Looking for doctor who does IUIs

[escher]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a DC area doctor or midwife who does IUIs? I'm a lesbian, so I need someone who is comfortable with that.

Thank you!

[escher]

For anyone else looking for a fertility doc, Dr. Marci Krop Cook (http://www.marcikropcookmd.com/) looks great, but she is unfortunately too far from DC for me.

Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[maryeliz]

Are you looking to avoid fertility clinics? If so this info may not be useful, I used the Shady Grove Fertility Practice (Dr. Katz at GBMC). They have a bunch of locations throughout the DC metro area. It sucked in the sense that it was super-medicalized-and too me, very stressful, but they are very good at what they do. They seem to serve a very diverse clientele and I never got the sense that the gay thing was an issue for them-my partner attended almost all my appointments and was treated just like anyone else, held my hand during the procedures, etc. The staff was always very nice to us.

[escher]

Hi Maryeliz--thank you for the suggestion. I'm not specifically looking to avoid fertility clinics, so I'll definitely keep looking at Shady Grove. It's great to know that the staff there are nice. The impression I have gotten from looking at their website is that they have very set protocol that they aren't very willing to deviate from--for example, they expect all of their patients to take progesterone supplements after having IUIs, which is something I'm hoping to avoid. Has that been your experience?

Thank you very much for being willing to share so much information!

[maryeliz]

I really liked Dr. Katz because I felt that he wasn't pushy and didn't try to upsell us on treatment (he also does the "terrorist fist bump" as a greeting, which I liked). I did decline some of the genetic testing and infertility testing they recommended at the beginning and no one made a big deal of it. However, overall Shady Grove operated like a factory farm, they move you in and move you out and have similar blood work and us monitoring for everyone. I was prescribed progesterone, and took it, even though I have never had any low progesterone issues. That particular med seems pretty easy to get around since it seems like they would have no way of know if you took it or even if you filled the script.

A lesbian couple I know in Baltimore went around and met with a bunch of local providers and gave me their notes-so if you were here I would have more suggestions. Maybe some place like the Whitman-Walker clinic might have some DC specific referrals? I know they are more oriented toward HIV care, but it could be a place to start since they are hooked into all sort so GLBT health issues.

[escher]

Hi Maryeliz--thank you very much for all the information and suggestions. I really appreciate you telling me about your experience.