Giveaway Winner Embarks on Her Journey

March 16th, 2009

Jayme Hadley, winner of RHS’s IVF giveaway, talks about her and her husband Dave’s fertility journey and the hope they have for a child of their own.

After our first year of marriage, Dave and I began actively trying to start our family.  We tried unsuccessfully for about a year and a half.  Deep down, I knew something was wrong, but was scared to death to find out there was something wrong with one of us.  At an annual gynecologist appointment (about 2 1/2 years ago), I mentioned our struggles, and my doctor immediately started the testing process on both Dave and myself.  A few months into the testing process, Dave’s sperm analysis came back with a count of zero.  After several repeat tests, Dave was diagnosed with azoospermia. It was a devastating time for both of us!

We were directed to a urologist.  He performed a biopsy where we learned that Dave did produce sperm.  At that realization, they performed surgery and found his reproductive system had scar tissue built up and his vas deferens was severed. We later learned that this, most likely, happened during a surgery he had as an infant.  During the surgery, they were able to reconnect one side but the other side was too badly damaged to fix.  He gave us a 40% chance that the surgery would be successful in allowing the sperm to move through his system.  We were asked to wait a full 9 months to see results.  Unfortunately, all tests during and after that time have come back with the same results as our first analysis. 

During our visit with RHS, we learned more about our options of IVF with ICSI and IUI with donor sperm.  We both really wanted to try IVF, but didn’t ever know if we’d be able to afford the procedure.  Since then we’ve done a lot of thinking, saving, and praying and have gone through just about every emotion imaginable.  When I received the phone call from RHS letting me know we had won the scholarship, I was overjoyed.  After such a long struggle with infertility, the idea of having children of our own seemed more and more impossible. This is the first time in a really long time that we’ve had any hope that our dream of having a family would become a reality. 

We are SO grateful to RHS and all those involved in putting this scholarship together. We feel extra blessed to be given this opportunity!

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The Octuplets: A Reality Check

March 6th, 2009

Dr. Judith Albert, Medical Director

It’s hard to avoid thinking about octuplets these days. Nadya Suleman’s predicament is fascinating and frightening, and images of her are everywhere-on the morning news shows, on the Internet, on the minds of my patients.  Not surprisingly, my friends and acquaintances want to know, “So what’s YOUR take on the octuplets?”, assuming I would have some point of reference, given what I do for a living.  I struggle with an answer, because everything about this case is an aberration.  A single mom with six children goes to the infertility clinic because she wants to have more children and they thaw and transfer all of her embryos at once??  Nope, I can truly say I have never seen anything like that before.

I will strongly advocate for the reproductive rights of women everywhere, but as a practicing Reproductive Endocrinologist, I also have to use sound medical judgment to guide decision-making regarding the choices made in ART.  Chock it up to the differences between California and Pittsburgh, or any other explanation you like, but I think that our patients suffering from infertility “get it”-having one child at a time is their goal.  RHS’s average number of embryos transferred for patients under 35 years of age is 1.8. Fortunately, the vast majority of IVF clinics that report their data also get it.

OK, reality check completed, let’s get on with helping patients get the best treatment available to achieve their goals!

To read Dr. Kubik’s take on the octuplets, check out her quotes in  the Tribune Review’s coverage of the story: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_611387.html

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Infertility and the Holidays

December 16th, 2008

Dr. Carolyn Kubik, Medical Director

I made it through Thanksgiving and I’m getting ready for the end of the year holidays. This is usually a happy time full of excitement and preparation, but also lots of stress, especially for the couples that I see in the RHS office. Everybody knows that holidays are especially stressful for couples who are experiencing infertility - overly helpful relatives, exposure to friends and relatives with children or babies on the way, the list goes on. I wish I had a solution with how to deal with the extra added stress that infertile couples experience at the holidays, but as with most things, there is no effective remedy that works for everybody. So, instead, I would like to offer some words of encouragement.

The pictures of the babies and children that we post on our walls at this time of year come from couples that were in your situation not that long ago. Not all the babies are the result of IVF - happily, some of them come along all on their own - Mother Nature’s way of reminding us of who is in control. Others have been adopted by loving parents - parents for whom medical science hasn’t found an effective remedy to overcome the barrier to conception. The other babies are the result of a variety of treatments that are provided in our offices. We at RHS know that, unfortunately, our treatments will not work for everyone, but we are thrilled that so many of our patients will be successful. I hope that rather than only feeling sad at being reminded of the difficulty that you are having by seeing the pictures, you might also feel a little bit encouraged that everybody at RHS will do everything we can do to make your dream of having a baby come true.

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RHS Offers IVF Giveaway!

October 22nd, 2008

Robin Musiak, Executive Director

This week marks National Infertility Awareness Week. As you can imagine, this is an exciting week for those of us who work in the field of infertility. We are pleased to be recognizing NIAW by offering a free cycle of IVF to a qualifying individual. For complete information about the giveaway, please visit the RHS website @ http://www.ivfpittsburgh.com/ and click on the link from the homepage. Entries will be accepted until 12/31/08 and the drawing will be held in January 2009.

For additional information and events in recongition of NIAW, you can also visit the Resolve website @ http://www.resolve.org/.

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From IVF Patient to Employee

September 24th, 2008

Amanda Wray, RHS Clinical Administrative Assistant

I first came to RHS with infertility back in 2001. I was a patient on and off for the last seven years and have been an RHS employee for two and a half years. I started in the Assay and Andrology lab and now work in the Donor Egg Program.

Dr. Albert saw me through some major hurdles during my fertility journey, and finally this past May, my husband I were blessed with boy/girl twins through IVF. I continued working up until 3 days before delivery, and received tremendous support from my RHS “family.” They enjoyed watching me grow bigger and bigger every month, wondering how long I would keep working and nagging me to tell them the names I picked out.

RHS provides a warm, caring environment during a stressful and emotional time. You will not find better one-on-one attention from a physician anywhere else. Dr. Albert and Dr. Kubik are fantastic! I recommend RHS to any of my friends who are struggling with infertility.

Long ago, my husband asked his mom what she did at work, and she said, “I make money,” so he thought she really MADE money, in a printing factory or something. Actually, she was a private nurse for terminal cancer patients, so the real answer was that she helped people.

So I don’t think of going to work to make money. That’s only part of the reward. The real reward is that I go to work to create and bolster hope for people wanting a family. Speaking from experience, hope is what we need to hang on to in order to make it through this struggle.

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Important Insurance Reminder

September 12th, 2008

Brett and Dawn, RHS Finance Office

A reminder to everyone about the importance of knowing your insurance benefits as you proceed with infertility treatment. Every insurance policy is different, even among the same insurer. Prior to your initial visit with RHS, contact your insurance customer service number on the back of your insurance card in order to obtain your benefit information. We will be more than happy to review your benefits with you once you have the information.

No one needs additional stress as they begin treatment - being well informed and prepared when it comes to understanding your insurance benefits can help you to take control of one aspect of your treatment!

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Eat Well to Live Well

September 8th, 2008

Robin Musiak, Executive Director

We had our last Nutrition and Wellness lecture on September 4th. Lauri did a cooking demonstration of “Beans and Greens” that was delicious! We were all a little sad to see the series end. Lauri provided everyone with so much useful information. Many of the staff as well as patients have committed to making changes. I think we all have a better understanding of why it is so important to eat well to live well and how good nutrition can impact our well-being. We are hoping to have Lauri back to provide us with some reinforcement to the changes that we have made. Keep checking the blog and our website for information. Should anyone be interested in more information about nutrition or Lauri Lang, R.D, LDN you can visit her website at http://www.laurilang.com/.

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Happy Birthday, RHS!

July 2nd, 2008

Debbie Rossi, RN, BSN – IVF Coordinator

Congratulations RHS!!!
Congratulations to Drs. Kubik and Albert and the entire RHS team for our eight successful years of making patients’ dreams comes true. RHS will mark our eight-year anniversary on July 1st, 2008. Over the past 8 years, RHS has been a part of over 650 births through the IVF (in-vitro fertilization) program.

I have been working with Drs. Kubik and Albert for the past 6 ½ years and truly enjoy working closely with the physicians and being part of such a successful team. We look forward to many more years of success and making our patients dreams come true!

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RHS Nutrition and Wellness Series

June 30th, 2008

Robin Musiak, Executive Director

I wanted to announce an exciting new 6-week series at RHS about nutrition and wellness. The series is part of RHS’s “Balance Within” program. The presentor for the series will be Lauri Lang, RD, LDN. Lauri is a registered dietician, licensed dietician nutritionist, and health educator. Lauri Lang specializes in holistic nutrition, chronic disease prevention, and health promotion. Lauri is also recognized publicly for collaborating with Chris Fennimore on healthful cooking demonstrations on WQED-TV and at the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show.

The following is a schedule of the dates and topics for the series.

July 24th @ 12:00pm: Kick off! catered lunch, food demonstration. Focus on the impact of healthier lifestyle habits: good nutrition, exercise, stress management/positive thoughts…on all of our functions, emphasizing that nutritious, whole foods and healthy body weight play a huge role. Discussion of the 10% concept, and how to achieve….

August 7th @ 3:00pm: Discuss framework of Harvard pyramid, portion sizes, time patterns of eating and the effect on our metabolism. Introduce hunger scale concept, and encourage open discussion of obstacles, roadblocks, and what would help to facilitate change.

August 14th @ 3:00pm: Label reading. Be a nutrition detective. What nutrients do we want and what do we want to reduce or eliminate? This is tied to last week’s discussion of portion sizes. General guidelines for protein, carbohydrate and fat intake. Segue to next week’s topic. Open discussion of observations, positives and negatives, to be shared.

August 21st @ 3:00pm: Understanding your numbers: cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose, and the impact of specific foods: positive and negative, on chronic disease prevention, including fiber recommendations. We’ll also discuss proper hydration and the effects on our health.

August 28th @ 3:00pm: Heart healthy choices. Understand the alphabet soup of MUFA, PUFA, SFA, TFA, omega-3 fatty acids and the impacts on our health, so you know what you want to look for and what to avoid. Open discussion with question and answer.

September 4th @ 12:00pm: catered lunch and food demonstration. Prizes to be awarded. Open Q&A ….discussion of anti-inflammatory foods, organics (dirty dozen, etc..) immune boosting foods. How to maintain positive changes made….Stages of Change discussion….

This is in addition to multiple scheduled mini-consults on these presentation days. Please call our office at 412-731-8000 for more information and to register for the series.

There will be a chance to register for prizes with attendance to each class. Prizes will be awarded at the last session on September 4th. We look forward to seeing you there!!

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A Blog Post for the Men

June 27th, 2008

Jen Hamilton, Lab Manager

Oftentimes the coordinators at RHS get the infamous question: “Why do I have to collect my semen sample in the office and not at home?”

Since we, at RHS, deal with this issue on a daily basis we sometimes tend to forget the embarrassment or awkwardness that our male patients may feel about coming into the office for such an appointment. But there are several reasons that we ask that our male patients collect in the office and one of those reasons is not to torture you!

The only way to check a male for infertility is to collect semen for evaluation. Your semen sample provides valuable other information rather than just a sperm count. Multiple characteristics are studied such as ejaculate volumes, motility, and the ability of the sperm to swim forward. We also have the ability to do additional testing on the semen sample to further complete the diagnosis.

Since sperm motility is highly sensitive to alterations of time and temperature we ask that this semen sample be collected in our collection rooms near the laboratory. This is the main reason that we ask that you collect your semen sample in the office. As a rule, the semen sample is analyzed within one hour of collection. The interval between sample collection and analysis should be as short as possible since motility declines with time. This is especially crucial if the specimen has a low motility to begin with. Also, if further tests of sperm function are to be performed it is critical that the spermatozoa be separated from the seminal plasma within one hour of ejaculation. We also prefer that you collect in the office for identification purposes. We must photo ID you at the time we check you into the collection rooms. We have a big responsibility to ensure that we have the right semen specimen from the right patient at all times. This is another reason that we ask that you collect your specimen in the office.

So, even though you may have anxiety or embarrassment of collecting your semen sample in the office we can assure you that you are not alone. Many of our male patients feel this way! Please remember that you are always welcome to bring any materials from home which may help you during the collection process.

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