h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've had little traces of varicose veins on my left shin since my second pregnancy (the "baby" was 30 last November).

Since January my ankle, or the area around it has been hurting. At first, I thought I had had my foot in a funny position whilst asleep, but it continued and the pain increased, making getting up and down stairs painful, and sometimes just lying in bed it hurt a lot.

So I finally went to the doctor this week and he said it's the varicose veins, and I should have them seen to. I'd be lucky to get an appointment in under six months, though.

So I'm having to put my feet up and bandage my foot and lower leg, or wear surgical stockings. I hate the things - having had to wear them in hospital after operations. Last time I was in hospital it was a very hot August week, too.

And I don't think I could have done anything to prevent this happening, either.

Getting up and down stairs is still painful, and some of the time I hobble like an old woman.

Thanks for listening.

Ouch!

Sorry to hear that, TC.

My mum suffered a lot with varicose veins. Putting her feet up had the most effect.

Make sure everybody around you knows how much it hurts, and they'll help you out I'm sure.

The problem is when your feet hurt EVERYTHING hurts. I hope you don't have to wait too long to get treated. I notice that here in the US there are 'vein clinics' opening around the area so that a lot of Americans seem to have similar problems. Just be careful and don't overdue taking NSAID pain relievers because the over-the-counter ones seem to hurt the liver and kidneys ---much more difficult to treat.

Poor you. My sympathies. How can it be a six-month waiting list though, in efficient Germany?

Thank you all for your sympathy. I shall try not to take many painkillers, but I also have stuff to rub in - that probably won't affect my innards so much, will it?

Germany is not so efficient any more. And I can't imagine that students are queuing up to be specialists in vascular surgery (or whatever the English for Gefaesschirurgie is)

Sorry that the health care has slipped into the negatives when DG and I were there in the late 70's we though that the insurance provided to the Uni-students was . Procedures that presently cost thousands of dollars now in the US were COMPLETELY covered! No deductibles or extra expenses. The US is still in the Dark Ages in comparison.


I think you are right about topicals being less dangerous. As long as they do not contain steroids they shouldn't be a problem. with this.

Hammamelis or witch hazel tincture is execellent to treat that. My mother used it.

The tanins tonify the veins and facilitate the return of the blood up to the heart. The flavonoids protect and strengthen the veins, so that the permeability is reduced and with it the risk of edema and inflammation.

Another plant is marigold and ginko biloba. There are more with the same proprieties, but hammamelis is the best one.

Use the extract itself, that way you avoid substances used as excipients/vehicles?, preservatives... etc.
You can mix the extract with marigold or almond oil to make easier the application on your legs ( much better if someone else do the massage to you)

I´d take plenty of garlic and onion, popular wisdom says they make the "blood thin", that is, they help to avoid trombosis.

cuídate guapa

My mother-in-law had varicose veins, and she was explaining to a man at a bus stop once that her veins were sore. The man replied, "to tell the truth, missus, I haven't a vein in my body".

I've seen the doctor again now. I found a little slip in my purse reminding me that I made another appointment with him the first time I was there. I completely forgot about it. He had another look and we talked about where I could ask about treatment. However, it was still puzzling that the worst pain is first thing in the morning, rather than increasing during the day, and I repeated that I thought it felt like a tendonitis or similar which you can get in your wrist.

So he gave me a couple of cortisone tablets to try out, to exclude the possibility that it might be something like that. I was a bit wary of taking cortisone, which I've never had before, but he told me to only take a very small amount.

So I took one at breakfast yesterday and since then the pain has stopped completely. It's so great when it stops! I can't imagine limping and struggling up and down the stairs any more.

Maybe it wasn't the varicose veins after all, but I still ought to have them seen to.

You poor dear.

I reach that big round number in a few months. On the one hand it's par for the course. On the other,

um

I've forgotten what I was going to say.

I have reached and departed several round numbers, and I also frequently forget what I was just about to say.