Ultherapy: Q&A

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Should Ulthera Be Painful?

Ulthera 1st attempt was painful and had to stop. Also,have tenderness along jawline 2 days afterward. 2nd attempt scheduled soon with pain medication. Is my experience typical? Please advise.

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37 Doctor Answers | Asked by Fort Myers9859 in Fort Myers, Fl

Doctor Answers (37)
Community Comments (1)

Ultherapy Painful - It does not need to be

Discomfort experienced during Ultherapy treatments varies between patients and the areas treated. In general patients with thin skin experience more discomfort than those with thicker skin. The neck region seems to be the area that tolerates the Ultherapy treatment the best. Pain control in my patients is achieved with oral Ibuprofen (Motrin), Valium (anti-anxiety) or Percocet (narcotic), and local anesthesia. In general I try not to give a narcotic as it... more

Ulthera treatment hurts

I have an Ulthera in my office and has been very busy. I also had it done myself. It hurts. I did not have any medication because I did it in between seeing patients. If I repeat the treatment, I will probably take a tramadol and a valium. That is what we recommend our patients now. It seems to take the edge off. The results take time but are worth it. As a plastic surgeon and patient, I recommend it.

Ultherapy is not painless

Most patients are able to tolerate the Ultherapy procedure without significant pain however, they can certainly feel the procedure. How intense this sensation feels is extremely variable from patient to patient. When we were considering the device, both my partner and I had a treatment without any sedation or local anesthesia. We had to take frequent breaks and finished the procedure but our experience made us decide to offer something to help with the tolerability... more

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Is Ulthera painful?

Hello, Yes. Ulthera hurts. In a way thats how you know it is working. Nerve blocks or oral pain medication is the most common methods of helping with the pain experienced during treatment. All the best, Dr Repta

Varying levels of discomfort

Pain levels during Ultherapy treatments vary from patient to patient. Some of my patients say it doesn’t hurt at all, while others say it ranks from 6 to 9 on a pain scale of 1 to 10. Having had the treatment myself, I can say that the entire treatment is easily tolerable, and that the area around the forehead is the most sensitive. We certainly want our patients to be as comfortable as possible during all treatments, so we offer patients the option of pre-medicating... more

Ulthera should NOT be painful!

Ulthera (ultherapy) uses ultrasound energy to tone and lift your skin. Many providers use valium or ativan with pain medication such as percocet or vicodin. Some rely on lidocaine topical gel. I have tried these during our initial 20 -30 or so patients and found to be unacceptable for two reasons: 1) patients still had a significant amount of pain and 2) patients needed a driver to take them home. We have changed the protocol to use local anesthetic. I use a special mix of local... more

Ultherapy: No pain, no gain?

It is not unusual for people to report discomfort or even some pain during their Ultherapy treatment. The therapy works by delivering heat energy to the muscle and deeper layers of skin which is what allows the desired lifting and tightening effect. This heat, however, is also what can make the procedure uncomfortable while you are undergoing it. Although it is not unusual to have that "tightened", almost sunburned feeling after the treatment for several days, any discomfort... more

Ultherapy is great, but many need some pain managment

Many patients find Ultherapy pain-free, though most have been prescribed Ibuprofrin-type medication prior to treatment. Some patients have a low tolerance and experience more discomfort. Talk to your phsyician to discuss pain management options; they should have several for you that make the treatment very manageable.

Ultherapy Pain Management

Ultherapy involves penetrating ultrasound energy to stimulate collagen production in the deeper dermal and subdermal levels. As a result, most topical anesthetic creams will have limited benefit except when treating with the newer, shallower penetrating treatment head/transducer that is used for wrinkle reduction. All patients are going to feel something but the perception of whether or not this is painful and to what degree is very individual depending on one’s pain tolerance... more

Pain With Ultherapy Varies

Pain during an Ultherapy treatment varies greatly depending on the individual and their pain tolerance level. My practice has seen patients who are completely comfortable during the procedure, and patients who have felt more significant discomfort throughout. For more sensitive patients, pain management can be achieved with the use of oral medication. Be sure to discuss your options with your doctor prior to your treatment so that you have the best plan of action... more

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Comments (1)

Shelby44
8 months ago

I just had it done a few hours ago some areas were no big deal other brought tears to my eyes I took a Vicodin before and they put a topical numbing lotion on me prior and the lotion definitely helped I could feel when it started to wear off and that's when it brought tears to my eyes all in all tolerable had to take a couple breaks I believe because I had myself worked up. I would suggest a Valium I think if I would have had that it would have kept me calmer on the second pass. They will do your areas one at a time which was not bad but then will go over the areas a second time that was the one that hurt could be because numbing wore off. Feels like your being poked with pins and sometimes the area gets really hot it's not hot but it feels like it. Hope this helps.

Joni O
10 months ago

I had it 8 days ago and my jawline is still sore. Other parts of my face are still sore, too. I was thinking of calling todaynto ask id this is typical.

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