Sara was in her mid-twenties when food stopped being something she could take for granted. Chicken would get stuck in her throat. Smoothies were a struggle. She was throwing up constantly, and the reflux that accompanied it was severe. As she got older, the episodes became more frequent. By the time a doctor performed a scope in June 2024, she was 31 years old,  and a dilation was necessary. She was diagnosed with EoE, and testing revealed she was also dealing with a significant number of environmental allergies.

Her GI prescribed a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), but swallowing it was its own challenge. Her allergist took time to explain what EoE actually was and discussed treatment options, including dupilumab, a biologic. She opted to continue with PPI therapy and careful eating instead, and hoped that would be enough.

It wasn’t.

In March 2025, Sara reached a point where she could not eat. For two months, her EoE was at its worst. She felt, in her own words, absolutely miserable. Her throat was incredibly painful. She lost 18 pounds. She went to the emergency room, where the focus was on ruling out strep. On a second ER visit during those same two months, a doctor attempted a scope but couldn’t complete it; she was too inflamed. Her care felt scattered. In May 2025, still coughing and still avoiding a long list of foods, Sara found a new GI. She had developed a phobia of taking pills; the fear of something getting lodged was ever-present. An eight-food elimination diet was suggested; she didn’t pursue it, and instead started dupilumab.

She describes it as having changed her life. The medication that she previously did not want to explore turned out to be the thing that gave her the relief she hadn’t experienced in a long time, helping her move through daily life with greater stability and hope.