37 Yrs Old with + Advice About Coolsculpt - Golden, CO

I have always been thin and athletic all my life even after childbirth. 3 yrs ago I started putting on weight related to vascular problems in my legs, got depressed, and made things worse by drinking 2-6 alcoholic beverage/night which made my weight issues worse despite still going to the gym my usual 3 times/week and having a job that has minimal "sitdown/desk" time. Long story long, I piled on 30lbs of unhappiness and was weighing more than in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy. I dropped the excessive drinking and turned to water, but I'm 37 & the weight wasn't just going away like it would perhaps if I were younger. That is when I looked into lipo & found Coolsculpt. I went to my plastic surgeon's office for consult (I have had breast reconstruction in the past), was told I was a good candidate, and signed up for outer thighs, flanks, and lower ab (with the 2 smaller applicators, not the 1 large one due to the shape of the fat on my lower ab area). I had these procedures done in early October 2014 & was happy with the results. I was told outright I would probably need 2 sessions to get my desired results, so I was prepared to have to do it again if I wanted more results. It is now December 2014 and I had my lower ab area done again, this time with the large applicator (the fat deposit there had gotten much smaller from the 1st treatment and was better shaped for the 1 large applicator now) on the 12th. Ok, after all of this preface, this is now why I am writing this review. I work in the healthcare field and I believe there are some steps/ considerations that females who still menstrate should take and some post interventions that any patient, female or male, can do to minimize pain/discomfort because there will be pain/discomfort for most people who have Coolsculpt on the abdominal area. First, menstrating females should NOT schedule their ab Coolsculpt a week before or the week of their period. Holy cow, during this time of the month, blood flow and inflammation is already increased in the pelvic/abdominal area... Don't put yourself through more of this by attaching 1 large or 2 small vacuum type devices that are only going to create more blood flow and inflammation to this part of the body, especially if you are already experiencing PMS and/or menstruation issues. If you don't have these issues during "your time of the month" that's awesome, but why tempt fate? Schedule 3-5 days after your period and save yourself from added pain/discomfort during and after the procedure. Next applies for everyone. If you have burning, sharp pain, throbbing, swelling after your ab Coolsculpt, then maybe what I did will help you too. If you use compression garments, use them as soon as you have the procedure done and use them consistently as much as possible. It seems that deviation from this philosophy results in the compression garment not to be tolerable as the swelling gains the upperhand quickly negating the positive compression can offer. Third, use a cool pack, not heat, on your sore areas for relief. Heat, for me at least, only made my nerve endings feel like they were truly on fire. Do not put the cool pack directly on your skin though because you could damage the outer skin sense you will probably have numbness in areas and not be able to tell if your are actually giving yourself frostnip or bite. Fourth, find a sunblock with a SPF of at least 30 with a "cooling factor" in it and apply it to your stomach as a topical barrier. It gives your angry, exposed skin protection and relief. Fifth, use Tylenol for the first 7 days after procedure for pain control, then ibuprofen, Aleve, or some type of NSAID after that if you like. You do not want to suppress your body's inflammatory response too soon after treatment if you don't have to do so. It might effect your overall result. Lastly, embrace the "drink lots of water"philosophy. Tell yourself to drink 2L/day, that way when you only have managed 1L, you will still have a respectable amount in to help flush your body of the impurities (residuals from the inflammation and lysed fat cells) from the procedure for at least 3 months. I'm sharing this with you because of what I know about the body and what I went through with my treatments. The process (and payment) is hard despite the "no downtime" advertisments for the procedure, but it can yield good results though I know each case is not guaranteed like everthing else in life. I do not have before & after pics, but I do have closet of clothes that fit again and a better outlook for myself. If you make the decision to have Coolsculpt or have had it, I hope you are happy with your results and maintain them even if you have to do it twice to achieve your ideal results. Good luck!