Smart Lipo: Stories

I recently decided to go through with laser lipo. I am a mother of one and have been unable to rid myself of "the pooch" with diet and exercise for awhile now. I decided to go with sonobello after meeting with their consultant who said that they were not only willing to just do the one section but they thought it would be a waste to do the upper. Originally I had planned to go to a clinic who would only do both sections and charged more.

On the day of the procedure I ended up having to wait for an hour or so because they were running behind but they did keep me updated. Once I was taken back to the prep room I was marked up and given anxiety medication, my antibiotic and an anti nausea pill. I was not given any pain meds until I was on the surgical table at which point they injected me with Demerol. I was pretty sleepy throughout the surgery but there was no way I could have slept with all the tugging and pulling I felt. I didn't feel a whole lot pain except around the upper half of the lower abdomen. For some reason I felt like I was being jabbed in my rib a couple times. When everything had been suctioned out I was bundled up, dressed and set in a wheel chair.

Th first night I slept alot and only ended up changing my pads once. By the next morning I stopped taking controlled pain meds and stuck to OTC meds. By the second day I was moving around but still sore.

Now at day 11 and I feel pretty good. My stomach is still tender in some areas and I am noticing more hardness and lumps and bumps. Hopefully they subside with time. Honestly I think I am more puffy or swollen now than I was the night of the surgery which is kind of a bummer. I'm trying to remain optimistic and I am pleased that my stomach for the most part now.

Thought I would update since I am 3 week post op today. I have been wearing my second stage compression garment almost 24/7 since I was told to stop wearing the first stage (10 days post op). I notice that if I don't wear it for even a couple hours in the morning while I am getting ready then my abdomen gets puffy. I massage every night since I still have some lumps and hardness, some nights I am more sore than others. I have felt improvement on the hardness which I can only assume is due to the massage. I have been debating getting a lymphatic massage but haven't really found a place to go to yet. Overall, I feel back to normal and have resumed all preop activities. Im still on the fence whether it was worth it only because i was told i was a perfect candidate but my results are not what I would call ideal. I realize its only been 21 days and I am still hopeful! Patience, patience, patience I guess.

Real quick update:
I am officially a little over two months post. Still feeling some numbness and tingling, but the hardness is gone. I still have some uneven "divots" on my right side that ill ask about at my 3 month appointment in June. Now that I am 8-9 weeks out I have decided to stop wearing the stage 2 garment 24/7 and now only wear it to bed. I do notice pretty excessive swelling after not wearing it when I get home from work. I plan to ask about that too. I did not do any lymph massage because honestly I couldn't afford it. I still massage in the shower though. That's all for now! Happy healing everyone!