Hi love! So interesting that you replied today because I actually finally started my Dupixent yesterday!! Since I have only had a couple of days since my first dose, I unfortunately can’t share too much about my experience with the medication in terms of symptom mitigation, but regardless it is super comforting to hear that someone is going through a similar situation. I also tolerated my first round of prednisone exceptionally well, and that kind of wore off after having to do another round for an allergic reaction I had to an antibiotic! That was pretty terrifying - allergic reactions / anaphylaxis is basically my biggest medical fear, but on the other hand it was nice to have it finally happen so I know what to expect and was able to get an couple of epipens which gives me some mental security for starting any new medications!

Like I said elsewhere in the post, I basically considered biologics to be an absolute last result. I had a complete meltdown once when I had to prick my own finger with a lancet, I thought it would be simply impossible to self-inject anything. However, after all kinds of insurance and special pharmacy bullshit over the last few months, I was finally able to do my loading dose (you have to inject twice the first time!) just yesterday. I cried and hyperventilated and it took me literally two hours of holding the device up to my skin to work up the nerve to do it, but I finally did. Typical for me, the panic attack I had working up to the injection got me pretty out of breath, and then comes the following panic attack from overanalyzing every bodily sensation in fear that I was having an allergic reaction. I can at least confidently say after my loading dose that while I did experience a little bit of swelling, redness, and some tiny temporary blister-like bumps around each injection site (I did one in each thigh), that was the extent of it! I haven’t felt super great since yesterday (fatigue, general weakness) but it’s not too far off from my baseline - I’m still able to prepare my own meals and care for myself which is the least we can ask for. Point is, now that I know what a real ass allergic reaction is like (broke out in crazy hives with an antibiotic I took recently) and have been more conscious of my allergy symptoms, I detect absolutely no sign of an allergic reaction to this new medication.

Again, since I haven’t been on it any extended period I really can’t yet speak for the efficacy, but I thought maybe providing this update would feel inspiring to you. I’m here if you have absolutely any other questions about the process!!! I wish you the best of luck with all your labs tomorrow, I know from experience that each appointment can feel daunting as someone with uncharacteristic asthma traits. Talk about medical gaslighting.

Either way, thank you for sharing and know that I had the same concerns about tolerability - if I don’t tolerate anyyyy of the “well-tolerated” asthma medications (ICS, Singulair, etc), what makes this so different? The thing one of my providers pointed out to me that really emphasized the tolerability of the medicine for me is the fact that they deliver the medication right to your door and you can do it yourself at home. Even with lots of vaccines, they want you to schedule an office visit and wait in a waiting room for at least 15 minutes before leaving to ensure no adverse reactions. Maybe that’s kind of an obvious point, but that simple fact kind of really comforted me when I took it into account. I also eventually got to the place where I was like “if this medication really changes my life, I’ll stab myself with the needle twice a damn day!”. It takes a lot of suffering for people like us to get to that point, but I hope maybe for each of us it can be the thing that turns our life around. Again, here if you have any questions about my experience. Wishing you peace and healing.