This article was sponsored by Sanofi and Regeneron. Although I was compensated for this post, all opinions are my own.

Today I’m partnering with Sanofi and Regeneron to share my experience helping my daughter, Elle, manage her severe asthma. If you have been following me for a while, I’m sure you have witnessed Elle’s struggles with her symptoms as well as my struggles helping Elle manage her severe asthma and how it impacted her active lifestyle. Elle dances, plays tennis, and overall is involved in various activities so it has not been an easy journey for us – especially during moments like Peak Week, which occurs during the third week of September and is the time that environmental triggers such as pollen, viruses, and asthma irritants are highest.1 I was constantly frustrated as I watched my daughter struggle to manage her severe asthma, but treatment advances have given Elle (and me) much needed relief.

Elle was diagnosed with severe asthma at 8 years old after having episodes of difficulty breathing as a result of the usual changes in climate and her typical physical activities. When she would catch a cold, it almost always resulted in an asthma attack, and she would need breathing treatments that often involved oral steroids. I felt as though her severe asthma was getting worse as she got older, and it was upsetting.

During Elle’s tennis practices she would often feel winded and would reach for her rescue inhaler. Many lessons and practices would be cut short because of how she was feeling and knowing how much she enjoys tennis, this would leave both her and I disheartened. When early fall rolled around, especially Peak Week, she would often need to stay home from school because we knew fall-related triggers would aggravate her severe asthma. This was difficult and we knew we needed to prepare a management plan to avoid more school absences, which were impacting her performance.

Her first treatment plans included taking daily antihistamines and using a daily inhaler, along with a rescue inhaler when the other two were not enough. However, I didn’t feel satisfied with this management plan as she continued to experience symptoms. I noticed her reaching for her rescue inhaler more than twice a week. As a mother, it’s incredibly hard to watch your child feel limited, especially while watching her try to do the things that she loves. Her severe asthma even began to interrupt her sleep  – I would find her waking up at night more than twice a month because of it. This always left me with an uneasy feeling.

 

I recall the time when Elle had a severe asthma attack after catching a cold at school. It was a very frightening experience because she was having difficulty breathing, her lips turned blue and she was having difficulty speaking, and this time her rescue inhaler was not alleviating her symptoms. I stayed up all night with her and scheduled a doctor‘s appointment first thing in the morning as I felt frustrated and helpless.

With Elle’s pediatric asthma and allergy specialist, we discussed an alternate treatment plan for her since her current treatments weren’t doing enough. He recommended DUPIXENT® (dupilumab) administered every 2 weeks to better control her asthma. DUPIXIENT is an add-on maintenance treatment for moderate to severe eosinophilic asthma that targets two of the key sources of moderate-to-severe asthma driven by airway inflammation and can help improve lung function. Upon Elle starting this treatment, we noticed results within the first few weeks. Elle was breathing better, becoming more active and overall just Du-ing More. I now feel so relieved to see my active daughter live life with less limitations, and there’s no better feeling. Everyone’s experience is different but I’m happy we’ve found a treatment that works for Elle.

We talked to Elle’s doctor about the potential benefits and risks of treatment, including the most common side effects such as injection site reactions, and some serious side effects including allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe, inflammation of your blood vessels, and joint aches and pain. If you or a loved one struggles with moderate-to-severe asthma, talk to your doctor about adding options such as Dupixent to your current treatment plan especially before Asthma Peak Week, when the number of asthma attacks and related hospital visits are usually at their worst. If you’re a caregiver like me, check out this link for helpful tips and guidance on how to support your loved one living with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Important Safety Information and Indication

Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.

Before using DUPIXENT, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:

  • have a parasitic (helminth) infection
  • are scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a “live vaccine” right before and during treatment with DUPIXENT.
  • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.
  • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known whether DUPIXENT passes into your breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Especially tell your healthcare provider if you are taking oral, topical, or inhaled corticosteroid medicines or use an asthma medicine. Do not change or stop your corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine to come back.

DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:

  • Allergic reactions. DUPIXENT can cause allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe. Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: breathing problems or wheezing, swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, fast pulse, fever, hives, joint pain, general ill feeling, itching, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea or vomiting, or cramps in your stomach-area.
  • Inflammation of your blood vessels. Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive DUPIXENT. This may happen in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by DUPIXENT. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have: rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs, or persistent fever.
  • Joint aches and pain. Some people who use DUPIXENT have had trouble walking or moving due to their joint symptoms, and in some cases needed to be hospitalized. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or worsening joint symptoms. Your healthcare provider may stop DUPIXENT if you develop joint symptoms.

The most common side effects in patients with asthma include injection site reactions, high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), pain in the throat (oropharyngeal pain), and parasitic (helminth) infections.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of DUPIXENT. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Use DUPIXENT exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. It’s an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). Your healthcare provider will decide if you or your caregiver can inject DUPIXENT. Do not try to prepare and inject DUPIXENT until you or your caregiver have been trained by your healthcare provider. In children 12 years of age and older, it’s recommended DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult. In children 6 to less than 12 years of age, DUPIXENT should be given by a caregiver.

Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.

Indication

DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 6 years of age.

1. Asthma Peak Month: The Factors Behind the Asthma Peak in September. Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America. 2023. Available at: https://community.aafa.org/blog/September-asthma-peak-month-causes 

US.DUP.24.07.0114

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