Worth It but Painful - Nashville, TN

It was recommended for me to try Thermage, but after seeing so many reviews with dissapointing results, I thought I might be wasting my money. There seems to be better clinical statistics with Ulthera as well. I am actually surprised to see results so soon, I thought I would'nt notice anything for 2 months :)

I think you are being a bit judgemental - everyone is different and while the downside to procedures is that some people have no result, and don't get a refund, other results can be dramatic. I had Thermage on my face in 2005 and the results were instant and quite remarkable. I had tried Restylane in the deep folds on each side of my mouth but did not want to repeat the process since was one of the few people to get a light translucent line in each area and due to the ongoing maint. So I tried Thermage at a Boise Plastic Surgeon's office who had a lot of experience prior to my treatment. At that time Thermage for eyes was not available. When the procedure was done, the result was better than the filler and it has lasted 5 years. I still don't have the marionette lines back or folds but my lower lip is starting to turn down on each side and am getting a bit of a jowel on each side at 52. My neck was never the issue and is still tight So I am going to investigate the Ulthera further as the Dr. that performed the T procedure has stopped using it and now offers this instead.

Can you please tell me who your dr is? There are 2 in Nashville and I am driving from Chattanooga. I have it scheduled at Dr B's office but found out an aesthician would be doing it. Are you still pleased with the results?

Thank you for this review, dolphins21! So many people keep saying they immediately saw results from ultherapy which I agree -- it's deceiving! I too have tried explaining to some that collagen wouldn't show such immediate results -- it takes some time. I had this done on my neck and lowest part of jaw for 900 and am still undecided -- which means I suppose that it doesn't work that well. Certainly NOT the supposed lunchtime lift that they claim. But it sucks....because what is there to do if it's too soon for an actual lift? There is no filler I know of that can tighten so I guess we are left with this procedure if we are still in early years.

Hi Nadia...you're welcome for the comment and I'm sorry your Ultherapy didn't work all that well either. I have yet to personally know someone that had any results from Ulthera and in my opinion, I think it's dangerous and not worth it as I have seen/heard horrible results as well. If I have friends that ask my opinion on the procedure, my vote is and will always be thumbs down for this one.

I know what you mean though about being too soon for a lift and feeling as though there are no options out there. I am kind of in that boat myself...I have great skin with no wrinkles but do have sag (I have a spot of turkey neck...Lol) Seriously though, fillers do work when properly placed and they are my saving grace.
What many people don't realize is the reason behind the early skin sag for us late 30's/early 40's gals, it is not due to stretching skin, but due to fat volume loss and our cheeks are the main culprit. No amount of Ulthera is going to fix that and the proper treatment for fat loss short of a face lift and implants are dermal fillers. Properly placed dermal fillers in the cheeks replace the natural volume of fat we lost bringing our skin back up where it used to be. I get filler in my cheeks and believe me, it makes a world of difference and brings my face back up where it should be all the way down to my little turkey neck. It's expensive yes, but in my book well worth it.

I am wondering if you are a medical professional as you have seen/heard horrible results (plural implies more than one). I had the procedure done 8/2/11 in Boise by a board certified doctor who I did a Thermage treatment in 2005 (which worked fabulously -I did it then to get rid of the parenthesis around my mouth, which I did not want to treat with filler having done it once and the result was a translucent line under the areas. It was like my face was vacuumed and the results were immediate with no gradual improvement. So I guess I was an outlier in that that is not the normal course of improvement and even back then only about 60% of people saw improvement. By early 2010 I was ready for something but did not want to do Thermage again given the cost and pain so started researching and reading up on U. I decided to go back to Boise, though I now live in the PDX OR area, as he is a great Dr. and the cost for all procedures there is significantly less. The results of the U treatment were good right off the bat except around the parenthesis area which have gradually improved but not as much as I hoped (like with T in 2005). The day I left, I had significant brow lift and the area between my high cheek bones and eye sockets was almost completely smooth - previously I had been told that they only way to even it out would be filler due to fat loss. The jaw line area saw immediate material improvement as well. The skin around my jaw line almost felt too tight (that was the area where I felt a bit bruised for a couple of weeks). But I already had a good jaw line for someone my age (52) so we were not working with a double chin. Finally, the treatment helped the rosacea on my cheek areas which it has not been approved for nor did I expect. I have had a mild to moderate case since my Hysterectomy in 07 and tried VBeam and other treatment but one stubborn area on one cheek persisted. The red spider veins are now about 70% less noticeable so go figure : )I may go back for a second treatment in 3 months since there is a 50% discount if one does so in a certain amount of time. But I still may end up having to use some filler around the mouth area. To me the key is doing one's own homework, using a Dr. (yes he actually performs the procedures) you trust and finding a fair price since I am not ready for a surgical procedure and don't want to fill my face up to the point where I don't look like me.

Hi Rose:) I am in the medical profession but with a degree in Nuclear Medicine, not anything in the beauty sector...Lol. I have heard and seen many that were not happy with Thermage or Ultherapy due to bad results or none at all. The bad (which was more sagging than they began with) is not as prolific as the "none at all" thankfully.
The thing that REALLY gets me about this procedure are people touting instant results. It is scientifically impossible to get "immediate" results from either Thermage or Ultherapy as they both work under the similar premise of heating the under layer of the skin via frequencies to "stimulate" collagen growth. The key word there is stimulate which means shock the underlayer in to eventually producing collagen. The actual collagen growth can take several months and multiple treatments and is not going to happen in a few days.
What women are experiencing immediately following both Thermage and Ultherapy is called "Post Procedure Inflammation" the under layers of skin are being "damaged" in a way due to heat and that's what is causing the tightening feeling that many experience....this in turn causes many men and women to post positive results within a few days of the procedure. This gives people extremely false hopes because typically within a few weeks, the PPI is gone leaving your skin looking the same it was prior to the procedure.
I am not saying this doesn't ever work, because there are people that it works on...but those people are very few and far between in my experience and to be included in that 10-20% of the population that it actually works on isn't worth the hefty price tag. The results I have seen months out on people are very slight, perhaps calling it a wee bit of freshening in the appearance...again, definitely not worth the price tag. I would much rather spend my cash on something that has better odds of working.

Homework is definitely the key! I agree...if people would really study the premise that these 2 procedures work under and know exactly HOW it works, they will realize claims of instant results are medically and scientifically impossible. Also, Doctor homework is important too in the fact that any doctor that is morally on the up and up will explain how, how long and why the procedure works, he will also explain that it doesn't work on everyone. My sis had a good doctor that explained the good and bad about it and she did it anyway. Had it twice and had no results what so ever besides the post procedure inflammation. Once that was gone in a few weeks, she was back to looking like her normal self.

Yes, you're right the tightness has decreased, must have been some inflammation. I was told it would take 2-4 months for new collagan to take effect. I go for bottom half next week. I have heard lower face is not as painful. Will update at 2 month mark. Thanks

Hi Country Music Fan - would you mind telling me which clinic/physician you went to in Nashville? There are two. I am comtemplating Ulthera myself and would like to know more. The two clinics in Nashville are the only two such places near to me.
Thanks.

Yes, Gold Skin Care is where I got it done with a nurse performing this procedure. I got it 1/2 off their normal rate but I believe they have 30% off the month of March. They will give you a pain med if you have a ride. I also use Dr.B for other procedures....he is wonderful...if you have the $$$ would stick with him. My experience was sooo painful, but worth it....I always get compliments on how great I look...I think I look better than I ever have when younger! Good luck, please make sure you take a strong pain killer for this!

I saw Gold Skin Care (I think it was on here) and talked to a lovely woman on the phone -- Natalie was her name. I was planning on going since they had a good deal at the time but then when I researched patient's reviews there were so many bad ones of the main doctor there and his cruel bedside manner (but all lauded the staff there -- they are apparently really really great) that I am kind of scared to have a mean doctor. Some people don't care if a doctor is rude as long as he does a good job but I really do need a nice guy who does a good job. So just thought I'd let you guys know -- you can also check out patient reviews at a lot of different websites (although right now I forgot the name of the ones I looked at.)

Hello, Dr B has a great reputation in Nashville so need to worry. I am also advised to get filler in tear trough, unfortunately I will be having chemo for a few months and will get that done with Dr. B when done. Only get Botox so far, but have friends that get other things done with him and love him. Please reply to me if you get that filler done and how you like it, I am excited to hear since I am also someone who really needs it in the tear troughs, Thanks

So, about 15 months later....are you happy with your results? I did a consult with Dr. B for this same procedure but chickened out after reading all the reviews about people having little to no results - I don't have the money to spare on something that isn't going to work!