On Wednesday (4/5/17), I went in to have my lower abdomen manipulated into a bizarre contraption (twice!) in hopes of obliterating the pesky bulge. The 2 hours prior to the treatment I made the mistake of reading dozens and dozens of critical reviews of the Coolsculpting process. The pain and discomfort experienced by others was really discouraging and made me extremely anxious going into the appointment. Needless to say, I went through with it anyways. While the procedure certainly wasn't as luxurious as lounging on the couch, it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. It was uncomfortable at times - at most a 3 on a scale from 0-10. The weirdest part was touching my frozen "stick of butter" belly fat after removing the suction. I had two 1 hour sessions, one on each side of my lower belly. Last night, however, I had some difficulty sleeping. It was painful (again, at a 3) turning over to lay on my side or getting up from bed. And the swelling! Holy cow! My belly has tripled in size! It's sore when I walk, sneeze or touch it. Still a 3, maybe a 4 on the discomfort scale. Today I'm wearing a spanx type camisole under my dress and a pair of leggings. If the pain/discomfort stays like this for the next 2 weeks, I'll be happy. I'm really nervous about the reported onset of sever nerve pain around the 4-6 day mark. Stay tuned! Updated on 7 Apr 2017: Feeling optimistic today! The swelling has gone down some (~25%), but the treated area is still warm to the touch. I've been using an arnica cream 2/day and it seems to be helping. I was able to sleep a bit better last night as well, as the discomfort has subsided a bit. Still wearing a Spanx camisole today, as it feels better to keep the area compressed. Still mentally trying to prepare for the late onset pain which could start Sunday or Monday. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best? My service provider did say that if the pain in the evenings gets bad in the next few days, a glass of wine can help. Now, that's a "prescription" I can get my head around! If one glass of wine helps, then two will be even better, right? I'll continue to update as the dreaded day 5 approaches. :) Updated on 10 Apr 2017: On Saturday (Day 4) I was feeling pretty good...and overly optimistic. Sunday (Day 5) and today I'm more uncomfortable than any of the previous days. My stomach itches and am having sporadic firings of pins and needles. Trying to massage my belly to alleviate the itching is like pressing and rubbing a deep bruise. Every time I do it, I am reminded of being a little kid "Mom, it hurts when I touch right here". My Mom would always respond with "then don't touch it". So, I've stopped that approach. Instead, I find that mild stretching feels pretty good. As for the new pains, they're tolerable in that I can go to work and carry on my normal day to day activities, I'm just over it. I can tolerate pain, I'm a marathon runner....but with marathons you know there's an end. This? It just keeps on coming. On a scale of 0-10, I'm at a 4-5. Currently the "pain pings" seem to be localized to the lower right part of my abdomen where there is still 50% swelling compared to my left side. I caved and bought an "abdomen support" wrap at the local pharmacy. I like that it provides more compression than a Spanx camisole, but it doesn't take away the pain. I haven't taken any medication, as I've read that it doesn't help much anyway. I'm still too sore to workout, which is probably adding to my irritability and general lethargy. I typically exercise 5 days a week, and it's been 6 days with no strenuous activity. The jiggling when jogging is too uncomfortable to tolerate for an hour long session. I am hopeful that this phase passes quickly and I'm grateful that it's not as painful as some have experienced, but I'm ready for it to be done. No pain, no gain though, right? RIGHT?
The Coolsculpting procedure is the only FDA Cleared, non-surgical fat-reduction treatment that uses controlled cooling to eliminate stubborn fat cells. There are a lot of other "knock off" cooling treatments out there that haven't been cleared by the FDA. I would proceed with extreme caution when considering other treatments that have not been cleared or approved by the FDA. Especially when you are talking about your body. Cooling to temperatures so cold (-11 Celsius) can be very dangerous if not done correctly with the correct equipment. The Coolsculpting technology is a controlled cooling environment and is very smart. If the temperature is too cold, the machine knows and aborts the treatment. If the temperature is too warm the machine knows and aborts the treatment. This doesn't happen very often but when it does our specialist can check the area being treated and check the machine for any issues. Most patients can still have the treatment done after this, but might have to wait. I don't know if the other cooling machines do this and haven't seen any studies done with them. This is why we decided on Coolsculpting in our practice. There is safety in numbers and Coolsculpting has done the most known cryolipolysis treatments to date. Just be careful, it's the only body you have! Good luck!!!
You honestly sound the like the perfect candidate for Coolsculpting! Those stubborn fat pockets that we can't get rid of through diet and exercise are tough. That is the number one complaint from our Coolsculpting patients in our practice and they are very happy with their results after Coolsculpting. It is hard to say by looking at the picture because in order to assess for Coolsculpting we need to squeeze the area to be treated. However, your skin tone looks great and you look like a good candidate from the picture alone. The best thing to do is get a free consultation. Most clinics that offer Coolsculpting offer free consultations as well. If you are not a good candidate they will tell you. Good luck!
This is a very common question. Coolsculpting is such an amazing treatment and unique because it has no downtime or restrictions. Doing cardio is has no contraindications with Coolsculpting and is to your comfort level. If something doesn't feel good after your treatment, then don't do it! As far as pain, I would contact your provider where you had Coolsculpting done and let them know what you are experiencing. Pain typically lasts up to 2 weeks, anything beyond this you should let your provider know. Best of luck!
