40+ and Hopeful; Inner/outer Thighs and Knees - Center Valley, PA

My procedure was 24 hours ago. I read numerous posts on this site to help me weigh my options and find women I could relate to. After connecting to the common theme of I work out 5-6x a week, eat well, and live a heathy lifestyle - I decided this was what I wanted to do. I am 42yrs old, 5'5" and 150lbs, generally a size 8-10. Not overweight!

I found the procedure to be not as painful as I expected. Bonus: The staff was wonderful .. Patient, kind, and supportive! There were times that I felt moments of pinching and pulling, but it was never unbearable or extruciating. The laser portion of the process was almost soothing. Weird but true. The doc explained what he was doing before he did it and checked with me every step of the way. Truly comforting.

For having the procedure yesterday I have been fairly active today but making sure to not overdue it. Some light housework, taking laps around the house, and just prepped dinner. Overall not bad.. By the way I have not felt the need to take pain meds today at all.

Of course results are not yet known. Still in compression garment, massaging the entry points, and following docs orders! Can't say I don't feel bruised and sore, but that is not a surprise.

Will post again after my 1 week check up! Very excited and hopeful that this will resolve my lifelong issue with my legs. Can't wait to feel great about wearing shorts, skirts, and dresses that are not below my knees!

I am one week & one day post procedure and feel really good. Had my 1 week follow up and doc says I am healing nicely. My legs are still bruised quite a bit, but starting to have a green hue which means healing has begun. By the way, my skin is tightening as welll, I read that was another issue for some.

Some advice I did not read before but wanted to share is ... wear your compression garment. Don't be foolish by spending all the money, going through the pain, and recovery to ruin it by not wearing the garment. I've found that it is more comforting with the compression than without. The other bit of advice is to massage the treated areas. No, it's not fun or pleasant. Yes it's a bit painful, but it's made a huge difference in my case. So many people complained of bumps and lumps..... I have NONE. Doc told me it's because I massaged the areas in an upward motion as instructed. Don't sit around, make a concerted effort to walk for 5 mins, then 10, etc.. I started easing back into my exercise routine Monday (so 4 days post procedure). I am not running or going crazy. But I've done yoga, walked on the treadmill at a decent pace and incline, and rowed. I am just listening to my inner voice tell me that's it or push a bit harder today :-)

I am adding pics the doc took pre-procedure. I think based on bruising I am going to wait 1 more week to post the after shots. I see a considerable difference and am so pleased thus far. It's encouraged me to be even more diligent about my diet and overall health! There is no denying my legs looks more slim and shapely. Best news is my doc says I'll see it even more so over the next few weeks.

It's been two weeks since my procedure. I am still bruised, but healing nicely. Keeping it real, have to say I started noticing some lumps and bumps here and there. Massaging those areas does continue to help and I notice less and less each day. Still wearing my garment 1/2 the time. So basically during the day and sleeping without it.

Back to exercising every morning. Still not running or doing anything that requires jarring impacts to my legs. But there are so many other things to do I still feel like I am burning calories and getting in a great workout.

On a side note, watch topical effects of using antibiotic ointment on your wounds. I thought I was doing good by applying it consistently. Not so much.. it's actually rough on your skin. Let me just say my skin is sensitive and I typically use "for sensitive skin" products. So I ended up with one spot that swelled a bit (looked like a bug bite) and as a precaution I started back on an oral antibiotic. This is purely to be sure the irritation does not end up causing an infection.

My clothes are fitting nicely and I am loving my silhouette. I didn't go into this wanting or expecting to look like I lost 10-15lbs. I just wanted my curves to reflect my efforts to live a healthy and active life.

Yes, pics .. I need to add pics. I tried to take some myself and didn't feel like they compared apples to apples. Not to mention that self taken pics are met with extreme scrutiny! So I will request my hubby to take some this weekend or sooner.

So glad some are finding my chronicle of experience helpful. I am consciously sticking to the facts and trying to provide the info that I didn't see or read elsewhere. To wrap this up - 2 weeks post smart lipo and I am not regretting my choice and as of now feel as though it was the right choice for me. As healing continues... I am still hopeful!