How many patients do REs at SGF have

[Anonymous]

Does anyone wonder how many patients SGF REs have? I'm just curious because initially I was impressed with how they were able to treat me as not just a number, and really listen. But now, nearly 2 years in with them, I'm wondering if it's a faction of them not having any faith in my prognosis, or if they're just really getting a lot more patients. I've had a lot harder time being able to hear back from my RE. I don't expect a phone call from her all the time, but after a failed cycle she would always call me the day of. Now, I have to remind my nurse to tell her to tell my RE to call me for a WTF phone consult. After my last failure it took 11 days to hear back from her! I'm not sure if I'm just reading too much into it, but it is disheartening when you don't hear back from them, especially after a failure. Anyone else experience this at SGF recently? We're down to our last FET and I just really feel like they're not on our side anymore. IF only they're realize the psychology behind this is just as important as the medical. Just venting a little, but also just curious if I was just lucky in the beginning of my journey with them b/c SGF wasn't competing as much with new REs as it seems now they're popping up like crazy!

[Anonymous]

Same here. I loved them three years ago but since we have been back TTC#2 I feel like we are just an old case. We just completed another cycle and I think I saw/heard from my RE once. At this point, I have requested my medical records and looking else. I am not sure SG really wants to put more thought into our case.

[Anonymous]

My impression is that Shady Grove is a great clinic for the routine causes of infertility. They are organized and the doctor or the nurse communicate well. However once you have multiple failures they are not willing to dig deeper as to why. It seems like their unofficial philosophy is that it's a numbers game and eventually one (embryo) will stick. If you've been there for 2 years without any success then consider seeking a second opinion.

[Anonymous]

I think the doctors do have too many cases and/or are overwhelmed. And that is why you need to know your case. I took notes on every detail of my treatment and would correct my doctor when she was wrong.
That said, I think the doctors care as does my nurse.

[Anonymous]

My ob/gyn recommended SGF 2 years ago and everything was okay in the beginning, but I agree with other pp's once we have a failure they wanted to get rid of us. Recently, I went back to my ob/gyn for my annual and she told me she no longer refers to SGF because she's gotten so many complaints.

[Anonymous]

OP here. 11:07,i totally believe what you said. They're not good with multiple failures and kept telling me w just had to keep trying. After a m/c and 3 other failures with PGS normal embryos they're now telling me to do the ERA test to see if an extra day of progesterone is warranted. I'm about 5% hopeful and will be transferring my last 2 embryos after this test, either way. I figure if I were to change to another clinic they'd want to do another retrieval cycle and after being 30K in and exhausting insurance coverage I'm just about spent. I struggle with the idea of I had come to this realization earlier, perhaps I would've gotten a second opinion but SGF always said "it'll happen! You're lucky to have gotten as many PGS embryos as you did - - try again". And so we did. In hindsight everything is 20/20. If this helps something think about looking for that second opinion singer then I would tell you to do it. Go with your gut! If you don't think trying the sand thing over and over again will work, go somewhere else. I'm at peace with my decision. My experience with IVF is nearly over, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost. Just gotta try something else until I feel line it's truly the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. 11:07,i totally believe what you said. They're not good with multiple failures and kept telling me w just had to keep trying. After a m/c and 3 other failures with PGS normal embryos they're now telling me to do the ERA test to see if an extra day of progesterone is warranted. I'm about 5% hopeful and will be transferring my last 2 embryos after this test, either way. I figure if I were to change to another clinic they'd want to do another retrieval cycle and after being 30K in and exhausting insurance coverage I'm just about spent. I struggle with the idea of I had come to this realization earlier, perhaps I would've gotten a second opinion but SGF always said "it'll happen! You're lucky to have gotten as many PGS embryos as you did - - try again". And so we did. In hindsight everything is 20/20. If this helps something think about looking for that second opinion singer then I would tell you to do it. Go with your gut! If you don't think trying the sand thing over and over again will work, go somewhere else. I'm at peace with my decision. My experience with IVF is nearly over, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost. Just gotta try something else until I feel line it's truly the end.

Get a second opinion before transferring the embryos, even if it's to confirm everything is fine. Or you may end up finding out you need something simple like a prescription for synthroid. Or you may end up having the embryos shipped to another clinic for transfer. You've put so much into his already, don't go through the steps and resign yourself to failure.

[Anonymous]

I left SG because of what you are talking about. Took my embies to another clinic where they tested me for the things I was concerned about--like blood clotting disorder. I got pregnant with my first FET with them! You can transfer your embryos, so don't feel like you have to stay with them. I never talked to my RE and he seemed rather incompetent--he couldn't get the blast out of the catheter during my transfer...it took multiple tries. Also, I asked about some statistics about my transfer and my doctor could not answer a basic stats question and dismissed me. In fact, I was simply dismissed all the time. And they never called me for anything or would call really late. They really are a factory. There is no reason to waste money on them!

[Anonymous]

What clinics are people transferring to if they're not happy with SGF?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What clinics are people transferring to if they're not happy with SGF?

Columbia, Dominion and GW are the other fertility clinics in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

I transferred to Columbia (Bethesda office) after some research/interviewing REs. Sher is NYC/NJ/ was a consideration!

[Anonymous]

But are these offices any better than SG in terms of how many patients the REs have? My sense is that they are all busy but perhaps SG is an extreme?

One thing that has concerned me: this year, only Aetna and Kaiser offer IVF coverage to Federal employees. Aetna has a wider network but Kaiser just provides coverage for services at SG.
Because of this, every Kaiser patient must choose SG or pay OOP. I have wondered whether this has meant that SG has too many patients....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But are these offices any better than SG in terms of how many patients the REs have? My sense is that they are all busy but perhaps SG is an extreme?

One thing that has concerned me: this year, only Aetna and Kaiser offer IVF coverage to Federal employees. Aetna has a wider network but Kaiser just provides coverage for services at SG.
Because of this, every Kaiser patient must choose SG or pay OOP. I have wondered whether this has meant that SG has too many patients....

You're not going to find numbers on the number of patients per doctor. The best you have to go by are the SART statistics.

[Anonymous]

The number of patients per physician should be a SART
Statistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The number of patients per physician should be a SART
Statistic.

Take total number of fresh cycles and FETS (published numbers on SART) and divide by the number of physicians in the practice (may take some poking on the practice website). This is your average number. In practice it may differ from Dr. to Dr. and from month to month, but you'll get a general idea.