Worth It
Spent: $6,390 in Scottsdale, Arizona

Me: $6390 Marc: $3,000 3/4/09: Hi everyone! After reading just about every post on this site, it was finally my turn to take the plunge. As I sit here typing, it has been about 5 hours since my arms and abs were done. I will have the inner and outer thighs and banana roll done on Saturday. This is how it began for me: It was late December and Fox 10 here in Phoenix did a piece on Smart Lipo. It caught my attention because I was so sick of the bat wings that had been growing in over the last two years. I Googled around for further information but didn’t go any further than that. A couple of weeks later I was listening to KEZ while getting ready for work and Lisa Briggs, the morning producer of the Beth & Bill show, did a little spot on {edited – provider information is located above the review} stating she just had Smart Lipo on her arms and she was ecstatic about her results. Wow, what a coincidence that she had done this just soon after my learning about this procedure! I went back to Googling around for further information and found RealSelf as well as several videos of Drs performing the procedures. I then told my fiancé about it as I waved my “bat wings” at him! LOL Unknown to me, that night he stayed up reading all about Smart Lipo and the following morning stated he was going to call the place for a consultation because he was interested in getting rid of his jowls, chin, and neck fat. Five days later while I was at work, he went to the consultation and was immediately sold on the idea of going through with this. My fiancé didn’t even give me the chance to “interview” other facilities because he really liked Ms. T., the aesthetician / sales person, so much that he signed us both right up without consulting with me! Unbelievable, huh? I wonder how many other men go to the consultation and then text their wives or girlfriends to tell them they’re doing this. Seriously, that’s exactly how I was told! I was at work at the time (a call center) waiting for the next inbound call when I received my fiancé’s one word text, “Done”… which meant he had signed the financial agreement and put the deposit down! He’s truly nuts! LOL So, you can see why I’ve been a little anxious about everything. One moment having my “bat wings” reduced was just a thought and then moments later, I find out I’m really going to lose them! He says I need to have my wings clipped so I don’t fly the coop! HA HA HA!! He’s just so terribly funny, isn’t he?! I wasn’t too happy that I was signed up sight unseen. How odd is that?! My fiancé just told them my upper arms and thighs needed to be done and we’d get a package deal for the both of us totaling $6,000.00 for his jowls, chin, and neck and my upper arms and saddle bags. Anyway, being that I was at work when I received the news that this is what was going down, I called the facility and told them I still had to have my consultation and get a feel for the place. My consultation was set for that Saturday. At my consultation on Saturday I introduced myself to Ms. T. as a “44 yr old 5 foot 3 inch 122 lb fat thin person.” Most would never consider me to be fat or even overweight, but not many have seen me in shorts or a bathing suit either. I’ve spent the last couple of summers here in Arizona in jeans and I’d like to wear shorts and not be so self conscious about how I look. I have a long history of anxiety disorder and explained that though I don’t need to take meds any more, I still need a lot of reassurance and special attention when it comes to something like this because I knew the procedure was going to cause much anxiety and I feared the worst. I was also diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis when I turned 40 just over 4 years ago. When I became hypothyroid, I gained 15 – 20 lbs that all seem to have taken up residency on the front of my thighs!! Ms. T. suggested that inner and outer thighs be done as well as my upper arms. I expressed my concern about the possibility of gaining weight elsewhere if my problem areas are reduced of fat cells. Will I get fat in my buttocks and abdomen? I have always had a flat stomach, even after giving birth to four children, and I didn’t want to suddenly grow a pooch!! Well, along with the inner and outer thighs, I suggested that I have my abdomen done as a preventative measure as well as the banana roll done. Banana roll?! I was laughing so hard when Ms. T. told me that’s what that part of your buttocks is called!! We decided that a man had to have come up with that one! LOL Pretty silly! Well, when all is said and done, it will be so wonderful not to feel the weight jiggling on the front of my thighs and arms anymore! After the consultation, I felt more confident about what Ms. T. told me about the Dr. and facility, BUT I was little concerned that I had yet to meet the Dr. himself. I had done some research on the Dr. and felt confident about his background but I still felt that I should meet him prior to the procedure to get a feel for his personality as well as wanting him to see what he has to work with and get HIS opinion. Ms. T. was very accommodating and scheduled me to meet the Dr. a few days later. Dr. P. looked me over and explained things clearly to me as well as reassured me that he is well qualified being that he does approximately 80 procedures monthly as well as train other Drs. in the Smart Lipo procedure. I did express some concerns, thanks to all of the posts I’ve read. I advised the Dr. that I do educate myself as much as possible before doing anything, especially something like this. I have never done any elective surgery and I wanted to be absolutely confident that what I was doing was the right thing for me and that I’ve found the right Dr. for the job. I was concerned with the fact that 5 areas were going to be done in one day and many members as well as physicians here have suggested 2-3 areas at one time is the safest way to go. I also had concerns about the lidocaine and epinephrine being that I am sensitive to many medications and I feared a chance of a bad reaction or worse, overdose. And lastly, 4-5 litres of fluid/fat are the max that should be removed and I swear my thighs could easily be 2 litres each! Well, Dr. P. assured me that first and foremost, he always puts the safety of his patients at the top of his list and uses the minimal amount of lidocaine, just enough to deaden any pain. He also asked me if I have had any dental work done, which I have had some fillings over the years. That lidocaine w/ epinephrine is the same anesthetic used for the Smart Lipo procedure. He also laughed stating that all of the areas to be done would not even amount to 2 litres of fluid/fat. Well, I was completely at ease by this point and anxious to have the procedures done. In preparation over the last week I tried taking the Arnica Montana but unfortunately, I have a drug sensitivity to that stuff. I took three tablets under the tongue at work last week and a few minutes later felt that old familiar gripping feeling of anxiety. It only lasted a few minutes though. I took 4 tablets before jumping into the shower that night and as I was washing my hair I felt the panic coming on. My heart was racing and I had to rinse off fast and get the heck out of the shower, get dressed, and run out to the living room to tell my fiancé I was starting to have a panic attack. I was sure this was going to be a full blown attack and went hunting for my Klonopin which I haven’t needed to take since I took a plane back East two years ago! Well, I somehow managed to calm myself sans medication after about ten minutes. I Googled for more information on the Arnica Montana and did find that it can cause racing heart and heart irregularities so for those of you who have anxiety disorder and/or are sensitive to meds, I advise you to avoid Arnica Montana and resort to drinking Pine Apple juice or Coconut water. My fiancé is having no side effects at all from the Arnica. Today, 3/4/09 @ 7:30 am was the big day! (It’s now about 6.5 hrs from when procedures were completed) I was so nervous! I packed a little bag with my prescriptions (valium, hydrocodone, and cephilexin), pj bottoms, button down shirt, Starbucks cup filled w/ pineapple juice, and a 32 oz bottle of G2 Gatorade. We drove from Chandler to Scottsdale and arrived at 7:30 am. Miss M. advised against taking the hydrocodone due to the fact that many people get nauseous from it. So, I took her advice and just took 5 mg of valium which made me feel more relaxed after about 10 minutes. I was escorted to a room where I changed into the little paper undies and strapless bra (how sexy!!) and posed for pictures. I had taken before pictures and measurements at home which I will post in the next few days. Ms. M. weighed me in at 124 lbs and took my measurements, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and heart rate. My blood pressure was normal but a bit higher than usual as well, my heart rate was up a bit…hmmm, wonder why?! LOL Dr. P. arrived with his purple marker and started to circle all the areas he was going to be working on. While he was mapping the areas, I explained that I had been reading a lot about Smart Lipo and that patients and Drs alike suggested doing no more than three areas at a time. And being that I’m small, wouldn’t it be safer for me to do this in a couple of sessions vs. the one. Dr. P. suggested we see how things go and we can determine if he should break the procedures up as he goes along. I had suggested breaking up the procedures into two different days to Ms. T. a week prior and her response to me via email was, “We will have to do an entire set-up for the second procedure which means purchasing a second laser thread for you. Remember, on Saturday when we discussed how helpful it was to do the procedure all at once.” I called her to find out what the cost was going to be and found that it would be an additional $1,500!! When I mentioned this to Dr. P and Ms. M, they both stated they wouldn’t add any additional cost to what I’ve already paid. What a relief it was to hear that!

I kissed my fiancé adios and off to the surgical room we went. Lying on my back Dr. P. started with my forearms injecting a shot of lidocaine in each arm and then piercing a small hole where he would insert the canula. The lidocaine shot only stung for a ½ second, much like at the dentist. The canula was inserted into my arms (only 1 hole for each arm just north of my elbow) and abs (3 holes) and I could feel light pressure of the tumescent fluid going in. There were some slight burning sensations as well. After a couple of minutes I began to shake uncontrollably. I thought I was having a panic attack because this is what used to happen years ago when I had a bad attack. I was totally freaking out even though I had taken 5 mgs of valium when I got there and another 2.5 mgs when I got on the table. Ms. L. and Dr. P. calmly told me that it was not a panic attack, it was a side effect of the epinephrine which everyone experiences and not to worry and to just relax as best as I could. The shaking eventually subsided after about 10 minutes and I began to relax a bit more. I was so panicked that I asked if we could please put off the thighs and banana roll for another day. Dr. P. and Ms. M. had a brief side discussion and both agreed that letting me split the procedures up was probably the best thing. PHEW!! What a relief, let me tell you! The remaining time spent was sucking out the fluid and fat and doing the lasering and there was little to no pain. I did feel a little pinching and poking in the abs but nothing that I couldn’t handle. And when I let out a little grunt or groan, he’d move the canula in a different direction. I was told that working towards the middle of the abs towards the belly button does have more of the pinching feeling. During the lasering, a little pair of glasses to block out the light were put over my eyes. The lasering probably lasted all of ten or so minutes. When the Dr. was done, the glasses were removed and the nurses sat me up and gently pressed on my lower abs to help draw out any remaining fluids prior to placing gauze bandages over the three holes. They did the same to my arms and then wrapped them tightly in ace bandages. I noticed the collection tank of the fluid and fat and was told that there was 1000 cc’s. I was then escorted to the bathroom where I got rid of those sexy paper underpants and bra and put my real underwear on. I needed assistance getting the bra clasps together because I couldn’t get my arms to do anything. LOL The compression garment that they had for me is one that goes around the waist from boobs down to lower abs and does this wrap around with Velcro. It was laid out on the table and I had to get back on the table and lay down on it so the nurses could wrap me up. The size small ended up being a bit too big but they did what they could to make it work. I had purchased an XS Spanx which I bought from Amazon and was expecting that the next day. After I finished dressing, I met with Ms. A. to schedule a date to get the inner and outer thighs and banana roll done and confirmed once again that there would not be any added charges for breaking up the procedures. I decided I’d come back on 3/7/09 in the afternoon, just after my fiancé gets his neck done. With that, we made our way back home. On the way home, I made my fiancé pull off the freeway to find me a restroom because the bladder was now in overdrive. He figured he’d kill two birds with one stone so we stopped off at some fast-food place so he could eat and I could pee. Well, thanks to all of the reading I did before going through this that I saved myself from one hellacious panic attack! As I wiped myself I discovered that my entire pubic area had swelled up like a pillow from some remaining fluids. Yes, I was quite freaked out but luckily remembered other posters have described this same side effect. I ran out of the bathroom to tell my fiancé all about it and then went outside to call Ms. A. who calmly told me that this is what happens because of gravity and that I may be swollen there for a few weeks. My response, “So, I should stand on my head then?!” We both had a good laugh. We made it home and I immediately went for the couch where I was able to lay on my stomach (hoping that any trapped fluids would seep out of those holes in my abs to reduce that swelling!) and I fell asleep for a couple of hours. When I awoke, I felt fine but still a little groggy. I went across the street to hang out with my neighbor for a little while. 3/24/09: What little bruising I had disappeared within days! Over the past 2.5 weeks I’ve been making sure the ace bandages are on my arms as I have discovered that leaving them off all day cause seromas to appear. Now that I’m wearing the bandages most of the time, I find that I am lump free! Today was inner and outer thighs and banana roll day. I was incredibly nervous because I was fearing the uncontrollable shaking from the epi. This time instead of taking valium, I took 1 mg of Klonopin because I know that worked wonders on severe anxiety attacks that caused uncontrollable shaking. Guess what? The shaking was so minimal and I was so relieved. The legs had the worst pain of all, though tolerable. When I squealed that the pinching was too much, Dr. administered more of the tumescent fluid and then was able to continue the procedure which didn’t hurt. When it came time for the lasering, I was quite relaxed and thought I could probably nap through the rest of the procedure. I ended up asking for my cell phone and texted my co-worker and my husband to let them know I was almost done! My Dr found pretty funny that I was texting. I liked that the Dr and nurses had great sense of humor and we laughed a lot during the entire procedure. That made me feel a lot more comfortable and relaxed. I have had no real pain medication at all. I did, however, take one aspirin for a headache and thought it would be a good idea to help prevent clots. I had knee surgery in Nov 2007 and Dec 2007 and my surgeon had me take aspirin for two days following the surgery to prevent any clots. He also had me doing foot flexes to keep the circulation in my legs going. I decided to follow that advice. I have also taken my vitamin K and C as well as drink cranwater. (1 part 100% cranberry juice that you can buy at Trader Joe’s and 7 parts water). The cranwater helps to flush fat and water out of your system. I’m peeing up a storm! It’s now midnight and I’m sitting up in bed, needing to make that trip to the bathroom again, but that’s ok. I know that I’m flushing out all of this residual fat and fluids so I hope to keep the swelling to a minimum. I was told I could go home and take a shower without any soap and continue to work some of the remaining fluids out of my incisions. So, I did just that because by the time I got home, my bandages were quite saturated and the bloody fluid was dripping all over the travertine in my bathroom. So, I was better off standing in the shower to remove the bandages and then rinse off. It was so nice to just stand in the shower to warm up a bit. I proceeded to gently work out the fluid for about 15 minutes until it seemed that it was very minimal dripping from the incisions. I patted off with an old towel that I didn’t care about getting blood all over. What I used for bandages were the Walgreens 4” x 4” sterile gauze pads 30 count and Walgreens sterile large bandages (12 count). I first opened the bandage and laid it on the counter and then opened the gauze pad which I folded in half one way and then folded in half the other way to form a thick square. It was the perfect size to place in the center of the bandage. I then applied a very tiny bit of Neosporin in the center of the pad and then applied the bandage gauze pad combination to the incision site. My little invention works PERFECTLY!! I cannot use the medical tape because I end up with red raised marks on my skin but these bandages do not cause any reaction at all. When the incisions stop draining, I will do as I now do with my arms and abs and that is us the Walgreens clear round bandages (60 count) and apply a dab of vitamin E to the little pad and apply to the incision site. I’m hoping the vitamin E will help the redness of the incision disappear. When I got home today, I was a little tired but not so tired that I couldn’t make steamed zucchini with stewed tomatoes, onions, and Italian spices. The Dr stated I wasn’t to eat any carbs today to veggies were all I bought this morning in preparation for my meals after I returned home from the procedures. The zucchini was so yummy and I topped it with a little bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese for flavor. I rested with my feet up on a pillow on the couch most of the day with little intervals of walking around the house doing some laundry and dishes. Later in the evening I noticed I had to change two of the bandages on the upper left of my thigh and banana roll. The freaked a bit because one of them drained a lot of very dark blood! I went hunting around for the Dr’s phone number but it was nowhere to be found and oddly enough, I wasn’t given ANY paperwork when I checked out today!! I am very disappointed about that. BUT thank goodness my neighbor is an RN so I called her over and she checked out my drainage and took my blood pressure. BP was on the high side but that was caused by anxiety. She said the drainage was fine and she continued to apply pressure to the site stating that it looked good as it was clotting there. She suggested I take another Klonopin just to help me relax which would bring down the BP. I applied my new bandages to the two sites and all is well. Walking around is just a tad painful but it just feel like someone punched me in a couple of places. LOL When I go to the bathroom, I have to almost do the squat thing as you would do when going in a public toilet. It’s really not too bad. I know I have written a novel here but I wanted to give you as much detail as possible. I will try to get my pictures up in a day or two. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Read more ~ Updated 12 Jun 2009 »

Updated on Mar 25, 2009:

Updated on Mar 27, 2009:

Updated on Jun 12, 2009:

Original review from realself.com

Worth It
Spent: $1,000 in Gainesville, VA

So far I am very pleased with my results. My procedure was done Jan 27, 2009… My Dr. and her assistant Dawn did my procedure. I had my upper/lower abs and my outer thighs done. There was discomfort and I thought the pain threshold was mild with few spots being uncomfortable but it diminished as quickly as it came on. I found most of it coming from pressure during the filling of the tumescent and found the procedure mostly reminded me of a c-section that I had, where you can feel movement and pulling but not really any pain. I found during recovery that getting up and down was my biggest challenge for a couple of days. I am also a side sleeper so that was hard for awhile. I bought a wedge pillow and slept with that under my legs which took any pressure of them while I was laying down. Once the numbing started wearing off in my legs sitting on hard surfaces was uncomfortable for another couple days.

I had the procedure done on a Tuesday. The next day I cooked dinner (w/a slow cooker) and rested quite a bit. I took Tylenol w/ codeine for two days but felt I was having a reaction so I stopped and started taking two extra-strength Tylenol (8 hr rapid release @ 650 mg each). On Thursday I was tired of laying around so I went to Starbucks to get a coffee. On Friday I had my check up and went to have dinner with family. I was back to my desk job on Monday and back to massaging (am a part-time massage therapist) the following Tuesday (2 weeks later). I didn’t have much bruising on my stomach. Mostly my legs and those were gone by the end of the two weeks. I took Arnica starting at day three which really helped with the bruising process.

I wore my compression garment for about a month. I found it helped with the change in my legs and made it more comfortable overall. After two weeks I did stop sleeping with it on. I do wear it when I work out to prevent tons of movement. While I feel a difference in my legs and stomach I do not have much excess skin. There is some in my stomach but I had that from childbirth and feel that it will change once my skin starts to tighten. As for my legs nothing that is noticeable so far. I started back at the gym on week three two times a day lightly. I am having my 6 week check up on the 12th of March where they will be doing my measurements can’t wait!

I still have a little tenderness in my stomach and legs and am doing the massage two times per day to help break up the tumescent of which I fell more in my stomach than legs. I have not yet gone down the dress size but notice a change in what I am wearing and think I will be down one by the three month mark. I have noticed that I am down about 8lbs so far

Also to note I did a lot of searching on the web and on this site reading reviews along with questions at the medspa before deciding to do this procedure. I am really exciting to see my final results during the next three to six months!

I will repost again once I have my before/after pics available.

**please I did not note actual price since I got it at a discount rate while it was still new at that spa**

Original review from realself.com

Smart Lipo: Was worth it
Cost: $6,000
Pain: Uncomfortable
Satisfaction: Excellent

I’m going to start by saying that the doctor I went to was a friend of mine, a fellow of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, a member of MENSA, and has received many awards. He’s also a member here at RealSelf.
I’m in the entertainment industry and my body is very important to me. My talent agent basically said that unless I lost some of my weight she wasn’t going to be able to book me much. Plus my wedding is coming up and after having my weight yo-yo between a 20 BMI to a 24BMI for the last year, I just wanted the fat gone. However scars are a big no-no for me and I would have NEVER let anyone even touch my body if I didn’t totally trust them. My doctor actually has had SmartLipo MPX done on him, so I was able to see some of his progression/swelling etc, which eased many of my concerns.
DAY # 1
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The day of the procedure I arrived at the office at 7:30am, with a friend who was also having the SmartLipo procedure done on the upper/lower abs. My friend is a lot heavier than I am (I was averaging a 23/24 BMI the past 2 months), and the doctor said that the procedure would be questionable for her. We discussed it a lot and basically what it came down to was that she would probably need a tummy tuck either way because of her age and weight, but the SmartLipo was less expensive than what a good traditional Liposuction doctor would cost her, and the procedure would not be as invasive. The doctor did remind both of us though that we must have realistic expectations about this, which I think we both do.
My friend went in for the procedure first (her procedure would take longer) after receiving some pills to relax her. It took awhile before the doctor would take her in. I think she was nervous and her blood pressure was high. The staff waited for the pills to really kick in and get her relaxed to drop her blood pressure before starting the SmartLipo. He basically told us that unless the blood pressure went down he wouldn’t do the surgery… and I would rather hear a doctor say that than doing something he/she knows is questionable! The doctor spent about 3 hours on my friend. The nurse came out and said she was doing great and had been snoring through almost the entire procedure.
The doctor came out before my procedure and talked to me a little bit more about the procedure and drainage. I knew he planned to go through my belly button, which was the main factor in convincing me to do this since the scars wouldn’t be visible. He mentioned that he was going to put two small drainage holes on me, above the pubic bone. I freaked out about that… knowing they would scar. I was just about ready to back out, but he said he could laser out the color different in about a year and in the mean time I could cover them with make-up. I said agreed to this, but I think he knew that I still wasn’t thrilled about it… keep reading for what he did for me!
After the assistant cleaned up the room from my friend’s procedure they took me in. I had already received the relaxing pills while they were working on my friend. First they took me to do the before photos, and then to the room where the SmartLipo was done. I’m terrified of needles, but the doctor inserted the first one in my belly and I didn’t even feel it! I was talking to the doctor and the assistant during most of the first part of the procedure, but because I was lying down I couldn’t really see what was going on. I don’t know exactly what the sequence of events was, but I think they first made the incisions in my belly button, then pumped my tummy area up with the tumescent anesthesia (saline and Lidocaine). The doctor then inserted what felt like small corrugated tubing, I imagine it must look like one of those semi-thick plastic flexible straws your drink from! It felt like the tubes were going out like the staves of a hand fan. I could feel the doctor moving the laser through tubing, which felt REALLY odd because of the corrugated feeling of the tubes, but it didn’t hurt. He did me a favor though and worked on a bit more than we planned, going into the front sides of my flanks to give my abdomen some more curve. It wasn’t really the full flanks, but enough to give me some really nice shape for the wedding dress… so I was thrilled! I fell asleep after awhile, and probably slept for a good hour of the procedure. When I woke up the doctor was actually sucking out the fat and some of the fluids. Again, what was an odd sensation to have my insides basically vacuumed (it felt like a dentist vacuuming out saliva), but it didn’t hurt. I asked the doctor to move the "fat canister" up so I could see what exactly he was sucking out of me, which I expected to be a lot of white chunky fat, but to my surprise it was a lot of red/pink liquids and little "chunks" here and there that weren’t much bigger than those little rocks found at the children’s playgrounds. The "fat canister" was filled with a lot of red fluid at the bottom and topped with a frothy pink that looked more "fatty". The doctor laughed when I said I wanted a photo of it, and the assistant quickly disposed of it, but last night I came across someone else who had posted a photo, so if you search you will find it. The doctor left after the procedure and the assistant helped me down from the table.
Once off the table the assistant had me stand over a pad, expecting that I would leak the saline/Lidocaine mixed with blood… but much to both of our surprises I didn’t! Upon closer inspection the doctor never put the drainage holes in me above my pubic bone, because he knew I was really concerned about the scarring from the holes. The doctor came out during my procedure and talked to my fiancé about it, which was our designated driver, and told my fiancé that he could continue the procedure without putting in the drainage holes, but I would be swelled for longer. Lucky for me they came to the conclusion to let me just swell for a bit longer. I’d rather be swelled longer than have scars! When I asked the doctor about this he said my body will just have to break down the saline/Lidocaine that was left over, and pass it through my body naturally. I literally didn’t have more than probably a teaspoon of “stuff” leak out of my belly button after the procedure. I did look really swollen though and very "bottom heavy" in the lower belly, but the assistant helped me into the garment right away, so I didn’t look at it much more after that.
When I came out of the procedure I was walking around with no problems. My friend however had the drainage holes put in and was leaking a ton and not moving well. Her pads and clothes were soaked, and she got sick and threw-up from the Vicodin the doctor gave us. I’m big on eating breakfast though and the doctor told us ahead of time to make sure we had a high protein breakfast which I did, but she really didn’t. I think her problem with the Vicodin making her sick was mostly from not eating a good breakfast that morning.
We left the office around 4pm, after the doctor gave us lots of pads, "adult diapers", arnica gel, and arnica tablets, Vicodin, as well as telling us to drink pineapple juice for the bromelain, which helps reduce swelling. We headed to my friend’s house where my fiancé was going to "baby-sit" us both. My friend was in major pain, but I was doing really well so my fiancé and I got her comfortable in bed and then headed out to run some errands and pick up dinner. I think at that point I probably still had a lot of the Lidocaine in my system which was keeping the pain away.
I had a salad with boiled eggs, and Tofurkey slices for dinner. My friend had BBQ and some fried foods including okra and other "sides".
Towards the end of the first night I was swelling really bad and felt like I was literally going to "pop" out of my garment. I felt like Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, like I needed to be "juiced". I tried showering and pressing on my belly to see if I could get any of the liquid out to relieve the swelling, which I couldn’t. I was in a bit of pain just from the swelling of the garment and called the doctor after the shower to see if maybe I needed those drainage holes put in… but hoped not! I mentioned that my friend was still draining and I hadn’t drained at all. He told me not to worry about it because our procedures were very different since he used so much saline/Lidocaine on her and less on me, as well as putting the drainage holes on her. He told me to take the Vicodin, which I did and it put me to sleep.
DAY # 2
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I woke up the next day and felt MUCH better. The swelling had gone down a lot. I still felt like my body had a weird shape to it, but I knew the swelling wasn’t totally gone. getting up to move around was practically impossible. I felt like I’d done 2,000 sit-ups in a single day! Every time I moved it hurt because I usually use my ab muscles and never realized exactly how much I used them. I had Seinfeld on t.v. and had to change the station because every time I laughed it hurt. Coughing was nearly impossible as well and I had to drink water to just pass stuff down my throat. It was almost impossible to stand up, and took me a good 30-40 seconds to straighten up, once I was standing. However, I did get up and walk around. I had cucumbers to start with for breakfast because I wasn’t sure if I could stomach anything. I quickly followed the cucumbers up with 2 boiled eggs and a chocolate whey protein shake. I started taking the Arnica pills and drinking the pineapple juice the second evening. For dinner I had two more boiled eggs, Tofurkey slices and a salad with cucumbers.
My friend opted to remain off of the Vicodin and has been taking Tylenol instead. However, she was also in bed all day.
DAY # 3
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Getting out of bed today was MUCH easier than yesterday. This morning I took the Vicodin, antibiotic, and arnica pills. I had two boiled eggs, a chocolate whey protein shake, and pineapple juice for breakfast.
I can stand straight up with no problem. I can even cough! It hurts a little, but not too much. The swelling is down a lot more than yesterday. Primarily my main issue it that my skin feels very taut in my abdomen area. I took off the padding and tape, since I’m not leaking, which makes it feel a lot better! I have a few minor bruises; I’m planning to start using the arnica gel tonight. I feel like one of my bruises might actually just be at the top of the garment where I swelled up around it. I think I look a lot worse than I actually am because even after showering and scrubbing I can’t get all of the lines off from where he used the markers on me… and the blue marker does look like bruised lines even though they aren’t.
I actually don’t look lumpy at all! I’m still a little heavy on the bottom, but it’s nothing bad and not really noticeable unless I look from the side in the mirror. As I said earlier, I was REALLY bottom heavy directly following the procedure. I’ve been either sitting up or standing for the days following the procedure so I suspect that the small pooch is actually just saline/Lidocaine sitting in that region that will dissolve on it’s own.
My friend is also out of bed and moving around… even after only taking Tylenol.
I’m heading home today and we think she can manage around on her own now.
I’ll try to get my original photo from the doctor’s office and post it with follow up photos as I progress.
Much thanks to my doctor and all of his staff – I love it!

This review is the subjective opinion of a Patient and not of this website!

Original review from realself.com