[stefanieleigh81]

Hey guys,

I'm here seeking your advice once again...next week I am meeting with a new doctor in regards to IVF. I wasn't getting good "vibes" from my last doctor.

I want to do it right this time and get ALL the infomation I can. Do you have any suggestions for questions I should ask the new doctor? For example, once you got started on your IVF journey...was there questions you wished you would have asked in the beginning about the procedures, cost or medication?

I know the basics and have done my research but in a lot of the particulars, I still feel like im in the dark.

Thanks so much for ANY suggestions!!

[DRB]

Originally Posted by stefanieleigh81

Hey guys,

I'm here seeking your advice once again...next week I am meeting with a new doctor in regards to IVF. I wasn't getting good "vibes" from my last doctor.

I want to do it right this time and get ALL the infomation I can. Do you have any suggestions for questions I should ask the new doctor? For example, once you got started on your IVF journey...was there questions you wished you would have asked in the beginning about the procedures, cost or medication?

I know the basics and have done my research but in a lot of the particulars, I still feel like im in the dark.

Thanks so much for ANY suggestions!!

I had a list of questions when I went last week.
Some where:
1. What is their embryologist training?
2. How many follicles is your goal with me?
3. Do you do rescue ICSI?
4. Who can I call on the weekend if there is something wrong with me, or my meds, or both?
5. How can I prevent OHSS?
6. Facility questions: How long has it been an Arts center? Is there a clean air room?

and the rest were questions about me and my certain situation. There are no bad questions, as it is your money, your time, and your body!

Good Luck

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by DRB

I had a list of questions when I went last week.
Some where:
1. What is their embryologist training?
2. How many follicles is your goal with me?
3. Do you do rescue ICSI?
4. Who can I call on the weekend if there is something wrong with me, or my meds, or both?
5. How can I prevent OHSS?
6. Facility questions: How long has it been an Arts center? Is there a clean air room?

Great list. I'd change question 5 slightly to "How do you (the doctor) prevent OHSS, and how successful is that approach in high-risk patients?"

I'd also ask about live birth and implantation rates (ask for the SART and/or CDC numbers). The implantation rate is important because it reflects the ability to achieve pregnancy with fewer embryos transferred. A high birth rate is of little value if they have to transfer 3 embryos to achieve it.

[thunder]

Hi.
I would also add:

- How many embrio(s) do you put back in my situation/age group?

- When asking about cost, make sure they tell you if they bill the insurance first or if they charge you in advance. Also, most do not include the price of medication into their list. So if you are going to do multiple IVFs with one price, most do not tell you that there is medication cost for each try. They say, you pay $$$ and get three fresh IVFs and three FETs, but they don't tell you that on top of that you pay medication for each fresh/frozen cycle.

- I've done 2nd opinion and also just talked about my history and what he would have done differently, etc. his thoughts and all that.

- To me, it was important to have 24x7 line. They always have an RE on-call in case of an emergency. I liked that. Never used it, but a nice feeling that it is there. Also, I like the fact that they are open on weekends and all holidays. Granted only from 7-11am, but if your cycle falls on a weekend, they will see you regardless. I liked that.

I ended up going back to my original RE, but I needed to know I have asked for a 2nd opinion.

Good luck!!

[Sarabela]

This is a great list of questons so far! I also wanted to know the following:

1. Will you (the doctor) be my Dr. performing ER and ET?

We switched REs after we found out that the Dr. who conducted our consult was NOT the same person that we would be dealing with for most of the proceedures. He deletgate that to other Drs in his practice which I wasn't crazy about.

2. Do they perfer to do 3 or 5 day transfers or is it based on each patients situations?

Some clinics will only do one or the other regardless of the patient's cirucumstances.

I hope your new Dr. gives you all the right vibes!
Good luck

[bino]

Originally Posted by Sarabela

This is a great list of questons so far! I also wanted to know the following:

1. Will you (the doctor) be my Dr. performing ER and ET?

We switched REs after we found out that the Dr. who conducted our consult was NOT the same person that we would be dealing with for most of the proceedures. He deletgate that to other Drs in his practice which I wasn't crazy about.

2. Do they perfer to do 3 or 5 day transfers or is it based on each patients situations?

Some clinics will only do one or the other regardless of the patient's cirucumstances.

I hope your new Dr. gives you all the right vibes!
Good luck

I think that second question is a really good one.

Also ask about any potential tests they'd want to do. I switched RE's and felt like I had all the same tests re-done. And when those tests have to fall on cycle day x,y,z... then you might as well toss another month out the window.

And I just learned this lesson the hard way. When they prescribe your meds; question them on why they chose Each Med, why lupron, why menopur, follistim.... they are all different in some way.