The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness

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NYC12345

Joined 5 years ago

Wow, Mike Berkley and Chinese medicine are amazing!

For three months I suffered with recurrent sinus infections, ear infections, and bronchitis. Not even two rounds of antibiotics could put an end to this nonsense. But, Chinese herbs did! After only a few doses, I felt like I could climb Mt. Everest! No more antibiotics, prednisone, prescription nasal allergy sprays, and no more asthma medications.

Thank you, Mike, for getting me back on my feet!

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Dena F.

Joined 1 year ago

A Big Thank You to Mike Berkley!. Four years ago when we where going through IVF for the first time I went to Mike Berkley for acupuncture. The fact that he was co-located and recommended by my fertility doctor made the decision easy. Mike Berkley was always very encouraging and kind. His ability to calm my nerves in conjunction with the acupuncture treatments was undoubtedly a significant factor in our ability to conceive a beautiful baby girl.

Two years later when we were trying to have another baby we had a harder time. We went through a few rounds of unsuccessful IVF and a miscarriage. Through it all Mike Berkley was very supportive and when he finally recommended that both my husband and I have acupuncture and take Chinese herbs we decided to go for it so that we would at least have the peace of mind of knowing we tried everything. I'm not going to lie, the herbs were disgusting, but we stuck with it and it paid off, this time the embryologist called our embryos "to die for".

Of course through all of this having a great fertility Doctor, in my case Joel Batzofin, was critical. Without IVF we would not have gotten pregnant. But we firmly believe that Mike Berkeley and his treatments were a major part in our success and we owe him a huge debt of gratitude for our two beautiful girls now 3 years and 6 months old.

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Yogi Kate

Joined 2 years ago

Berkeley Center Acupuncture WORKS!. I am a healthy 33 year old woman. My husband and I had been trying to get pregnant for 7 months when we decided to try acupuncture with Mike Berkeley. After my first three weeks of treatment, twice a week, I had the most incredible experience. I have suffered from paralyzing menstrual cramps for over a decade but after the first six acupuncture treatments the menstrual cramping and pain was reduced by at least 70%. It was the first time I didn't need to take ANY pain medication. Two weeks later, we finally conceived! We are incredibly grateful to everyone at the Berkeley Center for Reproductive Wellness.

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dawn harris

Joined 2 years ago

Why Mike Berkley may be an iconoclast but he's a Master!. Yes, Mike Berkley may be one of very definite opinions and beliefs but that is due to the fact that he has taken the time to truly research and investigate what he espouses.

While he is a person of divergent natures at times, this is what makes him unique in that the GENIUS of this practitioner is that he has proven experience in these beliefs and opinions.

It takes an evolved persona and one who has learned that quite often in the medical field, we don't hear the truth...it's either sugar-coated or left out.

Mike Berkley is one of the most compassionate empathetic providers I have ever worked with and his knowledge from both Eastern and Western modalities, almost unsurpassed.

Is he eccentric as some point out here, talk about personal issues...YES and this is what makes him connect with our humanity.

Of course, he truly understands the medical issues and origins...but because through careful discourse, has challenged traditional medicine and even Chinese medicine, he has developed techniques which deliver RESULTS...and has taken every detail of his Center into consideration.

I started working with Berkley after 6 years of failed conceptions...due to mostly, bad or negligent advice from reproductive community both in ny and FLA....and he was the ONLY one who supported me in extending my journey to other areas that others wrote off...and expanded my educational knowledge...not just with a "do as i say" attitude but more one of here's WHY i think we should try this...and educated me about my body more. After working with him for just a few months, i was able to see other options open for me (he's one of the ONLY board certified herbalists that uses custom-blended herbs for fertility) and once i did this, I successfully conceived twins in the 11th hour of my fertility. A sacred rite no one should ever take lightly. Thus if he shares from a personal perspective, it's because he too has personally dealt with it....I highly recommend him for anyone and have done so with many happy patients with successful results. For those of you that say he's self-absorbed, how many reproductive endos do you know that would even give you the time and energy that Berkley does? So while it may not always be the hand holding you may think YOU want, it's the hand holding you need to get results. You're not marrying or dating him, you're going to him for support and results. And that he delivers. With a huge dose of love and compassion.

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Panda2420

Joined 3 years ago

Terrible experience at the Berkley Center. Beware. My experience with Mike Berkley was very negative. I went for acupuncture to support an early pregnancy after a history of miscarriages. He was arrogant and self-absorbed in our meetings, often taking up time talking about his personal issues. Many times while I was in the treatment room receiving the acupuncture, Mike would forget I was there and leave me lying on the table for nearly an hour. Any idiot knows not to leave a pregnant woman unable to get to bathroom for very long. Several times I told him that more than 20 minutes became very uncomfortable and stressful for me, and he agreed... only to forget again the next time. I often times had to yell at the top of my lungs for someone to come and get me out. I ended up stopping treatment with him because it was too stressful every time and I couldn't handle his arrogance and absent-mindedness. That pregnancy ended up a miscarriage at 8 weeks, and in my emails with Mike I tried to get him to refund the substantial amount I had paid for sessions not yet used. He refused to refund me, and also (cruelly) blamed me for the miscarriage. Lab tests later showed that the embryo was missing a chromosome, no fault of mine or anything to do with stopping acupuncture. Mike also told me (inaccurately) that the problem was with the lining of my uterus and that I should definitely not try to get pregnant on my shorter cycle months. This was completely wrong information, as several ob/gyns confirmed and also became evident later with a successful pregnancy. Stay away! There are tons of other practitioners in this field who are more respectful, kind and knowledgeable.

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StellaC

Joined 2 years ago

My wonderful experience so far. I am a patient of Mike Berkley. He has always replied to calls or e-mails after my initial consultation quickly and responsibly, which is really appreciated. I believe he has his patient's best interest at heart. He is very confident in what he does and I think that is because it is justified. The negative reviews on here are too bad in my opinion because they discount a person who really devotes himself to help others conceive. I am currently taking his herbs and they are doing wonders. My FSH has dropped by 9 points so far and I have no more cramps each month, which was unimaginable before I started the herbs. I feel like I can reach out to him at any point with questions and he always replies with thoughtful, valuable answers to help me during this process of ttc.

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GauriDevi

Joined 3 years ago

Mike is Amazing. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for over two years now, using assisted reproductive technologies as well as a variety of complementary treatments (like acupuncture, herbs, Maya abdominal massage, meditation, etc.). I’ve been to three fertility acupuncturists in the city, but for one reason or another, never felt like they were the right match for me. I met Mike last year at a free seminar he offered on Traditional Chinese Medicine. I was impressed by his depth and breadth of knowledge and the amount of personalized attention he gave to each woman in the group that night. Mike displayed a tremendous wealth of knowledge both about Traditional Chinese Medicine and about Western reproductive endocrinology. Months later, I decided to start seeing Mike a month or so before my scheduled IVF attempt. I felt that, of all the acupuncturists I’d seen, Mike was the most well informed and personable. Mike did recommend three months of solid acupuncture in preparation for an IVF cycle, but I was determined to forge ahead in one month as originally planned. Mike was reassuring and said that, even if this cycle didn’t work (which, sadly, it didn’t), I’d be that much better prepared for my next attempt if I started regular acupuncture treatments then.

During my intake, Mike was thorough, attentive, and funny. He has a quirky, endearingly cocky, irreverent personality that has been perceived negatively by a reviewer on this site -- but the real truth is: Mike is so great. Sure, his prices are on the higher end of the spectrum, but he offers fantastic package deals that bring his fee down lower than any other acupuncturist I’ve seen. And contrary to what one reviewer said, he’s not out to financially exploit us “desperate” trying-to-conceive women. He truly cares about us! He has built his practice around us! Read his poetry (sometimes included in his newsletters) and you’ll see that he has an uncanny ability to “get” what this painful fertility journey is like for us, to commiserate, and to offer hope and help. I walk out of our sessions each week feeling listened to and cared for (which is more than I can say for my RE!). Mike’s office is beautiful, his receptionist, Lexie, is great, and if he’s ever away, he has an amazing acupuncturist who covers for him. The Berkley Center is definitely excellent on all counts. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Mike is amazing.

The best part of my Berkley experience has been the unexpected positive pregnancy test I got this month while I was taking a little break in between ART cycles! I was scheduled to do another IVF in January, but lo and behold, I got a positive home pregnancy result the day before Christmas. I’ve been seeing Mike twice weekly for about three months now (precisely the amount of time he suggested I’d need to get things in balance) and I know his treatment had everything to do with my wonderfully, amazingly unexpected pregnancy!

Good luck to you. I hope Mike can help you as much as he has helped me.

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integrative130

Joined 3 years ago

A SAD AND BROKEN MAN. This was an email that I got in my mailbox from this guy.

It is a desperate attempt to save his sinking ship and I was absolutely appalled!!!

Now, would you got to this arrogant, passive aggressive, child?

He says:

I would like to elucidate several things.

1. I am the FIRST acupuncturist in the U.S. to devote a clinic entirely to the treatment of infertility. I have JUST treated infertility cases for 13 years. Can anyone on this listserve name one single individual who can make that claim?

2. I have studied reproductive medicine with several reproductive endocrinologists.

3. I am the acupuncturists that reproductive endocrinologists seek out when they want to know more about TCM and infertility.

4. I probably know more than 99% of any practitioner in the U.S. about reproductive pathology both from Western and TCM perspectives.

5. My FIRST visit is $250.00. This first visit encompasses a 1.5 hour intake and a 30 minute treatment. My follow up visits are $125.00 each.

6. Being clinically excellent is not what I offer. Clinically superior, highly experienced, clinically successful, authoritative on the subject of infertility, respected by acupuncturists and reproductive endocrinologists WORLD-WIDE is what I do offer.

Can anyone of you answer this question: Why can a 25 year old patient who is not in POF ( in case you don’t know, that means premature ovarian failure) have an fsh of 30? She does not have low ovarian reserve. NOT ONE of you knows the answer. The answer is SNP. Know what that is???

How about another simple case: why does a woman with NO clinical evidence which points to a diagnosis of infertility not conceive? Her lining is 10mm. It has to do with her lining.

When you can answer these questions RIGHT NOW without having to look them up, then you can talk about ‘Mike Berkley’. Until then…pipe down.



Best wishes.

Mike Berkley

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sky1971

Joined 4 years ago

Not for women who want to get pregnant. A horrible, greedy man.

In my most desperate hours I went to him after reading his reviews and links to fertility studies from his web site. He was charming, articulate and appeared very knowledgeable.

He was anything except knowledgeable and the charm was the snake's venom that drew me into his (what I thought was) care but was the start of a gut wrenching battle and humiliation of being mislead and taken advantage of.

It’s not that we wasted close to $10,000 on ineffective treatment and horrible herbs but the time my husband and I lost. But the worst part of this was going in with so much trust only to find out that I was dealing with a man who just saw me as a check book and took advantage of my desperation.

He is a man who knows how to advertise and sweet talk but does not know how to cure. I wish I could confront all the bogus reviews that I believed and tell them what he did to me.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine do work. Just don’t go to this guy.

Ethics = 0

Strength in Character = 0

Competency = 0

Charm = 100

Advertising = 100

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ariell314

Joined 5 years ago

Worked for us!. We were given the sadest news possible that we might not even qualify for an IVF so we had to wait for another cycle to test my FSH again... in the interim I discovered Dr. Berkeley and went to see him for a consultation... he was very thorough and asked questions my fertility specialist hadn't. We began treatments with him whilst we waited for my next cycle to arrive and return for that FSH test to verify if I even qualified. We went out less, went bike riding every night and were eating super healthy. We also tried the herbs.. yuk but I was desperate to become a Mom so I drank it :) Seven sessions later... I was pregnant... only went back to the fertility specialist to confirm the pregnancy and there it was a little blip "the heartbeat"... saying we were overjoyed is an understatement.. Dr, Berkeley commented how I was his quickest result! My daughter was born 3/07 and we feel we owe it all to Dr. Berkeley for giving us hope and now our precious little girl. She now has a baby brother too! I hope that everyone I have recommended is as lucky as we've been. Thank you again. Mrs. B.