lemma health

Hi everyone! I just wanted to come on here and say that Dupixent and Rinvoq are not the only options for long term meds, even though those are the only ones i've really seen discussed on here. there are two newer drugs on the market that I would like to recommend to anyone who's failed Rinvoq and Dupixent, as I have. They are Cibinqo and Adbry. I was in the trial for Cibinqo before it was on the market and it worked super well for a while, but after a while it stopped (however that's how my body works, i've failed 5 eczema meds LOL! it truly was a miracle drug for a while and i've seen lots of positive experiences with it). Cibinqo is also pills, not an injection! I still recommend it for anyone who's failed Dupixent or Rinvoq, especially if you're afraid of needles. Adbry is what i'm currently on and it is working wonders. It is an injection (every two weeks) and it takes 1-2 months to build in your system, but now my skin is AMAZING! my water barrier has completely healed and I can move without pain now. I can't remember the last time I could fully straighten my arms without my skin feeling like it would rip open. I'm making this post to let everyone know that if you fail Dupixent or Rinvoq there is still options!!! If anyone has any questions I can do my best to answer them too.

So, I had my follow up after the start of my massive flair. Even after 12 days of oral steroids, still using dupixent, and my typical cream regimen, my skin is fairly broken out still. While my doctor hasn’t specifically stated he thinks my body has gotten used to/is now rejecting dupixent, he gave me two alternative medications to consider switching to. Adbry and Rinvoq were the options. He informed me I either would have to do 2 injections every 2 weeks with Adbry or take Rinvoq, which he said cancer was a potential side effect. I hate stabbing myself, but if cancer is a potential side effect of the pill then idk what to do.

I’ve had this flair up for a year now, at first it was just small patches on my arms and now it’s everywhere. My neck is raw bright red, I’m afraid I’ll have a scar eventually. My body breaks out in hives multiple times a week, my eye lids are red and dry. I’m sick of it. I was on Rinvoq, it stopped working, god my initial dose of adbry and then the hives started. I have to wait to get allergy tested before my derm will give me any other treatment. I’m so so tired. I’m incredibly self conscious and depressed. I really worked through my mental health and now the chronic itchiness and ugliness of this makes me feel awful about myself. I don’t know what to do anymore.

Hello everyone! First of all, I'd like to thank whoever decides to read or respond to this monster of a post. It sucks dealing with eczema, let alone being constantly reminded and/or to think about it even more. To preface, I have had eczema my entire life (almost 28 years old). When I was younger my pediatrician prescribed triamcinolone for the open wounds (hives) and cortisone 10 for itchy and bump patches on my skin. My eczema can be found all over my body, from my scalp to my knee pits (sorry, I don't know the name of the body part). I used triamcinolone throughout my adolescence as my parents and I thought this would be the only solution to reduce the appearance of eczema, understanding that eczema cannot be cured according to my pediatrician. Also being Asian, my mom made me try random supplements and herbs. No improvements. At 24 (early 2021), my eczema was at its peak. Stress seems to be a big trigger for hives and the feeling of itchiness was unbearable. I'd say a solid 10 as I couldn't resist scratching myself, I could not sleep some nights and my sheets would be covered in blood. After doing a bit of research online, I understood what I went through was a topical steroid withdrawal. I decided I may be in an okay place financially (still paying for student loans and working two jobs) to see a dermatologist. I saw the best-rated dermatologist in Orange County, CA and he was not helpful. He recommended I continue the use of triamcinolone and avoid utilizing this on my face, despite having hives on my eyelids. The session was about 10 minutes and he charged me $300 for this visit, stating this was my copay from my insurance. Okay... now not in a good place financially haha. I began to explore holistic methods of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, and visited some sort of doctor with extensive experience in clinical nutrition where she studied the energy in my body and how it reacted to small vials of various allergens to create a special meal and supplement plan and list of things to abstain from (which was many things). This did not work. In the summer of 2022, I got a new job so new insurance. My coworker noticed my eczema and suggested I see her dermatologist in Beverly Hills. She mentioned Dupixent which at this time, I never heard of before, and showed me before and after pictures of her eczema. Looking at her, I would never thought she had eczema. I saw the dermatologist and was able to get on Dupixent. After self-injecting for 5/6 months, my entire body went through a withdrawal as bad as it was in early 2021. I went off Dupixent for 1 month and my derm mentioned Adbry, with Adbry I would also self-inject every other week but this time it was two shots. After 6 months, my severe eczema became more moderate with fewer flair-ups. My derm said Adbry may not be the best option to clear my eczema, so I went off Adbry. About 3-4 weeks later, I began Cibinqo which I needed to complete two blood tests before to check my eligibility. I was told and read this medication would weaken my immune system and increase my lipids, affecting my cholesterol. Anywho - same deal, after a few months of Cibinqo my eczema reached moderate, but like Dupixent, it has amplified back to severe, in the worst possible state. During this time of taking Cibinqo, I was advised by my derm to take double the dose which I did once, and had to go off of Cibinqo as I felt nauseous and my heart beating rapidly... I could not sleep for 3 days straight due to itchiness and I typically try to sleep with the AC set to 60 degrees to help reduce this itch and may take Zyrtec to help fall asleep (Benadryl is too strong for me). Once I took Cibinqo again, I was able to sleep through the night, but still experienced a major itch throughout the day. Additional info - My diet is pretty healthy, with very few processed foods, a lot of vegetables, chicken, and pork (I was told this is the best for digestion and my skin). I try to abstain from much soy, shellfish, and beef. I am also allergic to peanuts, so I stay away from anything that may be cross-contaminated. I love dogs, but have learned to stay away from them. I do not consume alcohol or do drugs of any kind. I also work out for my mental and physical health. Pretty tame and boring life, besides the heavy stress from work and occasionally my personal life. Prescribed by my derm: EpiCeram, tacrolimus, Pimecrolimus I use CeraVe moisturizing cream after EpiCeram and fragrance-free everything. Skin products by derm (I have good face days sometimes then patches on my cheeks and my eyelids other times) I cannot use Aveeno, Cetaphil, Eucerin I use Aquaphor and have an Aquaphor stick to apply on areas of dryness when I'm working not at home. I use the Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA for my scalp and Briogeo scalp revival products for my head. -- Feeling hopeless and defeated af. I don't know what I can do at this point...

i (20 f) have had eczema my entire life mainly on my inner elbows and knees. when i was younger i had patch tests for allergies and ive done tons of different medicated creams. last year in january ish i started opzelura and it worked great then in october/november it started getting severely worse i was losing sleep constantly scratching and red. this year ive tried dupixent for a few months before it stopped really helping my eczema and i started having horrible eye problems. i switched to adbry and that also affected my eyes. i’m feeling like there’s nothing left for me and nothings going to help. i know have it behind my ears on my cheeks alllll over my back my arms. spots on my chest and shoulders are showing up. what do i do.

My body so freaking dry!!! I’ve had eczema since I was a baby and I’m a little over a month into Adbry/Adtralza - the results vary by day. The small lesions I have all over my legs and arms are noticeably healing, but my entire body has a very light tinge of red, except for a few random patches. I am also incredibly flakey with flakes of varying sizes, and have been keeping a broom and dustpan in the bathroom since I have a dark tile floor and you can see the skin everywhere - sorry if that’s gross lol. I absolutely have to shower everyday because the water feels so good on my skin, and then I have been using a ton of Cerave Healing Ointment + either Bioderm or Avene Cicalfate lotion mixed together afterward. Even with that thick layer of cream, my skin feels very tight and dries out within 15 minutes. Also using steroid cream very sparingly. Anyway, it’s mildly painful to move around but then I feel like a lazy POS staying in bed all day. Any motivation or product/routine recommendations are appreciated!

It's 4am... I haven't sleep through a night in months. My eczema is the worst and I have had enough of attempting to fall asleep with a major urge to itch everywhere and with the metallic smell of my own blood. So I decided to take a scalding hot bath, a soak in epsom salt, and shower again to satisfy this unbearable disease. I am on cibinqo and as per my other post, tried dupixent and adbry prior... I did an allergy test and found out I'm allergic to almost everything environmental. Right now, I'm partaking in oral immuninatherapy. I take a zyrtec every morning and typically stay indoors with a hepa filter. I'm in my own miserable bubble and I haven't felt like myself. With my severe eczema, it's hard to not be jealous and be peeved when someone complains about something they can control. I really have lost my patience for people in my life (unfortunately, family)who can't empathize that eczema has affected me heavily not just physically, but emotionally (To note, I'm in therapy but it's expensive and difficult to frequent due to cost of everything else). And for the people that do empathize (like bfs mom), I feel so bad when she recommends things (i.e. cortisol and benadryl- benadryl is really the worst) I've tried before as I've has severe eczema all my life. I live with my bf of 6+ years and I feel incredibly bad when he wakes up to my scratching, my tossing and turning, having to constantly turn on the ac at 60, me reapplying lotion throughout the night... etc. I have a follow up appointment with my derm in a few days and have been trying to schedule an appointment with my pcp to test other things like deficiencies and hormonal imbalances. I really don't want to take cibinqo or rinvoq (dermatologist next suggestion) long term due to the side effects. I just am so lost, tired, and sad. So broke and so broken.

i recently got prescribed adbry- an injection that you need to administer to yourself every two weeks and i just took my third dose today and it really made me think about this disease and how it’s going to affect my life. cause there’s no cure for it yet so ill just have it till i die. like how am i going to find love like this? do i just give myself these shots until it goes away?? will it ever go away?? it’s just such a burden and it’s been crazy coming to terms with the fact that im stuck with this and the limits that comes with. it just kind of sucks i’m praying it’ll just go away at a certain age but i’ve had eczema since i was like a child and im almost 20 soo.. sorry just a small rant im a little frustrated. wishing all my eczema pals a good night/day :)

I am completely eczema free for the first time in about 4 years. Well, I can’t even really say free- I have an extremely mild spot on one of my eyelids and some small spots under my arms. But that’s it. And I’m honestly kinda bitter that this is the way it had to happen. I got my wisdom teeth removed and they prescribed me a corticosteroid to reduce the swelling and inflammation after surgery. Now my eczema is completely gone. For years I took Dupixent then Adbry, what feels like countless topical medications, hydroxyzine to help with the itching, etc. Nothing ever worked as effectively as the 7 day course of that damn steroid did. I feel like I could cry right now with how happy I am. I can shave my legs and feel like a normal girl for the first time since pre quarantine without making the eczema worse. Texas summer is coming up and I won’t have to go everywhere in a hoodie and pants when it’s more than 100 degrees outside! *Obviously* I know that this isn’t a permanent thing. It’ll come back eventually, and I can’t just ask my derm to prescribe a steroid every time I flare up. But it’s a start, and I feel normal again for the first time in years. Just wanted to share :)

(F 16) I’m so tired of this. I’m beyond over this stupid ezcema it’s ruining my life. It’s slowly taking control of every day for me. I’ll spend close to two hours just itching and picking at my weeping ezcema. I have severe baby acne since I can remember, it started with in between the joints and a patch on my left wrist. My joints faded away however my hand still stayed around the age of 5-8 then I got them on both the palms off my hands and one of my fingers, it was relatively calm of course with normal flare ups between 5-11 I remember wearing gloves to school with steroids (betamethozone)because my mom would force me too as that was the easiest way not to scratch my hands. Before the pandemic I was taken to get an allergy test to see if we could avoid allergies and get my skin under full control. I found out I’m allergic to cat fur (which is avoidable) and dust mites. Dust is everywhere.. meaning there was no point in trying to avoid my triggers. It was pointless and unavoidable. It hurt knowing and realizing that. Once the pandemic hit, it started to flare again and slowly spread again. Between 2020-2021 I hit rock bottom for the first time. I was lost confused and constantly in pain. I itched scratched and bled until I physically couldn’t anymore. My legs became terrible many patches and spots formed, it became overwhelming and made me very self conscious. It slowly grew on my arm joints as well between 2022-2024 at the time I wasn’t sure what to do. It was then when my mom spotted an ad for DUPIXENT. As soon as I mentioned that to my dermatologist she put me on it, at first everything cleared up. Only leaving small scarrings and lighter skin (due to steroids) I was happy for awhile. We became inconsistent with it due to trips and eventually it started to flare up and spread again. It stopped working during 2023 fully for me, though I still took it and became consistent with it. I’m still on DUPIXENT I’ve been on and off for about 3 years. I’ve been consistent on it for six to seven months now and it doesn’t relieve the itch sensation like it used to. I still itch it still weeps becomes infected the only thing that it does is helps heal with quicker but it doesn’t give any sort of relief. I think my body’s become immune to it. It was recently that my doctor recommended adbry I don’t know much about it other than it’s a weaker version of DUPIXENT. I’m tired. It’s still growing every couple of months a new spot grows it hurts knowing that it’s chronic. I will never feel any type of relief and confidence through my skin. I may feel acceptance after all these years but I don’t think I can ever fully recover. I just want to be normal I don’t want to just cover up I hate the stares. I hate the pity. I hate every part of my skin. Why do I have to be this way?? My mom used to have a patch when she was a teen but it went away in a year. My sisters had small patches here and there when they were babies but they grew out of it and fully healed (no scars) I’m the only one in my family that suffers from something like this. I feel alone. It’s not fair. Why me? I don’t know anyone else that has eczema bad like me. Which a part of me is glad. I would never wish this kind of mental physical and emotional pain on anyone. It’s hard dealing with eczema knowing it’s chronic knowing it looks disgusting and bad. I remember one of the first time I wore shorts for track a couple of years ago I got at least 6 people asking if my marks were bruises. I didn’t take offense as I could tell they were concerned but I felt self conscious I know when they stare I feel it. I hate this. I hate myself. I just want to sleep forever to hopefully stop and ignore this itching feelings. I want to feel my skin off hoping there’s a healthy normal one under it. I can’t deal with this anymore. 16 painful years of this bullshit. I’ll am hesitant to try adbry but it’s worth a try, I don’t know what I’ll do with myself if this doesn’t work. I don’t have high expectations but I’m still somewhat hopeful with that. Though I’m not when it comes to how I’ll see myself and how I love myself.