Varicose Veins & 22 Years Young

meaghan2008

Hola Everyone ! I'm Meaghan & I have varicose veins. :frown: At age 17 I started to get them, my mom became concerned , took my to a vein specialist and they said it was because I was " over weight ". I was thinking to myself, ummmmmmmm but there's people out in this world today who is much heavier than me and they have no problems. At the time I was 240 ish. So they said I could have surgery to fix them, but since insurance wasn't going to cover it due to it being considered "cosmetic surgery" , my mom said next option please. The next option was compression stockings...:ohwell: :mad: Okay compression stockings, i'm 17 years old, going through my little teenage wanting to fit in crisis ordeal and your gunna hit me with the you can wear compression stockings. Yeah the ones that the old people wear. :sick: So my mom bought me a pair, did I wear them, NO! I mean come on now folks, I was 17, I didn't want to be called grandma.

So the only other option was losing weight. Since that was the most cheap way , I decided to try that. Now that I am 22 years young, I have incorporated excercise as apart of my daily life and I have lost on and off a good 24 lbs. They still are their and look like they have gotten WORSE. I never wear skirts, I never wear shorts, it's always jeans , workout pants, dress pants, pants, pants , pants.

I'm sick of it ! I want to feel more feminine without people staring and making me feel like all they are looking at is my leg. :blushing: DO I have to lose a HUGE amount of weight for them to go away. I just don't understand. I love my self , but we all have some insecurities of our own. This is just one of my huge physical ones! :embarassed: :sad:


xoxo ,

Meaghan

tommygirl15

How much weight do you have to lose? My cousin had a similar problem at a very young age as well, and due to being overweight. After she lost some weight she did notice that the veins weren't as bad, though I'm not entirely sure how much weight she lost.
I say you should keep losing and your legs will probably improve. Also, if you spend a lot of time standing, make sure you try to sit down once in a while to take the pressure off your legs, same goes with sitting all day - try to stand for a while.

Markguns

Hola Everyone ! I'm Meaghan & I have varicose veins. :frown: At age 17 I started to get them, my mom became concerned , took my to a vein specialist and they said it was because I was " over weight ". I was thinking to myself, ummmmmmmm but there's people out in this world today who is much heavier than me and they have no problems. At the time I was 240 ish. So they said I could have surgery to fix them, but since insurance wasn't going to cover it due to it being considered "cosmetic surgery" , my mom said next option please. The next option was compression stockings...:ohwell: :mad: Okay compression stockings, i'm 17 years old, going through my little teenage wanting to fit in crisis ordeal and your gunna hit me with the you can wear compression stockings. Yeah the ones that the old people wear. :sick: So my mom bought me a pair, did I wear them, NO! I mean come on now folks, I was 17, I didn't want to be called grandma.

So the only other option was losing weight. Since that was the most cheap way , I decided to try that. Now that I am 22 years young, I have incorporated excercise as apart of my daily life and I have lost on and off a good 24 lbs. They still are their and look like they have gotten WORSE. I never wear skirts, I never wear shorts, it's always jeans , workout pants, dress pants, pants, pants , pants.

I'm sick of it ! I want to feel more feminine without people staring and making me feel like all they are looking at is my leg. :blushing: DO I have to lose a HUGE amount of weight for them to go away. I just don't understand. I love my self , but we all have some insecurities of our own. This is just one of my huge physical ones! :embarassed: :sad:


xoxo ,

Meaghan

I have minor ones on my ankles, and some fluid retention... I'm 56, (was 65lbs overweight) and as you age your veins lose their elasticity, causing the veins to distend and the surrounding tissue to retain fluid. As you are so young, yours may be a genetic condition but the extra weight isn't helping. As I lose weight they get better and the fluid is reduced. I do cardio and weights. I do extra work on my calves with different toe raise/leg presses and saw improvement in 2 months. There are also medical procedures using injections that I have seen that look great. You need to lose the weight and exercise your lower legs then later I'd look into a procedure, if I was you.

QueenElka

I have varicose veins too!(and some random pockets of cellulite right where my thigh becomes my calf) and I'm 21. I also started noticing them from when I was about 17, they weren't so bad then. That coupled with some cellulite made me feel so insecure about wearing skirts and shorts. But i still do wear those things. I feel gross sometimes too though. But it seems like sthg that runs in the family though. Cos my mom has them, my aunties have them and my cousin has them too. But I and everyone else i know doesn't complain of pain. I know some people complain that its painful. SO if they don't hurt, just try to forget abt them. They may get better after u lose some more weight. U cld also try wrapping them with bandage overnight. My uncle told me to try that. I did it for a night and I quit. But you could give it a try and let me know. Please note that you shouldn't wrap the bandage too tight otherwise u cld cut off circulation. Maybe try with the compression socks? just wear them at night. let me know if that helps.

skylardevenney

The compression stoking def would've helped & it isn't too late to start! I had a job were I was on my feet for 9 years & started to get them at a very young age I talked to my mom & she said the wear the hose under my pants so I did!!! & you can still see them a bit but they didn't get worse!

bcjones0716

Hello all! I am a myfitnesspal member and I happen to work for a Vascular Surgeon who specializes in Varicose and Spider veins and superficial leg vein problems overall. Varicose veins are NO LONGER COSMETIC. They are now covered by insurance to treat as are many cases of spider veins. There are a ton of misconceptions out there from old info, bad info or the like...I am working hard to help clear these kind of thoughts up but it takes time. My biggest suggestion to you all is to go to my Dr.'s website. He has written countless articles, be in practice for over 20 years, performed countless surgeries and like I mentioned before, he is an expert on just this issue. Compression hose are great for preventing future issues, but they wont fix the current problems. Here's the website with all the info www.weknowveins.com, here is the page with all his articles http://www.weknowveins.com/in-the-press.php and if you don't live in our area you can go to eveinscreening.com and fill out the free screening which my Dr. responds to and then he searches for a Dr. in your area that has his same qualifications. NO he does not gain anything from this, it's just his passion to help folks with vein disease (which you do have if you have any bulging varicose veins or spider veins below the knee) Hope this helps you all...Warm regards, Brittany

PS there is an article that the doctor wrote specifically about how vein issues can make it hard for you to lose weight...and how fixing them can make it easier for you to exercise and lose weight...http://www.weknowveins.com/downloads/FHCN-Spring2011.pdf

d_barte

Hi! You should try FIRMA compression. They are so comfortable and looks fashionable compared to other compression stockings. FIRMA is made with a high-tech fabric that is physically infused with crystals that are able to absorb body heat and reflect it back to the body as FAR-INFRARED ENERGY which reduces muscle fatigue and improves circulation.

I am a nurse and on my feet all day when I am working. This has become my best buddy. If you are interested let me know.....daphne

ninerbuff

Are you taking birth control pills? This may increase varicose veins due to hormones.

My best advice is to increase physical activity. Since veins return blood to the heart, the more efficient your blood flow system, the less chance for veins. If the muscles around the veins are weak or inactive, that's part of the cause.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

bevhillsilly

I have them too...a gift from my youngest son. Compression hose are a drag to put on but the black ones just look like black tights (not super fun for summer I know) and do seem to help. The compression knee socks helped too. If the veins aren't huge and knobby I would def recommend the injections. The ones I had that were more minor completely disappeared afterwards. My more serious veins will undoubtedly need surgery. I need to loose about 20 lbs and it would be nice to think that will help too! Good luck!

Miljos

I have problems with my veins since forever. Had my first spider veins at about 10 years old, and deeper varicose veins at maybe 20, even if I never have been overweight in my life, I just have very fragile veins and bruise easily. (It runs in the family.)

A few tips :

Avoid being static when your legs are below your heart (so basically anytime you're not lying down). Standing is the worse (that's when it's the most difficult for your veins to send the blood back to your heart), but even sitting increase the pressure in your veins. Regularly move your legs a bit to activate your legs muscles pump (tip toe - heel - tip toe - etc.), they will help your veins to do their job.

Speaking of legs muscles pump, that means you need good legs muscles. They deserve special attention and adequate training.

Avoid too tight clothing. Compression is good with medical stockings, because they're compressive from the feet and avoid obstruction. A clothing too tight in the hip or upper thigh area means the compression occurs suddenly and the blood flow slows down/gets a bit stuck.

Compressive stockings, by the way, really make a difference (if you take an adequate pair!). At the worse, I was dehydrated and thirsty all the time despite drinking about 6l (25 cups!) of water a day, 6l without using the bathroom a single time until night time because during the day all that water was stuck in my legs (hence being dehydrated despite drinking that much). I was passing out on a daily basis (I was a nurse so always on my feet, I ended up quitting for health reasons and taking a desk job), my legs were killing me, my heart rate was wild and the one time I ran because I nearly missed my train, I ended up with water in my lungs, which led my doctors to believe I was developping some kind of heart condition. When I finally tried the stockings, I was back to full health in about 24h. So, sure, you're probably not going to notice that much improvement because you don't seem to have that much symptoms to "track the results" but I can garantee you, medical compression works wonder for struggling veins.