Just wanted to update with my admittedly limited experience with Braverman, which left me impressed. I called him for the free 10 min phone consult, ready to fly there if necessary to start testing. He was slightly late, and seemed a bit disorganized, but the advice he gave was impressive. He actually advised me AGAINST signing up with him right now because he felt I was only a borderline candidate and should keep going with a local RE unless I have more problems. I was impressed that he was not looking to hard sell me on anything. He left me feeling slightly less panicked, which I really needed (and my husband appreciates.) I'm 37, no children, 2 early mc and 3 years of trying with no immune issues in family. He recommended we discuss the sperm dna frag test for DH with my RE. Its actually quite generous of him to use his time and expertise in this way and frankly refreshing after my experience with shady grove where i barely got to speak with my RE. I am now scheduled for Dr. Frankfurter at GW tomorrow (this will be the third RE I've met with) and I'm just hoping for some good results.

PP here and for those who don't know KK studied under Dr. Beer who AEB is named after so she their ideology is tied together in many ways. They also use the same lab in Chicago that KK runs.

I'm not 12:10 but I am the poster they are responding to. From what I know of KK and AEB (former AEB patient, but success with Dr. Braverman) is that they are more open to now using intralipids whereas a few years ago they were not. The labs have not changed much to my knowledge. Occasionally I meet someone on the boards who need someone to look at their results so I've seen them in the last couple of years and they don't look much different than they did when I was their patient ~4 years ago.

The field of reproductive immunology has been quickly evolving in that time. New treatments, new tests, new understanding. So I hope AEB and KK are trying to keep up with the pack, but Braverman's office seems to be leading the charge for new treatments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He also runs KIR testing and a whole slew of other specialized tests for specific cell subsets and cytokines. He runs the full HLA panel which also gives input into certain haplotypes that are predisposed to autoimmune diseases. (ie not just DQa)

I've been his patient for several years now and have seen his tests evolve as he learns more and more. I'm sorry but to say that's the difference is very misleading PP. And as someone with 2 daughters I continue to keep up with the research in this field for their sake.

I am 12:10. KK and AEB are very different now than what they used to be until 2 years ago.

Sorry to pull up and old thread. But 12:10, what changed for KK and AEB 2 years ago?

In my experience KK typically focuses on prescribing IVIG and if that doesn't work she increases the dose and/or frequency of IVIG. She uses that and prednisone to try and tackle every problem. But IVIG doesn't work for everyone, it didn't work for me. That's really the only issue I have with her. If she had more treatments she liked using it might be a little different.

Anonymous wrote:He also runs KIR testing and a whole slew of other specialized tests for specific cell subsets and cytokines. He runs the full HLA panel which also gives input into certain haplotypes that are predisposed to autoimmune diseases. (ie not just DQa)

I've been his patient for several years now and have seen his tests evolve as he learns more and more. I'm sorry but to say that's the difference is very misleading PP. And as someone with 2 daughters I continue to keep up with the research in this field for their sake.

I am 12:10. KK and AEB are very different now than what they used to be until 2 years ago.

He also runs KIR testing and a whole slew of other specialized tests for specific cell subsets and cytokines. He runs the full HLA panel which also gives input into certain haplotypes that are predisposed to autoimmune diseases. (ie not just DQa)

I've been his patient for several years now and have seen his tests evolve as he learns more and more. I'm sorry but to say that's the difference is very misleading PP. And as someone with 2 daughters I continue to keep up with the research in this field for their sake.

I have researched this field well enough and am an active member on the immunology forum. The difference between Braverman, KK and AEB is that Braverman runs DQ Alpha test for husband/wife matching. KK and AEB do not believe in that test. Other than that, both KK and AEB are as detail oriented as Braverman. KK's appointments are difficult to get. AEB's appointments aren't too bad to get.
I know many women who have found success at both KK and AEB.

9:49 here again.

I also saw AEB and did IVIG and miscarried twice with IVIG which is why I went to Dr. Braverman. If you have time then yes it might be more cost effective to go see Dr. KK or AEB, but if this is your last shot then definitely go see Dr. Braverman instead of either of those. His understanding and tests far exceed what the other RIs will be able to offer you. But yes it's expensive. In my mind it was still cheaper than a surrogate.

I have all my Braverman blood work and infusions etc done locally, but I'm not sure that's what you are asking.

OP here - thank you! I was really nervous about his fees. My doctor is going to prescribe and run his protocols. I'm already on Lovenox, Prednisone, Baby Asprin, Metanx, Deplin etc. I can't imagine going on more drugs - especially more not covered and spending thousands of $$ on consultation fees. I spent everything on ivf. Ugg..

Does anyone do this locally?

Because I am not his IVF patient. It seems to me like but I am not sure that he wants to get patients to his clinics for IVF as well. My RE hates him but is still managing to prescribe me what I need to a certain extent. My RE says he can treat me for immune issues based on his own expertise and experience but if I want to get inputs from Dr. B and Dr. B has different opinions, then Dr. B needs to prescribe what he believes in. RE has a good point but patients like me get stuck in all this nonsense.

OP - I wanted to give you a realistic picture of things and what to expect. Not all experiences are as bad as mine. Most times I have experienced that whoever posts about Dr. Braverman has already made a decision to go see him. If you are like one of those, good luck and I hope you get attention and resolution to infertility.

If you are debating whether to go to see him and want to consider other options, I would highly recommend Dr. Kwak Kim in Chicago or Alan Beer Center in California.