Upper and Lower Abdomen - Bedford, Nova Scotia

I'm 5'2" and swing in the low-to-mid 120s. I hit the gym 6 times a week for a combo of spinning and serious toning workouts and eat a very good diet (with treats on weekends). Nothing has taken away my muffin top. I've had it all my life and hate it beyond words. Even when I was a skinny-minny teenager I had this pooch. I was thrilled to learn about CoolSculpting b/c there was no way I'd go under the knife.

I had the treatment yesterday at Vibe Salon in Bedford, NS, Canada. I was really worried about the pain, based on descriptions of other reviewers. It's not that bad folks. After a while I felt like I was wearing a pair of too-small jeans: uncomfortable, but not unbearable. However, the massage afterwards is truly awful. It only lasts 2 minutes, but it's a bad 2 minutes. When they took the applicator off me, my stomach was frozen in the shape of the applicator -- all sticking up in the air like a fleshy popsicle. Ugly! They then have to massage out that lump and break up all the frozen bits in your tummy. The woman doing it told me it hurts her fingers, too, so we were in a solidarity of discomfort. It's just a really strange, foreign feeling. I had one fleeting moment of nausea, but that was it.

I did the lower abdomen first, then the upper. I fell asleep during the upper treatment, and even the upper massage wasn't as bad. I guess the ribs help.

I had no serious bruising -- I was just a little red. I was, and still am, very swollen. And the flesh feels solid, not pliable like before. It hurts to bend over and I'm very tender, but again, it's not unbearable. If you've ever skipped the gym for a long time, then went back and did a big workout, it's that kind of tender. I'm wearing my spanx today and that helps.

I'm a little worried about what may come. I see others saying that 3 - 4 days later they had lots of pain. One thing my doctor stressed to me was to NOT take Advil for anything, even a headache, during this process. Advil is an anti-inflammatory and one of the things that makes this treatment work is the body's natural inflammation defense. In fact, I just watched a Dr. Oz clip about CoolSculpting where he explained that, too. My doctor recommended taking Tylenol if necessary, but no Advil. He also gave me his cell number and said if the pain gets really bad he'll immediately phone in a prescription for a special painkiller, so I feel somewhat confident knowing I'm covered that way.
So I'm less than 24-hours in and that's all I have to share with you. My goal isn't necessarily a flat stomach (although that would be nice), or even a tolerable bikini body. I just want to be able to sit down and not have my stomach fold up in two rolls. And if my bellybutton would go from being a frowny to being open, I'd like that too. Stay tuned for more.

Aug 24, 2012: Day 2. Still very tender, but again, not unbearable. I wore Spanx to bed last night and that helped me sleep.

My stomach is still very swollen, and very hard. I can't suck it in at all and it's at least 3x larger than normal. I could pass for pregnant.

The sensation seems to be returning to my stomach--I'm not totally numb anymore. And the treated area is feeling warm at times, like it's having a hot flash. Again, no big deal. No serious pain. Just awkward tenderness. Nothing that would keep me from normal life.

Aug 28, 2012: Day 6. Still tender, but that is getting better every day. Now I'm getting the shooting tingles that everybody has been talking about. I had some bruising around day 3 and 4. Nothing major, and it didn't last. Still a little swollen on the lower abdomen and my stomach is still pretty hard. I've been able to go to the gym and today I even did abs. I found that working out actually helped. It'll be a week tomorrow that I had the treatment so I'm hoping it's all downhill from here.