Varicose Veins

[Metalcherry]

Evil little bastards these are,
When i was about 14-15 i had to undergo quite extensive surgery to remove a lot from my right leg, it runs in my family but also my mum has had thombosis as well as some problems with blood flow which the doctor has said contributed to my problem since it is quite rare for someone to have it under 25-30. My case got so severe that just above my knee at the back was so swollen up it took longer to strip because of how bad it is.

I have always had a couple of little ones which never bothered me but recently i have been getting bad pains and cramps in my leg again and noticed a few more sprout up. I reallllllly dont want to do surgery again, it took me nearly a month to walk properly and of course the scaring isnt very nice, doesnt help i have another scar from an accident, i really dont want to be walking about like patch adams!

I have been told there are other less severe ways of helping these or to stop them showing as much, does anyone know or tried any other solutions. I would rather try some non surgical items before i go to my surgery loving doctor of mine. Im not in the mood to go under the knife again

[mishelle]

I only have one fear, and thats veins, i dont know why, but i feel ill when i an see them . I work at a bar and standing up can put a lot of pressure on your legs and can cause varicose veins laer on. I was told that wearing those in flight sock things can help, it doesnt totaly prevent them but helps with circulation and slows the effects down. Have you ever tried them?

[Metalcherry]

I did after surgery but they dont do very much
I used to do a lot of standing up when i had the problem but these days i have a desk job and quite active so its not like im being lazy or unactive.

Someone suggested creams or oils to help but i have no idea what they mean ive looked about and all i see is biooil and the sorts but dont knwo what they can do to help.
Another, someone said about ......look away if you are squeemish........popping them or injecting some chemical in to shrink it- of course by doctor but just the thought of it is quite yukky

I knew my op was quite extensive but i was only expecting one scar across but woke up to find lots of tiny little scars across my legs - its not very pretty, i wanna try and get rid of them before a wedding in August or at least have a method of hiding them.

[mishelle]

I know getting varicose veins is about lack of circulation, so maybe finding out about massage treatments every now and then. Honestly nearly puked when you said poppin them, gawd veins make me ill! Had to get a drip put in when i was in hospital, puked for two days straight until they took it out!

You could maybe goto a homeopathic doctor and just ask for advice about creams and alternative treatments, if your usual doctor is too obsessed with Surgery. I dont know anything about how creams can help, but i think that bio oil, or another type of oil, used for stretch marks and scars could help with the annoying wee scars.

I hope at least some of this helps, if not im just rambling and i apologise

[Warped]

Is it not also brought on by being overweight , sure i heard that somewhere.

[I'm Your God Now]

Exercising and massages help, I got trained in how to deal with them.

I prefer my Power vein anyway.

[Warped]

Massage her legs then.

[Metalcherry]

Being overweight also contributes to the problem, but when i was 14-15 i was only a size 6-8 lol, kinda below overweight.
Now on the otherhand, i think i might fall under that catagory
Tell me about the poppin mishelle, when the doc first suggested it when i was younger i freaked out, now its sounding a bit more appealing lol!

Although, i must start exercising more now - since i done my wrist in i have had to give up rowing and training think i might take up cycling - it doesnt use wrists much lol

[Ghostsuit]

Originally Posted by Metalcherry

Evil little bastards these are,
When i was about 14-15 i had to undergo quite extensive surgery to remove a lot from my right leg, it runs in my family but also my mum has had thombosis as well as some problems with blood flow which the doctor has said contributed to my problem since it is quite rare for someone to have it under 25-30. My case got so severe that just above my knee at the back was so swollen up it took longer to strip because of how bad it is.

You were striping at 14? No wonder you got the dodgy veins.

[Bunnylingus]

I'm getting one removed soon.

How awful is it?

I was told if I lost weight itd be fine, but 3 stone later its worse.

Really wish Id had it done earlier, then I could wear more skirts in summer.

[Metalcherry]

a couple are not that bad, losing weight does bugger all, i have lost nearly 2 stone recently and i find its getting worse.
If you are having an op, its just a general anaestetic and prolly takes about an hour tops for a few. you will have a bandage around your leg for a couple of days or if its little ones they just basically make two small incissions at each side of the vein and strip it, sounds horrible but quite simple and the scarring is v.minimal. but you will feel a bit tender for a week or so and you cant shave around that area or use any creams etc which was hell!

If its a bit bigger, they will need to cut across, tell them to give you a steroid jag before hand, this can stop the scaring showing up as much - wish i did but now i have a horrible scar at the back of my knee, luckly doesnt really bother me that much but you might have to take a couple of days off work/school, i couldnt walk at all on the leg for at least a week or two - get much sympathy but still no fun!

Dont worry chicky, its not that bad, i just dont want anymore scars to add to my accident prone gallary.

[Bunnylingus]

Its one pretty big one.

Its my lumpy knee that bothers me! They said I could leave it but id really rather not.

how bad is your scarring?

[Metalcherry]

Mines is quite big, from one side of my knee to the other, but the one behind my knee was very big and was told it could become dangerous or uncomfortable later on if I never had it operated on before it was causing problems with my knee, when I had it done the scarring was quite noticeable but I got something along the lines of Silicoln skin, it’s a makeup for scars and acne and it hid it no bother, The scar is still visable but doesn’t really bother me anymore, because of where it is, no one is really going to be staring at the back of my knee lol!
There is an injection you can get where they are going to operate on which can minimize the scaring but you have to request it prior to the operation.

[Bunnylingus]

Good stuff.

Thanks!

[bikuki]

They're caused by valve incompetence in the leg veins, usually due to increased pressure. Activity, losing weight, massages and keeping your legs elevated should all help, but often if the veins are stretched already there's little you can do to make them better, just try to prevent them from getting worse. It can be a vicious cycle, though, as the incompetent valves causes further build up of pressure and therefore more stretching of the veins.
As for reducing scarring, vitamin E cream/oil massaged into the scars is said to help them, but I can't think of much else I'm afraid.