Flare vs Antagonist cylce

[Sara69]

Hi,

As you see from my signature I have done a downregulated cycle which didn't work for me and two antagonist cylces with better but still not great results. I am wondering if a flare cycle would be a better option for me.

My FS told me when we decided for the antagonist cycle that I would have to go on the pill first to start a flare cycle, I therefore opted against a flare cycle as I was afraid that it would suppress me too much so that we may end up with the same problems that I had with the down-regulated cycle.

Would be thankful for any more information/experiences with a flare cycle and suggestions.

Sara

[buliej]

Hi Sara

I did 2 flare cycles - both without the pill (maybe it wasn't a true flare..but I'll tell you about my experience)! I got my best results from the first (and one of my worst from the 2nd...but it was back-to-back which isn't suppose to be great).

The only difference between flare and antagonist for me was that I started sniffing syranol (sp?) on Day 2 twice a day with the flare cycle & started GonalF on Day 3. Syranol stops you from ovulating rather than having the FS monitor you closely - you also don't need those expensive shots on the last few days that you require on the antagonist cycle as the syranol is already doing the same thing.

I know that Melb IVF has explanations of all the cycles on their web site - I'm sure that at least some of the other clinics do as well.

Julie

[Cuddlepie]

Hi Sara, I've never done a flare cycle before but thinking of asking FS tomorrow for future planning.

From what I understand, you just start Lucrin on Day 1 and then puregon, everything is the same with down-reg just start Lucrin on D1 rather than 7 days before. But I will double check this tomorrow and let you know...

C'pie x

[megsmum]

Sara, so sorry about the BFN

I did 2 IVF cycles, first was a down reg and the second a flare without the Pill. I got cr@p results for both of them but better results with the flare - 1 vs 3 follies. My clinic prefers to do the flare with the Pill but will do it without if you ask. As Xmas was approaching, I asked to do it without. Could you push your clinic to let you do it without the Pill? My clinic and FS had their protocols that they liked to stick to but generally when I questioned them and asked to do something that I thought suited me better they were happy to accomodate. After all you know your body better than they do BTW, I also had concerns that the long period of time on the Pill suppressed me somewhat too.

All it involved was starting Synarel on day 2 then FSH on day 3 and continuing with both until trigger. For myself I really liked the fact that it was much shorter, I really hated all that marking time on the Pill and when the down reg cycle got cancelled I just felt like the last 2 months were a total waste KWIM?

Good luck with it all.

[Sara69]

Thank you Buliej, CPie and Megsmum, that is really helpful.

Buliej and Megsmum I find it really interesting that your clinic allowed you to do a flare cycle without taking the pill beforehand (Julie was that also the case with your first flare cycle when you had the really good result?). My FS had explained that if you don't go on the pill beforehand your testosterone level may rise too much and that may mean that it has to be a frosten cycle as the testosterone level could have a negative impact on implantation - have you heard anything in this direction or did you have any trouble with your testosterone levels?

Thanks so much

Sara

[megsmum]

Sara,

Testosterone was never mentioned to me as being a potential problem and never tested for either, the only thing they did was check FSH levels on day 1 I think it was. We got our BFP that cycle too, so I highly doubt that testosterone was a problem for me KWIM? Not much help really I know, but I hope you can talk your FS around.

[buliej]

That was not mentioned as an issue for me either nor was I tested for it (but my clinic does very few BT during the cycle - only day2 fsh.

I think it is worth asking your FS how much of a difference there is between flare without pill and antagonist - my experience was that they are virtually identical except for the syranol which has nothing to do with egg quality or quantity but does do away with the concern of ovulating prior to pick up. I mention this because if you are looking to see how you react to something different adding the pill in there may be worth considering otherwise I am not sure if there is much of a difference.

[Sara69]

Thank you Megsmum and Buliej, that is really good to know.

Sara

[Sara69]

Hi, now checked on it, stupid me, it wasn't testosterone but progesterone - has this been an issue with anyone before?

Sara

[Possums]

this is an interesting thread, as I am now deciding what to do next, after our long down-reg cycle was cancelled due to no response to synarel this time.

My clinic simply told me to wait for a period, go back on the pill and try again, but I am now asking about other options. It seems if you don't ask, they don't say sometimes.

[megsmum]

Sara, sorry I only just saw this. But no I was never told anything about prog being an issue either and I'm pretty sure they never checked it before I started the flare cycle. I would think that maybe it might be a problem if you were coming off the back of a stim cycle with lots of follies straight into a flare cycle, but otherwise I can't see how prog would affect anything BTW, I went straight from the cancelled IVF cycle (1 follie) to the flare cycle, the clinic were happy for me to do that because my ovaries were not overstimulated. But in the end, I was under the impression that the main reason that they did the Pill beforehand was so that they could time EPU to fit in with the FS and operating theatre schedules better. I HTH

Possums - I'm so very sorry to hear your cycle was cancelled How absolutely devastating for you But I wholeheartedly agree with you about the asking for what you want, IMHO a lot of clinics just have their standard "recipe" (as my DH calls it) and simply just trot that out for everyone regardless of whether it suits you or not. You are the customer though and you are paying mega $$ for the service so I think you are more than entitled to tell them what you want to do. That was what I ended up doing in the end, and it meant that I was a lot happier with what was happening. I know this thread is about a flare cycle, but if you think that an antagonist cycle may suit you better, then I would push for it! Good luck with it all hun.