Varicose veins

[MissM94]

Sorry it's a bit of a long one! But I've had varicose veins all over my legs from when I was 18, I got referred to a specialist a few years ago maybe like 2016/2017 but they said they wouldn't do removal as there is no health risk.. but last November I went to my routine pill check app with the nurse and just mentioned this burning feeling I'd felt in my right leg for a couple of months, actually went to an out of hours app about it, but he said it was nerve damage and hadn't even documented the app we had! Wasn't on my notes or sent to my gp so roll around to the nurse app she spoke to another doctor and sent me up to a&e for possible deep vein thrombosis.. had all the checks and scans I don't have deep vein but I have thrombophlebitis which is basically one in the surface not in the deep vein, so the lady told me I needed to be referred as it is not a health risk and couldn't understand why I was allowed to be on the pill when I had varicose veins she said she was surprised this hadn't happened sooner, so I'm not allowed to be on the pill and she said I need surgery to get rid of them.. so I've got my referral app with the specialist in a couple of weeks and I just can't help but feel anxious about it because I just know they're going to say no to surgery and I'll just be absolutely gutted, the pain I have is horrendous & itching like no other, I literally make my skin bleed and scab! And the lady who referred me said that it's also an effect on my confidence (which is completely is but didn't want them to think it was being done for cosmetic reasons) but I absolutely dread summer, I wear tights or pants with everything and it's unbearable because of the heat so if I could just have a few months of no bulky horrible veins I'd be so happy 😩 so I'm just wondering has anyone else ever had varicose vein treatment/surgery?

@Prokupatuscrakedatus hahaha glad there's nothing noticeable left but a tiny scar is nothing in comparison! So have his not come back then?

@Kingdombythesea could it really be as little as that?? I was budgeting for around £3-4k to get both legs done, but it's maybe just one or two veins on each leg. I can afford the initial consultation so maybe I'll do that first and see what they say.

@MissM94
Well, his procedures were fairly recent.
The legs look ok, the medical problems are gone and now he has to take care to keep the remaining vessels healthy.

Absolutely @dubyalass.
As I say, my veins were horrendous. One leg was so bad it looked disfigured, but in fact on each leg it was just one large vein (the same both sides) that was extremely problematic and needed laser, while the littler ones only needed sclerotherapy injections.
It didn’t turn out with optimal results for me, but I really think I was super unlucky.

That's good to know, thank you! It's genetic with me so I'm not expecting miracles but I would like to just wear summery things without a second thought, or - god forbid - a skirt shorter than mid-calf. I am so envious of women who don't have varicose veins. Where did you have yours done, if you don't mind saying?

Just wondering if you have any update OP @MissM94 ? I’ve had them since I was probably late teens too. I’m also on the pill and have sent pictures of them to my doctor during covid to ask if I should still be on the pill when they’re getting worse. She kind of brushed it off and said it wouldn’t be making them worse. I’ve since had a baby too and I can’t even tell because they’ve always been bad but I think they’re maybe worse again. When I was younger I could wear dark enough fake tan that would disguise them so they obviously weren’t that bad then. In 2019 we went on holiday with friends and it was the first holiday that I felt so self conscious walking about at the pool (not due to people seeing me in a bikini but in case they noticed the whopping great veins buldging out my legs. I’m so jealous of anyone who doesn’t have them. I don’t go out out much anymore but even when I’m going to a wedding I need to wear a midi dress at least to cover them. Now I’ve got a baby and my friends all want to take their babies swimming together I’m dreading it for the fear of them seeing them, no matter how much tan I wear 🙄 My worst one is on my thigh and I can see that it’s all one vein but it runs from very high up all the way to my knee. I’ve never really had pain from them luckily but have had very heavy legs and I do have terrible circulation. My mum had them, although not until she was about my age now. She had that awful sounding surgery though and I think I remember as a child her calling it having her veins ‘stripped’ 🤢 The idea of it all just makes me shiver. Even the idea of the injection into them freaks me out because I’ve looked into what it actually does to them a little bit too much 🙈

I think I should come off the pill for a start. My issue is the fact I’ll hopefully have another baby in a couple of years so would I be wasting my money getting them done to then get them done again?