Was your fraxel painful?

fraxel & pain go hand in hand. did fraxel for age spots and it was like my face was getting peeled back. be prepped for agony (janet - take drugs ahead!)

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I just had my first treatment last night and I had no idea how much this would hurt. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most painful, I'd put it at a 6.  Next time I'm going to have them put lots more numbing cream on my face and get a couple nerve blocks.  I'm sure grateful to have something that will help my skin, but as I said to the guy in the elevator who watched me put that ice pack all over my red, swollen face, "Maybe having bad skin ain't so bad. It sure hurts less."  I just wish I had been better prepped. Luckily for me, my treatments are a month apart so that they won't be lasering totally new skin, which would be far more painful.

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The actual treatment is not painful at all as long as you leave the numbing cream on for the full hour ...however...the day following my fraxel treatment was horrible. I woke up in the morning with swollen shut eyes, huge swollen cheeks and I looked like I was disfigured! My face was scarlet red all day and then began flaking the next day which no amount of moisturizer could soothe. I was not prepared for this or warned so it came as quite a shock, I took anti-inflammatories for 3 days. There definitely is "downtime" and when they say you can return to work - unless you work for a freak show you need to go straight home and stay there for a few days! I doubt I will do any further treatments based on the amount of recovery time it took after the first one.

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I always felt that I have had a high pain tolerance... however, the fraxel (after a vicodin and Zanax) was still very painful. The first "pass" and even the second was really OK... it was the 3rd pass. Especially my upper lip and chin area. Feels like someone is raking a razor blade across an open wound. The hour ride home is pure hell, but after I get home and take an hour or so nap, I would wake up and not have ANY pain. I would be swollen, but NO pain at all.

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Maybe a 4-5 on scale of 1-10 (10 being worst). SLATHER the numbing cream & leave on a FULL hour (my Dr. timed it with a kitchen timer). I also took (2) X-strength Tylenol when I got to the office. Recovery is not bad, a tingling sensation for 1-2 days then just peeling & tightness that was annoying, but not painful.

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I think this may not have been worth it! I had the first treatment ( and my last!) Thursday. It is now Sunday and each day I wake up with more swelling and discomfort. My eyes were almost swollen shut this morning and still look as if the whole upper eyelid is filled with water! If I had known how miserable I would feel I never would have done this. They said "slight swelling for a day or two and then some reddening and brozing". What a laugh. I look like road kill and there is no way in hell I would get another treatment as the pain level went up to a 7 ( on a scale of 10) at times. That was with the numbing creme working for an hour and half first. And this with someone who is considered the "best" in my city. No way would I do this again There had better be some pretty incredible results after this pain and cost!!!

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LOVED the email by judith wigren-slack. I had EXACTLY the same experience. I just finished my first treatment on Thursday of last week. It is Sunday (three days after the procedure), and I am still very swollen. Like you, my eyes were swollen almost completely shut since about three hours after the procedure and were full of edema. So were my lower eyes, and it looks like I might have some bruising under the eyes from this. I actually got online to see if anyone else had a similar experience since I was a little worried about what was happening. I have had three microlaser peels over the past two years, my last one being a little over a year ago. I was told this fraxel laser procedure would have less "downtime". What an absolute JOKE. I had a lot less swelling from the microlaser peel than this procedure. I am very red and "bronzed looking" right now, and the flaking is starting. I look like a freak, too, and have not been able to leave the house. Unless I have unbelievable results, I will not go back for my second one either. I would do the microlaser peel first. I thought I was a veteran visitor to the dermatologist's office and thought of myself as a person with a very high tolerance for pain.This tests all those beliefs. They need to warn people that this has more side effects and pain level than they are alluding in their sales pitch!!!!!!!

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I had my first treatment 3-days(Friday) ago. I am a little red & my skin is a little flakey, but I am at work (Mon). The day after (Sat), I put on make-up and went to a reception. Sure, I was a little swollen...but not so bad that I couldn't leave the house. Sunday, I was at church and went grocery shopping. Everyone is different...as far as "was it painful"...it wasn't the most fun I ever had, but it wasn't the worsed either. The 1st and 2nd pass were ok, the 3rd was a little harder & by the 4th I was glad they were done. The nurse gave me some "stress-balls" to squeeze...which helped. All and all it wasn't that bad...just go prepared.

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I'm a small lightweight person whom medication dramatically affects. For whatever it's worth, I felt little to no pain on the first pass, only moderate pain on the 2nd, by the end of 15 minutes areas getting repeat passes hurt but very manageable. The numbing cream was heavily applied and put on for a FULL hour, and I took two pills beforehand (can't remember what they gave me!).

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The MD who performed my procedure was one of the clinicians who worked on the development of Fraxel laser.I was told the pain was manageable -- and it was. The actual procedure -- with the full dose of numbing cream -- was tolerable. For five hours after, though, I was pretty miserable. As soon as one ice-pack lost its iciness, I was racing for a new one. I tool tylenol and advil. After five hours, I was fine -- felt sunburned and a little puffy, though. Day 2, a little puffy, a little red. But OK. In any case, I am NOT looking forward to treatment #2. I'll ask for the drugs to take after the provcedure.

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