vein Varicose Vein/Spider Vein removal?

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

@@honeybunz My varicose veins hurt and cause leg swelling, and ulcers (sorry for the visual). So mine are covered by insurance. And I have had them for 30 years or more. thin or fat, I had them. The spiders got worse as I got heavier, but they too will be taken care of, since they hurt, and are part of the same problem of the varicose veins. I don't know if that answered your question.

[Kindle 8,667]

Like wannaBthinsoon, I've had my varicose and spider veins for 30+ years no matter what weight I've been. Mostly they've just been ugly, but they do cause lower leg swelling (I have beautiful ankles when I wake up in the morning and cankles by 10am) and the pain and heaviness has gotten worse over the years. I am at a great risk of blood clots because my circulation is so poor.

Despite ultrasound showing extremely distended vessels and back flow, which is a serious health risk and the other issues I described, insurance has denied my claim for endovenous ablation 3 times. Apparently I'm not in ENOUGH pain and I haven't actually died from a blood clot yet, so they don't feel it's necessary. But I am bound and determined to get the fuckers to pay for SOMETHING so I am having another ultrasound done to document that things are getting worse and resubmitting once again. Maybe if I include a nude photo of myself and all my sagginess, they will see that I'm not doing it for vanity's sake!

So glad I didn't have to deal with these bastards over my WLS. I'd probably be 200 pounds heavier and STILL waiting for approval.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Kindle

[honeybunz 139]

Thanks wannaBthinsoon & Kindle! Mine do not hurt and were not noticeable when I was heavier. Probably under too much fat to stick out. I'll keep an eye on it and mention it to my doctor next time I go in. Which will be soon cause my 1 year is coming up fast! Thanks again and good luck Kindle to getting your insurance to cover the procedure!

[lizcan 77]

One of the reasons I had the sleeve was for vein issues and swelling in my lower legs. Can anyone please tell me if the swelling goes down when you lose weight? They call my veins incompetent which I think means varicose. They are not visible on the surface. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[Kindle 8,667]

One of the reasons I had the sleeve was for vein issues and swelling in my lower legs. Can anyone please tell me if the swelling goes down when you lose weight? They call my veins incompetent which I think means varicose. They are not visible on the surface. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Depends on the cause of the lower leg swelling. In my case, it has everything to do with my vascular system and nothing to do with my weight. I lost 100 pounds and still have swelling. In fact, it got more uncomfortable after losing weight. Granted, my ankles and calves are much smaller than before surgery, but that's because I Have swelling over normal sized legs rather than swelling in addition to fat legs.

You may discuss your concerns with your surgeon or the doctor that diagnosed your incompetent veins to see if they could give you a post-surgical prognosis.

[lizcan 77]

Thanks. I was hoping to get away with not having the surgery. I will be patient see what things look like when I have lost more weight.

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

Weightloss doesn't help the vein issue. And for those of you who's insurance won't cover it because you aren't in ENOUGH pain....you need to be more "convincing". That's what I did. When asked how bad it hurts...say REALLY REALLY bad...include swelling, and ulcerations (I had 2 sores that took over a year to heal on my shin)..oh, and when asked if you tried compression hose tell them yes....for YEARS!!

[lizcan 77]

I have an odd issue in that both my calves are equally swollen but only one has vein issues so it will be interesting to see what they look like once I reavh goal. Luckily not a big problem at the moment. Thanks for the advice

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

They do sonograms on both legs to determine the severity of the venous insufficiency. I nearly fainted a couple of times standing for so long while they pressed the sonogram wand into my veins. But I could hear the veins "back-flow". it was weird. Anyway...my insurance is covering it all. Thank goodness I had my largest vein removed yesterday. All the needle sticks to numb me were slightly painful....but after that procedure I told the doc that I wouldn't ever get a tattoo. He said, this is NOTHING....wait till we do the spiders. THAT will be more like getting a tattoo. UGH! the things we do for our health and beauty.

[Kindle 8,667]

Well it FINALLY happened. After getting a second ultrasound and having a 3rd appeal by a third party review board, I finally got my insurance to pay for my varicose vein ablation and phlebectomy. I had my right leg done today. 2 1/2 hours, 36 tiny holes and one very thick compression wrap later I'm finally back at home with my leg elevated. They had me apply lidocaine cream to my entire leg prior to the procedure so I barely felt a thing except when they were passing the wire guide into my vein and twice when they snagged a nerve lying close to the vein they were pulling out. Yowza! But of course I have several tattoos, so this was nothing. The worst part is I have to keep this compression wrap on for three days...no showers allowed. Getting my left leg done next week.

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

I begin my next round of sclerotherapy next week....so 6 more sessions were approved!! Of course January is around the corner, but the way the office bills, they bill it all upfront, so I don't think I will owe anything. Gotta save that for the gallbladder surgery I'll be having....it's always something.

[Kindle 8,667]

I begin my next round of sclerotherapy next week....so 6 more sessions were approved!! Of course January is around the corner, but the way the office bills, they bill it all upfront, so I don't think I will owe anything. Gotta save that for the gallbladder surgery I'll be having....it's always something.

Hey, we're like twins. I had my gallbladder out two weeks ago. Getting the varicose veins on my left leg done next week and spider veins in January. Even with all the appeals Insurance declined the spider vein treatments but my vascular doc is throwing in the first treatment for free.

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

My doc bills the sclero in such a way that it is covered. I have no idea how, and I'm not about to question it. I hate the sclero big time. Dang it hurts. No lidocaine when you're getting sclero. At least not with my Doc.

[Kindle 8,667]

Sounds like we are getting different types of treatment. My doctor uses radio frequency ablation rather than schlerotherapy for varicose veins. Basically the medial saphanous vein is destroyed with a radiofrequency catheter. This only required 1 tiny incision, basically the size of the needle they use when you donate blood. I barely felt a thing for this part.

Then they surgically removed all the bulging varicose veins coming off of this main vessel (thus the other 35 tiny incisions). This isn't particularly necessary because these veins would just shrivel up on their own but that could take months and they often get hard and even more bulgy as your body reacts to the excess tissue. By performing the phlebectomy the varicose veins are all gone immediately. They will repeat the procedure on my left leg next week. This way everything is done in just 2 visits rather than multiple treatments.

Because they are too tiny for the radiofrequency catheter to pass into, he does use schlerotherapy for the spider veins. That's the part my insurance won't pay for but I'm gonna do anyways, with the first treatment being free. He said it could take 1-3 treatments for maximum results.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Gad! This is like a whole new world. I knew nothing about this stuff. Some of my veins do protrude more. But I don't have any swelling or pain that I've noticed.

Sorry you guys have to deal with this stuff, but it's good to learn about in case something develops in the future. Thanks.

Best wishes on healing well and fast.