Jennifer – Self Injection

DUPIXENT® (dupilumab) is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 6 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 years of age.

Important Safety Information

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

Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this video and adjacent links for Full Prescribing Information.

Individual results with DUPIXENT may vary.

JENNIFER:

Hey, I’m Jennifer. DUPIXENT helps me manage my severe atopic dermatitis. So, I want to talk with you today about my DUPIXENT journey. More specifically, how I was able to get used to the idea of self-injection.

When I first heard that DUPIXENT was an injectable, I was like, “Hmm, that’s different.” I’d never injected myself before or even thought about it before.

But I was open to it. I had tried many other treatments in the past and seen mixed results.

I felt that if DUPIXENT was going to help me itch less and give me clearer skin, then I was willing to find a way to become more comfortable with self-injection – and that’s what I did.

My doctor taught me the correct way to inject DUPIXENT under my skin and to rotate the injection site each time.

She also asked me to watch the training video on DUPIXENT.com, which I thought was really helpful.

And I knew that by enrolling in the DUPIXENT MyWay® program I could call and speak with someone if I needed more assistance with self-injection.

When the time came for me to handle self-injections on my own at home, I felt prepared.

So, if you’re a little hesitant about self-injection, I get it. Just know that there are resources available to help.

So now my DUPIXENT self-injection is part of my routine every 2 weeks.

I usually do it in the morning in my kitchen after the syringe warms up to room temperature.

Then I pour my coffee, put my shoes on, and I’m off to work.

Of course, everyone’s experience with DUPIXENT and self-injection may be different.

So, this is where I’m at on my DUPIXENT journey.

Thanks for watching!

KENDALL & ARSALAN: ADVOCATING FOR YOURSELF

DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 6 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 years of age.

Important Safety Information

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

Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this video and adjacent links for Full Prescribing Information.

Individual results with DUPIXENT may vary.

ARSALAN:

Years ago, as someone who has been dealing with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, I did what most people do. I just tried to get by. I would look for advice where I could find it and did whatever I could to manage.

KENDALL:

My uncontrolled severe eczema was something I tried to cover up and hide. I didn’t want to talk about it.

ARSALAN:

I did what my doctor said, and I didn’t spend that much time really advocating for myself.

KENDALL:

I felt stuck. I just went along trying the same prescription topical treatments over and over again with limited success.

ARSALAN:

Eventually, my skin got so bad that I needed to take a different approach. I needed to do something different.

KENDALL:

I realized if I wanted to see change, I needed to take control of my own eczema. That’s how my road to DUPIXENT began.

ARSALAN:

I started asking more questions, and I worked with multiple doctors to figure out what was the right solution for me. Ultimately, that’s how I heard about DUPIXENT.

Before starting DUPIXENT, you should talk to your doctor about all the medical conditions you have and medications you are taking. You and your doctor should also discuss 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, eye problems, and joint aches and pain.

ARSALAN:

Once my skin started clearing and the itching subsided, I realized how important it was for me to take control of my own eczema. It was important for me to become an advocate for myself and find the right treatment for me. It’s up to me to have the courage to say that I want to try something else.

KENDALL:

With DUPIXENT, I feel like I have more control over my eczema. And now that my skin is clearer, less itchy, I feel like I can be more open and honest about what I’m going through not just with my doctor, but with other people. And in my experience, talking to people about eczema is a good thing. I’m speaking up, I’m speaking out. I’m—I’m not trying to hide it anymore.

ARSALAN:

My best piece of advice is to own the fact that you have eczema and decide that you and your doctor are going to find the right treatment for you. If you’re not seeing the results that you’re looking for with your current treatment, let your doctor know!

KENDALL:

The best advocate for you is YOU!

caregivers: looking back

DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 6 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 years of age.

Important Safety Information

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

Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this video and adjacent links for full Prescribing Information.

Individual results with DUPIXENT may vary.

SUE:

I think what people don’t understand is how all-consuming and encompassing eczema is.

ANA:

The entire family is sort of, like, serving this condition that becomes, you know, the boss.

SUE:

Yes.

ANA:

The hardest part for me was the guilt. I felt guilty all the time. I felt guilty about not spending enough time with my daughter because Max was needing all of my attention, day and night. Before the day started until after the day was over, it was all about him.

SUE:

We got really stressed as a family. I don’t know about you guys, but it just became stressful all around, we just wanted to fix it.

YETUNDE:

It was pure helplessness for me. That's what I felt the most. It was, I couldn’t do anything to make it better.

SUE:

Yeah, Annie, oh gosh, she started with eczema. She’s always known eczema her entire life, and it started breaking my heart completely in pieces when she was getting older and other kids were noticing, and they were asking her, “What’s wrong with your face? What’s going on?” And there was a lot of stress associated with that.

YETUNDE:

I remember I would tell Ore over and over again, “Stop scratching,” and she’d look at me and go, “I can’t help it.”

SUE:

Right.

YETUNDE:

So, that was, that was tough on me. It would frustrate me, but it frustrated her even more.

ANA:

And now you feel bad, you feel guilty about all those times, every single time, "Stop scratching, stop scratching," and they just, they couldn't.

YETUNDE:

So true!

ANA:

And then, so what comes first, the chicken or the egg? I don’t know. So, he’s stressed because he’s itchy. I’m stressed because I can’t help him not be itchy and not be uncomfortable.

YETUNDE:

I remember I would call the doctor’s office, and after I’d hang up the phone I’d think to myself, “I probably sounded very angry,” because I would be so worked up about the way she’s feeling and trying to get in to see the doctor that I probably wasn’t my best self. So, it takes a toll on you.

ANA:

Yeah, but because you also because you think, one becomes so crazy about looking for an answer that you think that someone is just going to have a black and white answer, and it took some time to find the right, the right course of action, I guess, and I’m so glad that we did.

YETUNDE:

Same here.

VO:

Ore, Max & Annie: stepping up

DUPIXENT® (dupilumab) is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 6 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 years of age.

Important Safety Information

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

Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this video and adjacent links for full Prescribing Information.

Individual results with DUPIXENT may vary.

ORE:

When I was younger, my parents used to have to remind me a lot to moisturize because I would forget, but now that I’m older, I remember myself, and I’m more involved with how I take care of myself instead of my parents taking care of me.

MAX:

Yeah, same for me, too, like, my creams, especially. My mom used to put creams on me and wrap my skin. Now I feel like I can do it myself.

ANNIE:

For me, I’ve gotten really good at knowing what kind of medicines I have and reading the labels, and I want to know, like, how the medicine is working and why it works the way it does, and I really have those conversations with my doctors a lot just to know what’s going on.

ORE:

When I go to the doctor, my mom’s kind of in the background, and I’m more talking with my doctor.

ANNIE:

Yeah, like, for me, my mom will talk to the doctor, like, if we’re talking about any, like, past treatments or, like, all the stuff that I don’t remember, but I usually have, like, a conversation with my doctor talking about, like, the symptoms and, like, how I’m feeling because overall it’s, like, me. I’m the one, like, with the disease.

MAX:

I feel like I’m in a pretty good rhythm with things, but my mom also helps. She usually reminds me about my DUPIXENT injections. My mom does keep track of the schedule and when I’m supposed to take it. If I forget anything, then she’s there for my backup.

ANNIE:

Yeah, usually my mom’s the one keeping track of, like, the prescription of it, but I’m the one who has it in my calendar, so after every time I get the injection, I have, like, the date set on the calendar for that day, and then I go forward two weeks and mark it and say, “Hey, you need to get the injection this day,” and it will come up on my phone, like, two weeks later, and I’m, like, “Oh, okay...”

ORE:

I feel like we’re going to get more responsible with when we’re supposed to take it, and we’re going to get more responsible with self-injecting.

ANNIE:

I think that one day I’ll get there, I hope, so I can do it on my own when I’m older and by myself and I don’t have everyone always around me, I’m going to have to learn how to take care of that.

Introducing Injection

DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 6 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 years of age.

Important Safety Information

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

Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this video and adjacent links for Full Prescribing Information.

Individual results with DUPIXENT may vary.

AMBER:

I was concerned about putting my son Catch on DUPIXENT to control his severe atopic dermatitis because it was an injectable, and I know he doesn’t do well with needles.

CHRISTY:

At first, my daughter Jolie wasn’t thrilled at the idea of receiving an injectable medication. So, we sat down, and we talked about it, and we weighed our options. Jolie thought about it, and she said, “You know what, Mommy? I really want to try DUPIXENT. Let’s move forward.”

AMBER:

Catch’s doctor and I discussed DUPIXENT with Catch, letting him know that it was an injectable. We felt like bringing him into the decision process, he would be more comfortable taking the injection, knowing that he made that choice.

Before starting DUPIXENT, you should talk to your doctor about all the medical conditions you have and medications you are taking. You and your doctor should also discuss 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, eye problems, and joint aches and pain.

AMBER:

Since I’m on DUPIXENT as well to control my severe atopic dermatitis, Catch and I are able to take our injections together, given our dosage scheduling. He feels like I’m in this with him. I was properly instructed by my doctor to give myself the injection as well as Catch. So, I give myself my injection, and then I give Catch his.

CHRISTY:

Jolie prefers that the PA in her pediatric dermatologist’s office administer the injection. They have a wonderful bond, and they’ve developed a great relationship, and my husband and I had talked about also getting trained on administering the medication, but Jolie actually preferred that the PA do it in the office.

AMBER:

I’m really proud of Catch taking his DUPIXENT injection. At first, he resisted, but now he sees the benefits of taking DUPIXENT.

Seeing Results

DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 6 years of age and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (eczema) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 years of age.

Important Safety Information

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

Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this video and adjacent links for Full Prescribing Information.

Individual results with DUPIXENT may vary.

AMBER:

My son Catch’s eczema was all-consuming since he was a baby. His skin was raw, scaly and itchy.

CHRISTY:

Growing up, my daughter Jolie’s skin was red and raw from severe eczema, specifically, like, her inner elbow, the back of her knees, her cheeks, behind the ears, and her hands was also another area, and that was a tough one because the hands are very, very hard to hide. Her knuckles were raw and red and open.

AMBER:

I was hopeful DUPIXENT was going to help Catch, but I didn’t know what to expect.

CHRISTY:

Jolie was very self-conscious of her skin and what areas were showing. We just hoped that Jolie’s skin would improve.

Before starting DUPIXENT, you should talk to your doctor about all the medical conditions you have and medications you are taking. You and your doctor should also discuss 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, eye problems, and joint aches and pain.

CHRISTY:

A few weeks after starting DUPIXENT, we gradually started seeing results. So, specifically her hands. What we saw was that the skin became less red. The open skin started to heal and close, and that was very promising.

AMBER:

Catch has this birthmark on his knee that he was born with, and I haven’t been able to see that birthmark in such a long time, but since his skin is clearing, I actually get to see that birthmark again.

CHRISTY:

When we started seeing signs of improvement, there were literal tears of joy, and that’s when we knew, like, we were really onto something here.

AMBER:

Before, Catch felt like he needed to cover up his skin, but now his skin is clear to where he’s wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts again. To me, it’s very exciting because I know, as a child, that’s what he wants to do.