Varicose Veins

Updated on August 24, 2006
A.H. asks from Rye, NY
6 answers

Hi ladies,
As a mom of two who carried the last one throught the hot summer months, I now find to my dismay that I have some unsightly varicose veins on my legs. I am not talking about those little spider veins, but the bigger, really ugly kind. Anyone have advice about where I could go to get them fixed? They are not going away on their own and it has been almost 2 years since my last pregnancy. Thanks!

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone for your advice. I got a referral from my GP for a vascular surgeon. Dr. William Pearce is at Northwestern and he was great. He recommended sclerotherapy for my veins (injecting a solution that collapses them). The process took 3 visits and was only slightly uncomfortable. Highly recommend him. Thanks again!

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C.M.

answers from Chicago on

I have had excellent work done at Vein Clinics of America. They are quality physicians and can get rid of them without surgery. My insurance covered most of my treatment too. Go check out their website at www.veinclinics.com

1 mom found this helpful
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D.S.

answers from Chicago on

I'm an RN and also have a bulging varicose vein. The BEST thing to do is see a vascular surgeon. The part of the vein that you think is unsightly and or painful is only the tip of the iceberg. You need a venogram (dye study) for the surgeon to see just how big of a problem you are dealing with.

I am having an extraction of my problem vein after I stop nursing (you can't breastfeed and undergo anesthesia. That will solve the problem forever. Any vascular surgeon will tell you to steer clear of vein clinics as all they can do is sclerose the vein and the problem remains further up in the vessel. Once the vein clinic lasers your vein a vascular surgeon can not strip it out and thus you may have a bigger problem later on your hands. Hope this helps.

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J.K.

answers from Fort Wayne on

Hi A.,

Unfortunately I share the same problem as well. Vein disease is hereditary on my mom's side so I knew I was prone to them with my pregnancies. My first was born in December and my second was born in August. I am now pregnant with my third (and final) due in January. I definitely learned not to deal with those summer months this time around. I would talk with your main physician or even your OB/GYN. They should be able to refer you to somebody and the procedures should be covered by your insurance. Just make sure you mention that your main concern for getting rid of them is because they cause you pain. I talked with my dermatologist that provides laser treatments for spider veins, but I, like you, mostly have the painful, ugly, bulging ones and they said I would have to see a true vascular surgeon. I know this is definitely first on my "to do" list after having this baby. So if you find any good leads, please pass them along as well.

Hope that helps and good luck.
J.

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N.

answers from Chicago on

I am the mother of three girls. I carried all of them through the summer months. My oldest will be 15 in September, my middle daughter will be 13 (also) in September and my youngest will be 6 in early Oct. I need to get into see someone myself but have yet to do so. I have the names of two places that I have been 'meaning' to call for a long time. One is AmeriVein ###-###-####) and the other is a vein clinic of some kind through Delnor Community Hospital ###-###-####). I received a pamphlet/mailing in the mail ages ago (more than a year ago) that advertises free consultation. It's been sitting on the corner of my desk at work since then. Between full time work, 3 kids and a husband that works the night shift I have yet to make this a priority for myself. I haven't been able to wear sandals since my 5 year old was born...forget about wearing a swim suit...ugh! Maybe your inquiry will push me to go ahead and schedule an exam. Let me know what you find. My e-mail is ____@____.com.

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D.

answers from Chicago on

Hi A.! I recently had some work done by a plastic suregon and I know that he does varicose veins. I was really pleased with the results. I did not have veins done but I'm sure he would be great. His name is Dr. Pielet. I know you can look him up on the internet. Good luck!
D.

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S.

answers from Chicago on

I went to Vein Clinic of America, they did a good job, my veins did not come back. Even though they say your insurance will cover this check it out thoroughly because they do not cover very much. They ask you questions and how you answer them has alot to do with the insurance coverage. Insurance companies will cover more if you have already been to a doctor about your veins and have tried the stockings etc. If they think that it is just cosemetic surgery forget it. I was always on my feet with the work I do and my legs were painful plus it runs in my family. Because I just went to the vein clinic to solve my problem and didn't take the other route first Blue Cross considered it cosemetic. It also depends alot on how the doctor writes things up and submits it to your insurance company. I hope you have better luck with insurance than I did, I only had one leg done and my out of pocket was $3000.00.

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