with the discount.
Anonymous
I have DOR and consulted Dr. Sher and Dr. Peters both. I liked both of them for different reasons. Dr. Peters was extremely thorough in going through my case, previous failures and next steps. Dr. Sher sounded a bit pushy due to my DOR issue but told me he has handled numerous cases that were worse and complex than mine. He is one of the well known doctors out there too. Overall, the next steps both of the recommended are almost the same. I am confused about whom to pick. Since I am in DC either I drive 4 hrs to NJ or fly 6 hrs to Vegas. Please, please help me in making the decision!
Anonymous
I am the previous 19:12 poster. On this forum itself I found some discussion about Dr. Sher and Dr. Peters. A lot of stuff is from a few years ago. Someone out there said Dr. S' reviews are hit or a miss. Dr. P has some pretty good reviews but I'd appreciate inputs with some more details. How long had you been trying and what happened when you went to these REs?
I have tried IUIs and IVFs in the DC area. All attempts have failed and both Dr. P and Dr. S want me to get tested for immune issues as well as staggered IVFs with banking and CGH. Their prognosis on me also matched. I want to pick one of them and need to do that pretty soon. Expected AF is in next week! Any inputs you could provide would be GREATLY appreciated!
Anonymous
This is 00:15. I don't have experience with either Dr. Sher or Dr. Peters but have heard lots about both of them. If I were you, I'd stick with the more local option and see Dr. Peters. My impression of Dr. Sher is that he's the salesman of the group. That doesn't mean he isn't a good doctor, but I think the other SIRM doctors are just as good--they just don't invest the time in self-promotion that Dr. Sher does. Commuting back and forth to New Jersey will be much easier and less expensive.
Anonymous
Thank you 10:41! Really appreciate it. That's what I think too - Dr. Peters in NJ. He was extremely thorough in understanding our case and spent a lot of time in going through my complicated medical history. My husband liked him too but he wants to go to Dr. Sher since the next couple tries will be our last. Cannot afford anything more than that. He thinks we should go to the most renowned doctor and if that doesn't work we would at least have the feeling that we tried with someone who has been doing this for 30+ years. We are still arguing about it.
I have to make a decision in the next day or so.
Anonymous
Avoid Dr Sher at all costs. As previous posts on this blog have mentioned he is a used car salesman. He confused our records and then denied making statements as to our treatment we have records of what he recommended in writing from yet he still denies it. We would recommend that you get EVERYTHING in writing when dealing witn this clinic.
Also the person that seemed to be giving us our treatment plan was the financial person not even a nurse
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