While it’s a good idea to ask your surgeon or medical provider plenty of questions before treatment, it’s also good to check in with yourself and ask yourself several questions. If you’re considering Coolsculpting, questions to ask can include whether you’re a good candidate and if you have reasonable expectations for results. Here are a few more Coolsculpting questions it’s worth asking before you schedule the treatment.
Will Coolsculpting Benefit You?
One of the more important Coolsculpting questions to ask is will the procedure benefit you? Coolsculpting works best on certain patients. For example, it’s recommended to people who have stubborn fat that won’t go away, no matter how much you work out or eat healthfully.
Coolsculpting isn’t a substitute for a weight loss plan and it’s not recommended for patients who are overweight or obese. The ideal Coolsculpting candidate is at or near his or her goal weight. Generally, each treatment session removes up to 25% of the fat from a treated area.
Where Is Your Problem Fat?
Coolsculpting works to remove fat from specific areas of the body. If your fat is located in those areas, you’re most likely a good candidate for the treatment. Usually, Coolsculpting is performed in the abdominal area, on the love handles, on the thighs, on the back and on male breasts. With the Cool Mini applicator, the treatment can also help eliminate a double chin.
Should You Pick Coolsculpting or Liposuction?
Coolsculpting isn’t your only fat removal option. For many patients, it comes down choosing between surgical liposuction and non-surgical Coolsculpting. Although people seeking out either procedure have similar goals, the methods used and the process are considerably different for each.
For example, liposuction is a form of surgery. Although the incisions made are small, there are still incisions made and some type of anesthesia is going to be used. Whether you are fully under or sedated depends on the complexity of the surgery.
Those incisions also need a considerable amount of time to heal afterwards, usually at least a week or two. You’ll need to wear a special garment after your treatment to hold everything in place and help shape and smooth the treated area.
In contrast, Coolsculpting doesn’t involve any incisions and no anesthesia is used. You could argue that the freezing treatment is its own form of anesthesia. After a few minutes, the area being treated is fully numb from the cold. Once your treatment is over, you’re able to get back to most regular activities right away.
How much fat you have to remove also influences whether liposuction or Coolsculpting is right for you. The more fat you need to have removed, the more likely it is that liposuction is the better option. During liposuction, the surgeon can remove considerably more fat (in some cases, up to 20 pounds) compared to the fat that is destroyed during Coolsculpting.
Do You Understand What Happens During and After Coolsculpting?
Understanding what happens during your Coolsculpting treatment can also help you decide if it’s right for you. Typically, it takes about an hour to treat each area. Some areas can be treated for two hours, either in a row or spaced a few days or weeks apart. If you go to a practice that has two machines, you can treat two separate areas at the same time, doubling your results but cutting treatment time in half.
Although Coolsculpting is relatively comfortable, there might be some tingling or stinging at first, when the machine is first turned on. Your body won’t have had time to adjust to the cold just yet. But once the area becomes numb, most people don’t feel anything for the rest of their treatment. Many patients are able to relax, read, watch TV or chat with a friend during their hour-long Coolsculpting session.
You can get back to your regular life pretty much right away after Coolsculpting, but there are some things to consider. You might be a bit sore or numb for a few days afterwards. It’s common to have swelling and bruising in the treated area too.
Do You Have Time for Coolsculpting?
Timing is important when it comes to Coolsculpting. One thing you want to ask yourself is, do I have the time to dedicate to treatment and to waiting for results? A typical treatment might only take an hour. But, it does take some time before your full results are visible. In some cases, it takes as long as 16 weeks before final results appear. It depends on how long your body needs to process and flush away the destroyed fat cells.
That means that if you want to get rid of your love handles or saddle bags in time for a big event in a month, Coolsculpting might not be able to help you. But if your goal is to slim down for yourself or for an event that’s months away, it might just be vthe thing.
Are You Ready to Maintain Your Results?
The fat destroyed during Coolsculpting is gone for good. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is that having Coolsculpting doesn’t give you a free pass to eat what you want or to skip exercise. Any remaining fat cells can get bigger if you don’t commit to eating a healthy diet or working out on a fairly regular basis. Before you commit to the cost of Coolsculpting, ask yourself if you’re ready to make other changes to help you keep your slimmer figure long after the treatment is over.
Under the direction of Dr. Paul Vitenas, Mirror Mirror Beauty Boutique in Houston, Texas, offers a variety of Coolsculpting treatment options, including Dualsculpting and the Cool Mini. To learn more about the treatment and to get answers to your Coolsculpting questions, call 281-810-9083 to schedule a consultation today.