NO - Miami, FL

It's been three weeks. Here's my experience so far...

Stage One (1)
Consultation - I asked a ton of questions and was given thoughtful and informative answers. At the end of the consult I was clear that I would see results about three months out from the date of the procedure.
Surprise/unexpected (given the online videos and televised versions of the procedure I'd watched) - Anesthesia vs local was recommended and in fact is the only way this doctor will do the procedure. He said it's uncomfortable for the patient if they are awake. I believed him. He's a national trainer in the procedure. After reading some of the other reviews here - I'm doubly glad I was put under.
Recommendations - Take bromelain and start doing so right away - even though my procedure was scheduled 10 days out from the consult he wanted me to build it up in my system. Also suggested I buy a "tush to over the knee" girdle product like Spanx.

Stage Two (2)
Preop - basically nothing more than a blood draw, weigh-in. Doctor suggested/wanted to write three prescriptions for meds that were to be taken after the procedure. I'm not a pill taker so this was met with some protest on my part but he said better to have them on hand than find myself in trouble. We negotiated - settling on a paltry amount of vicodin plus a bacterial antibiotic (to be taken twice a day for 5 days). The third script was supposed to be for sleeping pills but this we agreed was overkill for me.

Stage Three (3)
Headed over to the office at 5:30 AM (in-office surgical suite). Brought along a friend who would be my designated driver and caregiver for the 24 hours following the procedure. Also brought a soft snuggly robe (to wear home) and a pair of warm snuggly socks (The nurse and doctor both suggested I wear them during the procedure to keep).
Doctor marked up the areas to be "celluazed". Anesthesiologist asked his required questions (height, weight, allergies etc.) - took my blood pressure etc. Then I walked into the surgical suite and was given anesthetic. Woke up about 11:00 AM. I was still wearing my socks but now also sported a beige colored full body girdle with sponge inserts (at the knees and on both thighs). Felt groggy. Moved slowly. Didn't really feel any discomfort.
Recommendation - once home have some tea and take 1/2 a vicodin. I did but I don't really think I needed it.
Slept off and on for the rest of the day (no doubt the combo of the anesthesia and the vicodin).
I had absolutely no leakage whatsoever.

Stage Four (3)
First follow-up appointment 2 days after the procedure. I took my first shower in the morning and while doing so washed and dried the girdle but since I had no leakage it looked like I hadn't worn it all. Doctor looked at his handiwork. Gave me a good report - it seemed like I'm heading toward a good result - to be fair given that I was probably still inflamed from the procedure I think it would a tough call to say one way or another. Interestingly there was no bruising. No bruising at all. The only things that looked like a bruise were some marker pen left over blurs which now three weeks out I still can't get off my skin although they are fading. At this stage , my skin was tender but also felt strangely numb but not quite numb - it's hard to describe.

Recommendation - continue wearing the compression girdle and keep the sponges in place.

Stage Five (5)
Second follow-up appointment - 5 days after the first one. The doctor gave me the go ahead to exercise. A very faint very small spot of yellowing on my skin just above the knees showed up but essentially no bruising beyond this . I asked him about the lack of bruises - he thought it still had the potential to occur but so far nothing. I also asked him about the fact that I had no leaking after the procedure and he said that they expressed a lot of liquid (I'm assuming laser melted fat) during the procedure. I also asked him about the slight, very slight tingling/electrical charges that I feel once in awhile - he said it was an indication that my nerves were regenerating. The body is a miraculous thing!

Recommendations - continue to wear the compression girdle but now I could switch to a commercial brand rather than the one they issued. I have on occasion done so but it's too hard to pee in the retail ones (spanx) - the crotch openings aren't big enough and so I have to pull down the garment - with the sponges still in place this is not an easy task and my skin is still tender. To be clear my skin doesn't hurt - it's just tender to the touch in some places - like after a good work out or massage) and every time I pull tight waist band of a spanx up and over my thighs it's just uncomfortable. At least the compression girdle has side zips - smart design.

I am back to exercising - full on. I do a rigorous one hour boot camp 3x per week and walk about 3 to 5 miles on alternate days. The only complaint I have is this that I get overheated wearing the Spanx and that's not much of a complaint. My next follow-up appointment is about one week from now. I suspect that will be the end of my girdle wearing days. Plus, apparently I have either one or two massage sessions coming my way (part of the cost of having the procedure done) that are designed to complement the cellulaze procedure and increase the likelihood of the getting good results.

I have no idea if this will work but my expectations are set according to what I read when I researched this procedure in the first place -

1) it will be three months before I see some results.

2) hopefully these results will mirror those experienced by the people in the clinical trials - a 25% increase in the thickness of my skin and a 29% increase the elasticity of my skin by one year post-treatment. I'm hoping that will mean I'll be going from a high 2/low 3 on the cellulite scale to low 2/high 1 (so I'm stretching the percentages but a girl can dream). Scales aside - what I would really like to happen is that I stop worrying about whether or not a dress or skirt will hike above my knees. Now that would be super.

3) Meanwhile, I'm going to tick the "it's worth it" box because I have grown tired of complaining about the cellulite I have on my legs. It's worth it because I finally put my money where my complaints lay on a procedure seems to make a lot of sense as to why works - but I'm realistic - I don't expect it to keep the cellulite bay for ever. This treatment represents my line in the sand - no more complaining - I accept once and for all what it is to be - even if my cellulite remains. I'm just going to have carve out a different relationship with it from here on in.

On that note, as far as I can tell at this point in my life there's really very little that is actually going to get better about my body. I look at celebrities like Madonna, Sharon Stone, Christy Brinkley, Katie Couric who have access to the best doctors, the latest techniques, the finest you name it...etc.etc.etc. If you eliminate the photoshopping of their pics what you have left are people with the same skin/body/face issues that we all have. Yes, they can afford the latest and greatest treatments but the truth is no matter what they've done you can still see the cellulite - you can still see that they're aging, albeit gracefully, because they make sure they're well groomed and they stay fit. To me that's a winning combination - one I've incorporated throughout my lifetime and will continue to do so - whether I'm plagued by cottage cheese thighs or not.