Thread Veins - ugh!

[willowe]

Hi All,

Before I became pregnant, I had a tiny thread vein above my right knee, which was hardly visible. Since becoming pregnant, this thread vein has literally exploded in size and seems to be spreading on a daily basis! I realise that the blood volume increase in pregnancy causes this, but I really hate the way it looks, and it's in a place which is really difficult to conceal when wearing a skirt (even with a concealer).

On checking the rest of my legs yesterday, I noticed some other barely visible thread veins elsewhere, and am worried that these will explode in the same way. I realise this is a "vain" (excuse the pun!!) question, but was wondering if anyone else has experienced this in pregnancy (or otherwise) and whether it is possible to (safely) improve the appearance of them or get rid of them completely.

Many thanks for any advice!
Kaz.


Today Is The Tomorrow We Worried About Yesterday And All Is Well.

 

[runathon]

I had my baby 6 months ago. I know EXACTLY what you are referring to. A particular vein on my left leg "exploded/bulged" all the way down to my foot (in parts it became "spidery") while pregnant. The doctor told me that it was due to the baby's weight pressing my veins and cutting my circulation.

After the birth, there was an almost immediate positive change in the way that vein looked. As of today, the "explotion/bulging" is almost gone. Try to continue exercising and stretching. This helps with the circulation issue. Oh, almost forgot: wear support panty house. I did not buy them this time around because they are so expensive. I think I could have been able to prevent the extent of the "explosive" vein if I had worn support panty hose. My doctor kept telling me to buy them and I just kept putting it off. I have 2 other children. Too busy. Now, I regret it.


Blessings from Our Home to Yours, Runathon

 

[Bernard]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-02 AT 04:57PM (Est)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-02 AT 03:41 PM (Est)[/font]

Hi Kaz, what colour are they ? Red and fine, or blue in colour ?

The red and fine ones appeared on my thighs, and actually they pop up as ladies mature (sorry to be the bearer of bad news everyone !). The bluer ones are more from pressure and extra weight from baby. Keep your feet moving and don't sit cross legged. Is there a history of varicose veins on your side ? If not, the bluer ones probably won't get worse.
If they are really awful post pregnancy, veins look better self tanned or you can purchase Dermablend for the body which can cover up any thing that stands out (It can even cover up tattoos), if your legs happen to be on show. It is annoying though ? I didn't notice mine until post-pregnancy - I couldn't see below my bump !

Hope this was of some use

Anna

PS: Show it to your Midwife, I bet she will have better advice than me ! Also, avoiding hot baths is good for the circulation as well, so try and have warm baths as opposed to hot.

 

[tchersue]

good news & bad news...

I developed varicose veins in my first pregnancy... the worst ones(blue and bulging... but I couldn't see them unless I used a mirror LOL) were in my groin area and they hurt, but I had some spidery ones that were beginning to bulge a bit on one leg behind my knees.

My OB told me during the first pregnancy that the good news was that they would subside after my pregnancy, but the bad news was that they would return with each subsequent pregnancy, would start where I left off in the last pregnancy, and would get worse each time.

Well... in pregnancy #2, the veins in my groin were killing me by the time I was about 4 mos. pregnant (and I carried #2 low, so it felt like the weight of the baby was cutting off the circulation there...), and I had beauty-mous blue veins where the spider ones had been... plus a bunch of red and blue spider/varicose veins on both legs that hadn't been there before.

Varicose veins are highly genetic. Nothing much you can do to totally stop them... although exercise and keeping weight gain to a healthy minimum can help. Also, I've read that C and some other vitamins are necessary for healthy veins... but ask your doctor about that. You can get special maternity support hose from a pharmacy -- they are VERY expensive, though, so you'll want to get your doctor to recommend them, and then get your insurance company to okay the purchase before hand. The hose can also protect you from the slight possibility of blood clots after you have the baby (you are at elevated risk compared to women with no such veins... but that risk is minimal) if you wear them afterwards.

Okay... that being said... I had a $70 pair of those hose, and they were so tight that there was NO WAY I could get them on when I was huge and pregnant. I literally couldn't bend at the waist long enough to wiggle both feet into the hose... they were that tight. And, postpartum, the thought of putting anything tight and nylon on my body when I was bleeding all of that icky lochia... well, let's just say that my $70 pair of hose are still brand new... and I doubt I'll ever get them out.

Finally... when I was pg, my OB told me that she'd give me a referral to have the veins taken care of surgically when A) I had lost all of the weight I want to lose and B) I could promise her that I wasn't having any more kids.

The veins do look a whole bunch better now (I'm 5 mos. postpartum)... but most are still somewhat visible. Sigh. Battle scars.



Susan