Which clinic did you prefer?

[Anonymous]

I live and work in Arlington, and since I also have to book childcare over summer vacation each time I go to one of these appointments, I'm hoping I can find a clinic reasonably close in. I have an appointment at Shady Grove (Annandale), but I just found out that you have to go all the way to Rockville for IUIs, and that's not going to work for me. There was just a thread here steering me far and away from Columbia, and Dominion has some negative yelp reviews (plus I don't think they do IUIs in their Arlington office either, not sure where they send you). Is GW going to be the best option without hiking all over the metro area?

Oh, my main requirement is that the place is sensitive to single mothers. I understand not every clinic is willing to work with unpartnered women.

[Anonymous]

Dominion does everything at their Arlington office. That is their main location.

[Anonymous]

I liked Columbia! You have to go with YOUR instinct after MEETING the doctors, not simply by some anonymous forum. Just me 2 cents. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

*my

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked Columbia! You have to go with YOUR instinct after MEETING the doctors, not simply by some anonymous forum. Just me 2 cents. Good luck!

+1

I love Dr. Gordon at Dominion.

[Anonymous]

Loved Dominion. Do you have any friends who can watch the kids for an hour while you go? Or can your husband stay with the child if you are at dominion's door at 6:45 am you should be in and out.
I'm sure I'll get flamed, but during one of my IVF monitoring appointments I had no one to watch my son. I brought the iPad and kept him right next to me. I felt terrible, but the staff was fine with it. It was a quick blood draw. I wouldn't do it on a sono day.

[Anonymous]

I had a great experience at the Arlington office of Columbia Fertility -- it's located at VHC. I hated it every time I had to go to their D.C. office, which I only had to do on weekends, and then for egg retrieval and transfer when we moved to IVF. IUI was done at the Arlington office.

[Anonymous]

I went to both SG and Dominion. Hands down Dominion is far superior in every way. I see Dr. Payson, he is fantastic (saw Chang at SG and I have nothing positive to say). Dominion offers a personalized approach and will work with you regarding meds etc. SG has "protocols" that they never deviate from, I like not feeling like a number. This process is already so difficult, I would suggest a clinic where the nurses actually know your name and you are able to develop a relationship with your provider.
Got pregnant first try at Dominion using IUI Good-luck.

[Anonymous]

Wow, well I hate to make life decisions based on what is said on an anonymous forum (LOL), but I just made an appt with Dr Payson based on the feedback here. I'm sure my insurance company is not going to be pleased when two different offices call them, given that I also have an appt already with Shady Grove...but Dominion got me in much faster so maybe if it goes well I can just cancel the SG appt. I will say that Dominion seems much more businesslike and concerned about money issues (taking a credit card number in case of appt cancellation, having a financial counselor call prior to the first visit) but that isn't necessarily a bad thing...I'd like to know up front how much this is going to cost.

No partner; thus I require a clinic that has no problem with single women.

[Anonymous]

I think the doctor and your assigned nurse matter more than the clinic itself. Sure, billing problems are a headache and sometimes you get an insensitive ultrsound technician, but that doesn't make it or break it for me.
So find a doctor you jive with and make sure you have direct email and telephone contact with your nurse. I had this both at Shady Grove and at Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the doctor and your assigned nurse matter more than the clinic itself. Sure, billing problems are a headache and sometimes you get an insensitive ultrsound technician, but that doesn't make it or break it for me.
So find a doctor you jive with and make sure you have direct email and telephone contact with your nurse. I had this both at Shady Grove and at Columbia.

PP here. I didn't jive with my doctor at SG but I did really like my nurse. Maybe if I had been assigned a diffrent doctor I would have continued there.

[Anonymous]

Dr Payson is awesome, I almost didn't schedule with DF based on reviews but I've been very happy with them thus far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the doctor and your assigned nurse matter more than the clinic itself. Sure, billing problems are a headache and sometimes you get an insensitive ultrsound technician, but that doesn't make it or break it for me. So find a doctor you jive with and make sure you have direct email and telephone contact with your nurse. I had this both at Shady Grove and at Columbia.

Eh, the whole package matters. No woman going through infertility wants a doctor's office without reasonably smooth operations and staff that are kind and professional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the doctor and your assigned nurse matter more than the clinic itself. Sure, billing problems are a headache and sometimes you get an insensitive ultrsound technician, but that doesn't make it or break it for me.
So find a doctor you jive with and make sure you have direct email and telephone contact with your nurse. I had this both at Shady Grove and at Columbia.

PP here. I didn't jive with my doctor at SG but I did really like my nurse. Maybe if I had been assigned a diffrent doctor I would have continued there.

Sorry to bring the grammar police to this thread, but the word is jibe.

OP, I'd schedule as many consults as you can. I went directly to SG and it was only after failed cycles there that I consulted with Dominion. I ended up going to an out-of-state clinic, but wish that I'd done a bunch of consults with all the local clinics at the start. Fwiw, I did not encounter any issues being single at any of the clinics. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

maybe PP means hand jive