[heronsysnj]

I have just entered into a surrogacy relationship with a very nice lady in the San Diego area. Can anyone recommend a good IVF clinic in that area? Also, are there any I should avoid?

[wwells5]

I've seen 3 different RE's in San Diego. It's a lot of money to spend on something and you want to feel comfortable with who you've chosen to represent and treat you during this time. The first woman I saw was Dr. Arlene Morales at Mary Birch. She was nice enough, but I wasn't impressed with bedside manner. I then went for a second opinion to Reproductive Partners at UCSD La Jolla. Very impressed with the tx protocol, professionalism of office staff, and the caring attitude of Dr. Garzo. Fees were competitive across the board. This would have been my first choice, but I was going to have to be there every am for a blood draw, for they monitor you daily to determine meds for that day. Since I work full time and live in La Mesa, this quickly in my mind became near impossible, creating tons of stress. I chose a Dr. near my house at Alvarado. His name is Dr. Mihn Ho. He'll be the first to admit that his office lacks the gleam and glamour of the La Jolla practices, but I found him to be empathetic, caring and sincere. The only thing I was concerned about, was based on his website (infertility xperts) his protocol was similar to that of Dr. Garzo, but in reality I was not monitored as closely as I had thought. This isn't saying that he didn't monitor me appropriately, but after expecting daily blood draws and what felt like a more personal prescription of meds, etc., I was left feeling concerned. Again, every ER has a different protocol and whose to say which is best. I had a low response to stims both months I tried, and just did an embie transfer yesterday with 1 embie. When things don't go the way you hope, it's easy to blame others. There will always be questions in my mind about whether I made the right choice in RE's if the outcome doesn't go my way! I keep thinking back to how comfortable I was with the idea of daily monitoring and whether the low stim could've been detected and corrected before it became a problem. This is probably my only shot at this, so I have try somewhere to feel that I gave it my best effort. For that reason, I encourage you to find someone whom you feel comfortable with and whose protocol you feel good about. While part of me may always wish I'd inconvenienced myself a little more, the other part of me will be grateful for the care that Dr. Ho and his staff provided. They were very accomodating and he was truthful. He discouraged me against doing IVF #! after a poor response because he didn't think it would be successful due to low numbers on a blood test. Following second stim IVF #2, he thought things looked better and that there was a chance with the 2 embies we had, but not a better chance at stiming in the future. Someone else may have been more interested in the $$$ and encouraged me to go forward, though I know this affects their success rates in a negative way and they don't want that. At least Dr. Ho was willing to take the chance. Hope this helps. I know it's a little lengthy. I wish you luck in your pursuit of an RE you trust! Feel free to contact me with any other questions you might have. I have several friends of friends who've seen other RE's in the area!

Wendy

[jimena03]

My husband and I interviewed four of the top fertility clinics in San Diego, and with out a doubt, San Diego Fertility Clinic has far surpassed our expectations. Dr. Kettel and Dr. Hummel are amazing and the staff is so helpful and supportive.

I hope you find a doctor that best meets your needs.

Angie