Sorry to read that the procedure did not work for you. I don't know if it is the technique of the doctor during the treatment or your ability to heal or a combination of both. I am 61 years old and hated my cellulite. I first saw the procedure on the Today show and made an appointment with Dr. Bruce Katz, the doctor featured on the show who pioneered the treatment. I figured he would be the most experienced. He was very professional and I was impressed with him and his staff during the procedure which was practically pain free. I had my entire thighs done at the same time -- outer, inner, front and back on August 2nd. It is now approximately nine weeks since the procedure and I have seen a vast improvement in my thighs -- so much so that I bought several bathing suits -- an article of clothing I hadn't worn in years!.
One thing I noted in your blog is that you continued to do heavy exercising. My doctor said you could start exercising after 8 days but if it hurts don't do it. Even now I cannot run or even walk quickly without a stinging sensation --- so I don't do it. I found that I can exercise on the eliptical machine without any problem and work out about 45 min to 1 hour several times a week on the eliptical machine in addition to using light weights. If you were running, etc. while having pain -- STOP doing it! I can't say if that contributed to your healing but not doing a particular exercise if it hurt was one of the post-procedure instructions emphasized by my doctor.
I also had a problem with scar tissue which was of grave concern to me as it got worse and worse over a very short period of time. Since I am in Florida and my doctor is in NY, I went to my local dermatologist who showed me the proper way to massage the areas. He explained that if massaged incorrectly you can create more scar tissue by damaging the tissue surrounding the scar tissue. You must also massage the area for an extended period of time, a few seconds on an area is not going to do the trick. The first few times I massaged my thighs the pain was so intense I thought I would vomit. However, by massaging for about 30 minutes to an hour twice a day the scar tissue has been broken down and is no longer visible.
I am also concerned for you because you have written about all the pain you are in. I was on pain medication the day of and the day after the procedure. After that I took tylenol at night a few times a week for the first week or two. That's it. I have experienced the electrical shocks in my thighs. The skin on my thighs at first felt like it was streched like saran wrap and later on, like I had tight rubber bands wrapped around my lower thighs - just above the knees. For the first month it was hard to sit on the toilet and sitting on chairs with a hard edge can still cause some pain. At present my skin is still sensitive although it is no longer numb. I can honestly say the post-procedure wasn't like a walk in the park and at times I really hurt. Yet, I never had the need for anything stronger than tylenol and I chose not to even use it after the second week. Maybe I just have a higher tolerance to pain. However, it seems like you should not be in this much discomfort at 4 months.
My suggestion would be to get a second opinion to determine what can be done. If it were me, I would see if I could get an appointment with Dr. Bruce Katz, the doctor featured on the Today show who did my procedure. The cost of a consultation is well worth knowing if anything more can be done to help you.
I am 61 years old and hated my cellulite. I flew to NY to have the procedure done by Dr. Bruce Katz, the doctor who pioneered this procedure and did some of the clinical trials that led to the FDA clearance. The Cellulaze procedure was done on my entire thighs -- front, back, inner and outer thighs. I was awake during the procedure and the pain level during the entire procedure was a 1 to 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the least amount of pain. The doctor was extremely professional and I was very impressed with the way he and his staff conducted themselves. I left the office with bandages around my thighs and wore a compression garment that the doctor's office had suggested I purchase from Design Veronique. I was to wear the garment 24 hours a day for one week and remove it only to shower. (I had purchased an extra garment so I could change off between garments). After that, I wore it just to sleep for the next three weeks (this was optional). I had no drainage after the procedure and was able to just put band-aids (the round dot band-aids) over the 9 incisions (which were each the size of the tip of a pen) the day after the surgery! I did not need any other bandages. I saw a dramatic change in my thighs shortly after the procedure. It is now six weeks and my legs have so improved that I bought several bathing suits -- something I hadn't done in years because I didn't want anyone to see my thighs. I am told that they will improve even more over time. The only real problem I had after the procedure was with scar tissue. It started with feeling tiny pellets under the skin but they quickly bundled together and became lumps the size of grapes that were visible to the eye. I called the doctor's office and was told to massage these areas. I did and they decreased in size; they are now tiny pellets again under the skin. I was advised by the doctor's office to have Manual Lymphatic Drainage. I have contacted someone who specializes in this therapy and will have my first treatment tomorrow. I am hopeful that with this treatment, any remaining swelling will be gone and my legs will be perfectly smooth. The procedure was more expensive than what I am seeing others spent in the various blogs (maybe because I had my entire thighs done), but I definately feel it was worth the money. I did not want an inexperienced doctor. My doctor has performed the Cellulaze procedure on hundreds of women; it was evident that he knew what he was doing and I would highly recommend going to someone who is an "artist." You have to live with the results and want to increase the chances of having a happy outcome.
Those baby peas may be scar tissue. I had the same thing happen to me and checked with my doctor; he said that that the alignment is caused by the bundling of the scar tissue. Unfortunately, the baby peas began growing bigger and bigger; what helped was massaging the area. Have your "peas" gone away? Did you do anything to rid yourself of them?
I am from Florida and flew to NY for the Cellulaze procedure approximately six weeks ago on the front, back, outer and inner thighs at a cost of over $13,000. I am in excellent health, work out, eat healthily and am not overweight -- most people think I am in my 40s (I am 61). My doctor was very professional and the procedure went without a hitch. However, one thing I found to be deficient was that no one told me about the after effects -- most particularly that I would have excessive scar tissue ---lumps and bumps have replaced the cellulite within the first two weeks after the procedure. I called the doctor's office and was told to massage the areas several times a day. This has helped break down some of the larger lumps (most were the size of grapes but I also had a few the size of silver dollars) but when they break down in one area they seem to emerge somewhere else on my thighs. Has anyone else had this problem? Do you use any special creme when massaging or is there anything that has worked well? Will the scar tissue eventually go away in several months time or can I expect this to replace the cellulite?
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