Intro/ How did you choose clinic?

[barney96]

Hi! Once I hit CD1 we are starting an IUI diagnostic round. Any day now...

I found 2 local clinics who reviews are good, and websites offered good information. Most places here have long waits for 1st appointments, so I made an appt at 2 places. We've already (obv) started with 1, as in started the consult and plan to do testing etc this month. Next clinic appt is end of next week. Won't obv have test results by then but if I push the appt I'd have to wait until October. 

Did you go to multiple clinics at least for consults, or just stick with the first place (baring an issue that caused you to switch)? 

[seeyalater52]

Welcome. Sorry you're finding yourself here. I hope things move quickly once you start treatment!

We live in an area with 3-4 major clinics and all are covered by my insurance. We chose our clinic based on a combo of factors and did consults only with two of the clinics based on narrowing down other factors, like clinic location and ease of morning monitoring appointments. After the consult we decided to go with our clinic because we preferred the size of the clinic. They have 3 REs on staff (all women, which mattered to us) and you see an RE at every appointment unless someone is on vacation which happens infrequently. The other clinic had more than a dozen REs and handled more with nurses which can also be fine but felt like it might be overwhelming for us in terms of not seeing providers we were familiar with. We also liked their approach better and their SART data showed a lower incidence of multiples with IVF but similar overall success rates.

It's all a little arbitrary honestly. Do you like the doctor you're with currently? If you're having a good experience with your current clinic it might not be necessary to go to that second consult. You could always decide to do another consult after a pre-determined amount of time, like for example before moving on to another form of treatment (hopefully not necessary!)

[grover]

There are three REs in the next town over. Two are male REs who have their own practices. One has a reputation for not having any bedside manner. The third was a female RE in a larger clinic with multiple locations. She was recommended by my PCP, and I feel more comfortable with female docs (My OB group is four women). She wasn't very optimistic, but proved herself wrong as both treatments with her have been successful. As such, we didn't see a need to swap practices.

One thing I did consider when narrowing down from three to two (to check out) was monitoring hours. As a teacher, I can't just waltz into work after the bell other than occasionally. My RE opens at 630 am for monitoring, and I can typically get a 6:30 or 6:45 appointment.

[pooh8402]

Welcome, although I'm sorry you found yourself here.

My first go around (2013-2014), I went to the same RE my sister did. She conceived 2 kids with this doctor. She was 1.5 hour drive from me, but had better stats than the local doctor. I conceived after 4 cycles (3 IUI, 1 IVF) and froze 3 embryos.

My second go round for TTC#2, I moved across the state and had my embryos transferred. There are 2 clinics in town, both with good reputations. I chose the one that had first availability since I was only planning to do FET. Long story short, I did 3 failed FETs and a poor IVF cycle with the first doctor. I transferred care to the other clinic and conceived on my first cycle (IVF) with the new doctor. The new doctor is an expert in my condition and I honestly should have waited to have a consult with her instead of jumping into FET with the other one, but hindsight is 20/20.

[compassrose]

I saw three locals REs and I really loved one of them (he explained things clearly and in detail and treated me like I have a PhD in science, which I do). But in the end, CNY in NY was the only thing we could afford (no insurance coverage), so I'm traveling to syracuse as needed.

[cherryvalance]

Welcome!

I asked my gynecologist for a recommendation and also checked with my insurance. We ended up with our RE because my gyn highly recommended him and we really liked him when we met. It was clear that he was competent and accessible and that put us at ease.

[barney96]

Thanks so much for the responses, it's really helpful. We have no insurance coverage (but have an Ira with 5k in coverage) and there's something like 15-20 places in our area. Many are far or don't have good reviews or enough good reviews so that did help narrow stuff down.

I just started my cycle, and the office is closed, so I asked for a callback about testing hours since I have to come in for the next 3 days while fasting for blood work. The nurse who called back was incredibly rude and said I might be able to get in at 7 but probably not. And I shouldn't call until 8 tomorrow to find out,

So, it sounds like they expect you to not be working. I have an 8:30 am meeting tomorrow across town too so this will be interesting, I was so irritated by her poor attitude that I forgot to ask if they test on the weekends. Looks like I'll keep that other appointment.

[konapoppy]

Ugh sorry she was annoying.

I went for a large clinic with good SART results. I really liked how they collaborated and brainstormed as a team on each case. They had great hours (including weekends) - and yes, you will likely have to miss work for some components of treatment even if they have good hours. My RE did my transfer but not my retrieval which was fine. I joke that about 40 people helped conceive my girls.

[King26]

I went to the clinic that was recommended by my obgyn. It was fine though very busy. They had 2 REs there but it was a practice with multiple locations and I never saw my RE. My monitoring was with a tech, I talked to my nurse, and my retrieval and transfer were with random doctors .

I did some monitoring at another clinic and ended up switching to them because they were small and the one RE specialized in my issues. They have 3 RE but you always see your doctor for monotoring, retrial, transfer unless they are away. My nurse was amazing and got back to me within the hour for everything . I also had my nurse and doctors cell phone and they actually answered when I called. So I'm sorry I didn't go there first but glad I found them. I was just more comfortable there with the staff, my care, and overall. DH was as well.

[icedcoffee]

I'm sorry you are here, but welcome!

When we realized we were having issues conceiving I had only ever heard of one place in my area (although now I know there are tons). It's a HUGE practice. They have over 30 offices and I go to their "main practice" with 9 RE's. The biggest complaints I have heard about this practice are that people feel like it's just a cattle call where you move through the process. Also, you have a main doctor, but if they are not on call they may not do any of your tests or procedures. None of this bothered me. I liked that they had really convenient hours (7 days a week, open at 7 am and no "blackout times" where the lab closes for christmas week or whatever) and they had every type of specialist on hand if we needed it. For example, they have a urologist on staff for my H, a psychologist we met with about potentially using donor sperm, a pharmacy in the building with all meds available. They also have the shared risk program where basically you pay ahead and are guaranteed a baby or your money back. If you're looking for 1 on 1 attention with the same doctor each time, this wouldn't work for you, but I liked it.

In general, I'm the type to just pick a doctor and leave if it's not working out so not doing much research is kind of in line with my personality.

[pooh8402]

barney96, it's great that you already have savings. We didn't have insurance coverage when we were TTC our first, and when we were starting our first IUI cycle, we saw the writing on the wall and started saving in an IRA as well. We could cash flow the IUIs, but were saving for IVF. We thought that if we never needed IVF, then it would be a college savings account. Good luck to you!

Ugh, I'm sorry you had a rude nurse. There is no call for that. I will agree with the others that you will likely have to miss work. Neither of my local clinics have monitoring earlier than 8 am. I'm a nurse who starts work at 7 am. I had to go in on my days off or find a coworker to switch/cover me for my appointments.

[seeyalater52]

barney96, I'm so sorry you're not having a good experience with the clinic so far. Definitely finding someplace that has the most convenient monitoring hours is very key. I will say that none of the clinics around here seem to do monitoring earlier than 7:30 so you may have difficulty finding someplace that can accommodate work beginning at 8:30 without missing some work. I hope you mesh better with the new office you're considering.

[cherryvalance]

barney96, that would send me over the edge. I feel like the first appointments are the honeymoon stage, lol. They should be showing you the best aspects of their facility (they should always do this, but I especially expect it as a new patient who might need some extra hand-holding).

I had a great experience at my clinic in 2016 over several treatment cycles. When we returned this time, things were a lot different and I was not pleased. Since I knew the ins and outs of hours, meds, etc, I stayed with them, but I would have left if this was my first cycle. You have to feel comfortable with the whole process.

[kellikans]

Our first RE was from my OB/gyn's recommendation. We did one IVF cycle and 5 FET's with her, then moved on to a large clinic with good SART rates.