Fertility Specialists Medical Group

I strongly encourage anyone considering this facility to carefully reconsider their options. My experience has been deeply disappointing, and its crucial to recognize that genuine, personalized care is essential. Despite Dr. Shellys polite demeanor, it became clear that her engagement lacked sincerity and commitment. This facility does not prioritize meaningful interaction or individualized support. For your well-being and satisfaction, seek out providers who are truly dedicated to listening and addressing your needs. Your time and resources are valuable—invest them in a place that genuinely cares and supports you.

Really disappointed with my experience with this location. I will start off by saying my initial consult with Dr Shelly and my first in person appointment with her went well. She’s very nice. However, my most recent experience is as follows:During my initial consult AND my ultrasound appointment (May 17 and May 28) I informed Dr Shelly my husband and I will be moving to the east coast July 1st and this was pretty much a one time shot before we left. She assured me at the ultrasound that everything looked good and the only thing I’ll need to do is get some new bloodwork and to call back when I start my period OR to still call if I didn’t start to do a blood test to check for pregnancy.Fast forward to June 17, I call to tell them I started on June 16th (closed on Sunday so called Monday), front desk informs me that they “see I cancelled the follow up virtual meeting and that was required to get an IUI cycle started”. So I explained that wasn’t what was said to me otherwise I would have kept the follow up. I was THEN told my Dr is on a 3 week vacation and wouldn’t be back until July 5th. I was taken aback because none of this was mentioned to me when I said on two separate occasions that we are moving July 1st and were to get in a cycle before we left….After this very disappointing news, I was told that they would try to get me in with another doctor and to expect a call within an hour from a coordinator. It was also mentioned that if I didn’t receive a call by 1pm to give them a call. Well, 1pm rolls around and no call, so I call them and their machine answers so I had to leave a voicemail.Due to the lack of organization with information and lack of urgency to rectify the situation I will just have to miss this cycle and let this delicate situation be handled by someone else.Very disappointed.

Not a good company - their paperwork (they repeat several questions in their lengthy paperwork - wasting clients time) and financial disclosures/customer service is very unprofessional. Dee and Denise (I believe their names were) just treated me very unprofessionally on the phone. Dee kept cutting me off and telling me that ALL of their patients understand their insurance coverages. Not kind or professional people. Avoid them.

Unfortunately, we’ve encountered a number of issues from different aspects of the process that have convinced us to explore other options.It’s unfortunate that this clinic does not do weekend services. We’ve needed to trigger ovulation on a Thursday only to come back for the IUI no more than 24 hours later on a Friday. We’ve been told that timing is one of the most important aspects of the process, casting doubt on whether these procedures should’ve actually been done given the circumstances.On a similar note, there seems to be a lack of alignment between the scheduling staff and the doctors. After a failed cycle, we’ve been asked by the staff to schedule the next cycle and have it scheduled on the third day of my cycle, only to later be reprimanded by the doctor who states “it would’ve been nice to have see you sooner.” It feels unfair to hear this after already providing an upfront payment and proceeding with the treatment that now feels misguided with respect to timing.We are disappointed with the lack of depth our doctor exhibits when trying to retroactively explain the lack of success weve been having. All our diagnostic tests, while not perfect, did not raise any particular red-flags with our outlook from the onset. After so many failed IUIs, our hope has transformed to confusion without further insight or recommendations from the doctor. Her analyses are extremely qualitative with no forward-thinking other than doing the exact same procedure again. When bringing up these concerns, our doctor simply says that only IVF would give us more information. This makes us feel that either this clinic lacks the expertise and/or other resources to provide comprehensive diagnoses; or that they’re merely interested in exploring the most expensive and extensive options as soon as possible.Simply put, the administrative staff that supports the doctors are extremely incompetent. It’s infuriating to experience the same logistical issues month after month, with little to improvement despite relaying the same feedback each time it happens. Multiple times they have either: 1. Have not sent medication in a timely manner (even after confirming they would do so immediately after our consultation); 2. Sent medication to the wrong pharmacy (even after confirming with us which one to send it to); 3. Fail to communicate test results (necessitating you to reach out to them), or do so in the method you specifically did not ask for. This staff needs to understand that we make these requests for a reason (e.g., work situations, mental health, etc.) and complicating what should be considered as the simplest part of this process only leads to more angst.TLDR:On a personal level, the entire process from beginning to end feels impersonal and transactional, making it increasingly harder to drop over $1000 per IUI cycle. In retrospect, it’s a shame that we continued going to this clinic for as long as we did. Patient advocacy is important but can be extremely hard while navigating infertility. Our questions and concerns have gone unheard due to a comical lack of communication. My supportive husband, who accompanies me to these appointments and is the voice when my emotions get the best of me, is ignored even when hes literally in the same room as me. To have to put my feelings on the back burner to be the one speaking in order to not feel that the doctor is being condescending is so incredibly frustrating and does not foster a positive environment. I should not have to worry about those kind of things and it is disappointing that we’ve put up with it. While we certainly could’ve done more to advocate for ourselves, our desperation to address our ‘unexplained infertility’ ultimately forced us to place a significant amount of trust in a clinic that at this time does not appear to have the empathy, communication skills, flexibility, and expertise to see us as more than just another ‘customer’. We will continue our journey in hope that we can find a clinic that is first and foremost more thorough to helping us understand our options.

My husband and I have had numerous problems with this clinic’s operations and level of care/attention.We did have a phone call with the manager and she was kind and assured me they are working to change things (including staff), so maybe they will improve with time, but as of right now we were just left disappointed and frustrated so many times.The biggest concern I have is that there was no effort to find the cause of infertility. They just immediately jump to a new attempt at IUI each month and when it fails, they simply ask if you want to try again. They don’t look into why it might be failing, because “unexplained infertility is common”.Well after one iui ending in a chemical (early miscarriage), two additional failed IUI attempts, and one cycle that was cancelled because my follicles weren’t growing fast enough (by the way you still pay a flat rate of $500 if your cycle gets cancelled…. Silly in my opinion because all that happened that month was a couple of ultrasounds), I took it upon myself to research more and discovered that not a single doctor along my fertility journey tested my blood at the right time of my cycle. I did a day 21 blood test and found I am very low on estrogen and progesterone. Had this been discovered sooner, say, from a specialist, I could have gotten pregnant from one of the IUIs I paid a lot of money for. That’s a huge red flag.Other concerns we’ve had-Billing:You pay upfront for an IUI cycle. When my cycle was cancelled due to my follicles not responding to meds, they wanted to charge me in full for the next cycle. I told them that I’m not paying in full because the last cycle I bought never reached IUI, we only did a couple of ultrasounds. There was “no record” of me not having completed the iui that cycle. I was irate that there would be so little care or documentation in my progress. They did resolve this issue for me, but it took me having to advocate for myself and I still walked away feeling as though I’m just another paycheck to them. They aren’t keeping good records of my health care.Another HUGE oversight was a clerical error on my IUI instructions. They tell you the exact time to take a trigger shot before an IUI, and the time they wrote on my paper was wrong. The manager was apologetic but that could have cost me that cycle. There is simply no excuse when I’m paying so much money and only get one short window a month to try. That mistake was pure negligence.When I had my chemical pregnancy, I was told to call the next time I get a period. I started spotting about 5 weeks later and called to request a blood test to see if that was my period or not (my hormones were still wonky). They told me no and that I’ll know when my period comes.Well…. We later found out from blood tests that that WAS my period, and therefore we missed another cycle of monitoring.I requested a higher dosage of meds and they told me no, that we will stick to what I was on because that’s what got me to my chemical pregnancy. But that month is when my body didn’t respond to the meds. So if I had had a higher dosage, would I have had a shot? Who knows.At the end of the day, it’s not my intent to drag this clinic through the mud. But I know how exhausting and heartbreaking it is to go through infertility and if you’re struggling with that, I hope you can find a clinic that provides better thought/care for you than what you will receive here.Also- some of the front desk staff was kind and smiley. One or two of the gals is perpetually grouchy and I’ve seen this mentioned in several reviews from the past so it seems they don’t care?Lastly- I requested my medical records to be sent electronically. There is a flat rate fee of $25, and when I asked them (twice) to explain the fee (California and federal law state it cannot exceed $6.50), I was brushed off and they did not answer except to say “it’s the fee for gathering your records”.

If I could give 0 stars I would. *Do NOT go here!!* As a provider myself, I was very disturbed by the way they run this clinic. You dont actually meet your provider in person until your treatment. Your consultation and follow-up appointments to discuss labs are all virtual, which doesnt cultivate a personal connection. When you show up for your treatments or ultrasounds, you will be rushed in and out, being completely dismissed if you have any questions. You pay for your treatment before you meet with the doctor and when you get the call that your treatment was unsuccessful, basically in the same breath they ask you to pay for another round before you even get the opportunity to grieve for that month.I additionally had a suspicion of what was happening throughout my cycle, but Dr. Morales said that everything was normal, even though she didnt truly take the time to sit down and listen to my concerns. She diagnosed us with unexplained infertility and our chosen treatment was IUI. After 2 unsuccessful IUI cycles I found another provider who listened to my concerns and my suspicions were correct. The other provider was able to manipulate my cycle with only medications and we are now pregnant.While my husband was waiting on me for one of my ultrasounds, he also heard one of the front desk women making fun of a patient that she had just gotten off of the phone with. Which brings me to my final point, the front desk staff were so rude with every in person or virtual interaction.Do not go to fertility specialists medical group. You will leave incredibly disappointed.

All they want is your money. They don’t disclose their hidden fees. Don’t include your spouse to your first appointment or they’ll secretly charge him for YOUR appointment. And don’t forget that you can’t obtain YOUR medical records without a $25 charge. Online portal has a “documents” tab with no documents available free to YOUR health information. And even if you consider paying for your record, “anticipate processing time of 14 business days.” Go anywhere but here.

I worked in the medical field for many years & have never had this type of encounter. The only kind person here is Dr. Shelly, but Dr. Morales is MONEY HUNGRY & lacks empathy; I believe it will come back to bite her eventually because she doesnt allow people to contact her directly nor does she make an effort to get back to a single patient without payment. I paid for a consult where I was misinformed, so I contacted the front desk to ask her a couple of questions correlated to the appointment we had, which she said I would need to set up another consult & pay for... (if there are any medical negligence lawyers, can you please look into this place?). This is the WORST clinic I have ever been to -- however because they reel you in with treatments & your time, you are stuck with the provider who constantly takes without giving. You can see by the reviews here, that they are trash.Irene, the receptionist is probably the worst of them here & purposely says things to infuriate you, an example-Me: So one of the consults got cut short due to a disconnection, can you please assist me in rescheduling & waiving that payment?Irene: No, you would have to pay again.This second time calling about something else-Me: I had my follicle count last year & your practice never got back to me, can someone please assist me, as I dont want to have to pay twice for your companys negligence?Irene: You would have to start all over because it has been a year.-- She mentioned she could transfer me to the financial department for more info, but excuse me, they have nothing to do with what I was bringing up.I got cut off during my appointment with Dr. Morales because of bad a connection & rescheduled the appointment, to which they billed over $100 to my insurance twice & asked me to pay the deposit twice.Not only that, but they were going through some changes so they forgot to inform me of my results, & I went to a different fertility clinic that was so much better but informed me it would be best to stick with one since they already performed so many procedures, so I reluctantly came back here & they told me since it has been almost a year I would need to restart ALL the procedures again (& pay the same original amount) from their lack of structure. I honestly may gather all the ladies here to get their experience & potentially see what we can do because this place should not be allowed to treat customers this way.On top of that, I was speaking with Keila who sent me all the information & was emailing back & forth with her, to which she stopped responding abruptly without even an automated email saying she would be away. I contacted the fertility clinic after a month of no response & this was what IRENE told me:You should just directly email our public email because when employees are not in the office you wont get a response-- I dont think thats the proper way to respond to a customer, but also, they should have an automated email set up so I know to reach out to their public email since Keila WAS originally responding to me & handling my case.

THE WORST OF THE WORST ! I Dont Recommend Dealing With These People AT ALL !YOU Will Lose Your Money and Your Time.PS. Just Look to Their Rating Rate, and Read The Comments, and YOU Will Know WHY These People not Recommended ! I Made a Mistake by Trusted These People, I Hope YOU Will not do The Same Mistake.Simply These People are Looking for Money WITHOUT Providing Professional Medical Service and Helping People to Build Their Families ...Dr. Alessandro Contini

This clinic is incredibly disorganized and pushes IVF. The clinic staff were very rude and unwelcoming. I went here because the waitlist for UCSD was long. From the jump it was chaotic. It started with a virtual appointment that I couldn’t figure out how to join. Then when I went in person they did a few tests and basically just pushed me to IVF (after 1 in person appointment). Later, I tried to get ahold of my medical records to go to a different clinic and they wouldn’t respond to my emails or call me back. There are a lot of options, don’t go here.

My wife and I did some fertility testing and blood work. Never heard back from a doctor to review the results. I called and requested feedback, all we were sent was half of our test results. No follow up call or appointment from the doctor to review the results. Called the second time and haven’t heard back yet. In my opinion, this is very unprofessional. I’m just glad that we’re not at the point where we’ve spent a ton of money like some people and can go elsewhere.

The fertility treatments can be a long journey, but well worth it! I’m a very nervous, squeamish patient and the doctors and nurses at FSMG were great in helping me along every part of the way. All the doctors, nurses, front desk staff, financial department, etc were very easy to work with and encouraging. I first met with Dr. Morales two years ago and we began the physical process of IVF 6 or 7 months later when we were ready. There were a few hiccups along the way with 1) me not mixing medicine correctly at first, 2) I wasn’t taking CoQ10 like I was supposed to before the first egg retrieval and ended up with no promising embryos, and 3) after the second egg retrieval I did end up with a few promising embryos, but the first attempt at getting me pregnant through the embryo transfer failed. Two of those hiccups were obviously my fault. When we did the second embryo transfer… success! I am now 10 weeks pregnant with my to-be daughter (you can choose boy or girl if you get the embryos tested) and my husband and I couldn’t be happier! Today I graduated from my fertility doctor to my OB, who will deliver my baby. We still have one good male embryo being stored and may be back for another transfer in a couple years. Thank you, FSMG! You have taken good care of me and I will send you baby pictures in February.

I highly recommend going here to seek fertility treatments. I worked with Dr. Shelly and she was kind, compassionate, and so helpful. We made a clear plan of action. All the doctors and nurses were wonderful! I was grateful to leave pregnant and graduated on to my obgyn. They left me with an adorable care package. Wonderful experience overall!

Worked with Dr Morales for many years and had the best experience from egg retrieval to IVF and a successful pregnancy. She is extremely knowledgeable about latest tests and recent scientific publications. She is also very kind and supportive. She advised me well to make inform and realistic choices all along this journey. All the staff at both clinics are great as well, very professional and efficient. I highly recommend this practice.

My experience was not good in this clinic. The doctor who treated me always seemed to be in a rush, and when I had a question I just felt rushed. I did not appreciate this because I paid a good amount of money to be treated at this clinic. Also one of the nurses there is kind of rude; this was horrible, especially because when you are dealing with infertility you expect compassion, and patience when you walk into a fertility clinic. Also, I requested my blood work test results because I was thinking of getting a second opinion and it was really hard to get those results. I called the nurse, and left many messages and she never called back. I became extremely frustrated over this and decided to speak with someone in charge and that is how I finally obtained my test results, it was a struggle for sure. I went to see a fertility specialist in Mexico and the treatment I received was excellent. The doctor explained everything really well and always answered all my questions, never felt rushed. This doctor reviewed the test results that the doctor at FSMG had me do and the doctor stated that I have low AMH. The doctor at FSMG said everything looked good, did not tell me about having low AMH 🤦🏻. Don’t waste your time and money at this clinic.

You deserve better -- do NOT go here! This was the first fertility clinic that my husband and I visited and, unfortunately, it was a bad experience that didnt improve over the 6 months we were treated there. I kept giving them the benefit of the doubt and didnt know if there were better options out there, but I wish I had left sooner! FSMG made my infertility experience even more difficult. Main reasons: inconsideration for patients as individuals, disorganization of office, disconnected staff.Dr. Maas was rushed and I had to slow her down before shed leave the room to ask her my questions so that I understood sufficiently what was going on with my treatment/progress. Almost every time I saw a different nurse, and they always asked me about my LMP even though I am a patient because of anovulation, so that got annoying. Other clinics take the time to notate the appropriate information in your record so that you dont have to be asked such questions.Other clinics treat you like an individual and not just a source of income. Unfortunately I felt like I was just a source of income for FSMG.The whole team seems disconnected. I observed multiple issues of miscommunication between nurses and front desk staff. For example, I would rotate between going to the Carlsbad and San Diego offices. When scheduling my next appointment, I took it upon myself to confirm with the front desk staff that my records would be at the right office for that appointment. They reassured me that they would be in the right place but at least once I showed up for an appointment and they didnt have my chart! Also, when I paid $25 for my records so I could transfer to another clinic, they didnt include any details about how I responded to treatment. I noticed that my records were sparse for what I had done and had to self-advocate for the records from my ultrasounds.If youre having doubts about your RE or your clinic is making you uneasy through your treatment, dont settle! Run and seek another opinion! See FertilityIQ for more reviews. Advocate for yourself. It may delay your treatment briefly but it will make your journey much less painful.

Dr Morales is compassionate and has a genuine passion for helping people have babies. We also worked with Dr Shelly and she is also genuine and passionate. I am a medical rep professionally and deal with many doctors and I can tell you first hand they are knowledgeable, passionate, and work to provide the best chance for success. The road however isn’t easy... it’s downright messy and emotional. Dr Morales and staff understood that and continually worked to help us through it. We have a beautiful son today because of it. I would also recommend to do your homework when it comes to costs... shop around... every fertility clinic has different costs. My insurance was trying to get us to move mid-cycle and the billing department (Denise, Adrianne) worked with my insurance and what I uncovered cost wise at other clinics to be competitive. It’s on patients to always do your homework. Every clinic is a business... but with that said.. you will feel the live from Dr Morales and Dr Shelly... and they know what they are doing. Some of the bad reviews I read are from people on hormones having emotional issues and likely taking it out unfairly on the internet. I bet they didn’t even talk to the staff before posting.... I say this because any issue or misunderstanding we had... when we spoke to the staff, nurses, billing department, or Drs we were met with compassion, patience, and solutions. So for these reasons, I recommend Dr Morales and Dr Shelly

My experience with FSMG was unfortunately not good. There were a few reasons for this.First, there are some great nurses there and we did experience Dr. Shellys renowned kindness.However, our experience overall earns a single star. Here are the reasons:1. Some nurses were inexperienced. I have squishy veins I was told but I was left with very large bruises from a particular nurse who was not good at her job. When you are giving blood every other day for 2-3 weeks this is important.2. Some nurses were rude. Dr. Shelly okd a little trip I was on for 2 days--then after my blood results a nurse called and wanted me back the following day. I told her I was in LA and she started to chastise me and tell me that was not ok. This was totally unnecessary and stressful on top of a load of stress from IVF.3. After our retrieval I had major complications--this clinic does not offer support on weekends (which is when it will really be a problem because retrievals are only scheduled Th/Fr currently) so I was forced to go to the ER. While Dr. Shelly was available by phone and was kind this still meant a $3k ER bill that could have been avoided.4. Our retrieval resulted in 6 eggs, 4 embryos and 2 that survived past day 5. We PGS tested those 2 and they came back abnormal. This is when it really, really went downhill. Dr. Shelly was compassionate as she gave us these very painful results but followed that with some strange suggestions. She said a few times she knew we would not want to do another round (which was not true). She said my eggs were old (which was harsh and a bit odd since this was never a factor before that time, never mentioned or made a factor with all the tests I took and I was 38) and then made a point of saying my husbands sperm was great (which felt pretty insensitive). And the part that was a dealbreaker for us--she suggested we do it all over again and just give it another try without any new protocol or changes. This amounts to $20k to just try again. At this point we knew that FSMG was not the place for us.5. We went to UCSD and at my first appointment they found another fibroid (I am plagued with them). This was nuts since I had just had so many ultrasounds with Dr. Shelly (at least 5) and she never made mention of an additional tumor in my uterus. My new doctor recommended surgery immediately before we even try for another retrieval. This was all so disappointing because it feels like we have wasted so much time now.I imagine if you have no complications FSMG might be ok. But most of us seeking help have complications so, I would not recommend this clinic for that reason.

We have two beautiful children thanks to Dr Morales, Dr Shelly, and Dr Maas! We primarily saw Dr M, but saw the others doctors a few times. They were all very friendly and upfront. We knew our changes were not great and it took awhile, but it finally worked. I know they genuinely care about their patients. I would (and have) recommend friends to any of their doctors.

Please don’t use them!!! My wife had a horrible experience. They did not help at all after we experienced a failed IVF. We paid them 40k and they didn’t event have the audacity to call after everything went south. All they said was “ we can try again” for another 40k. If you can, use someone else!!!

Had such a great experience. The nurses and doctors are amazing, so caring!

I would stay away from this place. Greedy and unprofessional. They only care for your money and therefore I would not trust any of their services. Just a greedy collection of people

Where can I select “zero” stars?

Dr Morales is a miracle worker! Highly recommend.

THE BEST!! Dr. Shelly is amazing.