Maybe, but although I didn't get the SGF one (I am a graduate so clearly I was not on their receiving end like intended) I am also enrolled on a lot of baby sites (similac, huggies, etc for the coupons and rewards). I would guess this is where they may have received the information from because I ended up with a free year to Sam's club due to one of these companies selling my address to Sam's (not that I minded the free membership). Nobody at Sam's could confirm why I received it or that they even gave free memberships to expecting moms.

I didn't actually read the shutterfly email when it arrived... directly deleted it out of my inbox. I then received the apology email the next morning and realized it was an error (although it did apply to me). I had read through this thread and thought it was a weird coincidence that two companies did this during the same week.

I have used their site to order photo books and had selected a baby themed one so I just figured this is why I was on their list.

I hope all the people on this thread that had a rough week soon get their miracles! And those of you with frozen embryos - so jealous!

This is too weird. Is it possible that Shady Grove sold its e-mail list of graduates to Shutterfly??

Yep... this email arrived overnight from Shutterfly:

Please accept our most sincere apologies. We mistakenly sent an email that was intended only for new parents who recently made baby-related purchases at Shutterfly. We’re truly sorry if you received this email in error. We realize this is a very sensitive issue and we did not mean to upset you in any way.
We care about our customers above all else and have taken measures to ensure this will not happen again. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at customerservice@cs.shutterfly.com and we’ll get back to you.
Sincerely,
John Boris
Chief Marketing Officer
Shutterfly, Inc.

Hahaha. PP here. Meant shutterfly, of course.

Anonymous wrote:Looks like congrats for non existent babies is the theme of the week. Shutterfly must employ the same advertising department as SGF...

I got that same email from shitterfly and was so confused. I thought it was bc a friend shared an albulm with me that had pics of her kids (not newborns though). So weird.

Looks like congrats for non existent babies is the theme of the week. Shutterfly must employ the same advertising department as SGF...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
This is from the outfit that makes it crystal, excruciatingly clear that you can NOT ever ever bring children to their offices for appointments because it will be too tough on the waiting room patients.


You are comparing cats to apples, but I like this policy.

Signed,
Waiting room patient


You won't like it when you are doing multiple rounds of IVF for #2. The monitoring appts are the worst bc no sitter is going to come to your house that early for just the 45-60 min that you need them for.


I hope we are ever fortunate enough to have that "problem".

Right... some people will never be happy! Too bad they didn't have twins to get both kids out of the way to not have to be inconvenienced in such a horrible way.

You're an asshole to think secondary infertility is no big deal. It took me 4 yrs and multiple IVF's/ chemicals to finally have a pregnancy that resulted in a baby. Why can you complain about the rule and I can't? I bet you are complaining about how some appts are interfering with work, vacations, etc. but If you already have a child then you better just stfu and enjoy what you have. You are the worst kind of bitch.

Whoa--I think there is a reading comprehension error on your part. The "problem" I wanted to be fortunate enough to have was finding a sitter for an early monitoring appointment, not secondary IF. We have primary IF, so secondary is a no brainer for me. (MFI + DEs) My life has revolved around IF treatments for 3 years and you would lose the bet, because I have no complaints. We don't have children on earth, but our desire to parent is very strong and we do what we have to to try to achieve that goal.

I'm actually not an asshole or a bitter bitch either. I'm always excited to see a fellow infertile get a BFP, but your complaint/first-world problem about not being able to bring your child to your monitoring appointments for another IVF cycle hit a nerve. If I had seen you + baby while waiting for a 2nd beta draw or my graduating u/s, I would be fine. If I had to sit in the waiting room with you + baby following my m/c, I would've lost it. Yes I see babies in the real world and am fine, but the RE's office is the one place I shouldn't have to.

Signed,
Waiting room patient still waiting

I don't think people are trying to be mean towards people with secondary infertility but are just frustrated that someone is complaining about the difficulties making appointments because of having a child. I for one agree with this no child policy because not having a child when it is all you want is very difficult and seeing children there would make this even more painful.

Clearly this whole thread is a bunch of frustrated woman trying to cope with IF and emotions get the best of some of us. I don't think calling people a-holes or other names because they may have made a sarcastic quip out of frustration is appropriate either.

SGF made a mistake... That we all agree on, but I highly doubt any woman on here would intentionally disrespect another person with IF, secondary included. Everyone take a breather, have a hot bath (except for you lucky pregnant ladies) and think positive thoughts about your next treatment cycles and hope for sticky little embryos.

FYI

This came to my email today


Dear Patients,




Earlier this week we learned that our communications team made a serious and unfortunate mistake by sending a Mother's Day email to our current patients. This note was intended for patients who have already conceived and graduated from the practice. As you can understand, within this context, the message was very insensitive and hurtful to many.

We want to personally extend our deepest apologies and assure you that we would never intentionally send a note like this to our patients struggling to conceive. Our goal is, as always, to provide the highest quality medical care in an environment that is supportive, caring, and respectful of the intensely personal nature of infertility.

While it can't be undone, it is our hope you can forgive us for any pain we may inadvertently have caused though this action.


Yours sincerely,

The Physicians of Shady Grove Fertility

They charge you $15 for a blood draw; they charge me $3 because that is my insurance negotiated rate.

All included in a fixed cycle cost. Discounted cycles are available for people under a certain income. Also, if you are lucky you can get some free drugs from SGF.

My insurance had a negotiated rate for ICSI at $1900

ICSI is $2000 extra on the shared risk plan for out-of-pocket people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
This is from the outfit that makes it crystal, excruciatingly clear that you can NOT ever ever bring children to their offices for appointments because it will be too tough on the waiting room patients.


You are comparing cats to apples, but I like this policy.

Signed,
Waiting room patient


You won't like it when you are doing multiple rounds of IVF for #2. The monitoring appts are the worst bc no sitter is going to come to your house that early for just the 45-60 min that you need them for.


I hope we are ever fortunate enough to have that "problem".

Right... some people will never be happy! Too bad they didn't have twins to get both kids out of the way to not have to be inconvenienced in such a horrible way.

It's disheartening how mean spirited and bitter, not to mention vindictive some of you are.

I question the usefulness of a Mothers Day e-mail to former patients, but the spirit is in the right place. Someone made a terrible mistake, but they need not lose their job over it. And a class action lawsuit? What a frivolous and ridiculous exercise.

But the worst are the PPs above mocking the poster with secondary infertility. What the hell is wrong with you?

I've been through the infertility treatment hell twice for both of my kids. It was pure misery with multiple disappointments. But you won't be less miserable by being nasty and vindictive. And hopefully you'll have children soon and being bitter and nasty is no way to parent your kids. Get a grip on yourselves.

Sometimes I read threads where infertile women are described as "bitter" or "hags" and it makes me so angry. Then I come to this thread and I can see why.

BTW - I'm pregnant - the embryos will be siblings.

If Shady Grove (I say shitty grove to my friends) can't do something as simple as billing right then how do we know they can do fertility stats right?

And here is the thing that someone who is paying out of pocket should be concerned about - SG didn't get per-clearance for some of my treatments (this is not the first time). I'm considered an insured patient so they have to get per-clearance - their failure to do so means I'm not obligated to pay. So far they didn't get per-clearance for $4k worth of treatments. Per their contract with my insurance company neither the patient (me) or the insurance company is obligated to pay for anything not pre-approved. That means Shady Grove had to eat $4k worth of fertility treatments.

Do you really think that this money is coming out of Cleveland's salary or any of the staff their that failed to do their jobs per billing right?

it doesn't - they pass that cost on to people like you who have to pay full price.

My insurance had a negotiated rate for ICSI at $1900; SG charges folks like you $3,500. If they don't get approvals for that they eat it and your costs can go up.

I barely paid anything for my IVF so I don't need to be bitter over costs. They charge you $15 for a blood draw; they charge me $3 because that is my insurance negotiated rate.

7 1/2 months pregnant - all is well and my billing still isn't resolved. My insurance company has made it clear I'm not to pay another cent.

It's simple math - they can't do it and they charge folks like you a lot more.

I'm not bitter for me - but I am for my friends who have to pay out of pocket; had 3 miscarriages and no money to try for a fourth.

Cute how you think cdc collects data. The institution reports it to the cdc. The cdc doesn't have someone on site collecting it.

I didn't specifically say that the CDC collects the data... I suggested that if SGF can 'fudge' their data then why can't all IVF clinics. Or are all IVF clinics complete honest and SGF is just 'Shady' (pun intended). I really just meant that when someone states you can't trust their stats that are reported to the CDC then you can't trust any. And a clinic would lose their license if they were falsely reporting their stats and this was discovered.

Also, any clinic can deny you for treatment for various reasons - too fat (which is me according to my BMI), too old (getting close), low ovarian reserve (check), too high thyroid (check)... but some clinics are also willing to take your money and see if they can get you pregnant (and don't get me wrong... I don't think SGF took me as a charity case... they have $20K of mine). They even let me into the shared risk program which they would certainly deny many people for (I think being infertile due to cancer and no tubes gave them confidence they could get me pregnant even though I failed in many other aspects - i.e. my infertility was not unexplained).

I am glad you have the option to move your embryos and go to another clinic where you will get the treatment you want and hopefully a baby from those frozen embryos. And your insurance company has the option of not covering IVF if they can prove that they are not an accredited institution. I didn't have insurance so that was a non factor for me which is why I went to SGF (shared risk program) and was only every treated with dignity and respect.

And when you do finally get the baby you so desire and deserve I hope you are able to leave this bitter and angry part of your life behind you and only focus nothing but positive attention on to your family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
This is from the outfit that makes it crystal, excruciatingly clear that you can NOT ever ever bring children to their offices for appointments because it will be too tough on the waiting room patients.


You are comparing cats to apples, but I like this policy.

Signed,
Waiting room patient


You won't like it when you are doing multiple rounds of IVF for #2. The monitoring appts are the worst bc no sitter is going to come to your house that early for just the 45-60 min that you need them for.


I hope we are ever fortunate enough to have that "problem".

Right... some people will never be happy! Too bad they didn't have twins to get both kids out of the way to not have to be inconvenienced in such a horrible way.

You're an asshole to think secondary infertility is no big deal. It took me 4 yrs and multiple IVF's/ chemicals to finally have a pregnancy that resulted in a baby. Why can you complain about the rule and I can't? I bet you are complaining about how some appts are interfering with work, vacations, etc. but If you already have a child then you better just stfu and enjoy what you have. You are the worst kind of bitch.