Weaning off Diprosalic

I have had Psoriasis on my scalp for over 30 years and the only things that work for me are Cocois ointment ( VERY messy ) and steroid lotions as soon as you come off the steroids it flares up again ,I have purchased every lotion and potion under the sun that promises miracles ( but NONE of them work or they would be available on the health service as it would save them money ) Instead of using it daily i am now down to twice a week and have been put onto a different lotion ( Elocon ) which although is another steroid i am finding I don't need to use it every day As you say using the oils in your hair is such a mess and I Like you would not go down that route ,I even tried a UV hand help lamp but sadly it comes back as quickly as it eases. Everyone is different and i hope you find something that helps

There is a well known effect called "steroid rebound" where something such as psoriasis can re-appear with a vengance immediately a topical steroid treatment is stopped. The genral approach to try combat this is to slowly taper off the use of the topical steroid and NOT to just stop immediately eg after 4 weeks. Dovobet is a newer steroid than Diprosalic, and combines one of the same steroids wirth a vitamin-D analogue. During development it was observed that the rebound effect with the included vit-D was less than with a straight steroid. What I did afer consultation with my GP is to reduce gradually after four weeks from twice daily, to once daily, then once every 2 days and so on.

Thank you both, very helpful. I’ll book in with my doctor and look at how I can wean myself off of go to a lower dose steroid first. Are you still on the Dovobet now or have you managed to stop the steroid altogether?

Hi Josie, I have been very lucky. I get now only get occasional flare-ups occasionally on my elbows (which will bleed) and a few days application of Dovobet seems to clear it up. If you google "steroid rebound" or "steroid rebound psoriasis" you can read up a lot more about this. I am 63 and my plaque psoriasis first appeared the day after my 22nd birthday and within weeks covered my entire body. In 1980 the main treatment was a coal-tar preparation that looked like brown lard. Betnovate steroid was available but not usually recommended to apply to large areas. Even back then there was a phrase "betnovate face" used to describe the red-faced appearance of someone who had over-used betnovate on their face, and the thinning skin was allowing blood vessels to become more visible.

I apply it on my head, but have noticed a redness in my face which I presume is the blood vessels and my skin thinning. Thank you for the advice and for sharing your story. I’m glad that you have managed to control your psoriasis.