Wow, Never Realized It Was Going to Hurt So Bad! - Mechanicsburg, PA

I decided to have this procedure done after a lifetime of struggling with my belly and muffin tops. I exercise regularly and eat fairly well. I am 42 years old and weigh around 146 pounds. At one point in my college years, I tipped the scale at 174! As a result, I have some loose skin around my belly button and visible stretch marks. My doctor told me that this procedure might not help with the loose skin, but I was willing to give it a try. It has now been a week and a day since my procedure. I had my entire stomach and flanks area done. 5x3 rows (or 6x3) on the abs and 3 squares on each side. That gave a total of 21 or 24 areas. (I actually lost count because when I looked down and saw that I had a third row to go on my lower abs, I almost cried. I originally thought that there were only 2 rows and was experiencing great relief knowing I only had the flanks to go.) Not the case, ugh! The doctor did 3 passes on each section at 50. However, on the flanks, the third pass was only at 45, as I couldn't tolerate the pain any longer. I have to admit that I do have a pretty low tolerance, but I can't imagine ANYONE not feeling great pain with this. I have never given birth nor had a tattoo, but the pain was at an extreme level in my opinion. I felt like I was being electrocuted at times. Other times it felt as though my flesh was burning! One pass near my left hip sent a shooting pain down my entire leg. The doctor said that there was a nerve close by, so that's probably why I felt such a jolt. Know that if you decide to get this procedure, it isn't a "walk in the park." I was exhausted both mentally and physically and felt as though I had been just tortured! (And that was WITH the medication.) I felt swollen instantly and had bruising by the second morning. The bruising is still quite severe. My entire abdominal area is still quite sore. I have been unable to do my usual work outs thus far and have resulted to swimming instead. I also found some relief by wearing a tight tank all week to keep everything from moving around too much and to help with the swelling. I leave for vacation in 5 days, so hopefully I'll feel better by then. The swelling has gone down considerably, but it's still not where it should be. I still remain hopeful that I will see some results, it's just too soon to tell. I can remember saying rather firmly to my doctor that, "This BETTER work after all of the pain I have just went through! If not, I am going to be REALLY upset!!!" I'm keeping my fingers crossed. (I forgot to take before pictures. I do have photos of the day of the procedure, two days later and one week. I will try to get the posted soon, though they're really not pretty to look at. One thing that I noticed on this site is that people generally forget to update after the 8-12 weeks, when the change is supposed to occur. I will try my best to not be one of those people.) Remember, go forward knowing that you WILL have pain. You have been warned!