CCRM???

[Lynley]

Does anybody have any recommendations on which doctor to choose for CCRM? I am debading between Surrey or Schoolcraft. My Dr. recommends Schoolcraft. I have made my first appointment (via telephone) for October 17 with Dr. Surrey. Very excited but lost on sticking with Dr. Surrey or following my Dr's opinion and using Schoolcraft.

[Ghost]

Does anybody have any recommendations on which doctor to choose for CCRM? I am debading between Surrey or Schoolcraft. My Dr. recommends Schoolcraft. I have made my first appointment (via telephone) for October 17 with Dr. Surrey. Very excited but lost on sticking with Dr. Surrey or following my Dr's opinion and using Schoolcraft.

Both have reputations of being very knowledgeable within the industry.

Another poster here, Lynniecat, is also going there. I believe she is seeing Dr. Surrey.

[Lynley]

Does anybody have any recommendations on which doctor to choose for CCRM? I am debading between Surrey or Schoolcraft. My Dr. recommends Schoolcraft. I have made my first appointment (via telephone) for October 17 with Dr. Surrey. Very excited but lost on sticking with Dr. Surrey or following my Dr's opinion and using Schoolcraft.

Both have reputations of being very knowledgeable within the industry.

Another poster here, Lynniecat, is also going there. I believe she is seeing Dr. Surrey.

I believe I have read Lynniecat's post about all the travel and expenses to find out they don't want to do the proceedure. Which totally sucks and really is putting a person through a lot and getting nothing out of it. Totally her decision whether or not she want to proceed.

I think I might call to see who is first available and go off that. Tough decision and I hope I make the right one.

Thanks Ghost!

[RSC]

I go to CCRM as well. I actually started with Dr Minjarez, who is wonderful! It doesn't really matter who you get, I don't think--they have different "on call" days. So I actually had Dr Surrey for my retrieval and transfer, even though I had Dr Minjarez for everything else.

He retrieved 12 eggs from my 36 year old body; 10 fertilized, and 5 made it to blasts, so I had 2 transferred and 3 frozen. I got a BFP a week ago today!!

Good luck!

[mgreenberg]

Both (all) docs at CCRM are top notch. We did 4 cycles with Schoolcraft and would choose him again (and are blessed with a lovely family). CCRM is terrific, so you shouldn't worry about which doc. Schoolcraft is the main doc, and the principal owner of the facility. He set it all up and has grown it over the years. The protocols are his, I believe. So, if you have the choice, I'd pick him, but the others are great and I know lots of their patients, all happy. I can see his new office facility from my house, strangely enough. A constant reminder of our extra not needed embryos in storage....hmmm, decisions, decisions. IVF is a wonderful gift to use fertility-challenged. Consider yourself lucky if you have the means to do a cycle with CCRM.

[lynniecat]

Hey Lynley,


I am seeing Dr. Surrey and have heard that he and Schoolcraft are great, but have bad bedside manners. Basically the deal for me is that I find a lot of pressure to just spend money there in general. You can PM me for more details if you like. Right now I am waiting to do my CCT. If that is ok I will cycle there. Its up to Dr. Surrey, not me. Of course I am older, but I have had a genetically normal pregnancy this year and it frustrates me that they are so bent on looking at FSH and not my history. I have lupus and did not know this before the pg and lost the babies (twin pg from IVF). So we know I at least had 2 out of 5 of the eggs I produced in February.

I will now cycle in MD with my RE who I love there. I moved across the country and wanted to use CCRM as it was closer to me in CA. However, I don't want to waste any time and would not be able to cycle there till Jan. if they even OK it. Their donor program is great but much more expensive than equal programs.


Now all that being said, my MD Re trained with Dr. G. at CCRM and thinks that he is great. If I do cycle there, I will switch to him. So do not feel pressured to choose between these two. In a way its more about the lab than the individual doctor. So...good luck! I will keep everyone here updated as to what happens with me.

I spent 90 dollars today so that Dr. Surrey could tell me my AMH result (which I already had from the nurse). Money not well spent. I think it varies on your age and your fertility issue. They say they do well with older women which is what attracted me, but they only have high results because they screen you and won't cycle you if your odds are too low. So their stats do not mean anything.

On the other hand if your issues are different, they may be a great choice!!!!

[mgreenberg]

Schoolcraft's 'bedside manner' is not an issue. He is a warm, caring doc. Sometimes he doesn't chit-chat much, can be very focussed.

He is much more tender since he himself had kids. Ours are 5 and 1 1/2 now and we first met Schoolcraft some 10 years ago. Nice guy, kind of quiet, but a great doc. I am sure the others are great too.

[lynniecat]

Oh and don't get my wrong, I will cycle there if they let me.

[pickles]

when you go to CCRM the only time you see the person you signed up for is during embryo transfer - so it matters little who you choose. They are all good. The place really is the 'Temple of Reproductive medicine" - it is so far ahead of everywhere else.

[Lynley]

when you go to CCRM the only time you see the person you signed up for is during embryo transfer - so it matters little who you choose. They are all good. The place really is the 'Temple of Reproductive medicine" - it is so far ahead of everywhere else.

Good to know. I have my first appointment next month. They want to run a bunch of tests on days 5-7 after my next cycle. That should fall around the 13 or 14 of November. I'm very excited to down there and hopefully get some answers. I am a little worried about all the poking and proding, but thats worth it.

[kerpupples]

I just heard another of their egg donor ads on the radio yesterday and I noticed that they have raised their maximum age from 32 to 33. Do recipients get to screen their donors? I'm not sure I'd want to pay for 33 year old eggs.

[nicaliw]

I went to CCRM. I chose to see Dr Schoolcraft, just because of his amazing reputation but I believe any doctor there is amazing. A lot of the credit should also go to the amazing team of embryologists they have, that has a big influence on the outcome of the cycle.
I only needed to stim once, the first cycle was a success but m/c at 5 weeks. Then, the FET 5 months later was a success.
Dr S is sometimes quite hurried with his bedside manner, but so very thorough and good at what he does. Pickle is right that you only really see your doc for the initial stuff and then your transfer but your doctor is always consulted to make all the decisions regarding meds and the progress of your cycle.
CCRM takes their time and leaves no stone unturned, which can add extra waiting time and feel like forever, but its totally worth it. Every time this little boy inside me does another flip or kicks me with his tiny little feet I appreciate him being there and everything CCRM did to help me become pregnant.

[Rosiegirl]

Hi -

I would love to hear some peoples thoughts on CCRM? I have been going there since February and honestly have very mix feelings about the place. I know it's considered one of the best Centers out there, if not the best, but because of that I am starting to feel more like a number there and not getting a lot of individual attention.

I am 31 and my husband is 33. We have been trying for 13 months. We have fallen into the "unexplained" catagory. All our tests have come back great! So far at CCRM we have done one IUI w/ Clomid in April that failed. We are working with Doctor Surrey there. We started with Schoolcraft, but my husband wanted a second opinion so we met with Surrey. I am debating if we should go back to Schoolcraft, thoughts??

I ask this cause I have mix feelings on Dr. Surrey. He seems nice, but I just don't feel like I am getting that attention. For example, I feel like he looked at my bloodwork, and just decided on 3 IUIs with Clomid to try cause it's standard procedure, even though I told him I have done clomid with my gyno for 3 months and don't think it works for me. And from day 1, I have felt it is something with my hormones, and wanted to look more into them, and he seemed to shrug that off. But did tell me I am a great candiate for IVF, even though I did tell him I don't even want that to be part of our converstaion.

It's hard because I feel like as a women I have gut feelings about stuff, but he is the Doctor and expert in the field. Though after learning more about this stuff and reading other womens stories, I am starting to think that "unexplained" doesn't really exsist, it's just Doctors being lazy not really wanting to look into your case more to really figure out what's going on with you. For instance, when they took my initial bloodwork I had just finished Clomid, and my blood homrone levels seemed ok. This month I have been doing a natural cycle w /IUI, and so far they have had to put me on estrogen and progestrene pills for both being low. Now my gut feeling, and I shared with the Surrey the first day, is that the reason I don't think I am getting pregnant is cause my hormones, and with looking at this natural cycle I am really wondering if it is proving true. I am also wondering before they start giving you drugs, why don't they monitor your natural cycle for a few months to see what's going on with your body???

On top of it, I have that some of the nurses are great there, but there are a majority that are just a mess. I have had to call to remind them stuff, they have forgotten to call in prescipritons, have messed up my bloodwork time, have forgottten to check with uterine lining, I had to call and ask them if I should come in for a day 7 progestrene test and they were like " Oh yeah, you have to do that" . Again, it's just feels like they are overwhelmed with patients a bit, and you get lost. And for all the out-of -pocket money we pay it's gets very frustrating .

I hate to complain, but I am very frustrated and kinda of feel like they are stringing me along to go to an IVF, or purposely messing things up to get more money. I feel like I am struggling, because part of me feels like I should go get a second opinion, but at the same time I do know CCRM really gets the best reviews and should I just stick it out???? Advice???

[sable]

I think most doctors start from the same basic protocol even if you have tried it before.The reason I feel he is pressing you to go for IVF is your age and that the outcome would be better.You have still have time and could go though the whole process of medication,IUI's and then end up doing IVF.I guess he might be saving you time also.(I don't mean to suggest that the other processes might not work)
I think you are lucky that you have started at a good clinic and not having to go through the trials of various other clinics.

[mgreenberg]

We went to a couple of other centers (did a cycle at one) before we ended up at CCRM. We were in our early 30's and things weren't working as expected. We did all the testing and a myomectomy (removed a fibroid). All three centers suggested we move to IVF. Of course, this is a change in thinking, but it helped us to really focus on what we wanted (which was to have a family). It took us a while to get past the 'maybe its this' 'maybe its that' phase. The desire to have the lack of fertility clear 'explained' is strong, but really doesn't change anything. Even if you knew exactly why you weren't getting pregnant, IVF at age 31 would very well be the best option. In our case, it was IVF with donor egg. Again, it took us considerable time to get past the change in mindset using donor requires, but in the end, we decided that having kids was the goal and that we were less interested in them looking like us. In fact, at one point, we were ready to to adopt. Then, we thought, if we were convinced to adopt, (a child with no genetic connection to either of us, and a somewhat unknown medical and natal history), why on earth wouldn't we want to do IVF? With IVF you maintain a great deal of control, and with donor, at least at CCRM, they screen carefully and you can specify why is important to you.

We decided if we were going to do all of this, we'd use one of the labs in the country with the best results. So, CCRM it was (and now we live nearby). I wouldn't stress about which Dr. at CCRM you use. As the other poster mentioned, its about the protocol, honed over years of practice and study. We were very pleased with Dr. Schoolcraft, though his 'in office' conversation can be very matter of fact. His bedside manner is fine and his talent at embryo transfer is AMAZING. He is a humble and quiet guy, shy, really. The other doctors you mentioned are good too.

For what its worth, my wife's hormones have always been the question. She has regular periods, but over the years, with various testing, we are pretty sure that the 'unexplained' part of our infertility is just a wacko hormone schedule.

We started trying to figure it all out in our early 30's and wasted, in our opinion, many years, trying to 'figure it all out.' We eventually went to 2 successful IVF's and wish we had done so earlier. Once your babies are born, you quickly forget the angst of getting there (you have the excitement and trauma of trying to deal with a baby/toddler/child). We finally had our first when my wife was 42 and second at 46. Both of our kids are wonderful, smart and amazingly good looking. We frequently have people suggest our youngest be on TV/advertising, due to her bright red hair. My wife's family has a history of 'anxiety' and 'strong temperments.' She has admitted that its good that our kids are less likely to inherit those tendencies, which usually are passed down. So far, it has proved to be true and a blessing.

So, my thoughts at age 31 with unexplained infertility. If you really want kids and can find the money, do the IVF. You'll get where you want to be and will forget some of the angst you are currently going through.

The nurses and doctors at CCRM were and have continued to be great. We still have frozen embryos there, not sure how we'll handle that, as we are now 49 and very satisfied with our two lovely girls.

Email on this system if you want more info or want to talk with me or my wife about our journey. Focus on your goal, whatever that is, and be patient with the process. If they goal is to have kids, don't be afraid of the iVF. CCRM knows IVF as well as any clinic. If you don't want to do IVF, Clomid or just giving it some time, might be the ticket. But, set a deadline for yourself. Doing IVF's in your 40's is hard work and raising kids in your late 40's or 50's takes a strong back