Important: This is not promoting or demoting the Dr. Aron Regimen. This is my honest experience and review. I have no affiliation with Dr. Aron or his treatments.
For my full story, my book is now available on Amazon.
Early Life
I’ve dealt with severe eczema since I was six years old. When I was a child, I spent a week in Westmead Children’s Hospital because my skin condition was so extreme. Over time, I was prescribed topical steroids, and I ended up using an ultra-high potency (Diprosone) throughout my childhood up until my mid-twenties. I used it almost everyday to the point that it no longer worked. This caused severe skin atrophy, leaving me in an even worse situation.
Topical Steroid Withdrawal
In 2014, I discovered the work of ITSAN, Dr. Marvin Rapaport, and learnt about Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW). The terrifying shared experiences from these communities mirrored my own symptoms. Inspired by the TSW Warriors who quit using steroids altogether and emerged healed after years of steroid avoidance, I quit topical steroids abruptly many times. Over the years, many of the TSW Warriors have become my dear friends that have healed themselves through this method. My decision to quit topical steroids cold turkey abruptly led me into a painful period of TSW, where my skin reacted violently to the absence of steroids. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced—constant flare-ups, painful sensitivity, and no clear end in sight.
My local doctor’s advice was to try tapering off topical steroids to avoid the acute severity of quitting cold turkey. I tried so many different methods of tapering down different frequencies of ointment application and varying topical steroid potencies— all without success.
Aron Regimen
In 2015, I came across the Dr. Aron Regimen, a treatment plan that uses a compound of a weaker topical steroid, topical antibiotics, and a base moisturizer. The goal was to start by applying the compound cream aggressively with the aim of reducing inflammation and addressing the overall bacterial infection of Staphylococcus aureus. According to Dr. Aron, S. aureus can exacerbate eczema symptoms, leading to more severe flare-ups and a compromised skin barrier. The inclusion of an antibiotic component in the compound cream is crucial to address this underlying bacterial issue, which is often overlooked in traditional eczema treatments.
This was paired with a custom tailored tapering process to gradually reduce the application of the steroid compound slowly. At the time, it felt like a more controlled approach compared to quitting topical steroids abruptly, which had left me in chaos.
I reached out to Dr. Richard Aron. After many back and forth emails discussing the treatment details, Dr. Aron prescribed a compound cream and a taper reduction plan. My skin was in such bad condition at the time, it was a relief that his communication was caring and empathetic. My skin responded extremely well to this method for many years. The antibiotic cream mixed with the topical steroids gave me the clearest skin in years. After so many years of struggling with eczema and the anxieties around managing it, the treatment made my skin condition almost non-existent. I traveled overseas, got some tattoos, played sports, and rarely worried about my skin.
However, the regimen was far from easy. I became over confident with my health, and my unhealthy lifestyle of alcohol, junk food, and long hours in the office caught up with me. My skin health deteriorated, eczema came back with a vengeance, and the compound cream began to lose its effectiveness.
The idea was to use the compound cream aggressively initially, then gradually reduce the frequency of the applications. Every time I tapered too quickly or spaced out the applications too far, my skin would rebound, and the flare-ups would return. The similar symptoms of hybrid eczema/TSW would return. It became a frustrating cycle of trial and error, adjusting and re-adjusting to keep my skin somewhat stable.
Adding to this, I also discontinued my communication with Dr. Aron, after his patient group and waitlist tripled in numbers and I assumed our previous direct communication would now be transient. I decided to manage my condition and taper process without his guidance. In hindsight, I should have stayed in contact with Dr. Aron and reported my progress, but I stuck by my decision to figure it out on my own.
Ventured on my own
Over 6 years I experimented with my skin health and tried multiple rounds of brutal TSW after quitting topical steroids cold turkey. I also tried multiple attempts to taper off Dr, Aron’s Compound cream – constantly climbing up and down the application ladder to try and get my skin to a clear state and then resume tapering down the applications.
It took me years to finally taper off the Dr. Aron compound cream completely. While the regimen played a crucial role in clearing my skin, personally, it wasn’t a cure on its own. I had to take a more holistic approach to managing my eczema. Over many years, I identified several factors that were triggering my flares and made significant changes to my lifestyle. These included:
- Cold showers to help reduce inflammation and cool my skin.
- Gut healing program and probiotics with a naturopath to address potential underlying issues related to diet and digestion.
- Vitamin supplements and a high animal-protein diet to strengthen my overall health.
- Cutting out sugar and alcohol, which I noticed had an immediate effect on my skin.
- Avoiding external irritants, like dust, polyester clothing, mould, and harsh cleaning chemicals, which would often trigger flare-ups.
- Cognitive behaviour therapy, meditation and stress management to help me cope, as stress was a major trigger for my flares.
- Traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, which I found helped in balancing my body’s adrenals, immune system, and allergies.
Successfully completed my taper off topical steroids
It was a long road, filled with setbacks and small victories, but in the end, I managed to taper off the Dr. Aron regimen compound cream and regain some control over my skin. The process was far from perfect, and it required a lot of patience and adjustments along the way. Today, I no longer use topical steroids anymore, and also no longer have distinct-TSW symptoms of oozing, oedema, hot fiery-red skin. In writing this, I still have what I like to call “plain-old-dry-patchy eczema” but it is easily manageable.
Looking back, I’m grateful that I tried the Dr. Aron regimen, but it wasn’t a standalone solution. I got overconfident and forgot that I was still misusing topical steroids frequently for many years – although only small amounts in the compound cream.
The real progress came when I combined Dr. Aron’s tapering process with other lifestyle changes and holistic methods that healed me body internally. Unfortunately, the Aron regimen does not factor in other holistic and integrative methods into their treatment – as combining these was the biggest healer for me. I outline all of this in my book Taper.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Did Dr. Aron’s Compound Cream cause Topical Steroid Withdrawal?
Tricky question. It did not, because I was already experiencing steroid-induced skin damage and TSW symptoms prior to the treatment.
In my personal experience, I believe it delayed the inevitable for TSW symptoms to return if I tapered too quickly, due to my long history of high potency topical steroid misuse for nearly two decades before using Dr. Aron’s compound cream. The antibiotic component in Dr. Aron’s compound cream made a tremendous positive difference to my skin health to treat the underlying staph infection, but the steroid component worried me. It improved my skin so rapidly and allowed me to live a normal life during the years that it worked for me, before it lost its efficacy due to my unhealthy lifestyle and self-instructed usage of the compound cream.
From what I can see in polarising discussions in online forums and Facebook groups:
- It has helped many people
- It may have also caused TSW symptoms in many people who struggle to taper off it
In my personal experience with it, the compound cream became less effective after 4 years, and I had to use it more and more aggressively before I could figure out my own unique way to taper off it. I knew at the back of my mind that I was still using steroid creams frequently and eventually coming off them completely could bring back the withdrawal symptoms.
To be clear, I am not recommending the Dr. Aron Method, nor am I disregarding it. I am simply sharing my honest journey with it.
Topical Steroid Withdrawal and eczema is very complex and unique to each individual. More research and data is required.
Which is better? Tapering down from topical steroids or quitting topical steroids abruptly cold-turkey?
Unfortunately, I don’t have an accurate answer for this and I can only share my experience.
Like me, there are some people who were able to taper off topical steroids completely.
There are also many who claim it only prolonged their topical steroid withdrawal journey and delayed the inevitable. Having tried both methods, in my personal experience, the taper method was less brutal and I was able to live a somewhat normal life.
If you have chosen the cold-turkey route and are going through long term TSW, please do not let my own personal experience impact your judgment and intuition of your own personal journey. If you are months or years into your own cold turkey TSW journey and plan to never use topical steroids again, you have my utmost respect and I wholeheartedly admire your courage. There are many TSW warriors who have chosen this route.
Why is there tension between TSW Facebook Groups and Dr. Aron Facebook Groups?
The tension between TSW (Topical Steroid Withdrawal) Facebook groups and Dr. Aron Facebook groups isn’t rooted in malice or ill intent. It’s a result of the conflicting personal experiences that each group’s members have gone through. Eczema and TSW journeys are deeply personal and vary greatly from person to person.
The TSW community is generally strongly anti-steroid, committed to never using topical steroids again. They’ve often gone through extreme suffering due to topical steroid usage and side-effects and have chosen to reject steroids altogether. On the other hand, the Dr. Aron groups follow a different path. They use steroids in uniquely measured doses, within compound creams of moisturizers and antibiotic creams, with the goal of reducing their application over time.
Both groups have success stories, and both have members who continue to struggle. The suffering and hardships that members of each group experience are very real and valid. However, the treatments and advice offered in these groups are often polar opposites. What works for one person can be entirely different for another, which is why these groups sometimes clash. This isn’t just unique to eczema or TSW communities—it’s a broader issue with social media, where different experiences create echo chambers.
To complicate matters, there are also claims of group moderators limiting or banning discussions that go against their group’s philosophy—whether that’s banning the promotion of steroids in TSW groups or blocking discussions of TSW in Dr. Aron groups. This isn’t done out of malice; it’s more of a defense mechanism. The moderators are trying to stay true to their group’s treatment philosophy and protect members who are in vulnerable situations, often dealing with severe skin health complications either for themselves or their children.
I don’t have a solution for this divide, but I’ve seen it firsthand through my experiences in many groups. Everyone is just trying to find what works best for them, and while their approaches may differ, their goal of healing is the same.
Update:
📖 I’ve received a few heartfelt messages from the community asking me to elaborate on the finer details of my journey of tapering off topical steroids. I started writing every night and there is so much more to my taper journey which far exceeded an internet blog post. This has evolved into a book that I’ve been working on for a long time.
I hope that my story can help anyone who’s on a similar journey.