To ask about varicose veins...

[GalaxyGirl24]

And whether you've ever managed to get rid of them through diet/treatments/pamper/magic/witchcraft etc? 😭

Mine has become worse over the years as I've gained weight and during pregnancy. It does run in my family on my mums side. Is there anything reasonable and not grim, that I can do to get rid or reduce ?

Mine are alot worse in Summer when its hot, to help stop them being achey after a long day, i lie on the floor at night with legs up on the sofa. I did wear flight socks alot aswel but not in this heat

Once they’re there, they’re there. The only way to get rid is surgery. I had mine removed about ten years ago, wish I’d done it sooner! The surgeon identified the cause of mine (faulty values) and removed those veins too so they’ve never come back.

I had mine surgically removed (ligation and stripping). The usual treatments weren't considered suitable because of a family history of DVT and thrombophlebitis.

And, although I was only 33 and childfree, they were astonishingly bad. I had the early stages of varicose eczema which meant they were classed as grade 4.

I've no idea if the NHS still does this, but if you get private medical with your job, it may well be worth considering if they're really painful. I've never regretted having mine done, they used to hurt so much.

I had mine stripped when I was 20 something. It was huge and so painful. NHS wouldn't do it so went private.

No regrets at all and they haven't come back, even with 2 pregnancies.

Before that I'd get husband to massage them if they were very painful. There were days I almost wanted to take a pin to them to drain the blood lol.

I had mine done via EVLA laser treatment - it's walk in walk out so minimally invasive and was very effective.

Costs about £2k though. You definitely can't get rid of them Witt diet or any creams etc sorry OP

Thanks all - wow @iloveredpandas that is expensive but sounds like it was worth it for you.

@Twizbe If it's not rude, how much did it cost you private to get them done? I'm considering it but if it's extortionate then I may have to just wait 😖

I'm sure losing a bit of weight will take the pressure off them a bit, and this heat can't help as some of you have said!

I had ligation and stripping almost 2 years ago now, best decision I ever made. Had mine on the nhs, although was very hard work to get them to consider surgery. I suffer with swelling still because I had a lot removed, still better than the pain from before though

Got mine stripped. Didn't have to pay.

However I was advised to wait until I had stopped having kids because pregnancy can make them return of course. So I put it off, had a kid, then went back.

Unfortunately a new one is popping up in a new spot now, so I imagine I'll get that done at some stage. It's not too bad yet so I can put it off for a couple of years.

But I got it done under local and it wasn't painful and I was delighted afterwards and much more confident in my legs.. Should have done it years earlier!

@GalaxyGirl24 it was £1500 in 2009. Honestly so worth the money.

I was off work for 3 weeks but that was only because I couldn't keep up on the commute or walk to the bus stop. If it was done now with working from home I'd have been back after a week.

Wow you quickly realise how amazing the NHS is when you find out the costs of different procedures 😖 thanks all for the help!

NHS don't generally agree to varicose vein treatments unless they are severe and painful I think.

My dr said a big no go - I did have them done for purely cosmetic reasons though tbf, they looked awful!

NHS won't do them until they ulcerate.

I also had the EVLA - worth every penny and I wish I'd had it done years ago

I have radio frequency ablation in both legs followed by injections for some smaller ones that were to awkward to be removed surgically. All in all I paid about 4k. The bruising was horrendous for a couple of weeks but it was totally worth it!

Sounds like I'm going to have to fork out at some point 😖 it'll definitely be later in life after I've finished having kids considering the cost! Maybe a bit of weight loss will at least take some pressure off them....

i’ve just had mine removed and i’m so happy! i signed up for Benenden Healthcare Private medical insurance £10 a month
after 6 months you can make a claim as long as not a pre existing medical condition that you have seen your doctor about. my doctor referred me and i got it treated. my friend is having to pay £3k which i could not afford. so maybe sign up for private medical health insurance and found out when you can make a claim. sounds ridiculous but mine stopped me ever wearing dresses/shorts as i just feel so self conscious

I had a severe varicose vein (right greater saphenous) and I had outpatient surgery for it-instantly the pain,itching and ache was gone. There's nothing you can do but mitigate it by wearing surgical grade support hosiery, reduce your weight,avoid standing up for long periods of time. Really a lot of it is genetic

Mine are hideous. Hate the summer with them. I had them done 8 years ago on the NHS but they’ve come back after two babies. I asked my gp about them on the off chance and he seemed to think they were pretty serious for my age (37) and referred me to the hospital. Seemed to think they would do them. Not had my appointment yet though

Thanks for your help!
@LexieB will definitely be looking into this!

Had mine sclerosed - worked really well but could do with the other leg doing now.

I’m sure you don’t have ‘faulty values’ @HowManyToes

@Craftycorvid

Had mine sclerosed - worked really well but could do with the other leg doing now.

I’m sure you don’t have ‘faulty values’ @HowManyToes

Yes I did. Some of the valves in my greater saphenous veins didn’t close properly which allowed the blood to leak back, pooling and causing varicose veins.

But thanks for your medical assessment via mumsnet. I’ll stick with what the vascular surgeon told me 🙄

yes i was also told were due to faulty valves!

I had mine done privately as NHS wouldn't do them at all. Spent years covering/hiding my legs in the summer.
I had RF ablation as a day patient under local anaesthetic. Paid about £3000. Very happy with the result. Had my shorts on today! Been told they shouldn't come back with this treatment, unlike stripping of VV's which often return 5-10yrs later.
It's not a trivial operation though. I ended up having post operative pulmonary embolisms which was scary. Still glad I had it done though!

I had EVLA via DH's Benenden membership. Day procedure, although leg was aching for a few days afterwards. Well worth it, and they've not come back.

I was observing the predictive text fail, @HowManyToes. I wasn’t diagnosing you! Yes, faulty VALVES are the issue but I’m sure your VALUES are impeccable.

HowManyToes CraftyCorvid was just joking, in a kindly way, because you’d mistyped ‘valves’ as ‘values’ - nothing wrong with your values