IVF Recommendation - Park Ridge,IL

Dr. Miller and Associates in the western suburbs is an option. We used him. He used to have an office in Arlington Heights. Not sure if that one is still there.

I was in the same boat at the mom "michele". I also went to see Dr Kaplan at FCI having trouble concieving number 2 - no problems with number 1. At 39 almost 40 he told me that donar eggs were pretty much my only option - my FSH was 31. I found Dr Mary Wood Molo (works at Rush) from a wonderful website fertilefriends.com. I liked that she was a woman and also had fertility problems herself so figured she could relate better with the emotional roller coaster infertility brings. Well, long story short, 2 weeks after I met with her I ovulated on my own and she put my on prometrium 3 days afterwards. Lo and behold I got pregnant!! I do know some people in which they have had good experiences at FCI but if you are 35 or older I dont think they are as open minded as others like Molo. Also, that woman on E ( Julianna Rancik) went to Dr Kaplan at FCI - 2 failed IVF's and when she went to another RE who wanted her to have a mammogram before another IVF she found out she had breast cancer!! Dr Kaplan never requested this to be done). You are headed in the right step by "doing your homework" and finding out the right place for you. If I had believed Dr Kaplan and another RE from Northwestern ( Dr Barnes) I would not have my wonderful now 15 month old boy.

We went to Dr. Charles Miller in Arlington Heights. He is unbelievable, with an incredible staff dedicated to personalized service. He isn't cheap, but, let's face it, this is one time when even I had to move beyond price and look for quality (I'm usually incredibly price conscious about everything). We went to him 8 years ago when a fertility "specialist" in Skokie told me that I couldn't become pregnant because "my ovaries weren't working" and there was nothing she could do. I went to Dr. Miller a few months later and was pregnant four months after that. Whatever you decide absolutely visit a number of places and ask hard questions. If you're not being treated well-go somewhere else!!

We went to the Fertility Centers of IL for several rounds of IVF. It's a very large company that is definitely focused on results, not necessarily on you as an individual patient. If we would have gone somewhere for a third round, we wouldn't have gone back to them.

With such a large place with so many patients, we felt we were "just a number" and we didn't get the attention we required. We felt rushed by our doctor during one-on-one visits with any questions we had (of the few times we actually saw her. We mostly dealt with her nurses, and the doctors don't even perform procedures like AI, the nurses do (and some were not as good as others).

Our first IVF yielded no viable eggs, and we had a nurse call us (when we were on the way to the center the morning of implantation) who just flatly said, "None of your eggs are viable, so we are canceling your procedure this morning." Then she hung up. That was it. No compassion. No explanation. No call from the doctor. We had to wait two weeks for an appointment to find out what happened.

Our second attempt yielded one egg that was genetically "well", which unfortunately did not implant. As you can imagine we were pretty sad (months of shots and painful procedures failed). No word from our doctor. No follow up call. Nothing, except a business card for their grief councilor. Seriously? I just spent tens of thousands of dollars at your office, and I don't even get a call or an appointment?!

If you have a need for individualized care (which I think most women do, as this is a tough thing to get through, especially when it doesn't work), them I'd try to find another, smaller clinic.

The only thing we did like was the embryologist in Highland Park. If you stick with FCI, be sure to request that you go there. He is fantastic, and has better results that their other lab. It was quite a hike from the city, but we felt is was worth it.

The best of luck to you. I hope it works!

We went to FCI as well and really liked. With this procedure you are at the office so much that they almost become friends. We did 1 round of IVF and got pregnant, luckily. Dr. Beltsos was my main Dr., however, when you do the procedure, you get whoever is at the facility that day. Good Luck!

I also went to FCI and Dr Kaplan. I did three rounds of IVF there and never got pregnant. We have one child and have had trouble ttc#2. My daughter was 1 1/2 when we first started and he basically told me I would probably never have another child on my own. He did zero testing on me...his information was based on my elevated FSH level and my age (39). My husband and I were in a fog...having heard this guy was the best we believed him (how i wish i could go back to that first meeting and do it all again). After our 3rd failed IVF, we decided to take a break.

I started doing research on my own, reading books and looking for a new doctor. FCI is a factory. I LOVED the ultrasound tecs...they knew me and each time I felt like they were pulling for me. Dr. Kaplan had no idea who we were until we were in front of him and he had looked at our file. A nurse would call and say, sorry you're not pregnant...do you want to start another cycle? He never called me once, never asked how we were doing. Still never did any testing on me...I was the stupid one to give him all the power, but hindsight is 20/20.

So after my research, my husband and I changed a bunch of things...no caffeine, more veggies/fruit, no red meat, no dairy...more greens. I did acupuncture on and off (its so expensive and we have been self pay through this process). Making Babies is one of the best books out there so is Inconceivable. Then my research led me to Dr. Wood-Molo at Rush. She started my testing me and my husband...testing my natural cycle to see where something was going wrong. My left tube was blocked (I had a c-section with our daughter and scarring is very common).

I just finished IVF and did my transfer yesterday. I'm hoping to have good news in the next couple of weeks. She is AWESOME. She does more than IVF and doesn't want to do it solely...she cares about her patients and takes the time to get to know you. She cried with me during our transfer....hoping that this works for us. She became a dr in this profession for all the right reasons.

I would suggest checking out different practices/doctors and making sure you feel comfortable before you fork over $15,000.

I wish you the best!

We went to FCI and after several rounds got pregnant. It is a very large clinic and you might feel like just a number. If you want to be pampered and coddled this is probably not the right place for you but if you want the very best doctor and lab in the state of Illinois this is the place for you. I went to another doctor for a couple rounds first and the doctor would sit with us and talk to us for hours if we wanted him too but he was not as successful and I did not have faith that he could get us pregnant. I believe Dr. Kaplan is the best fertility doc in the city and like someone said, I believe their lab in highland park is the best in the state. I have a friend who decided to go to the highland park office on a regular basis since she works in the suburbs and has had a wonderful experience there. She feels it is much less like a factory, less crowded, and feels she gets more personalized attention. It would probably be an equal drive for you to go there instead of the city from where you live. I do think you are in the right place and I wish you the BEST of luck. I know how difficult this whole process can be. I hope you have success very soon!

Hi Amy,
I went to Dr. Miller and was told that I needed an egg donor based on my elevated FSH, I was 33 at the time. Although his staff was very friendly, I didn't care for him personally. We sought a 2nd opion with Dr. Marut at FCI and did 1 round of IVF, which didn't work. In the meantime, I started going for acupuncture. We met Dr. Marut again 7 months later to start a 2nd round of IVF and we didn't know it at the time, but I was pregnant. And, he told us in that meeting that my chances of getting pregnant with IVF were slim......HA!

When my daughter was 11 months old, I went for 1 round of acupuncture and was pregnant the next month with my 2nd daughter and then 2 years later I had my son, without anything!!

I would highly recommend trying acupuncture before IVF. It's a process, I went for 7 months, but so worth it. It certainly beats all the injections!!

Hang in there and be patient! It's such an emotional roller coaster, but I'm so glad I didn't give up.

Best of luck to you!!!

Wishing you and your husband all the best. We went through it 3 times about 17 years ago.

Take care
J.