I am SICK of having to keep my hand in my pants all the time...

[TheBobblyBulge]

it is most unladylike!

But what can I do about my varicose vein? It aches and throbs continually. The only way to relieve the pain is to hold it and sort of push it back in. Gross I know.

Is there some sort of device that will free up a hand?

It hurts!

are you talking about a vulval varocosity? wearing a maternity pad can help hold it in

Sounds dreadful. Have you seen the doc??

I had these with my DS2. I brought some HUGE maternity support pants from mothercare which helped a bit. Also got some gel pads which you freeze (had a gauze sleeve) which you could put in your pants, these helped to relieve the throbbing. As soon as I had DS2 they disappeared. Standing for long periods or walking seemed to make them worse, so try to put your feet up as much as possible if you can.

And there was me thinking I was the only one suffering from the hideous bloody thing!

I didnt have it with DS1 but it appeared with DS2, wondered what the hell it was when it appeared.

Am now expecting DD1 in Jan and it came back with avengence very early on.

Im exactly the same as you TheBobblyBulge
When I get out of bed in the mornings-cor blimey its painful I have to hold myself for ages.
I havnt tried anything yet to help the discomfort, you dont often hear of women with it, but then again its not something your friends/family want to hear about!

Oh thank god I am not alone. I have had this for 2 months now. Its agony and the only relief I know is to sit down. Its goes away almost instantly on sitting, but comes back more and more quickly. Which makes sense if you think its trapped blood.

Sadly I am finding that its getting worse as bump expands. I will experiment with ice packs. In terms of putting legs up my physio pointed out that this wont help swelling in the pubic region unless you can somehow invert your pelvis as well. Otherwise the blood from your legs just gets trapped in the corner of the L shape - d'you see what I mean?

I sometimes do an adapted 'downward dog' yoga pose. With hands on a chair thats propped against the wall. This helps get the baby weight off your spine etc. Feels nice and I get the impression it takes the weight off my nasty vein. But its strenous and not really the position for having a relaxing cup of tea in.

My doc just said it will clear up once the baby's out.

Mine did clear up straight away once I had baby. I'm expecting DC#3 and am now remembering how bad they were with DS2 . Was hoping wont get them this time, but doesn't seem very likely.