“I am back from november”
Smart Lipo: Worth it
Pain: Mild
I have been reading reviews on Real Self for quite some time. I made my decision to move forward with SmartLipo after reading the reviews. It really helped set my expectations. Here is my story plus some of the things I would recommend for you.
Yesterday I had SmartLipo with Vaser on my Upper/lower Abs, love handles, and underarms. I weight about 163 and am 5'9. I wear size 10 (always have a muffin top) and have NEVER worn a sleeveless shirt because thanks to heredity, my arms are very large and loose.
I work out daily, lift weights, but will probably remain this weight +/- 10 lbs because I love to eat, drink, and have fun. Waist is 30" around smallest part and 35" around largest area.
I had my consultation Friday and my Lipo Monday. I financed the procedure thru a popular company at 12 months no interest. My doc office took care of all of the paperwork.
My procedure started at 9 AM and I was done by 2:30. I didn't take and medication because I wanted to drive myself home and they wouldn't let me drive if I took a sedative. My Dr. gave me 4 perscriptions ahead of time. 1) Antibiotics, 2) Pain Pills 3) Anxiety Pills 4) Nausea pills
They started with my Abs and it was very uncomfortable-but manageable. After the abs, my love handles and arms were a breeze. I watched a few movies on my IPod and my Dr. said I was his best patient so far. I think it was because I had something to do (movies) rather than think about what was going on.
After the procedure I was able to drive myself home. I stopped by the store to get pads, tape, etc. Do not skimp on tape, buy a ton-maybe 4 boxes of 12 or more of the bandage pads. Also, I would recommend getting everything you will need ahead of time.
Also, here was a surprise-after reading Real Self I thought leaking would be a drip here a drop there. No! Leaking is more like a river of water pouring out of your wounds. I had to change pads about every 2 hrs for the first day. It took me about 1 hr to change them, so basically all I was doing was changing pads. My body looked like I was in a bad car wreck and the water from the procedure (that they pumped my body with) had accumulated in my underwear zone. YUCK! Way freaky. So, I made dinner for the family, walked the dog and then I took a pain pill-not because I was in pain-I just wanted to go to bed and say goodbye to the day. The pain pill knocked me on my behind which normally doesn't happen. Went to bed, slept like a baby and now it is day 2.
So day 2 has started and as I was changing bandages I noticed 1) I am not leaking like a river, just a drip here a drop there! and 2) I LOOK INCREDIBLE! I still look a bit freakish-but I have a flat flat stomach, arms look like they are going to be a LOT smaller. I wasn't expecting to see such wonderful results so quickly.
On soreness today-I am sore but still not like I thought. Arms and side aren't sore at all. Abs a bit uncomfortabel when I get up and walk. I plan to work all day. I do look like a giant marshmellow though-with all the pads under my girdle type thingys.
Also, I am a inches/pounds person. My doctor said to expect a 5 lbs and around 3 inches in my waist. They took 300 CC's out of each arm and said I had 2 1/2 somethings of fat removed. Not sure what it meant but I saw it and it was equal to one pitcher of cool-aid. Yuck. My waist is already smaller on day 2. Haven't measured-it is just SMALLER!
I would highly recommend this procedure and plan to update you as I progress. I will try to get before/after pics from my dr. and post them. Also, my Dr. and his assistant rocked!
Updated on Apr 9, 2009:
Hi there. I swore I would never traumatize my body again after going thru Smart Lipo on my abs, love handles, and arms last November. My doctor recommended that we do my flanks in November-but I declined to save money. Plus, I didn’t really know what flanks were.
For the past 4 months I have been fully aware of those chubby flanks surrounding my new fat-free abs! So, I scheduled an appointment for Smart Lipo, which I completed two days ago.
I dreaded the flank reduction procedure because what I went through in November was a lot worse than I had anticipated. If you read my old posts-I cursed the people that made recovery sound so easy-“the lunch time procedure .” I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised! I spent 3 hrs at the Dr office Tuesday to get rid of the flabby flanks. I watched a movie on my IPod and was home by noon. I work from home and was able to work for the remainder of the day. I made dinner, walked the dog, did everything I do in a normal day. I expected the next day to be horrible-but it wasn’t.
So far, this has been great! (Again, I don’t want to oversell anything, Smart Lipo is pretty major but depending on the number of areas and the areas involved-recovery really varies.)
I had 1 liter removed from the flank area. Probably ¼ blood and the rest fat! I am black and blue but am recovering nicely! I am not swollen like I was in November.
I promised myself last November that I would come back and post about my long term Smart Lipo results. Most people post while going thru their procedures and we never hear from them again.
So to give you an update of Abs, love handles, and arms from November:
I couldn’t be more thrilled. Abs and love handles look fabulous! (I didn’t ever expect perfection and had a lot of room for improvement-I got what I expected.) Arms are a lot smaller. They are a nice shape. But even after 4 months there is still some discoloration. I expect that to go away in the next few months. It still bothers me to rub my arms.
Weight and inches:
I am 3 lbs down from pre-op weight in November. Haven’t changed habits (shame on me) But, 3 lbs is still 3 lbs.
My waist (before my flank reduction) went from 31 to 29. I expect to lose another 1” from Tuesday’s flank procedure. Doesn’t sound like a lot-but makes a HUGE difference with everything I wear.
So, all in all I am very happy with the results. My doctor and his assistant are wonderful and come highly recommended by me.
The last thing I want to add is once you get an area completed you notice that it doesn’t match up with your other flabby areas. So, now that I have abs of steel-something has to be done about these thighs!
Good luck to all of you
Nov 4, 2008Comments and replies (67)
8 posts
4 Nov 2008
So is the leaking from the wounds redish like blood or yellowish like flem from the noise? How many incisions were made in your tummy area and in the arm areas? Thanks for writing your story, I will be getting mine done November 23.
34 posts
5 Nov 2008
Hi there. The leaking is mainly red watery stuff. Pretty bloody. I have holes every where. Since I did upper/lower abs and love handles I would say 4 or 6 holes for abs and 3 each side on love handles, 3 under each arm. I am completely done leaking now and it is day 2. No more pads or tape. Yippee. The girdle thing that I have to wear on top and bottom is pretty uncomfortable. I put a silk cami type top under it and it feels much better. I am pretty bruised and could make a small child cry if they saw me naked. (or a grown man...-yikes.) I go in today at noon for my first check up. I am amazed at how I look already (minus the holes, dents, bumps, and bruises.) I have never really looked like a girl-instead have ALWAYS been athletic with a good personality :) This morning I woke up and looked more girlish than athletic! What a great feeling. I am not one to cry. I cried and cried with happiness. (that didn't help the puffiness!) What a wonderful gift you can give yourself.
34 posts
7 Nov 2008
4th day recovery update. I thought about my post above and wanted to make sure I wasn't making this sound too easy. I am very excited about the procedure but the recovery is uncomfortable and annoying. I went to my Dr on my 2nd day post op follow up and they found that I had a lumpy and nasty bump above my belly button that was accumulating too much fluid. I have to go back today (day 4) to have it checked. I woke up this morning and it is actually gone so I am no longer worried. I am swollen, sore, and really bruised, but it seems like day 4 is when you make it over the mountain and start feeling better. There is an end in site. Day 3 I turned all kinds of ugly colors, especially yellow. Today I am starting to turn normal flesh color again. Things I discovered and wanted to share. 1) Advil takes away swelling. I didn't know that. 2) My Dr. gave me compression clothes that are uncomfortable. They are the only option because they have a zipper and you can't get anything else over your painful body the first few days. However, put on a silk teddy or something under the girdle, it feels a lot better on the skin. 3) SPANX! Day 3 I changed from the Dr's ugly heavy compression girdle to SPANX. They are WAY more comfortable, they fit tighter and seem to make your body look more human during the decompression stage. You can buy SPANX at Nordstrom, online, etc. 4) Back to back appointments. I have my 2nd procedure scheduled in 2 weeks. I don't know if that is wise. It is like having a baby, you need some time in between to forget. I am going to read through other posts to see if other people have done this. If anyone reading this has advice-I would love to hear if it is do-able. It sounds dreadful to me.
34 posts
10 Nov 2008
Hi there. Today is day 7 of recovery. Thought I would write to help set expectations if you (the reader) is preparing for surgery. Today I feel like I thought I would feel day 2 post op. My brusing is almost all gone. My swelling is starting to go down. I look smaller, arms and abs.. When I measure abs-I am still a few inches bigger than when I started due to swelling though. I can tell I am going to be smaller! I have a feeling this will be the week that I will start seeing a difference in inches. So, reflecting back on week 1. It was tougher than I thought. Bearable but tougher. Getting out of cars, getting up from the couch, etc was more of a chore than an after-thought. I am so excited to NOT have to wear these compression garnaments next week. They are for the birds! I am still tickled pink that I went through this operation. I am still questioning if I have it in me to do my thighs in 1 week . I may need a few months in between operations.
39 posts
10 Nov 2008
my husband had his flanks and chest done nov 4th and he too is seeing some great results already! his tummy though swollen is much smaller already and his chest where before he looked like a womans now looks normal or more so at least and he said that he would not be embarrassed to wear a tight shirt today with his chest, flanks are another story though. nov. 11th are flanks and jowls. cant wait!
8 posts
10 Nov 2008
Thanks for the update! I'm so glad to hear you are doing better and still have a positive outlook on this life changing operation. I'm looking forward to mine in less than 2 weeks.
34 posts
12 Nov 2008
Hi there. Today is day 9 in recovery! I had a thigh reduction scheduled in the 19th that I canceled yesterday. I need more time to recover and can't imagine spending another day getting the life sucked out of me. I am still sore but it is getting better every day. Bruises are 87% gone. Wounds are healing with the exception of 1 that looks infected. I am putting neosporin/bandaids on it. I started taking long walks yesterday but couldn't possibly work out yet even if the doctor okayed it. Taking my shirt off right now is a work out. I am up 4 pounds since surgery and I measure +1 inch in both areas I had done (abs / arms) BUT am still pretty swollen. I have been losing a lb and an inch a day for the past few days. My groin area is still really swollen. Even though I am +1 inch I can tell this is going to turn out great. My stomach is flat, my arms no longer sag-I think I am going to be very very happy. Still, I would recommend this to a friend. My message today is make sure you have the right expectations for recovery and be patient.
1 post
12 Nov 2008
Thanks for you very detailed, honest, and helpful account. Sounds alot like traditional lipo to me, which I have had, but without the general anesthesia and maybe has a shorter recovery time. I am thinking about it for love handles, abdomen and maybe some "bra fat" removal, and although I am thin and in shape, I am 48 years old!! So there is the elasticity issue. Did you or anyone else out there notice a tightening in the skin? Or is that something that will come with total healing? All the best to you....D.
34 posts
13 Nov 2008
Hi Darlana: Two years ago I talked to a traditional Lipo Dr about my large wiggly arms and he said they don't like to do arms because once they remove the fat there is just skin left hanging. They would need to do an additinal surgery to remove skin and that would leave scars, etc. I don't like my arms but they aren't that bad... I may not be the best to answer your elasticity question because I am only 9 days post op-but..I see a huge difference already. Also, I have a friend that has done SmartLipo/Vaser. She had her large wiggly arms done. Now they are small, tight, and beautiful. That is what inspired me to have this done. I am 40 and my skin isn't that elastic. I will be a good test to see if the tightening really does work. I will keep you updated as I progress. I would love to hear what others have experienced! Good luck if you go through with the surgery!
39 posts
13 Nov 2008
how to post before and after pics on here for others to see? this is not a busy board at all is it? i dont see hardly anyone on here and i wish there were more people on here. :(