This OP (not PP at 14:51). Yes Dr. Levens put me on 600mg Coq10 and 75 mg DHEA. He said research has shown that Coq10 can be helpful in improving egg quality. He said the research on DHEA is less clear and the study that supports is was funded by a company who has the patent on DHEA or something like that. I have since read that DHEA can actually be harmful? Ugh! Anyway, I'm continuing to take the two he recommended. He recommended 6-8 weeks although he said 5 would probably be sufficient. Most things I've read said you need 3 months on supplements. I am moving on from Dr. Levens in any case.

14:51 - Are you the OP on supplements? What did Levens recommend? Months ago I asked him about supplements and he pretty much blew them off, saying there is no proven research to show they help.

Wow! It seems like Dr. Levens has been giving a lot of DE speeches lately. Glad to know I'm not the only one!

Anonymous wrote:I was in exact situation with Dr. Levens, so I went to Dr. Davis at Cornell. I did low-stim cycle with co-culture. I was blessed with BFP. Best wishes to you!

I also see Levens. While he's nice I don't think he has a lot of experience with DOR. I have my cycle failure meeting with him next week and am prepared for him to give me the DE talk.

At Cornell, did you stay up there for the procedures like a few others have stated? Also, what are co-cultures?

I was in exact situation with Dr. Levens, so I went to Dr. Davis at Cornell. I did low-stim cycle with co-culture. I was blessed with BFP. Best wishes to you!

Anonymous wrote:Consulted only with Dr Davis at Cornell...never met him in person...but he was so great on the phone (nice, knowledgeable). I don't know if he/Cornell really have the magic touch, but I got BFP on my 2nd IVF there, which was my 8th IVF overall (if counting FET and cancelled cycles). I have DOR in mid 30s. Basically kicked out of my local clinic and told to go to DE. So I'm a believer in getting away from local clinics if you have a hard case.

I'm a little confused. How did you cycle with Cornell if you never saw Dr. Davis?

I see a lot of people are recommending SIRM. What is it? It's not affiliated with a hospital, and the website is haveababy.com. It seems a little shady to me, but so many are recommending it-

Consulted only with Dr Davis at Cornell...never met him in person...but he was so great on the phone (nice, knowledgeable). I don't know if he/Cornell really have the magic touch, but I got BFP on my 2nd IVF there, which was my 8th IVF overall (if counting FET and cancelled cycles). I have DOR in mid 30s. Basically kicked out of my local clinic and told to go to DE. So I'm a believer in getting away from local clinics if you have a hard case.

Dr. Peters at SIRM is very good. Until last year, SIRM's prices were cheaper than Cornell's. Beginning this year, both are expensive.

I consulted with both SIRM and CCRM. I had multiple phone consults with Dr. Peters from SIRM and had we not been lucky on our last cycle with SGF, we would have gone to him. Our reason was SIRM took our insurance, and was logistically easier than CCRM plus Dr. Peters was so great over the phone.

I did consults with SIRM and CCRM. Both seemed very good and had similar approaches to my situation. I had already moved to DE though. SIRM is more open to immune issues. CCRM is great about checking *everyhting* to make sure it is OK, and is up on all the latest studies and research. I ended up going to SIRM a because CCRM would not accept DE embryos created at Shady Groce absent consents from the donor that SG is not willing to request. I got pregnant with SIRM the first try with them, and hopefully everthing is still OK (18 weeks now).

I think CCRM is probably the best, but I think SIRM was really great -- and worked for me! I saw Dr. Dicken and Dr. Tortoriello. And at CCRM I consulted with Dr. Minjarez. Very happy with all of them. And Dr. Minjarez had really reviewed and digested my file for the consult, with very sophisticated and targeted questions.

Both loads better than SG.

Start trying to get an appt now w Davis. The process can take months. That way if first cycle fails you won't lose much time (I actually had my initial consult w Davis during the 2WW after my IVF cycle at SG - he was fine with that and that way I had a plan of attack when the cycle failed).

SIRM

Dr. David at Cornell.

Ok I'm leaving Shady Grove and going for a second opinion. I'm 39 with normal AMH and all other numbers but Dr Levens says I behave like I have DOR. Husband has slightly low morphology. 3 IUIs, 1 cancelled IVF, 1 IVF retrieval with 4 eggs but no embryos. Just started supplements waiting for next cycle. Dr says we can try again in 6-8 weeks and do a low stimulation protocol but if that doesn't work, time to move on to DE. In my situation would you recommend Cornell, CCRM, or SIRM for a second opinion? CCRM definitely has the best stats but it's a long way to go. Thank you so much!