Why I Started Dupixent 5 Years Ago
I've had eczema for decades now, from mild to moderate to severe. During my first pregnancy it became insufferable, because I went through Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW). I wouldn't wish TSW on my worst enemy (not that I have them!). I'm grateful that my TSW improved after my pregnancy, but my system was still out of whack. At the time, Dupixent had just been approved by the FDA and I was lucky to be able to access the medication. I got on Dupixent on May 2017 and it quickly helped, ultimately clearing me completely.
Why I Stopped Dupixent After Nearly 1 Year
But then I wanted to get pregnant again. At the time, no human testing had been done to determine if it was safe to be on Dupixent while pregnant. My allergist determined, through animal testing reports, that I shouldn't be on it and we figured out how many months prior to getting pregnant I should be off Dupixent. So, I got off Dupixent on February 2018, 9 months after starting it, to get pregnant again. And, yes, I was pretty scared about what would happen. Would I go through TSW again? Would my eczema come back with a vengeance?
5 Years Post Dupixent
For awhile, I was mostly fine after getting off Dupixent. I was ecstatic. I'd still get flareups, but they weren't too bad - I was mild to moderate for a few years, which I found acceptable. I told myself I would only get back on Dupixent if my eczema became moderate to severe consistently.
Well, my eczema has been progressively getting worse these last few years. My flareups started lasting longer and became more severe. I thought I could treat it by getting off all medications and just avoiding my allergens. I got off Protopic (i.e., Tacrolimus) … finally. I got yet another allergy patch test and discovered new serious skin allergies. I became obsessed with avoiding my allergens, and it seemed to be working for some time.
But I lost control. Or maybe I never actually had control. My flareups were getting really bad, spreading and lasting months. In fact, they were never fully going away, just spreading and receding, like a tide. An eczema tide. And they ranged from being an angry flareup to a moderate flareup and, if lucky, to a mild flareup. Like a burning light inside me that got brighter or less bright, but always lit. An eczema light burning inside me. Tide … light … whichever eczema analogy I use doesn't matter - it was terrible and I needed help.
I Lost Hope with my Skin Allergies
I moved to Austin almost 2 years ago and hadn't gotten a new allergist or dermatologist yet. So I went on the hunt for an allergist. I saw two allergists and both gave me conflicting info (0f course!), but both said one thing in common: I was severely under-treated.
I considered going back on allergy shots, something I've tried twice before but gave up on both times, because I never saw results. Maybe I had given up too soon both times. The second Austin allergist, Dr. John Villacis, (whom I've chosen as my ongoing allergist), however, explained that allergy shots only work about 50% of the time. And they should start helping within 6 months. Since I've tried them before (and at least for 6 months each time), we decided the problem wasn't that I had given up on them before, but that I was probably in the group of the 50% that doesn’t get help from allergy injections. My system would always overreact. Both allergists highly recommended Dupixent - I had already tried it before and it significantly helped me last time. Plus, it has helped so many people since I first tried it back in 2017.
Deciding to Start Dupixent Again
My eczema is closely related to my many and ridiculous skin allergies. I've decided that the bubble my body needs to live in to avoid these allergens does not exist. Benadryl is the only thing slightly helping at this point, but I can’t be on Benadryl 24/7 and live my life asleep or groggy constantly. It is time to get back on Dupixent. I feel hope again.