51 year old - battling neck bulge and weak chin

I took the Kybella plunge the first week of 2017. I had originally thought I would get Smart Lipo, but couldn't find a practitioner on the Big Island of Hawaii. I'm on a budget, so couldn't factor in the additional time/expense to fly to Honolulu, Oahu for the procedure. When I stumbled upon Kybella information, I was thrilled because it was an injectable, instead of a more invasive procedure. This website helped a lot in seeing a broad cross section of results, good, bad and in between. I've been particularly monitoring posts by women that are age 45-55, since I'm 51. Older skin is different from 20 or 30-something skin. It doesn't "bounce back" like it used to!

My experience was very similar to most everyone who has shared here. I received 2 vials for my first visit. They applied a numbing cream to my neck about 30 minutes beforehand. I'm not sure how much it helped, because the shots WERE intense and painful, particularly about the midpoint of the injections. It almost reached an unbearable threshold, but that crescendo quickly faded within a minute. I don't know how many injections in total. I applied ice immediately following, and for the rest of the afternoon/evening. The area got red and started to swell immediately. I live in a warm climate, which means a no-scarf zone. Thus, I had to tough it out, looking like a bullfrog for the first couple weeks. I found myself hiding behind my long hair a lot! It seemed to take 2 weeks for the swelling to subside enough to get back to my starting point, neck-size-wise.

I went through the whole swelling, bruising, jiggling, numbing that most everyone has described. I've learned that patience is important, and not getting too discouraged during the first 4-5 weeks after the injections. It really does seem to take a while to see what you're going to get. For this reason, I'm just posting before, and 6 weeks after photos. Everyone already knows what the bullfrog neck looks like; it is a temporary part of the process.

I had a lot of neck fat, combined with a somewhat weak chin to overcome. At 3, 4 and 5 weeks out, I was still pretty skeptical that anything positive had been achieved. But, this past week, I finally see and feel differently! Enough so that I've set the appointment for round 2, which I'll get on 3/5/17. Ready for an even better result!

One thing to note: I got the procedure at Dr. Monica Scheel's practice, however, I opted to have Patsy Colvin, PA-C, administer my injections. She seems to know her stuff and did a fine job.

Updating, 2 weeks after receiving 2nd round. I had 2 more vials injected on 3/2/17. Like the first time, immediate swelling and redness. However, it was definitely less painful, less numb, less swollen than the first round back at the beginning of January. The swelling also went back to baseline much faster this time, about a week. I had a couple small bruises at some injection points, easily covered with make-up. The discomfort was minimal to non-exitent after the second day. It's only been 2 weeks, so I know to be patient to reach my final results. I'm extremely optimistic based on results from the first round. It took a full 7-8 weeks to see results, so I'm expecting it to be at least another month before I know where I'm at. My doctor scheduled me for "after" photos at 8 weeks out. I'll post pics then. We shall see! :)

I feel I'm finished for the time-being with Kybella treatments. I've done 2 rounds, 2 vials each time. I may revisit this and possibly do one or two more vials sometime in the future. It's nice to know this DOES work and remove the under chin fat without surgery. For now, I'm satisfied. The photos I'm uploading today were taken 8 weeks after the second round. All in all, I'm happy with the results. I've always had a weak chin, so although I didn't achieve a chiseled neck/chin, the improvements make me feel much more self confident. I've always hid behind long hair. Now, I'm wearing a pony tail or pinning my hair up regularly. I'm happy to actually see a jawline!