“Upper & Lower Abs, Love Handles, Bra Rolls (Inner and Outer Thighs, Arms Next Week) - Austin”

I had Smartlipo on my upper and lower abs, love handles, and bra rolls 2 days ago. I am 45, 5'8 and I weigh 180. I exercise regularly and previously a a tri-athlete. I have always been very fit an athletic. I have had health problems in the last 5 years where I cannot work out as much as I used to , but I have just been unable to take off weight in certain areas. Before doing Smartlipo, I researched it well. I talked with 3 different docs before deciding on my provider in Austin Tx. The staff at the med spa have been wonderful, along with the doctor. They were knowledgable and professional. Ok... here we go.... I am going to try to hit all the areas that most people would want to know about. The numbing injections were not as bad for me as some people describe. In certain places, they hurt, but nothing that was intolerable at all. I The procedure itself was not bad at and for the most part I did really feel anything. In a few places it hurt, but the doc would add more anesthesia, and then it was fine.

We took pics and measurements before the procedure. The whole thing lasted about an hour and 1/2. The doctor was very particular and went over each areas several times. He was really a 'sculptor' as he did this. We talked through the whole thing, so I could easily carry on a conversation while the procedure was taking place.

When the procedure was over, Alicia, the nurse put dressing over the small incisions (7-9 of them) then she put on 2 very tight 12 inch wide elastic bandages (like a very wide ace bandage) and then the compression garment, which looked a lycra elastic black leotard) and I was on my way home. The draining continued and by the time I go home all the pads had to be changed. I used Maxi pads that were cut in half or thirds or whatever size I needed to cover incisions. I put folded up old sheets on my bed along with a towel to sleep on. I made it to 3 a.m. before I had to get up and changed the pads. The first night was not too bad in terms of sleep or pain. I was sore, but not intolerable.

The next morning I felt pretty good, although I did feel like I had a really hard workout. I went out to buy groceries and went to Kohl's to try on and buy the Flexees corsette that a friend recommended. I was pretty tired after that and came home and slept, then went out again later for dinner and to the whole foods store to get Arnica gel for the bruising. Make sure you use the Arnica gel... It is amazing stuff. I was putting it on both sides of my lower abdomen and by the time I was doing the second side, the first side bruising had already faded. I am also taking the Bromide and arnica tablets and I think that has really helped because I bruise very easily and I have minimal bruising from the procedure.

The second night was bad. I was very sore laying on my back and it was too painful to try to lay on my sides. I gave up the battle at 3a.m. and just got up and took some pain medication, but had to stay up. I should note that I because more and more sore and swollen throughout the first day and by the end of the day I was really done... My abs and back, etc, were sore like I had really overdone it in a work out, but I was never incapacitated by it.

So this is the the morning of the second day, which everyone said is the worst time, but so far I don't feel as bad as I did last night or through the night. I have taken some measurements. Right before Smartlipo, my waist was 33 inches. Even with all the swelling and wrapping, my waist was 32 yesterday and today it is 31 1/2. The top of my hips are 39, but I a not totally sure what they were pre, because I am not sure I am measuring in the same place. So I feel pretty good today so far. not as sore as last night, but still sore. Swelling comes and goes, but seems to be down today.

Next week I will have inner and outer thighs and arms done. I will keep posting and when I have a first set of after pics of the upper abdomen and back, I will post some pics.

Draining: I started to drain IMMEDIATELY and drained for about 30 hours. The worst drainage was from the incision above the pubic bone; there were times when liquid was literally pouring out of that incision. I used maxi pads that I cut in half. The draining was not that annoying; just have to keep up with it and it was basically only for a day. I am using Bio-gel on the incisions and i HIGHLY recommend it.

Updated on Jul 19, 2010:
I am on day 4. The last few days I have definitely been sore, but not unbearable. It gets worse at as the day goes on, but not intolerable. Yesterday was a day when I had much less soreness until trying to sleep last night. The swelling seems best in the morning and gets worse during the day, but all-in-all the swelling is not too bad. My bruising is minimal. I am back to work today and it should be no problem. Throughout the past few days I have pretty much done my usual routine of walking and going to the grocery store and working on different things and it has not been problem. I did accidentally run into a doorknob with my stomach yesterday as I was getting into the shower and that was awful. I almost passed out from the pain. I will post more pics in a few days. Right now it looks pretty much the same as day one.

Updated on Sep 22, 2010:
I just uploaded my befores and 2 months post. You can see a dramatic difference, but I also need to note that I have been dieting and working out a lot. I have lost over 20 pounds so not all of the affect is from the Smartlipo. All-in-all I am happy with the results. I feel more healthy and an in much better shape. The areas that I am not thrilled about are the flanks/bra rolls on both sides. I don't see much difference in the rolls and I don't feel like there is a very dramtic difference in the area beside the breast area, although I was wearing a tight camisole that would have made it difficult for the doctor to see accurately. There is also a little flap of fat that was not removed on both arms. I need to note that my doctor said that he would touch these areas up so I will post pics again after the touch ups. Like I said, all-in-all, I am happy and the smartlipo helped to get me motivated to diet and work out more to be able to lose more weight. I still have 15 pounds to go..... reply

Updated on Sep 27, 2010:
As promised.... Here are my before and 2 months pics...

Updated on Sep 27, 2010:
Captions added...

Updated on 21 Jan 2011:
As you can see in my after pics, there was not much change in my flank/love handle area and there was some residual fat in the stomach are. Yesterday my doctor did a touch up to these areas. Just as before, I am pretty sore today and I am taking my bromelain and arnica. It is not unbearable though. The touch up to my stomach was more painful because there was scar tissue from the original procedure in July. It hurt quite a bit, but it was not unbearable. The thing I need to mention is that I have continued to lose weight. In the last (post 2 months) pics I posted, I had lost 20 pounds and now I am up to 37 pounds before my touch up so not all the results you see will be from the lipo. However, my doc took pics right before my touch-up so I will try to get them for comparison. All in all this has been a positive experience and it helped me get on the ball and lose weight and I feel a lot better.