Dr. Moon at SGF or Dr.Payson at CCRM Virginia?

[Anonymous]

We are planning to start our first IVF cycle. Has anyone have experience with Dr.Moon at SHF or Dr. Mark Payson at CCRM Virginia? Dr. Payson used to be in Dominion fertility. Please let me know what you think of them? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

No to Moon, IMHO. Just went through two failed rounds. She was not warm fuzzy and also did not listen to my concerns. And when I called to speak to her, she never returned calls. I would hear from her during failed cycle/ results. I felt like part of a factory assembly line at Shady Grove overall, just going through the motions. Had issues with her nurse at the beginning when she almost made me feel some type of way of selecting PGS testing when she imparted in a not so direct way her religious belief. When I tried switching from them it was a like an act of Congress. Maybe others had better but it wasn't me.

[Anonymous]

I've been a patient of Dr. Moon. She was my first doctor getting pregnant with my first, which was successful, and attempting to get pregnant with my second. After three failed FETs and exploring other options, I felt it was best to move to another clinic. Had you asked me this question up until six-eight months ago, I would have a very positive response to this question. During our time together over the years, she was always very responsive, caring, and warm and fuzzy, and I'd read negative comments about her and not understand b/c that wasn't my experience at all! But towards the end you could tell we were both kind of fed up with each other, which makes me sad b/c I really liked Dr. Moon.

[Anonymous]

I really liked Dr. Moon. She was always kind and caring. She did my ER for my only IVF cycle, which was successful.

[Anonymous]

I liked Dr moon when I met her but felt terribly served by her in the end. I am single, ie infertility diagnosis, just seeking to do on my own. When she did my initial testing at age 39 with normal hormone levels and a mid-teens AFC she literally said "I can get you pregnant." Then we did 3 failed IUIs where I felt I didnt get much help figuring out when I was ovulations. When it was time to move to IVF, Shady Grove rejected me because I was 20lbs over their weight limit on a 5'10 frame. When I queried what the problem was she only said "it just wont work" but never answered my questions about why its less likely to work (stim meds, surgery, egg quality, etc.) So like a diligent fat-shamed person I sought a nutritionist and spent 6 months trying to get under their limit. I was incredibly naive and didnt realize that SGF was likely cherry picking patients to make their stats better. After confiding in a friend who went through IVF I sought a 2nd opinion but precious time was lost. I never had trouble responding to meds or complications with subsequent egg retrivals. After a long hard expensive road I am pregnant and I never lost the weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked Dr moon when I met her but felt terribly served by her in the end. I am single, ie infertility diagnosis, just seeking to do on my own. When she did my initial testing at age 39 with normal hormone levels and a mid-teens AFC she literally said "I can get you pregnant." Then we did 3 failed IUIs where I felt I didnt get much help figuring out when I was ovulations. When it was time to move to IVF, Shady Grove rejected me because I was 20lbs over their weight limit on a 5'10 frame. When I queried what the problem was she only said "it just wont work" but never answered my questions about why its less likely to work (stim meds, surgery, egg quality, etc.) So like a diligent fat-shamed person I sought a nutritionist and spent 6 months trying to get under their limit. I was incredibly naive and didnt realize that SGF was likely cherry picking patients to make their stats better. After confiding in a friend who went through IVF I sought a 2nd opinion but precious time was lost. I never had trouble responding to meds or complications with subsequent egg retrivals. After a long hard expensive road I am pregnant and I never lost the weight.

Wow...It goes to show that it's all about stats for SGF and they could care less if you are investing your last dollar in this process and if you are sacrificing your whole life to get a child.

[Anonymous]

I don't have any experience with either doctor. But if cost is not a concern, I would definitely choose CCRM. The only thing SG does well is serve super easy cases (or the shared risk can be ok, again if you are an easy case). What is your history and diagnosis?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any experience with either doctor. But if cost is not a concern, I would definitely choose CCRM. The only thing SG does well is serve super easy cases (or the shared risk can be ok, again if you are an easy case). What is your history and diagnosis?

I am 36 DOR and hubby poor morphology. Two failed IUI’s and moving to IVF.
You are absolutely right CCRM is pricy that’s why I am seeking advice to ensure I am picking the right doctor.
I can’t seem to find any reviews about Dr. Payson who started the CCRM Virginia branch
Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any experience with either doctor. But if cost is not a concern, I would definitely choose CCRM. The only thing SG does well is serve super easy cases (or the shared risk can be ok, again if you are an easy case). What is your history and diagnosis?

I am 36 DOR and hubby poor morphology. Two failed IUI’s and moving to IVF.
You are absolutely right CCRM is pricy that’s why I am seeking advice to ensure I am picking the right doctor.
I can’t seem to find any reviews about Dr. Payson who started the CCRM Virginia branch
Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

Please let us know who you pick in the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any experience with either doctor. But if cost is not a concern, I would definitely choose CCRM. The only thing SG does well is serve super easy cases (or the shared risk can be ok, again if you are an easy case). What is your history and diagnosis?

What falls into super easy category of cases? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked Dr moon when I met her but felt terribly served by her in the end. I am single, ie infertility diagnosis, just seeking to do on my own. When she did my initial testing at age 39 with normal hormone levels and a mid-teens AFC she literally said "I can get you pregnant." Then we did 3 failed IUIs where I felt I didnt get much help figuring out when I was ovulations. When it was time to move to IVF, Shady Grove rejected me because I was 20lbs over their weight limit on a 5'10 frame. When I queried what the problem was she only said "it just wont work" but never answered my questions about why its less likely to work (stim meds, surgery, egg quality, etc.) So like a diligent fat-shamed person I sought a nutritionist and spent 6 months trying to get under their limit. I was incredibly naive and didnt realize that SGF was likely cherry picking patients to make their stats better. After confiding in a friend who went through IVF I sought a 2nd opinion but precious time was lost. I never had trouble responding to meds or complications with subsequent egg retrivals. After a long hard expensive road I am pregnant and I never lost the weight.

THIS. I was a patient of Dr. Moon. When I first saw her, I didn't think I had a fertility problem (I can't carry a pregnancy due to a medical condition not related to my reproductive system, so I thought I just needed IVF to do gestational surrogacy). But then, I accidentally got a very bad infertility diagnosis (NOT discovered by SG's testing). SG started making it very difficult for me to do anything, insisting that I had to line up a surrogate before I could even try IVF (what??? why would I spend tens of thousands of dollars to find a surrogate when I don't know if I can make a normal embryo with my low-quality eggs??). I don't know if it was Dr. Moon or just SG's pattern of pushing out the hard cases to other clinics, but she really wasn't helpful after that.

And then I went to CFA and had success on my first and only IVF cycle. Way to keep those stats up, Shady Grove.

[Anonymous]

Unexplained infertility here. I have been with Dr. Moon for about 4 years and have always found her kind, sympathetic, and willing to take the time to talk to us about procedures and any concerns. We have shared personal stories too and she has been so helpful to me in thinking through different paths to motherhood as it's become clear that traditional IVF isn't going to work for me. FWIW from a random poster on the internet, please take it from me that I absolutely believe she does understand and entirely appreciate the struggles and pain of this process.

Also, while I'm not personally particularly into "warm and fuzzy" (I am more of a "let's just get on with it" type person), my husband is much more sensitive and anxious than I and she has always been very considerate of his feelings and willing to talk with him at length about his concerns and fears, which I have really appreciated. I am in my mid-40s now and she's let me continue to do cycles even though the chances of getting good embryos have been increasingly slender as my age has advanced; I've never had any indication that she is going to kick me out to keep SGF's stats up. And, I did get pregnant under her watch on my very first cycle (that pregnancy ultimately ended in a late-term miscarriage, but that was INOVA's fault entirely, so out of her purview) and have gotten a few more normal embryos in successive cycles, so the protocols we used were working.

Also at one point I had a nurse I did not click with at all. Some of the SGF support staff are just not good, although by far and away most of them have been great in my experience - my first nurse was an absolute angel. Anyway I had no trouble getting a new one. I just contacted one of their program administrators who handled it immediately.

All this said it's such a personal choice and it is such a tough process you absolutely should be with someone you feel comfortable with. If you can, I'd suggest meeting with a few doctors to talk with them and get a feel for how their personalities work with yours. I know that can be pricey pretty quickly since most places charge for consults, but the road may be long and it could be a good investment. I wish you the best of luck wherever you go! Here's to hoping you only have to do one cycle.

[Anonymous]

i went to SG, but dr. moon was not my doctor. i saw her one day for monitoring or something -- i can't remember. i thought she was pretty cold. i was not responding well to the drugs and she just casually said "we'll probably have to cancel." i was crushed. (my dr, dr. greenhouse, did not cancel. it wasn't a successful cycle, but i did eventually end up pregnant with dr. greenhouse.) i just thought the way she said that was not very sympathetic. i don't need touchy-feely, but i want a little compassion. dr. greenhouse is kind, but not touchy feely. i loved dr. doyle -- so nice and warm. (he did one of my transfers.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unexplained infertility here. I have been with Dr. Moon for about 4 years and have always found her kind, sympathetic, and willing to take the time to talk to us about procedures and any concerns. We have shared personal stories too and she has been so helpful to me in thinking through different paths to motherhood as it's become clear that traditional IVF isn't going to work for me. FWIW from a random poster on the internet, please take it from me that I absolutely believe she does understand and entirely appreciate the struggles and pain of this process.

Also, while I'm not personally particularly into "warm and fuzzy" (I am more of a "let's just get on with it" type person), my husband is much more sensitive and anxious than I and she has always been very considerate of his feelings and willing to talk with him at length about his concerns and fears, which I have really appreciated. I am in my mid-40s now and she's let me continue to do cycles even though the chances of getting good embryos have been increasingly slender as my age has advanced; I've never had any indication that she is going to kick me out to keep SGF's stats up. And, I did get pregnant under her watch on my very first cycle (that pregnancy ultimately ended in a late-term miscarriage, but that was INOVA's fault entirely, so out of her purview) and have gotten a few more normal embryos in successive cycles, so the protocols we used were working.

Also at one point I had a nurse I did not click with at all. Some of the SGF support staff are just not good, although by far and away most of them have been great in my experience - my first nurse was an absolute angel. Anyway I had no trouble getting a new one. I just contacted one of their program administrators who handled it immediately.

All this said it's such a personal choice and it is such a tough process you absolutely should be with someone you feel comfortable with. If you can, I'd suggest meeting with a few doctors to talk with them and get a feel for how their personalities work with yours. I know that can be pricey pretty quickly since most places charge for consults, but the road may be long and it could be a good investment. I wish you the best of luck wherever you go! Here's to hoping you only have to do one cycle.

wait so you had at least three normal PGS embryos and none of them worked?

[Anonymous]

I saw dr Payson once for monitoring at Dominion, and he seemed like a very nice guy.