Writing 5 Hours Post Smart Lipo on Outer Thighs

Day 12- Still have some bruising and swelling but it's getting better every day. As of this past weekend I moved out of the medical compression garments and started wearing a garment like "Spanx" but made by Maidenform. I also went back to the gym a few days ago to get back into my cardio routine. The first day I tried the elliptical on a lighter resistance than usual (10 incline and 7 resistance) and was only able to make it 10 minutes before it started hurting. Moved onto the stair master and was able to do that for about a half hour. Today is my third day back and I am able to do the elliptical for my usual hour at my usual resistance and then do the stair master for another 30 min. No pain at all. Tried wearing jeans the other day but it wasn't all that comfortable on my bruises so I put something more comfortable back on. I can't wait for the swelling to go away completely and get out of these annoying compression garments and back into normal clothing!  My surgeon said to wear them for 2-4 weeks and I'm going to stick it out to the 4th week for sure. I want my monies worth!

I'm a 28 year old female, 5"4, 125 lbs. (10 lbs. over my norm). I have two children ages 4 and 5 and go to the gym 7 days a week. I had fatty pockets on my outer thighs that just would not go away regardless of an hour or more of cardio daily and an hour weight class 3 x's a week. So, I finally decided to go for SmartLipo.I have been reading reviews on this site and others since I made the appointment to see what I was in for. Well, big mistake. There are SO many reviews of people with bad experiences and complaints which only made me more nervous.This morning, (the day of my procedure) I woke up and had horrible anxiety based on the pain that people had mentioned in their posts during and after their SmartLipo. I took a .25 xanax (which is nothing) to prep my nerves before my procedure which luckily took the edge off.Ok, about the procedure...Started out with about 3 lidocaine injections on the outside of my thigh. (That was the worst part of the whole thing.) After that, they injected the tumescent numbing fluid which was nothing. You feel some tugging and maybe a zap or two if they hit a sensitive area. No big deal. Then they begin the laser fat melting. By this time, you can't feel much but some moving and tugging. Again, no big deal. After that they used a traditional lipo to remove the dissolved fat and to do some contouring of the area. It took about 45 minutes for each outer thigh. I did get a stitch for each opening as I am allergic to medical tape. On go the compression shorts and I'm out of the office.I took two motrin in the office before I left, put some ice packs on when I got home and now, here I am, sitting at my desk writing this review in no pain whatsoever. I will definitely not need to take the script for pain killers that I was given.I must say, it didn't feel great, there were plenty of other things I would rather be doing, but, it didn't hurt THAT bad and now, even after the lidocaine wore off, I'm feeling like nothing happened.I can understand that if you are having multiple areas done, that it could possibly be more painful, but, I think the worst part is having to lay on the table for long periods of time. I can't imagine laying there for any longer than I did. (I started about 10 and was out by 12:45)I strongly suggest Smartlipo for anyone that is in shape and has an area or to that just won't go away.