Any bad fertility doctors?

[Anonymous]

I second GW Medical Faculty Associates and Dr. Frankfurter. He's been amazing and I've been very happy with my treatment. I have a rare hormone imbalance (elevated prolactin levels) and he picked up on it right from the start. I'm hoping after one more week of waiting I'll find out that this last round of injections was successful!! (fingers crossed)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I ask because we're just starting down this road (initial consult with Dr. Gordon next wee) and I'm curious how they manage their patient relationships. Do you get assigned to Dr. D or Dr. G and then stick with that one all the way through? Or do you see both doctors throughout the process?

Well, my RE was Dr. G, and I can tell you what happened in my situation.

I would say Dr. G was probably at 95% of ALL my appointments with my IVFs. (My IUIs the nurses did a lot of the monitoring). On occasion (especially on weekends in the summer) my monitoring was done by a third RE who was there during the summer to help 'fill in'. I think Dr. D did a few lining checks sessions just before my FET and did my baseline monitoring before my 3rd IVF.

To be honest, I think Dr. G becomes very involved with his patients, so he makes sure that he does most of your treatment and monitoring. I also know, from the nurses, that he delayed the start of some of my cycles so that he was sure that he would be back in the office (from a business trip or a family vacation) for my entire cycle. Delaying a cycle is no problem if you are on birth control pills or lupron.

So...with my interactions with Dr. G being so consistent, I very rarely had interactions with Dr. D. But to be honest, what interactions I did have with him, they were OK. Certainly not hand holding...more matter of fact, get down to business interactions. But I just attributed that to the fact that I was not his patient and that he didn't know me the way that Dr. G knew me.

What is interesting to me...from this forum...is what appears to be such a huge range of experiences with Dr. D. I mean, when I was sitting in the office for my monitoring sessions, his patients seemed just as happy with him as I was with Dr. G. Just as many came in to him, hugging and thanking him, as were coming in to Dr. G. Also, in some 'out of the office' interactions I have had with him...just as many, if not more, of his patients were there, absolutely thrilled with their treatment and success. And even though I wasn't his patient, per se, he was just as interested in my clinical case, just as thrilled with our outcome, and just as thankful for our participation in this forum as Dr. G. And, to be honest, if it were my husband that was going through all of the treatment, we would have been better off going to Dr. D...because they just 'click' with each other really well.

I don't know...interesting.

WLD

Well of course! Typically if you have had success, anywhere, you are likely to think your doctor (no matter who it is) can move mountains. I think we've all come to this conclusion many times on this discussion. Why, if anyone disliked Dr. Dimattina or Gordon, would they go to their events and gush over their practice? Do you expect somone who has a negative opinion to randomly stand up in their waiting room and tell other patients of their experience? So I don't understand why it is so interesting to you that patients who have had success (or maybe even not necessarily) actually like them? People love DF, people hate DF. People love SG, people hate SG. It's a fact of life. Dr. DiMattina obviously has a reputation on this board at least, that he is abrasive and rude, and that turns many people off. I'm glad you are a fan and have had success and also feel the need to come to his defense. He would appreciate it, I'm sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I second GW Medical Faculty Associates and Dr. Frankfurter. He's been amazing and I've been very happy with my treatment. I have a rare hormone imbalance (elevated prolactin levels) and he picked up on it right from the start. I'm hoping after one more week of waiting I'll find out that this last round of injections was successful!! (fingers crossed)

I had an initial consult with Dr. F. last fall. I called to make the appt. and they got me in in a matter of days. I did the initial bloodwork and HSG and DH did the sperm analysis the same day I got a positive HPT, so we never went back or even found out the test results. I lost that pregnancy and I am now pregnant again at 9 weeks. If I were to have a problem with this pregnancy, I'd go back to Dr. F in a heartbeat. I am not just AMA, I am 43. He seemed very knowledgeable and compassionate. Even though I was 42 at the time, he didn't immediately try to sell me on DE either. He wanted to see my numbers and everything led me to believe the plan would be specific to me, in spite of my age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one has mentioned GW Medical Faculty Associates. If you live in the District, this is a great place to go. Dr. Frankfurter really knows his stuff and explains everything very clearly. Compassionate nurses and great care. GW is non-profit, which made me feel more comfortable. They do not have the high stats of SG and others, but they are also very clear about the risks of multiples so perhaps fewer women opt to implant two embryos. The choice is always yours, of course. Good luck.

I have gone to GW MFA and I think Dr. Frankfurter is a great RE. He explains himself thoroughly and is able to answer your questions honestly. The nurses were AWESOME. So professional and so compassionate. The support staff can really make or break any doctor experience (be it a pediatrician, dentist, etc). GW is a teaching hospital and I like that.

[Anonymous]

I wasn't impressed with Dr. Abbasi. She was rude and dismissive of my questions. I ran fast as I could from her office.

[Anonymous]

10:42 - I'm at Dominion now. I consulted with Dr. G because of all of the negative press on Dr. D. I have found Dr. G to be very nice. It is a busy practice, but Dr. G returns phone calls on the same day when I have questions. With respect to monitoring, it seems like the doctors come in around 8 a.m. or so, so if you are an early bird, you are likely to get a nurse. Past 8 a.m., you probably will get your own doctor to do the monitoring. They have another doctor on weekends who has a very good bedside manner. As far as the ER and ET, it just depends on who is scheduled on that day. If it's on a weekend, you'll probably get the weekend doctor. During the week, I have had both Dr. G and Dr. D for procedures.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Durso is horrible. Her staff books things incorrectly. I went there for an ultrasound to check to see if a cyst had cleared up and she asked me when I had gotten pregnant because they booked me as a OB U/S. They had my donor sperm sitting on the floor in their reception area. She was unable to complete my IUI because of crooked cervix after trying for 45 painful minutes. Amazingly enough, SGF had no problems with my IUI. Seriously, awful.

[Anonymous]

I didn't read through this post, but I'm sure many people have mentioned Dr. DiMattina at Dominion. We hated hated hated him, despite going there on a good friend's recommendation. Stayed at Shady Grove with Dr. Osborn, who was fine.

[Anonymous]

I go to Dr. Garcia at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. After 2 years of trying at Columbia Fertility who refused to do IVF on me, I did IVF at Johns Hopkins and got pregnant on the first try. I lost the pregnancy due to IC at 14 weeks, but we are back and trying again. If you are a challenging case, go to Johns Hopkins. They treat me very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I go to Dr. Garcia at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. After 2 years of trying at Columbia Fertility who refused to do IVF on me, I did IVF at Johns Hopkins and got pregnant on the first try. I lost the pregnancy due to IC at 14 weeks, but we are back and trying again. If you are a challenging case, go to Johns Hopkins. They treat me very well.

what is ic? If u don't mind

[Anonymous]

Not the PP, but IC is usually shorthand for incompetent cervix.

[Anonymous]

Dr.Dimattina at Dominion is the rudest doctor, or maybe even the rudest person I've ever come across. Refused to answer our questions properly, cut us off midway, and walked out of the room as we were talking to him. Just my luck, Dr. G who is my doctor (and whom I really like because he discusses things with patients and answers our questions) was out of town when it came time for egg retrieval. I think if we go for another cycle at Dominion, we will have to ask Dr. G if he will be there that cycle. Never ever want a person like Dimattina to manage our care. So glad we did not consult with him. I think if not for Dr.G, this practice wouldn't have so many patients.

In conclusion, go with Dr. G and not Dimattina.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Frankfurter is intelligent and knows what he is doing BUT his practice at GWU is not open weekends really. When we first consulted with them we specifically asked if they are open weekends and he said if necessary they will come in. That should have been a clue that they will do all they can to avoid weekends

We were triggered too early and first cycle was a bust. We followed up with him and he promised us that the following cycle he will not be going by follicle size but by the number of days of stim, and estradiol levels. Then when we were close to trigger time, inspite if the E2 being less than what he wanted per follicle, he didn't push us further on stims because that would be a weekend retrieval. Again cycle 2 was a bust. Again followed up with him and again he said he'll go longer and if necessary, retrieval will be over the weekend. Again he tried to avoid the weekend retrieval and cycle 3 was a bust. We didn't trust him after that and opted out. Should have done that after the first cycle itself.

And their billing dept was so messed up and we were not refunded the entire credit we had on our account.

So basically everything he said sounded good but when it came to the actual cycle, not so good because they aren't open weekends.