52 Yr. Old Wanting to Lose Muffin Top and Meno-pot! New Haven, CT

I'm 5'7' and about 140 pounds (ten pounds heavier than my goal and my weight a year ago). I've always had a little pot belly, even at 120 pounds. Since menopause a few years ago, it's gotten worse and I went from a mini-muffin top to a jumbo-muffin top - front and sides. I did Coolsculpting on my lower abs (2 small) and upper abs. Definitely uncomfortable and stinging for a few minutes, and during the massage. One thing I haven't seen mentioned - and I can understand why if others did have this experience - is the GI aftereffects. I left the facility feeling pretty good, but about an hour later my stomach was cramping. Suffice it to say I'm glad I was near a bathroom - I guess it was all that pressure on my lower abs? Resolved very quickly but something to keep in mind just in case. It's been 12 days. I'd say pain was a 2-3 for the first 4-5 days. Days 5-7 were pretty uncomfortable, with Day 6 being a day I found it a little hard to concentrate at work. I'd compare it to days when you have bad cramps - not the same type of pain but the same nuisance/nagging pain where you wish you were home in bed but you can push through. My biggest concern so far is that I'm still pretty swollen, and despite making a sincere effort to work out and watch what I eat, the scale hasn't budged. In fact I'm up almost a pound. From all I've read here, I'm praying that's just from swelling and that it will change soon. I'm trying to be patient but I really can't fit into many clothes. Keep that in mind if you have this done. Spanx and yoga pants are getting old.

Just a quick update - in the past few days, the bloating has almost entirely resolved, and I look exactly like I did before the CS procedure. I know I won't see results for a while but I'm glad I at least feel back to normal. I'm still a bit numb, and there are a few small sore spots, almost like little bruises (with no discoloration). I think the swelling reduction also led to some water weight loss and/or allowed my healthy eating to finally catch up on the scale, as I'm down 3 pounds.