I’m a 34-year-old, slimmish guy, and I’ve had varicose veins in my right shin since I was about 20. Vein problems seem to run on my mom’s side so this was no surprise. Up to now, I’ve just had a funny-looking leg that every once in a while would turn achy on me, but it always went away in a day or two so I’ve left it alone.
Over the weekend, I seem to have done something to seriously aggravate the condition. The pain has been pretty intense - when I stand, my leg feels split open like a banana that’s been stepped on. Sunday I made a visit to the ER to make sure it wasn’t a clot, and it wasn’t, and today my GP gave me a referral to a vascular specialist. I see him on Monday.
My spelunking around the web seems to indicate that because of the size of my veins (ginormous), I’m probably going to have to have surgery. Have any of you dopers (or folks close to you) had this done within the last few years? I believe what I’d be getting is a sort of updated version of “stripping,” which my mom had done back in early 70s. Apparently a version of this can now be done with lasers, and I’d be especially interested to hear of any experiences with this newer technique. Recovery times? Pain? Questions I should ask the Dr? All appreciated.