My Varicose Vein Experience

If you follow me on Instagram, then hearing about my varicose vein is nothing new to you 😜. I decided to open up about the varicose vein on my left thigh after getting a lot of comments and DMs on my posts along the lines of “what happened to your leg?”.

Once I finally started talking about it on my stories, I was shocked at how many of you are also dealing with the same thing! Which lead me to share my experience in a blog post from start to finish in hopes that my story can help some of you.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a medical doctor and am in no way recommending or suggesting any treatment in this blog post. I am simply sharing my experience. Please seek advice from a medical doctor if you are going through something similar.

First things first, what even is a varicose vein?

I’m assuming you know the answer to this since you’re most likely here because you have one BUT just in case.. “Varicose veins are twisted, enlarged veins” caused by “weak or damaged valves”.

“Your veins open as blood flows toward your heart then close to stop blood from flowing backward. If these valves are weak or damaged, blood can flow backward and pool in the vein, causing the veins to stretch or twist” (Mayo Clinic).

In my case specifically, the valves in my saphenous vein were leaking, causing blood to pool and in turn, creating the varicose vein that was visible on my inner thigh.

 

My Experience

I first noticed my varicose vein developing back in 2012. It was a very, very small bump in one spot on my inner thigh. I had my primary care doctor take a look at it, and she then referred me to a vein specialist. We determined it was nothing to be concerned with but it was good to have a point of contact in case it got larger or worsened in the future.

Between then and July 2017, my vein got much larger and started to go further down my leg. I was training for a half marathon then, so I felt it was worth getting looked at again to be sure I was okay to continue running/exercising and that I wasn’t making it worse by doing so.

At this appointment, I ended up getting an ultrasound done and finding out that I had venous reflux (leaking valves that I discussed earlier). At this point, they categorized my varicose vein as a cosmetic issue since I didn’t have much pain in my leg nor was the vein “large” enough. That meant insurance wasn’t going to cover the procedure unless I wore compression sleeves for 3 months to prove those wouldn’t help before having to go through with a procedure.

All of that seemed like a giant hassle, so I decided to continue putting off any treatment. Looking back, I definitely wish I would have just done the 3 months of compression socks to get the procedure done, because my varicose vein only continue to get worse.

Since then, the vein bulged further outward and crept even further down my leg. Within the past year, I noticed my feet falling asleep more often than usual and aching in the surrounding areas of the varicose vein. That was what lead me to finally go back to the doctor and get it taken care of.

Since I had moved down to Texas, I had to get a different doctor than the one I had last seen in Michigan back in 2017. I did my research, found someone who took my insurance, and made an appointment. At this appointment, I had another ultrasound and, given all of my symptoms + the size of my vein, my doctor said we should for sure go through with the procedures and that there was no way insurance wouldn’t cover it (SCORE).

It’s common for women to wait to get varicose vein treatments done until after they are done having children since varicose veins can be a side effect of pregnancy. According to Mayo Clinic, “during pregnancy, the volume of blood in your body increases. This change supports the growing fetus, but also can produce an unfortunate side effect — enlarged veins in your legs”. My doc still felt it was worth getting this vein removed as I don’t plan on starting a family anytime soon and because it would just continue getting worse until then.

I was also happy to find out the underlying cause of my varicose vein; genetics (both of my parents have them) and veinous reflux, but also some sort of congestion in the veins within my pelvic region. I don’t want to go too far into detail here given I don’t know all of the correct terminology, but my doctor said this was something we should 100% wait to deal with until after I am done having children and that it really isn’t of much concern at my age.

The Procedures

The first procedure I had back in June (2020) was an Endovenous Ablation. I was given a prescription for numbing cream to apply before heading into the appointment. Once there, they numbed my leg further and went in through a small puncture in my leg to close off the valves in my faulty vein. The whole procedure only took 30 minutes. They wrapped my leg in a super compressive bandage to keep on for 48 hours. This procedure wasn’t at all painful, but my leg was in a lot of pain for the following days after the procedure – nothing ibuprofen couldn’t fix!

A few weeks later, I went in for a checkup to see how the ablation worked and to see if I would need the second procedure. My varicose vein did shrink quite a bit from that first procedure, but it seemed to us it was worth going in the second time to strip the vein, especially since insurance was covering it AND what was the point of going through that first procedure if it didn’t fully fix the issue!

So this past week (August 2020), I had a phlebectomy done. In stories, I kept saying they were stripping my vein when describing it as a phlebectomy was more accurate, so I just wanted to clear that up. Google the two to learn more about the difference between the two.

The prep for this procedure was the same as the last with applying the numbing cream and then getting numbed further at the doctors office. The first procedure was only one puncture site, whereas this one he punctured a few different spots around my leg to pull out the vein. I felt some poking and pulling, but this only lasted about 10 minutes and he was done!

I left the appointment with a bandage wrapped around my leg again plus instructions to wear a compression sleeve for a day or two once taking the bandage off. I am in much less pain after this procedure and my leg feels relatively normal except for some soreness and discomfort around the puncture sites and a lot of bruising (this is a normal part of the recovery process).

And voila! No more varicose vein (bye bye Avril LaVEIN 😉).

Going Forward

There definitely is a chance I could develop more varicose veins in other areas of my legs, but luckily with the closure of my vein in the first procedure, I likely won’t get any more in that same area. That being said, I am super excited to wear shorts and a bathing suit without someone looking at my leg and asking/wondering “what the heck is that?”.

I know it doesn’t matter what others think, but the vein still really dug at my confidence. To me, it was very unsightly and I just hated that it was the first thing I would think about when considering wearing something that didn’t cover that area of my leg. Overtime I have come to terms with the fact that we all have insecurities and/or something we wish we could change – but those things are usually the things that make us unique! At the same time, there is nothing wrong with changing something on your body as long as you are doing it FOR YOU and no one else.

Anyway, I’m super happy with my decision to go through with these procedures and I’m glad I can share my experience with anyone who might be going through something similar 🙂 You’re not alone! Comment below or DM me anytime if you have any further questions.

Will update this post with photos once my leg heals from the second and final procedure!

Xx Nicole

Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/varicose-veins/symptoms-causes/syc-20350643