35 Year Old Female, 5ft 6" (168cms), 129 Lbs- CoolSculpting on Flanks - London, GB

So I am on day 8 now and no change in terms of appearance, that's ok with me as I wasn't expecting any for a few months yet. This is just to update my experience so far since the treatment.

The first 3-4 days I have to say I did feel very sore/bruised and delicate but since then day by day the swelling has gone down and apart from a few tingly/pins and needles and strange sensations I haven't had any real pain at all and have managed the entire period without painkillers - although I was tempted on a couple of occasions in the first few days. I definitely still have some of the numbness but I can tell that the feeling is slowly starting to come back on my skin which is comforting as I didn't enjoy the strangeness of it all. I have posted a photo from today (same underwear to make it easy for comparison!). Will update again in a couple of weeks or if I feel there is a significant change.

Recently I was told by two different people to give Coolsculpting a try. Having put weight on in the past but been close to my 'ideal' healthy weight but certainly not 'shape' recently it has bothered me more than ever that my love-handles/flanks have been increasingly noticeable (well at least to me!). I exercise most weeks a couple of times a week doing a long run or a couple of HIIT classes and apart from alcohol consumption I also eat reasonably healthily. I have not had any children and at 35 now and having the means to do so finally I want to take what steps I can to look my best for myself and my partner.

I had a consultation with the Dr who advised me I would get great results for my abdomen and flanks given my height/weight and body shape and planned to have both done today however after reading on one of the forum's on this site of the many negative experiences of the treatment on the abdomen I decided against it at this time and opted for just my flanks.

I must admit I was very nervous (from having read so many negative experiences) but actually in hindsight the treatment is not so bad, the initial placement of the applicator (a medium sized one was used for each side) was strange feeling and the pulling sensation is not exactly pleasant but given what I had read and how nervous I was I was really expecting much worse. The hour seemed to go slowly and I would advise anyone doing this that feels the cold to make sure they place blankets on you - I certainly felt it! I would describe the brief massage (which feels like being poked roughly in my opinion) after as painful, perhaps a 6 out of 10 for my pain threshold but it is over reasonably quickly to make it bearable enough in the grand scheme of things. For about 10 mins after each side felt quite sore and bruised and still does now 6 hours later less so but definitely there especially on my right side. I have not had to take any painkillers but I would want anyone to touch me there. The other thing to add is that I felt very faint when I tried to get up after my second side was done but that passed after a few mins of lying back down again and have felt fine since.

I am hopeful about good results after 3 months but time will tell, in the meantime I am going to take Milk Thistle and continue with my exercise (a few times a week but nothing extreme - I am no gym bunny that's for sure).

I have added a before the treatments photo, I do have some redness and slight swelling and bruising now too but I think it's to be expected. Slightly concerned about general comfort going to sleep tonight but perhaps I am just being a baby. Will aim to post more photos and updates every week or every couple of weeks.

As I am waiting for the results following a few months I am putting 'not sure' on the was it worth it - hopefully I can change this to worth it or not worth it then.

Wish me luck!