CoolSculpting Staff Blogs – Jessica – February 5 – March 7, 2014
February 5, 2014
Hi, my name is Jessica and I am a patient coordinator at The Swan Center for Plastic Surgery. I am 33 years old and the mom of three boys. Tomorrow I will be having CoolSculpting by Zeltiq. CoolSculpting is a nonsurgical procedure that uses vacuum pressure to pull your skin/fat into an applicator. The applicator has cooling panels inside that literally freeze your fat cells. I have admittedly fallen off the workout wagon but between working full-time and living at the ball field, who has time?
I admit as I lie here in bed my results expectation is pretty low. I’m not a pessimist by nature, but come on… freezing your fat away?? Also, the fact that there is no incision, no downtime or recover — it all sounds a little too good to be true. But after those ridiculous before pictures and measurements that were taken today (NOT FUN) I am hopeful. Wish me luck.
February 6
I had CoolSculpting today and it was so weird. It reminded me of being a kid and taking the vacuum cleaner attachment and putting it against your skin… or maybe I’m the only weird kid who did that. LOL
Anyway, that first couples of minutes were intense and really, really cold. It wasn’t unbearable but it did take me by surprise. Once the applicator was removed my skin was bright pink and looked like a stick of butter. Not gonna lie it was kinda yuck. The pinkness resolved within 15 minutes and my skin was massaged flat. I had three areas treated to my abdomen. Immediately following my treatment I started to swell and did have numbness to the treatment sites.
(my abdomen right after the applicator was removed)
Jessica’s helpful hints for CoolSculpting success
- Go to the bathroom prior to starting the treatment. Funny, maybe but not so much when you are 30 minutes in to the treatment and you’re contemplating how absorbent the padding under you really is…
- Get comfortable prior to the applicator being applied. Once in place you are to remain in the same position for one hour. It’s all fun and games until you get a cramp because you were only sort of comfortable to start and even though that other position was more comfortable you looked awkward so you went with being cute verses comfort. No one cares what you look like, this is a strictly comfort situation!!
- Did I mention using the bathroom?? Especially in between each treatment because once the treatment has began it cannot be stopped until completion.
- Bring entertainment!! Three areas to my abdomen equals three hours of cool sculpt. (The Swan Center did have a television with Netflix)
February 7
I am PREGNANT!! Okay so I’m not really but I could probably park in the mom-to-be parking spot at the grocery store without anyone questioning me. I’m much more swollen and sore than I would have thought. However I do have red hair and do tend to be more sensitive to things so I knew this was a possibility. I took some Advil this morning and put a Target brand Spanx on and came on in to work. Once the Advil kicked in I have been much better and the compression garment is a must!! I actually wished I had slept in the garment last night and maybe even taken a dose of Advil before I went to bed. The numbness/tenderness is awkward. A friend of mine had CoolSculpting at the same time as me and she exercised this morning. Seriously?!?! Not me. While the discomfort is not unbearable and I’m here at work surviving just fine, there is NO WAY I’m exercising.
February 8
NO JEANS!!! Thank God for yoga pants because if I had to wear anything else I would die… okay so that’s probably a little dramatic but I am truly sore. Much better than yesterday but still the thought of having anything tight against my stomach makes me cringe. I’m still pretty swollen but it’s nothing that can’t be camouflaged with some strategic dressing. I went to basketball, baseball, and dinner with friends and no one knew a thing.
February 12
Still a little sore but every day that passes it gets better and better. Advil helps but I still won’t wear anything tight across my abdomen. The strangest is when I feel like I have an itch but because of the numbness I can’t scratch it. I’m still a little swollen which is a little frustrating. I know it takes 90 days for full effect but I’m definitely an instant gratification kind of girl.
February 17
EXCITED!! I’m still numb but my lower abdomen looks and feels smaller.
March 6
It has been approximately four weeks since my CoolSculpting procedure. Over the last two weeks I have tried to make better choices food wise. When I look in the mirror I look a little different but the most noticeable difference is the way my clothes fit. Tomorrow I’m going to take some early pictures and check my weight and measurements. I know it’s really early for results but I swear I can feel a difference.
March 7
WOW!! I can’t believe my results!! I’ve lost 4 lbs and several inches. As someone who didn’t really believe that CoolSculpting would even work I have to say I’m really impressed and excited.
