CO2 Laser Real Time Review

I had a CO2 laser done today. I did a month of ZO Medical skin prep. The day of prep was lidocaine cream on my face an hour pre-treatment. I had a moderate intensity (offered light, moderate, and deep). It hurts. Tolerable but painful. I asked them to start at the most painful location (around lips and nose). Even with the lidocaine and air blowing, it was quite painful. Other areas were a breeze comparatively. Post treatment was extremely painful--more than the sunburn feeling I read about here. But, it subsided a bit about 2-3 hours later and is barely noticeable now almost 4 hours later.
My face is tight and swollen. I bled a lot (see photos) more than the pinpricks I read about. I recommend a fan on your face when you get home (and blow your A/C on your face on the drive home). I also took some ibuprofin. I am now 4 hours in and went from "this was a terrible idea and please make it stop hurting" to "this isn't bad, I hope my face will look presentable soon". I will update as my face progresses.

I slept with my head propped up as recommended by my provider. I woke up in the middle of the night with my face having its own pulse so I iced it a bit and went back to sleep. As you can see, I am very swollen, which is expected.

So much better, even from this morning. No pain, but it is starting to itch. Swelling is going down and my face feels tight, almost like I put glue or rubber cement all over my face and let it dry.