We did a couple cycles when Dr. Moon was away and it didn't make much difference (didn't work when she was or wasn't there, but I don't blame her for that). She met with us before she left and went over the general protocol, and we weren't doing anything too complicated. We've had several doctors and at least one nurse midwife (Clough, who I adored) do procedures and it didn't seem to matter much. It was more annoying when our nurse was away than when our doctor was.

I think the RE can make the difference. I didn't love my first RE but didn't complain because I was a fairly straight forward case. My insurance covered IUI's and when I moved onto IVF (I was able to get pregnant easily but was having miscarriages) I felt very uncomfortable with the RE's plan - so much drugs. Since IVF and the drugs were out of pocket I really didn't feel want to move forward without another opinion. I switched to Dr. Obrien (Rockville) and was very very happy with her approach (though I liked my nurses better on the other RE's team). Less drugs and I felt she really listened to me and genuinely cared about my outcome. I am now 18 weeks.

After two cycles with Levens I could never get a straight answer from him as to what he thought my issue was and why he chose the protocol to address it. Every time I asked him questions he told me about an article he had written on the subject. He put me on a terrible protocol the second time and I went from a high responder to a low responder. He would aslo call me after hours and leave voicemails for me to call him back at the SG Annadale main line, which closes at 3:45pm. Very nice guy, but I have no faith in him as a doctor so I left. I chose not to stay with SG because I felt like any other doctor would have just gone down the basic protocol list, which is not helpful for me (I have great numbers but egg quality issues).

I would seriously evaluate Leven's credentials. He is young and doesn't have a lot of experience. He most certainly can't think outside the box.

Anonymous wrote:Transfer. Not implantation.

Your theory has no proof (imo)

I agree. I bet the set of data isn't bigger than three cycles. FWIW, my transfer was done by another doctor at SG and we were successful on the first try. While I liked my Dr. (O'Brien) a lot, as far as I know she just did a standard protocol on me (microdose lupron flare). We were lucky it worked. I think customization only really kicks in once you've had a failed cycle, and they have data regarding how you respond.

I agree about the subtle calls with IVF depending on your RE.

I liked Widra at SG but really didn't like Nair. She clearly hadn't read my chart when I saw her, told me to stay off the internet because there is so much misinformation, and if I asked more than couple of questions would say "you have to trust me"--but later doctors who reviewed my records from my cycles with her said they'd never have given me clomid in my situation.

I think the subtle calls and timing that can make all the difference in an IVF cycle do depend on your doctor so you should have one you can trust.

Transfer. Not implantation.

Your theory has no proof (imo)

All I can say is that when other Doctors did the implantation, we got nothing. When Dr. Chang did, and seemed to take his time to find just the right spot, we were successful.

We switched docs between our first successful pregnancy and our second--primarily to escape a horrible nurse. The second doc just adopted the protocol that had been successful the first time, and tweaked it a bit when it wasn't as successful this time. We're now pg with twins, so it all worked out! We used Browne for the first time, and she was great, and Nair for this most recent, and she was also great. Plus we had a fabulous nurse this second time--way better than the one last time, who made me cry, twice!