When I was diagnosed over 20 years ago, diet therapy was the go-to, and it's still a big part of EoE treatment today. My treatment plan until I was 19 was a very limited diet along with systemic steroids that came with a lot of side effects. Now there are other medication options – topical steroids in an oral suspension that coat your esophagus, and most recently a monoclonal antibody called dupilumab. Some off-label medications like proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are common for treating EoE symptoms, too.

Doctors sometimes suggest this procedure that stretches your esophagus if your esophagus has a narrowing called a stricture. Some people also consider it if they want to avoid long-term use of medication.

This is important to know, because some treatments, like chronic systemic steroids, come with some serious side effects, and the cons of taking them may outweigh the pros.

When I was younger, there was a period when I had to be on a completely elemental diet, which means all of my nutrition was coming from formula. From there, I started to slowly introduce foods on a very limited diet. For a stretch of time, all I could eat was corn and lettuce. Not everyone needs this level of restriction, but it's helpful to understand what different paths may look like.

Right after you start treatment, you'll wait a month or two to see if it's working. Your doctor will want to talk through what symptoms you're seeing, do labs, and probably an endoscopy to see how things look. Your quality of life is a big part of this conversation. Your doctor will want to know what your day-to-day is like and if things feel better overall to you.

In the beginning, you'll go to the doctor more often, as you work through which treatment works for you. These days, I see my gastroenterologist once a year and my asthma allergy doctor twice a year.

They'll want to know about your symptoms, but it's also good for them to know the ways your EoE management shapes your days. For example, in my senior year of high school, I missed over a month of school days because I was sick and sluggish so often.

Do you drink water after every bite? Add a lot of sauce to dishes so they go down easier? What foods do you avoid?

Knowing about other medical conditions gives your doctor a better overall picture of how different treatment approaches may work for you.