Been Fit for 15 Years, Hit 31 and Struggled to Get the Weight Off. - Washington DC

New to this site, and love the information provided by everyone. Thanks so much. I'm shy about the before pictures, but will post them if all goes well with the afters, with updates for about a year. Getting ready for lower ab, flanks, inner thighs, and arms done by Dr. Drew Verano at Medical Cosmetics in DC. I'm scared as hell, but encouraged by all of the people who have gone through the procedure before me. He's been great so far. Upfront about expectations, confident in his abilities, and very responsive to every question/concern I've raised. So here we go. Less than a week!!!!

First of all, ouch. The painless, quick, relaxing procedure that people describe was not it. I seriously felt as though I'd watched a million McDonald's commercials and then finally bought a hamburger that looked nothing liked the picture. It hurt. Honest to G*d, it did. Granted, after I was numbed, it was better. I still felt "connective tissue" being ripped away. He hit spots that weren't numbed, at which point he injected the site (which also hurt). Just damn. And then your body is being beaten up by these rods and it's obscene and crazy and vain and almost sad. Just my opinion. So, that's the bad.

The good: Dr. Varano is fantastic. His nurse is, too. He didn't pressure me to purchase anything that I uncomfortable with. He was caring, professional, and worked hard to get every ounce of fat out. I didn't go with thighs because they don't respond as well all of the time, and we decided I'd try a non invasive procedure for those, instead. He said arms and stomach are where you get more bang for your buck. So we went with that. Interestingly, I changed my mind at the last minute and wanted thighs. He told me to wait it out and think about it because I could always come back. They have Pandora playing in the operating room, and you get to pick the station. So, that was awesome. He really took the time to make sure he got everything, and I respect his professionalism.

If ever I need to lose weight again, though, I will never go invasive. Damn that. Excited to see these results, though. So, yea. That's that.

I feel pretty good! Can already tell that my waist is significantly smaller, which is awesome. Pain is mild, and I'm able to run errands, etc.