varicose vein pain

[latelatebloomer]

Recently I've been woken in the night with a pretty sharp pain in my rt thigh. Oddly, not a joint pain, seemed to be in the muscle, and only an area of a couple inches. I tried waiting it out, but it's hanging on and getting sharper and more reliable. (Yeah, I'm calling the doc on monday, need a physical and thyroid check anyway) When I showed DH the spot - by lamplight rather than daylight, it became obvious that I have pretty whopping varicosity there. Due to genetics and long houred-jobs totally on my feet, I've had some visible veins for years, but no discomfort, ever. Have any of you dealt with this?

I must say that it seems very unfair that NOW, when I'm taking such good care of myself and getting so fit, I'm aging ANYWAY!!

[Xrayted]

Thankfully, they don't run in my family. My SIL and her mom have these so I just IM'd the SIL. They both are on their feet all day (hairstylists) but have had them since having kids. They both got laser surgery. They love it. She thought they did an Ultra Sound "map" of the vein. Then, she describes it as placing a thin wire in the vein, like a catheter, and giving a shock that burns/collapses it. No more big surgery to strip it out. Instant relief. Cardiovascular docs do them.

Hope this helps.

[KnottedYet]

I have a whopping varicose vein in my left leg that I got while I was preggers.

Sometimes it does some wildly creative pains/acheing.

My doc is not all that interested in me getting it fixed (says it's not really bad enough) but I'm thinking it needs to go. I work on my feet all day. I have compression stockings to wear when I fly or go on long drives because it has a history of throwing clots.

Mine has hurt less as I've started riding more.

I like the idea of cautery rather than vein stripping. I'll have to do some serious looking into that.

[Xrayted]

Knotted, I'm sure he was worth it. I bet it looks all exotic and gorgeous.
I've noticed that some of the girls (most are younger than me) are wearing compression stockings to work now. They say their legs have more pep at the end of the day. Does that have to do with the "valves" in the vasculature getting to rest a little more? I'm thinking of trying it but I don't want to disturb my geographic lack of circulation/sensation on the left. Although, biking has greatly increased the amount of bounce I have at the end of the day. I'm the energizer bunny these days. I love a natural high. (never experienced the other kind)

[latelatebloomer]

Well, I've been to the doc and she confirms VV. She put me on 2 supplements - one has calcium, butcher's broom, horse chesnut and gotu kola, the other is nattokinase, an enzyme from soybeans. She's had good results with other patients. I'm also rubbing the area with the tiger balm analgesic cream before bed. I'm looking on the bright side - I don't have to limit activity at all!

I think I will start to investigate surgery - see if I can find other women in my area who had it, etc.

I also bought a vit K cream for leg massage - figure it can't hurt, and I like to moisturize alot any way. Now that I'm paying attention, my legs are quite the road map...on the other hand, they are very, very strong legs.

[emily_in_nc]

I've been through this and had the surgery Xrayted mentions. I had a varicosity on the inside of my left knee area since my one pregnancy (ended in miscarriage) nine years ago. Over the past year or so, it started getting achier. Nothing sharp, but an annoying pain, sometimes during hikes, sometimes while just sitting around. The veins also started getting bigger and uglier. I mentioned it to my primary care doc, and she recommended going to the vascular clinic at UNC to have it checked. When it hurts, it's not just a cosmetic thing, there is an actual circulatory issue going on.

So, I made an appt. and went to the vascular clinic, where ultrasound and compression tests confirmed "greater saphenous vein insufficiency". I had to wear compression stockings (ICK ICK ICK!) during the day for three months to see if it got better (nope), and because it did not, the doctor put in a request to my insurance company for EVLT (laser surgery - minimally invasive), and they approved it. You can read more about this procedure here. It is only done at certain facilities, which is another reason I chose to go to UNC; I had already researched it in advance and was hoping I might be a candidate.

The surgery (quick, outpatient) went very well. My leg was wrapped tightly for two days to help keep the vein tightly compressed, then I returned to the hospital to have the bandages taken off. I only had a couple of little puncture marks where they threaded the wire into the length of the saphenous vein from below my knee to my groin. Pain was very mild. I had to wear the compression stocking for a couple more weeks, then was able to slowly get back to riding. After having the stocking off, within a couple of weeks I was completely back to normal. I do have a numb area on the back of my leg where I assume some nerves were slightly damaged during surgery, but it's very minor and I only notice it if I scratch back there.

The bulging veins weren't actually removed. They were right below the saphenous vein that was sealed shut and received their blood supply from it. A followup ultrasound revealed that they are now receiving blood from a deeper vein and that the saphenous vein is completely closed. On occasion the varicosities still bulge ever so slightly, but lots less than before, and most importantly, I have had NO vein pain at all since the surgery.

I highly recommend it if you are feeling varicose pain and tests show that you are a good candidate. EVLT is covered by many insurance programs if you have documented pain, like I did, but not for purely cosmetic purposes. So make sure to mention the pain to your doctor and specialist, if you see one (don't emphasize the cosmetic side of it; an improvement there is just a pleasant side effect of the surgery). My vascular surgeon told me that although it wasn't imperative that I get it fixed right away, it would only get worse (slowly) over time, and he left it completely up to me whether to pursue it now or wait awhile longer. Knowing that I was an athlete, he completely understood why living with compression stockings for a long period of time was not an option, and he also felt that they were just a "band-aid", not a permanent fix, but something we had to try first since insurance companies require "conservative treatment" be tried prior to approving surgery. I'd highly recommend doing the stockings during the winter since they are hot, and you won't want to wear shorts with them on!

Any other questions about the surgery or anything else? Just ask!

Emily