Vein Treatment: Stories

I am 42 years old and have had some unsightly bulging veins and spider veins in my left calf for the past couple of years that only seemed to be getting worse. I saw a vascular surgeon who confirmed via ultrasound that I had faulty valves in the greater saphenous vein and I finally went through with the Venefit procedure one week ago. I was very anxious about the procedure but in the end it wasn't that bad. I took some valium but to be honest I don't think it helped all that much. The actual procedure was kind of uncomfortable - mostly just getting the local anesthetic but it was fast, I think it took 20 minutes total.

Pain after the procedure hasn't been that bad. I only took advil once the first night. Wearing the compression stockings isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The bruising is pretty bad at the incision site but i was told that would happen. And the best news is that the ugly bulging vein in my calf is gone even though the discoloration from some spider veins is not. So I go back in a month and I imagine will need sclerotherapy to clear up the rest of the tiny veins. Again, I was told ahead of time that clearing all of this up is a process that takes time, but the first step is fixing the greater saphenous vein.

update on 3/26/13

I am exactly 2 weeks out. Bruising still pretty noticeable at both incision sites. Pain has never really been that much of an issue but i do feel tightness along my upper inner thigh at times. I am still wearing the compression stocking all day every day and only remove it to bathe and sleep. The big bulging veins in my calf are completely gone and maybe the spider veins are a tiny bit better but I still need some work done to fix those. Also, where the bulging vein was on my calf, the area is discolored. I am not sure if that is the vein visible beneath the skin or some kind of pigment change but i will ask the doctor when I see him in a couple of weeks.