Optimistic About CoolSculpting - Newport Beach, CA

I am 5'7 and 125 lbs, but even when I was 10 lbs. lighter I still had this pooch and bra rolls that would not go away. Liposuction seemed too drastic and expensive, so I was intrigued to go the CoolSculpting route. I wanted to get it done sooner than later to make sure that the full results are showing for next swimwuit season.

During my consultation, a large applicator was determined to be the best fit on my lower abdomen and the medium for each of my bra rolls. My Dr. explained that I was an ideal candidate as I these were deposits of fat that I wanted to get rid of (as opposed to getting an overall fat reduction), and that I could expect anywhere from a 20-40% reduction from one treatment. Hallelujah!

Right before the procedure, my Dr. marked the areas to be sucked into the machine with a Sharpie, and decided to do my lower abdomen first, as this tends to be more sensitive than the back. She then placed a cold gel pad on top of the areas marked with the Sharpie, turned on the machine, and into the applicator head my pooch went. The first 3 minutes were very uncomfortable (slightly painful), but after 4 minutes the area began to get numb and the slight pain subsided. However, during the hour of treatment the there is an active suction going on, so moving around felt weird. I made the mistake of choosing a comedy movie to watch, and everytime I laughed, my stomach muscles flexed and the fat was immediately pulled back into the machine. Once the hour was over, the device was taken off, and everything else went exactly as shown in the video (my fat looked like a stick of butter, it was massaged out, etc).

My back rolls were done one at a time, and I felt no pain or discomfort at all. I was in a sitting position for these treatments, as lying down on the applicator head could trigger it to shut itself off. After those two areas were done, I had a slight bruise from where the applicator was, but no one would ever see it because of its location.

When I went home, the three areas felt numb and cold but I was able to do everything normally, including my workout. This lasted until day 3, where the areas began to get itchy and swell slightly. Days 4-6 I had to wear my roll-down yoga pants with the top rolled up (they now looked like pregnancy pants) to give support and prevent anything from rubbing against my lower abdomen. I could wear jeans but when I sat down in the car, I immediately unbuttoned them. Surprisingly I could still sleep on my stomach. My lower abdomen swelled, and seeing my body everyday I could tell that I looked bloated, but my coworkers actually asked if I had lost weight. So luckily the swelling was minimal for me. During this time the treated areas on my back were still tingly and sometimes itchy, but in very negligible amounts. On day 7 the tenderness decreased so I could wear my jeans again, and the bruising on my back was completely gone.

Day 8-14: The numb feeling and tenderness has subsided, and I am eagerly looking at myself every morning to see if this procedure has made a difference. I do see subtle improvements on my back, but my stomach is still swollen so I will remain optimistic for another few weeks before I can make a final decision on the effectiveness.

In regards to the itching and swelling, it is apparently a normal reaction as your immune system is working to remove that group of dead fat cells out from the treated area. It was more annoying than anything, but those are the only side effects I experienced. And if this does work, it is well worth being uncomfortable for a few days to get rid of my pooch and back rolls that I have been with me forever.

We shall see :)