Should I lose weight before getting sclerotherapy for spider veins?

Thank you for your question. Being overweight shouldn’t affect the safety or effectiveness of vein treatments like sclerotherapy. However, it’s a good idea to mention your concerns to your injector during your consultation. You may also want to start wearing compression stockings and taking supplements for healthier veins. Best of luck!

First of all, I would recommend you have an evaluation done by a vein specialist to make sure there aren’t any underlying issues in your GSV. If you hate the way the spider veins look, sclerotherapy will still work on your legs. Several things can cause spider veins including gaining weight, which makes it harder for the blood to pump back up to the heart. If you stick to a good diet and exercise plan, the only additional sclerotherapy injections you may need would just be touch ups.

Sclerotherapy works well to help your legs look better and so do it now. The improvement makes us feel better about ourselves and is so worth it.

This is difficult to answer without an in-person evaluation. It should be fine to treat your veins now. Typically it takes 2-3 treatments of sclerotherapy for improvement otherwise you can try lasers for the smaller vessels.  Best, Dr. Emer

If the spider veins are causing you distress then I would recommend treating them now.  Weight may contribute to spider vein formation but this does not happen in everyone.  Genetics plays more of a role in spider vein formation than weight.  Spider vein treatment is a forever problem and think in terms of maintenance.

You should get the procedures for venous insufficiency if you have it and continue to exercise. Once all of your weight is ff, you could get the spider veins, reticular veins and varicose veins treated. I recommend a citrus bioflavonods formula with Diosmin for vein health called Varicosamin. You can find it on the link below. It promotes healthy veins. H Karamanoukian MD FACScertified vein specialist from ABVLM and double board certified surgeon

There is no reason to assume that you won't get good results with sclerotherapy just because you are overweight.  Go ahead and get the veins treated while you are working on your weight loss.  Good luck!

Consider to schedule a vein evaluation with a physician who you can trust to understand your goals and help you make an informed healthcare decision. A lower extremity venous ultrasound can help rule out an underlying venous insufficiency causing your recent spider veins development. The physician can manage your care and option to treatments including conservative treatments like compression stockings according to your specific goal. Healthy habits and losing weight goes perfectly along with your spider vein treatments. 

All the best, 

It is true that obesity makes spider veins worse, however you can be working of both your weight and you spider veins at the same time without any adverse effects.  Sclerotherapy and laser can both be beneficial treatments to help you get rid of the spider veins.  Wearing medical support stockings can also help you to prevent the appearance of new spider veins.

Thank you for your question. You can still treat spider veins if you don’t lose weight. However, it’s best to get a in person evaluation with a board-certified dermatologist.