Anyone been treated on nhs for varicose veins?

[thegirlwiththecurl]

Hi - I have had a pesky varicose vein now for about 8 yrs. Its been bothering me more and more lately so i have started to wear those really sexy compression stockings - prescribed by GP. I am 31, fit and healthy and not overweight, so there's not much else I can do to 'conservatively' manage this problem. I know stripping them is not done routinely anymore as it rarely works in the sense that most people get varicose veins again afterwards. My GP went through some other techniques now used and i just wondered if anyone had any experience of them? I can't afford private and am never likley to, so really only interested in experiences to do with NHS.

[thegirlwiththecurl]

Thanks BodenGroupie. Yes - they also don't strip them so much anymore because of the high probability of them returning, so I am wouldn't be that keen on having them stripped anyway. There are some new techniques using ultrasound and a method where they inject foam into them Has anyone experience of those? They are quite new, so not sure about how often you can get them on the nhs. My worry is that mine are bothering me now at 31 and I don't want to end up with them getting worse or getting complications from them in later life if I can avoid it. I would be lying if I said some of my concern wasn't cosmetic, because it is, but I do get a lot of aching and a swollen ankle from them too.

[BodenGroupie]

Had mine done on NHS about 5 years ago. They've just come back in the same place (I only had them on one leg) but not as bad. Mine were stripped. Think they're a lot more strict about doing it at all now as it's regarded as cosmetic. I did have some throbbing pain but it wasn't unbearable.

Went in as a day case and was back to work in a few days.