I’m 25F & began noticing these budging veins on my right calf about a year ago. It seems to be starting on the left calf now too.
I’m a teacher so I’m constantly on my feet during the school year, work out regularly, and have a generally healthy diet. Is there any way to reverse this? Without any procedures? Worth getting it looked at by a vein doctor?
Je me suis fait opérer des varices sans anesthésie générale sur une jambe il y a ~2 ans. Voici comment ça s'est passé.
Précision : varices héréditaires, rien à voir avec un manque de sport contrairement à ce que certains peuvent croire. Même avec un bon niveau sportif on n'y échappe pas.
J'ai choisi l'anesthésie locale parce que :
a) j'avais trop peur d'être touchée sans mon consentement (ayant déjà subi des trucs pas très fun)
b) je flippais de ne pas me réveiller.
Mes varices n'étaient pas très visibles quand je suis allée voir une phlébologue, mais j'avais surtout beaucoup de douleurs, au point de ne plus pouvoir marcher sans avoir mal. Après l'auscultation, elle m'a direct proposé de faire des injections (sclérothérapie), mais j'ai dit que j'allais réfléchir avant (je suis tatouée, mais j'ai peur des piqûres et ne venez pas me dire que c'est pareil 🥲).
En me renseignant sur notre ami le web, j'ai pu voir qu'il y avait plus de dangers avec le traitement par injection qu'avec l'opération, et qu'il fallait pas mal de séances étalées sur des semaines, voire des mois 😬.
Pas mal de personnes finissent par se faire opérer après les injections parce que cela ne fonctionne pas très bien (dont des membres de ma famille).
Donc si la finalité c'est d'être sur le billard à se faire opérer, tant qu'à faire on y passe directement.
Dangers possibles des injections : réactions cardiovasculaires, des troubles visuels transitoires, allergies graves ou des thromboses veineuses.
Pas très rassurant quoi 😭
J'avais donc opté pour l'opération bien que n'ayant jamais été opérée j'en avais une peur bleue.
SMS la veille au soir pour connaître l'heure de l'intervention.
Protocole pour se laver chez soi avec du Dakin et tout le tralala.
Hop hop, me voilà au bloc d'un CHU (rendez-vous obtenu rapidement, j'ai eu de la chance, en septembre je crois, parce que le chirurgien m'avait dit qu'il ne voulait pas opérer pendant l'été à cause des risques de la chaleur sur l'opération).
Il y a plein de gens qui attendent pour diverses interventions dans les couloirs.
Chambre de 3 avec des casiers qui ferment à clé, option ambiance lugubre, car l'État n'aime visiblement pas augmenter le budget des CHU.
Il y avait un écran géant dans la salle d'opération, j'ai pu choisir la musique que je voulais traitement de princesse👸
J'avais si peur que l'anesthésie locale ne fonctionne pas correctement, mais le chirurgien a bien vérifié.
Un champ stérile me cachait la vue de ma jambe pendant l'opération (pour ne pas me traumatiser ou projection de sang, je suppose), mais je voyais le haut du corps des chirurgiens, des infirmiers et du personnel du bloc.
Tout au long de l'intervention l'anesthésiste est resté à côté de moi pour me parler et me demander comment j'allais. C'était vraiment chouette !! À un moment, j'ai vu ma jambe levée au-dessus du champ stérile et j'ai fait un malaise, mais sinon RAS 😂
Après l'opération : fin de l'anesthésie et mon corps a mal réagi type allergie bizarre. J'ai commencé à me gratter partout, quasi jusqu'au sang sans pouvoir m'arrêter 🫠.
Le seul regret est que je n'avais pas de culotte jetable pendant l'opération.
Une dizaine de personnes a donc pu admirer mon "miaou"🐱, dont l'anesthésiste qui m'a reconnue, car nous avons la même tatoueuse en commun. Il m'a dit, je cite : "Je peux enfin mettre un visage sur un nom" 😭😂. À la fois hilarant et malaisant.
Convalescence : rapide, on repart chez soi le jour même avec un bandage à la jambe. Le chirurgien a super bien fait l'incision parce qu'il avait peur d'abîmer mon tatouage (zéro cicatrice). J'ai juste fait un malaise sous la douche quand j'ai dû laver près des points de suture.
Des varices se reforment depuis peu, aussi parce que je ne mets pas mes bas de contention (je n'arrête pas de les trouer en voulant les mettre trop rapidement, et l'été ce ingérable avec la chaleur. Comme la varice est en haut de la cuisse, je suis obligée de mettre le grand bas).
Nb : J'ai remarqué que le café accentue les varices et les douleurs associées. Dommage que la médecine ne prenne pas davantage en compte l'alimentation dans le traitement des pathologies.
✨️Si vous avez des questions c'est avec plaisir que j'y répondrai du mieux que je peux ✨️🧚♀️
Are they just spider veins? Or are they going to get worse over time and turn into varicose?
Hi all, i went to the GP today about some mild new spider veins and she diagnosed me with mild varicose veins. They arent raised yet but they are visible and i do get some mild ankle swelling. I also think I have EDS which is likely the cause if so.
I want to start wearing compression to help my body but need some reccomendations. Most of my visible veins are from my knees upwards so im assuming leggings or tights are the way to go. Any ideas?
I'm a vascular surgeon, not a lipedema specialist, so I want to be upfront about that. But venous insufficiency and lipedema get confused with each other often enough that I think it's worth explaining how they're told apart, since a lot of people in this community mention struggling to get a clear diagnosis.
Both conditions can cause leg swelling, heaviness, and discomfort. Both can involve disproportionate leg size. That overlap is exactly why they get mixed up, and why some people get labeled with one when they actually have the other, or both at once.
A few things that point toward a venous component:
* Swelling that's worse at the end of the day and improves with elevation * Visible varicose or spider veins * Skin changes near the ankle (discoloration, thickening) * Swelling that's asymmetric or worse in one leg
Lipedema tends to look different: fat distribution is usually symmetric, spares the feet, and doesn't improve much with elevation. Bruising easily and tenderness to pressure are also more typical of lipedema than venous disease.
The reason this distinction matters is that a venous duplex ultrasound is a simple, painless test that can identify or rule out venous insufficiency as a contributing factor. If it's present, treating it can meaningfully help with swelling and discomfort, even if it's not the whole picture. If it's absent, that's useful too. It tells you and your care team that the swelling isn't coming from a treatable vein problem, which points you back toward lipedema-focused management.
I'd encourage anyone dealing with unexplained leg swelling or heaviness to ask specifically whether venous insufficiency has been ruled out as part of their workup, regardless of what else is going on. It's a piece of the puzzle that sometimes gets overlooked.
Happy to answer general questions about the venous side of things in the comments.
It's not blue or green at all. It's not painful but I can feel it. I feel it more when standing. I don't have it on the other side.
Any pointers?
I was first diagnosed with May thurner and pelvic congestion and as it’s now lead to CVI I am feeling really low. I have a consultation next Friday regarding my next steps for this.
I have veiny legs, but nothing too noticeable, however the pain is unbearable, I’m assuming because they are not surface level it is harder to treat?
I am treating May thurner first but in terms of the CVI, what do people advise?
Excluse my ignorance, what is ablation meant to do if if the blood only reroutes and potentially causes more issues?
Fingers crossed targeting May Thurner will relieve some issues, but what about the already damaged veins in my legs. I used to be super fit, now I can barely walk up the stairs.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Thank you
4 days ago, I (F35) had Endovenous Laser Ablation and phlebectomy on both legs and just wanted to provide some insight for those considering treatment.
For background, I have suffered bulging varicose veins in my right leg for about 15 years and then noticed small bulges in my left leg around 5 years ago that have gradually worsened since pregnancy so decided I wanted to do something about it.
At the consultation I had my legs scanned via ultrasound and they found that my main vein (GSV) in left leg was faulty and pooling blood, and that my anterior vein in right leg (bulging one) was indeed faulty too. The doctors advised that he would perform EVLA on both legs and to expect some pain during the procedure even though it would be under local anaesthesia.
On the day of the procedure, we talked through what would happen, and I was set up on a bed ready for surgery. He started on the right leg first, then worked his way to the left leg. The anaesthesia stings, of course, but when that's done, the leg is pretty much numb, and you can't feel the incisions. However, during the EVLA, you can feel cramping (similar to menstrual/muscle cramps) in the leg, and these last for around 20 seconds as the vein is sealed closed. After this, I had a phlebectomy where the veins were pulled out, and this can be very uncomfortable as you can feel tugging, and when it's out, it feels almost like a hair being plucked from the leg.
He continued to do this for all obvious varicose veins on both legs as well as the main vein in the left leg, and in total, it took 90 minutes.
Following the procedure, I did feel a little woozy but was told that's normal and was given a cup of tea and biscuits in the recovery room. After an hour, my partner took me home, and I was very sleepy (understandably).
Since then, healing has gone really well. I do wear compression stockings every day ( I have taken them off for bed) and expect to wear these for up to 2 weeks, but it is really helping the tenderness and aching.
The procedure cost around £4500 because I went private, but I'm already pleased with the results. My only regret is not doing it sooner!
I hope that's helped anyone considering treatments, but I'm happy to answer any questions 😊
I can see my veins through my legs, it doesn't hurt or anything, I just don't like the way it looks. What could it be? And I have morena skin. I ask my family about it, they said it's normal.. is this normal?
I have had two rounds of Radiofrequency Ablation for my varicose veins (once in each leg a week apart) and I cant get a straight answer out of my doctor as far as how many times I will need to do this to get some relief. I have had a follow up ultra sound and he said everything is fine but it needs to be more healed before he does it again. Maybe I am confused but things are different then I had anticipated.
My varicose vein has gotten significantly worse during my second pregnancy, which I expected. I developed this vein postpartum with my first, nearly three years ago. I’m only 24y/o and want to get it removed but opted to wait until after this pregnancy because it’s my last child.
I guess I’m curious if the discoloration seeping all around is normal disease progression or if it could be a sign of something more sinister?
Don't know if this is a problem or not
These came around 2-3 months ago and I’m just wondering are they stretch marks.. will they ever fade? I literally dont even want to wear shorts anymore because I just feel my legs are so ugly now. I bought stretch marks serum and oil but I clearly see they won’t work now because I have been using them for a while. But I haven’t loss or gained any weight so I was just wondering why did they come out of nowhere. ugh. Also I get these random red marks on my legs sometimes (like the two in the last picture)
Hi everyone,
I’m 21F and, as you can see in the photos, I have a pretty significant cosmetic issue with my legs that has been bothering me for years. They have looked like this since I was around 14 years old.
I’m not even that bothered by the actual small varicose veins. What bothers me much more is how extremely visible the blue veins/blood vessels are all over my legs, together with the bluish/reddish, uneven or almost mottled appearance of my skin.
Has anyone here experienced something similar or knows what might cause this?
Could it be very thin/translucent skin, genetically weak connective tissue, venous insufficiency/blood pooling, circulation issues, or something completely different?
My GP thinks it is mostly genetic. She told me that as the varicose veins progress, I may eventually be able to have them treated through health insurance. However, the varicose veins (marked in the blue circle) themselves aren’t really my main concern – it’s the overall appearance of my legs and all the visible blue veins/vessels.
Some potentially relevant background:
At this point, I’m considering paying to see a phlebologist/vascular specialist and getting a proper examination, especially to find out whether there is an underlying venous issue and what could realistically be treated cosmetically.
I’ve also wondered about treatments such as sclerotherapy or vascular laser treatments for the visible vessels, although I obviously wouldn’t want to start treating them cosmetically before knowing why they are so visible in the first place.
I’ve even considered trying TCM/traditional Chinese medicine, although I’m unsure whether that would actually make sense for something like this.
What would you do in my position?
If your legs looked similar, did you ever find out what caused it? Did seeing a vascular specialist help? And most importantly**, has anyone found a treatment that actually made a noticeable cosmetic difference?**
I would really appreciate any experiences or advice. This has bothered me for such a long time and I’d finally like to understand what is going on and whether there is anything I can realistically do about it. 🩷
And also sorry for the ugly pictures!
Anyone know any brands or reliable things for socks off Amazon? I need some for work and my veins I got
Long time varicose veins and have very itchy legs. I cannot wear compression socks all the time, and as soon as I take them off my legs are so itchy it’s unbearable. I put moisturizer and vein cream on my legs but they don’t help all that much for itchiness. I have been to dermatologists who blindly prescribe cortisone cream or similar and these are terrible long term, so I have stopped. At night in bed I raise my legs on a pillow. I’d like to hear what other vv sufferers are doing to relieve the itchiness.
I am in my 20s and have been consistently working out for the past 2 years. Recently I noticed my veins in my leg bulging out a little when I flex. Is this the beginning of a varicose vein or am I just developing more vascularity in my legs due to lifting. I am a little nervous as I feel like the veins in my legs have become more visible (the big green ones) I’ve been getting more and more spider veins on my legs arms and back, I believe this is mostly due to genetics as my mom has a lot of them too and I think being on birth control triggered this issue. I have been off of it for 2 years now but still my veins have been becoming more visible and spider veins keep popping up. I don’t have pain or heaviness in my legs but I am thinking this might just be the early stage. What do you guys think?