Pain/discomfort in lower leg - start of varicose veins?

[pregnancy1]

Morning,
I woke up last night with a pain in my lower left leg, just below my knee on the outside. It's the leg that goes under my pillow (hope that makes sense), but I really felt like it needed raising, but obv I could only do that by lying on my back.... Is this the start of a varicose vein? I looked and can see lots of veins in that area, but then could see even more when I looked on the other leg (I'm practically blue naturally so all veins are v visible, which I always think is an attractive feature [hmmm])
Anyway, without rambling for too long - is it the start of varicose veins and if so, what can I do to prevent them (or should I find something better to bother the nice mumsnetters with....)?

I don't know whether or not you have varicose veins, but a few basic tips are:

do not cross your legs! (one that I should follow myself)
Walk and take exercise, but avoid standing around.
Put your feet up as much as possible.
Drink plenty of fluids (good for the circulation in general).

You can buy support stockings but I am well aware that these are not really appropiate during a hot summer!

I would get it checked by a doctor, asap, just incase its a DVT.

Deep vein thrombosis.

I didn't think of DVT. Divvy's right, you should see a doctor.