Stomach Pain After Zeltiq (CoolSculpting)

If you have a pot belly, that means the fat is behind the stomach wall, around the intestinal tract, and as you say you had little fat in the abdomen, meaning above the muscle wall, then the Zeltiq was pulling harder on the deeper tissues, and although the muscle is not pulled into the machine, the nerve endings or collagen attachments to the muscle from teh subcutaneous tissues might have pulled harder and it hurts now.  This should go away in a few weeks.  Follow up with your doctor.  You should be concerned about your diet as increasing your calories will make you gain weight and some will go back to the residual 80% of fat cells that don't die from the Zeltiq in that area.

It is common to have some soreness/tenderness to the area treated for a few days to a few weeks after the procedure.  If you are having a significant amount of pain, then you may want to return to the practice for reevaluation.  Some home remedies are heating pad, ice, NSAIDS, Benadryl and some practices may prescribe a medication such as Gabapentin or Lyrica for a short time after the procedure.  As far as your diet, people who maintain a healthy diet and exercise regimen tend to see the best results.  There is no need to go on a diet to assist the procedure, but you should have a consistent healthy diet plan to see the best results.  The results will take some time to appear, so be patient.  Most people see the biggest changes about 2-3 months after their last treatment.

It if very common to feel pain in the area of treatment. This is due to the inflammation of the fat cells. You may feel a dulling of sensation in the treated area that can last for several weeks after the procedure. Prolonged swelling, itching, tingling, numbness, tenderness to the touch, cramping, and/or aching. Feeling like you just got a great workout is normal but if concern always follow up with your provider. Wearing spanks will help support the abdomen area so you do not feel as tender. We will always recommend to maintain a healthy life style after in general but especially after coolsculpting to make sure the remainder of the fat cell do not expand.

It is not uncommon to have delayed onset pain after a Coolsculpting procedure.  This pain is more commonly experienced with abdominal Coolsculpting.  It starts 3-5 days after the procedure and can last 10 days or so.  This pain is nerve based and is best treated with Neurontin.  Ask your physician to prescribe you some.

Best of luck,

Sheila Nazarian

I find that people who develop extreme hypersensitivity after Coolsculpting find that their symptoms resolve within 1-2 weeks. There are medications that can help reduce the intensity of the treatment. I would also recommend using compression.

Thanks for your question. It is normal after Coolsculpting to experience some mild side effects including swelling, bruising, tenderness and cramping that can last several weeks. Implementing a healthy diet is advised.