Battling the heat: Giulia’s journey with HAE

Giulia is a paid speaker for Takeda.

Working in the restaurant industry, Giulia is no stranger to battling the heat of the kitchen. But over the years, she began to notice that the physical and emotional strain of working in a high stress environment that would reach incredibly high temperatures was not only leaving her feeling burnt out, but triggering unexplained swelling attacks that affected her throat and airway. She was frequently rushed to the emergency room where doctors would provide her antihistamines, treating her for anaphylaxis.

“I was leaving work in ambulances and leaving my team without leadership. I began to think that my career was ending, I didn’t know what was going on,” Giulia said. “To have to go through such a drastic, traumatic treatment and have it still not help my symptoms was maddening.”

From the time she was a young girl, she remembered her mother struggling with undiagnosed health issues, mostly unexplained stomach pain that often caused her abdomen to swell. The differences in the two women’s symptoms made it difficult to draw connections. But one night, while telling her mom about experiencing throat and hand swelling at work, she responded, “That sounds like hereditary angioedema – HAE. I just got diagnosed with it. I think you might have it too.”

Connecting the dots: Giulia and her mother’s shared diagnosis

Giulia was officially diagnosed with HAE shortly after her mother. She came to learn that HAE can cause swelling attacks across different parts of the body, including the abdomen as her mother was experiencing, but also the face, feet, genitals, hands and throat. Not only can these attacks be overwhelming, but when they impact the throat as Giulia experienced, they can also be life-threatening, making it difficult to breathe.¹ For those living with HAE and not on preventive treatment, attacks can occur two to four times a month, lasting for three to five days.^2,3

“There was such a sense of relief to finally understand what had been causing my throat to close and my hands to swell,” she shared. “Diagnosis in hand – a swollen hand, mind you – I followed my mom’s direction and found someone local to me that specialized in managing people living with HAE. I knew I wanted to be on treatment; I just didn’t know what treatment for HAE looked like.”

Her specialist recommended TAKHZYRO® (lanadelumab-flyo), a prescription medicine used to prevent attacks of HAE in people 2 years of age and older. He made sure to explain everything about it – how it worked, the potential risks such as serious side effects including allergic reactions, as well as more common risks including injection site reactions, upper respiratory infections and headaches. He also explained that in a clinical study, people taking TAKHZYRO 300 mg every 2 weeks experienced 87% fewer attacks compared with placebo (average monthly attack rate of 0.3 vs 2.0).

Embracing a new normal with HAE management

Giulia has been on TAKHZYRO for a few years now and rarely experiences breakthrough attacks. She still carries her rescue medication on hand. She recently got married and loves spending time with her new family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she has learned to embrace the heat.

“I remember sitting outside at a barbecue with our family on a sweltering 105-degree day, but it didn’t trigger an attack. I’ll never forget how big that was for me, or the feeling of having so much gratitude for just sweating,” Giulia recalled. “Just as my mom helped me, by sharing my journey with others, I hope I can help them know that finding support and embracing a sense of normalcy is possible too.”

Patients who have been diagnosed with HAE should talk to their doctor to see if TAKHZYRO is right for them. Please see the Important Safety Information below.

What is TAKHZYRO?

TAKHZYRO (lanadelumab-flyo) is a prescription medicine used to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in people 2 years of age and older.

It is not known if TAKHZYRO is safe and effective in children under 2 years of age. 

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

TAKHZYRO may cause serious side effects, including allergic reactions. Call your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you have any of the following symptoms:

• wheezing
• difficulty breathing
• chest tightness
• fast heartbeat
• faintness
• rash
• hives

The most common side effects seen with TAKHZYRO were injection site reactions (pain, redness, and bruising), upper respiratory infection, headache, rash, dizziness, diarrhea and muscle aches.

These are not all the possible side effects of TAKHZYRO. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

TAKHZYRO has not been studied in pregnant or breastfeeding women. Talk to your healthcare provider about the risk of taking TAKHZYRO if you are pregnant, plan to be pregnant, are breastfeeding, or plan to breastfeed.

Please see full Prescribing Information, including information for patients. 

To learn more about HAE and TAKHZYRO visit https://www.takhzyro.com.

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References

1. Banerji A. Hereditary Angioedema: Classification, Pathogenesis, and Diagnosis. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2011;32:403– 407.
2. Busse PJ, Christiansen SC, Riedl MA, et al. US HAEA Medical Advisory Board 2020 Guidelines for the Management of Hereditary Angioedema. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2021 Jan;9(1):132-150.
3. Zuraw, Bruce L. Hereditary Angioedema. N Engl J of Med. 2008;359(10):1027-1036. doi:10.1056/nejmcp0803977

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