#DrBoostanfar

No Infertility Challenge too Big for Dr. Robert Boostanfar

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This year, Allyson celebrated her first Mother’s Day with three-month-old Sean. At 51, she is savoring her new status and knows she is lucky to be cuddling her precious baby.

Allyson used the donor egg program at HRC Fertility after undergoing one cycle of IVF with her own eggs. When she married a few years ago, she and her husband understood she probably would have challenges because of her age, so she wasn’t surprised this would be a necessary option.

Allyson found an anonymous donor and was referred to Dr. Robert Boostanfar in HRC Fertility’s Encino office. After several diagnostic tests were completed, Allyson was able to start IVF treatment.

The rest of the process moved along very quickly.  According to Allyson, “The communication was great, especially regarding all the medications and injections. With the frequent office visits, I got to know the staff. I felt it was important to have a close relationship with the providers since this was such an important process.”

Fortunately, Allyson received the news she was pregnant after her second cycle.

Despite getting a lot less sleep, Allyson is figuring out how to make motherhood work and relishing her new role. She is also advising “older” moms to not let age limit their life.

“No one at HRC judged my age, which I really appreciated,” she recalled. “Instead, they honored the fact that I wanted to fulfill my dreams. I always felt in a safe place with Dr. Boostanfar and his staff.”

 

HRC Fertility’s Encino Staff was an Emotional Lifeline

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Justine and Konrad were in their 20s when they first started trying to have a baby. Justine previously had been diagnosed with PCOS, so she knew it might take her longer to get pregnant. But after two  years without results, she decided to ask her OBGYN for help. Justine was prescribed Clomid to stimulate ovulation. It worked, but unfortunately, she suffered an early miscarriage

“That was the turning point for us,” Justine remembers. “We decided to seek the help of a specialist. Our doctor gave us the names of three or four infertility specialists, so I decided to do some online research. All of Dr. Robert Boostanfar’s reviews were very positive, and we took that as a good sign!”

The couple found Dr. Boostanfar easy to talk to and down to earth. At their first meeting, he had already read their history and felt confident in his ability to help them get pregnant.

Konrad echoes, “Our first impression of the Encino office was so positive. Everyone was super friendly. We could sense the staff liked working there; it seemed like a warm and supportive environment. The doctor met with us right on time, which we really appreciated since it was the middle of a workday.”

Dr. Boostanfar developed a game plan. First, he wanted to make sure Justine’s tubes were normal and ordered a hysterosalpingogram. He suggested pursuing intrauterine inseminations (IUI) before attempting anything more advanced.

Justine and Konrad underwent two unsuccessful rounds of IUI. Of course, they were heartbroken. After their second cycle, Dr. Boostanfar suggested they take a mental health break and they went on vacation.

“We could tell Dr. B was just as bummed as we were that our cycles had not worked,” the couple says. “Even the nurse who called about the negative pregnancy tests was so sincere. I could tell she was hurting for us.

“After we returned from vacation, we started acupuncture as a way to prepare for our third IUI. The doctor was open to anything that would help. The cycle was successful and we are now parents to Kennedy, who was born on March 16!”

They encourage other couples to stick with the plan and to keep going through the whole process, advising “You have to cope with the losses emotionally while simultaneously not forgetting you have a life. Taking care of ourselves, like going on vacation or using acupuncture, really helped us. Having the encouraging HRC Fertility staff to support us was also reassuring. We didn’t have a lot of people to talk to about our emotional roller coaster ride, so it was a blessing to be able to confide in them.”

At 29, this LA-based couple is hoping to return to HRC Fertility Encino for another round of treatment and, hopefully, to add to their family.

Finding the Right Fertility Clinic

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L. and A. didn’t start their fertility journey at HRC. In fact, initially they didn’t know that HRC even existed.

“We started with a clinic that seemed more like a baby mill,” L. explained. “It seemed like there were many unnecessary tests, and no one shared much of information with us. We’re pretty well-educated, so it wasn’t like we didn’t understand the medical terminology. But it was like pulling teeth to get information out of anyone. It seemed like all the clinic wanted was our money.”

The couple knew it was time to find another clinic, and their search led them to HRC and Dr. Robert Boostanfar. Once they became patients, they felt much more informed–even when the news wasn’t good. For example, they chose to quite halfway through their first cycle because L’s ovaries weren’t preparing enough eggs.

“It was disappointing because we saw signs of multiple follicles stimulated,” recalled L. “But then we started the drug regimen and I had fewer eggs. It was disappointing, even heartbreaking.”

But they didn’t give up, and two months later started a second IVF cycle that produced seven eggs and three viable embryos. Deciding how many embryos to transfer was difficult given the pros and cons to transferring too many or too few embryos. The important thing was that Dr. Boostanfar carefully mapped out the possibilities–including the best and worst case scenarios–which allowed them to make an informed decision.

“We were very happy with HRC and Dr. Boostanfar, and we ended up with the best case scenario–our beautiful twins.”