“Thermage Helped my Post-pregnancy Belly”

I’m not a plastic surgery expert but after four kids even I knew something had to be done to help my flabby stomach. Working out toned the area but there was still a lot of hanging, stretched out skin. I’m still young - only 36 - and I really didn’t want that to be what I saw for the rest of my life whenever I put on a bikini.

Thermage was suggested to me at the Modern Mom forum after one of the members read about Body By Thermage. There are a few doctors in my area who do the procedure, and I eventually settled on a nice female doctor about 30 minutes from me. I know it sounds silly, but I didn’t want a “back alley” procedure, so the fact that she had a beautiful, suburban office was very appealing to me! I also felt more comfortable with a woman, especially showing her my embarrassing tummy.

I went in for a consultation where the doctor examined my stomach and declared me a fitful candidate for the procedure and two weeks later I was back for the actual Thermage treatment. She prepped the area first and gave me anesthetic, which I was very thankful for once the procedure began. It was a lot like getting a tattoo because Thermage involved a lot of short jabs in one area, only this was a quick burn instead of a quick needle prick.

The heat was pretty intense and I was afraid my tummy would look horribly burned after she was done. As it turns out, it was fine. There was some redness and puffiness for about a week, but after that you couldn’t tell I’d had anything done. Even that was not even close to some of the tummy tuck horror stories I’d read about, plus there was no surgery or scarring involved.

In about three weeks I started noticing that my tummy was tighter and there were fewer skin ripples. In a few months, although I’d already been getting used to “the new me,” I could totally see the difference. Best of all, since I was allowed to go back to the gym right after I’d had the procedure done, my abs were in tip-top shape just in time for the Thermage to kick in and the skin to tighten up.

Right now my only worry is how long the procedure will last. My insurance doesn’t cover elective procedures like Thermage, so the expenses were all out of pocket. I would love to do this until I’m 80, but only time will tell if I’ll be able to do that financially. I may have to give up a few vacations to get the stomach of my dreams. How ironic!