big honkin' varicose veins...

chanstriste13
chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
anyone else have one of these running down their legs? i have always been pretty vein-ish, even when i was young, but i have one that is...well, it's a *big* *honkin'* one! it ripples - i can feel it. gross. it doesn't hurt or anything, but i am *so* going to have it taken care of later if it doesn't go away on its own - even if it is considered cosmetic.

does anyone else have a big honkin' varicose? has it improved as you worked out or lost weight? has anyone had laser treatment on one? thanks for any input you got. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • calliope_music
    calliope_music Posts: 1,242 Member
    i have some on my legs. i have noticed that they're disappearing a little bit with weight loss/toning, but i still may need to do something about it when i get older.
  • fuhrmeister
    fuhrmeister Posts: 1,796 Member
    my hubby has big honkin varicose veins. we haven't seen a ton of improvement with weight loss but he is still at 299lbs. The laser surgery works very well. They lasersed one of his large veins and once the blood was flowing through the correct vein he had the varicose vein removed. The removal left small scars. about 1/4in long but they have faded over time. The only way for him to have a full improvement will be to lose weight so the valves in the vein stop failing and no new veins are created. Good luck
  • christadoud
    christadoud Posts: 41 Member
    I have always had veins even when I was thin! Spider veins and varicose veins. I think it is hereditary and when you gain weight , or get pregnant, they get worse. I think losing weight does not really help, you do need surgery to get rid of them. If the varicose veins hurt or cause you problems (they may as you get older) your insurance will cover this surgery. Otherwise it is cosmetic.
  • njoytheride
    njoytheride Posts: 9 Member
    Some people just have these. May be heriditary, may be vitamin deficiency.
    There are great treatments now for varicose veins.
    One thing that might help-a good, natural vitamin c with hesperidan & rutin. Strengthens veins & capillaries. (eat a little of the white part when you eat citrus fruits)
  • chicabean420
    chicabean420 Posts: 173 Member
    Both my grandmothers had/have them very very bad....thus I have them.... I'm only 26, but my legs look like that of a 80-something. It's horrible. Sometimes they hurt, sometimes they don't. It's going to cost almost $800 - and it's not covered (Canadian government considers it cosmetic too).

    I'm hoping to get the treatments done this summer...would be nice to wear shorts and have people stare at my legs cuz they're hot and not gross haha.
  • oxyjenic
    oxyjenic Posts: 18
    I had a friend who had some removed and it was covered and not considered cosmetic. This was 10 years ago, though.
  • cherdan
    cherdan Posts: 162 Member
    *sighs* I feel your pain.
    It is hereditary, from my mother. She always had them, for as long as I can remember. I know they started to get really bad when she got pregnant with me, and she was only 30 when she had me. I vividly remember playing with them all the time as a young child :p

    I have a huuuge, long one running down near the inside of my left thigh, and it only appeared a few years ago, when I had gained a lot of weight in a short period of time. I was even heavier in high school, but I guess the genes didn't take "effect" til I hit my 20s. Had I known it would have been this bad, I would have worked on losing the weight a lot earlier.

    I am very self-conscious about it.... my legs are so thin now and the cellulite, stretch marks are gone, but it's like I have this glaring reminder of my old self every time I go to the beach. I so wish I could get them removed.

    If I can say anything positive about it, for me I can sometimes look at it with strength and defiance, like these are my 'battle scars,' for they are merely marks left from the body I used to have. And if these girls want to point and laugh at the beach (like they did the other week), I'd gladly challenge them to get in their swimsuits (instead of cowardly sitting on a bench, fully clothed, commenting on everyone else in their states of undress - UGH! I ****ing hate that) and try to hide the cellulite, stretch marks, et al, that every woman of post-pubescent age has!!
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
    thanks for all or your responses! i think i'll be looking into the laser treatment in the not too distant future - glad to know it works well! both my mom and my dad have some crazy veins - me and my sister really hit the jackpot on that one! thanks again!
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
    And if these girls want to point and laugh at the beach (like they did the other week), I'd gladly challenge them to get in their swimsuits (instead of cowardly sitting on a bench, fully clothed, commenting on everyone else in their states of undress - UGH! I ****ing hate that) and try to hide the cellulite, stretch marks, et al, that every woman of post-pubescent age has!!

    CHAAAAARGE!!! i'm right there with you - i can't believe what *kitten* people can be! screw them!
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