Gain with Some Pain

For many years I had been working out in an attempt to erase my lack of exercise in my late teens.

I had been bouncing around but staying within 15 pounds of maximum weight - even while running up to 60k a week.

After getting hurt while exercising and taking a few months off I gained back much of my extra weight and decided it was time to try something different.

Looking at realself and a few other sites, I decided to try Vaser hi def.

Vaser seemed to be a more body friendly liposuction treatment from what I had read. I selected the hi def because I wanted to remove as much extra weight as possible. I have to say that so far I am pretty happy with the results though I am far from recovered.

I went into the clinic on a Friday and came out on a Wednesday. It took me a few more days before I was feeling well enough to walk around. I went back to work the following week. And I will highlight that I was very stiff when I went back to work and this is the 3rd week after the operation and I am still stiff.

Even though the experience was positive, I have to say that I was very unprepared for the post-op experience. For example, I didn't have the right compression garments at first and the clinic didn't provide any. Its not fun, hunting around for compression garments with your stomach feeling as tight as a board.

There was also only a brief description of how to take care of yourself after the operation provided - not nearly enough in my opinion... needless to say the web has been a real life saver in this respect.

I included a photo of exercise shape, my pre-op, post-op and a few weeks after op.

Some tips for those considering the treatment:
1) Shave as much as possible before the treatment - the tape they used to hold you together is painfully sticky
2) Understand if you need compression garments after the treatment. The phase 1 garments should be very tight.. annoyingly so. The phase 2 garments are more comfortable.
3) When using compression garments make sure they are as tight as possible - consult the doctor if your unsure. Otherwise you will loose some of the benefits of the hi def treatment
4) It would be better of you can arrange 2 weeks off. The phase 1 garments need to be on for two weeks at least

With regards to exercise...

I was told to wait at least two weeks before starting exercise. The recommendation is to start slow and build up over three weeks and approximately 4-5 weeks later you can get back to the normal routine.

I waited for two weeks after the operation and then started my basic routine. From my experience, I found working out my arms, back, chest and some leg muscles right away was fine.

I personally found I had to take it slower for both running and abs. This being the start of the fourth week, much of my abs exercise is back to normal but I am still stiff.

Based on a recommendation, I started to have bi-weekly lymphatic massages though I am still searching for a place that specializes in post-op massages with ultra-sound - hopefully this will help limber me up :)