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Update: Coolsmooth on thighs + pain from abdomen Coolsculpting
I had the Coolsmoothing procedure on the back of my thighs on August 3, which was a pretty similar experience to my Coolsculpting arm procedure. Some discomfort and pain, but relatively easy and was able to walk out and continue on with my day. I am three weeks post-procedure for all three (arms, thighs and abdomen) and only seeing some results in the abdomen area so far.
Days 7-10 were excruciatingly painful in the abdomen area. I was cursing myself for having the procedure, crying in pain and on the verge of going to the emergency room on day 7. I had to leave work mid-day and was unable to do anything, go anywhere or wear anything other than loose pajamas until day 11. I called the clinic and asked to see their doctor to get a prescription for Neurotin but he was unavailable for a few days. I actually was so desperate that I called a bunch of other Coolsculpting clinics around the city to see if they could take me, with no success. I also dragged myself to a walk-in clinic but the doctor could not prescribe Neurotin and suggested I go to emerg. I chose to go home and take the max doses for extra strength Advil and Tylenol, icing the area on and off, but still was literally writhing in pain for 4 days straight on the couch. I could barely sleep for more than two consecutive hours without being woken up by shooting pains. I was so groggy and hopeless. I wanted to write about my experience on this forum but could honestly barely sit up to use my laptop.
Somehow I got through those four awful days, and each subsequent day, I felt mild improvements gradually. I was only able to wear jeans on day 13. As for my arms and legs, this was a cake walk in comparison. Bruising disappeared after 2-3 days, and a bit of tenderness (arms) and itching (thighs) still today at day 14. I have found that massaging and moisturizing with body lotion after showering and before bed is helpful.
I'm on day 18 for the abdomen area and I would say that the numbness is finally gone as of yesterday. The only thing left is some itchiness around the belly button area. I'm so relieved that the pain is finally over.
As for results, I'm seeing my stomach appear to be flatter and I'm down 3 lbs without any change in diet. I would say however that I was unable to eat very much from days 6-11, which could be responsible for the 3 lb loss. I also was unable to do any exercise whatsoever aside from brisk walking until day 16, whereas I normally hit the gym at least 3-4 times per week.
All in all, I would say that I definitely regret the abdomen procedure and would not recommend it to anyone based on my painful experience. It's not worth it. I would rather do a million sit ups and planks than feel that way and be bed ridden for 4 days.
As for the arms and thighs, I'm waiting to see results to say whether it was worth it or not.
I will update after week 4 with some pictures, which sounds like when others started seeing visible results.
Days 7-10 were excruciatingly painful in the abdomen area. I was cursing myself for having the procedure, crying in pain and on the verge of going to the emergency room on day 7. I had to leave work mid-day and was unable to do anything, go anywhere or wear anything other than loose pajamas until day 11. I called the clinic and asked to see their doctor to get a prescription for Neurotin but he was unavailable for a few days. I actually was so desperate that I called a bunch of other Coolsculpting clinics around the city to see if they could take me, with no success. I also dragged myself to a walk-in clinic but the doctor could not prescribe Neurotin and suggested I go to emerg. I chose to go home and take the max doses for extra strength Advil and Tylenol, icing the area on and off, but still was literally writhing in pain for 4 days straight on the couch. I could barely sleep for more than two consecutive hours without being woken up by shooting pains. I was so groggy and hopeless. I wanted to write about my experience on this forum but could honestly barely sit up to use my laptop.
Somehow I got through those four awful days, and each subsequent day, I felt mild improvements gradually. I was only able to wear jeans on day 13. As for my arms and legs, this was a cake walk in comparison. Bruising disappeared after 2-3 days, and a bit of tenderness (arms) and itching (thighs) still today at day 14. I have found that massaging and moisturizing with body lotion after showering and before bed is helpful.
I'm on day 18 for the abdomen area and I would say that the numbness is finally gone as of yesterday. The only thing left is some itchiness around the belly button area. I'm so relieved that the pain is finally over.
As for results, I'm seeing my stomach appear to be flatter and I'm down 3 lbs without any change in diet. I would say however that I was unable to eat very much from days 6-11, which could be responsible for the 3 lb loss. I also was unable to do any exercise whatsoever aside from brisk walking until day 16, whereas I normally hit the gym at least 3-4 times per week.
All in all, I would say that I definitely regret the abdomen procedure and would not recommend it to anyone based on my painful experience. It's not worth it. I would rather do a million sit ups and planks than feel that way and be bed ridden for 4 days.
As for the arms and thighs, I'm waiting to see results to say whether it was worth it or not.
I will update after week 4 with some pictures, which sounds like when others started seeing visible results.
Hello, I decided to try out Coolsculpting to...
Hello, I decided to try out Coolsculpting to improve some problem areas before my upcoming wedding in three months. I did my lower stomach on July 29 and my arms on August 1.
JULY 29: A few moments after the applicator was attached to my lower abdomen, I felt a sudden wave of nausea and cold sweats over my whole body. My hair and clothing were completely drenched and my heart was racing. I told the nurses I wasn't feeling well, but they just thought I was just feeling nervous. I really wasn't though - I had no expectations and hadn't read any of these forums. I felt like I was going to vomit or pass out for the first 10 minutes. It was extreme pain that I was definitely not prepared for. The nurses were trying to keep me alert and eventually asked me if I had eaten breakfast (it was around 11 am) - which I had not. They ran to get me orange juice and a cookie to improve my blood sugar levels. I definitely did not have an appetite at that moment because of the nausea, but a few sips did help. 15 minutes into the procedure, I began to relax slightly, and the pain went from tolerable to annoying discomfort. The nurse then explained that the pain is similar to birth pains! Hearing this didn't help haha! I don't mean to gross anyone out, but the rest of the hour felt like I had severe indigestion cramps and was hoping that I wouldn't [RS bleep] myself TBH. (I did not) Anyway, fast forward to the massage which was uncomfortable - I was also pleasantly surprised to see that there was no bruising whatsoever. At the end, the nurse administered a B12 shot to my abdomen. I took a few minutes to compose myself, but then was able to carry on with my day walking and shopping for a couple of hours.
JULY 30-31: For the next couple of days, I had numbness, tingling and sensitivity and my stomach was swollen (varied from looking 3 months preggos/period bloating). I could not wear tight clothing and often had to unbutton my pants. It was too painful to work out so I opted for long walks (1-2 hours per day) and house chores to ensure I got some exercise. I've also been eating healthy as I don't want to ruin the money spent and pain endured.
AUG 1: Returned to the clinic for my arm treatments. I was supposed to get my chin and bra fat area done as well, but I chickened out. I was worried about looking swollen at work since I have some commitments coming up. The arms were a walk in the park and NOTHING like the pain I experienced on the stomach area. My fingers were numb throughout the procedure, but they gave me a stress ball to keep the blood flowing. They also gave me another B12 shot in the stomach at the end. Again I was able to leave, walk for over an hour, and even pick up groceries and carry them home. You will see in the pictures that my arms are quite bruised though. That night however, my stomach started cramping up and I felt terrible. I probably was only able to sleep for 3 hours. I took two tylenol extra strength 500mg every few hours, which did not seem to help. I'm wondering if it's the B12 shots which are making me feel ill. I just discovered that spanx is helping the pain slightly.
AUG 2: Stomach swelling is slightly down, but I still had to unbutton the pants. The arms are tingly and tender but I'm able to type, carry stuff and wear tops normally. I felt fine all day, until around 4 pm when the stomach cramps/pain began again. I'm feeling lightheaded now too, and have trouble focusing at work. My appetite has been much lower in the past few days, and when I do eat something, the stomach cramps up. I'm thinking I might end up losing my tummy from simply eating less because of this pain, lol!
I'll keep updating on progress. Reading posts in this forum has helped me a lot so far. I'm also considering replacing the chin and bra fat treatments I paid for and switching to Coolsmoothing on the back of my thighs instead (approx equivalent value). Has anyone done this? How was the swelling/pain?
JULY 29: A few moments after the applicator was attached to my lower abdomen, I felt a sudden wave of nausea and cold sweats over my whole body. My hair and clothing were completely drenched and my heart was racing. I told the nurses I wasn't feeling well, but they just thought I was just feeling nervous. I really wasn't though - I had no expectations and hadn't read any of these forums. I felt like I was going to vomit or pass out for the first 10 minutes. It was extreme pain that I was definitely not prepared for. The nurses were trying to keep me alert and eventually asked me if I had eaten breakfast (it was around 11 am) - which I had not. They ran to get me orange juice and a cookie to improve my blood sugar levels. I definitely did not have an appetite at that moment because of the nausea, but a few sips did help. 15 minutes into the procedure, I began to relax slightly, and the pain went from tolerable to annoying discomfort. The nurse then explained that the pain is similar to birth pains! Hearing this didn't help haha! I don't mean to gross anyone out, but the rest of the hour felt like I had severe indigestion cramps and was hoping that I wouldn't [RS bleep] myself TBH. (I did not) Anyway, fast forward to the massage which was uncomfortable - I was also pleasantly surprised to see that there was no bruising whatsoever. At the end, the nurse administered a B12 shot to my abdomen. I took a few minutes to compose myself, but then was able to carry on with my day walking and shopping for a couple of hours.
JULY 30-31: For the next couple of days, I had numbness, tingling and sensitivity and my stomach was swollen (varied from looking 3 months preggos/period bloating). I could not wear tight clothing and often had to unbutton my pants. It was too painful to work out so I opted for long walks (1-2 hours per day) and house chores to ensure I got some exercise. I've also been eating healthy as I don't want to ruin the money spent and pain endured.
AUG 1: Returned to the clinic for my arm treatments. I was supposed to get my chin and bra fat area done as well, but I chickened out. I was worried about looking swollen at work since I have some commitments coming up. The arms were a walk in the park and NOTHING like the pain I experienced on the stomach area. My fingers were numb throughout the procedure, but they gave me a stress ball to keep the blood flowing. They also gave me another B12 shot in the stomach at the end. Again I was able to leave, walk for over an hour, and even pick up groceries and carry them home. You will see in the pictures that my arms are quite bruised though. That night however, my stomach started cramping up and I felt terrible. I probably was only able to sleep for 3 hours. I took two tylenol extra strength 500mg every few hours, which did not seem to help. I'm wondering if it's the B12 shots which are making me feel ill. I just discovered that spanx is helping the pain slightly.
AUG 2: Stomach swelling is slightly down, but I still had to unbutton the pants. The arms are tingly and tender but I'm able to type, carry stuff and wear tops normally. I felt fine all day, until around 4 pm when the stomach cramps/pain began again. I'm feeling lightheaded now too, and have trouble focusing at work. My appetite has been much lower in the past few days, and when I do eat something, the stomach cramps up. I'm thinking I might end up losing my tummy from simply eating less because of this pain, lol!
I'll keep updating on progress. Reading posts in this forum has helped me a lot so far. I'm also considering replacing the chin and bra fat treatments I paid for and switching to Coolsmoothing on the back of my thighs instead (approx equivalent value). Has anyone done this? How was the swelling/pain?