I am 20 weeeks. Had my 20 week u/s Thursday....yay! Its' a girl, due Valentine's Day...very excited as already have a little boy.
Unfortunately, my legs are very swollen and the dr. didn't see me yesterday (only the midwife). She didn't look at my both my legs, only my ankles and calfs of legs. She has stated I have varicose veins which she states is genetic. I am only 114 lbs so I'm surprised by how bad the veins are getting. I feel that it is getting worse in the last 2 days.
The dr's office has measured me for special order compression stockings which should be in within a week. In the meantime, I do feel the leg pain is getting worse. Today the back of my knee is throbbing and my husband says it looks awful. The backs of my legs are swollen and look all bruised from the protruding veins.
I'm a teacher so I'm on my feet all day. Wondering if any one else has had experience with this -- what can you do for relief and what has your dr adviced as far as staying off your feet. Do you think it is possilbe I will be able to get a note to be out of work due to this painful condition.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'm so upset by how terrible my legs look and how painful it is. The dr's office stated after the baby is born I may need to see a specialist for saline injections or surgery. LOVELY!
Thanks!
M.
Thanks to everyone for the advice and feedback. I was in so much pain over the last few days that I couldn't work a full day yesterday -- went to the dr. They sent me directly across the street to the hospital to the cardiovascular institute for a doppler/ultrasound of both legs. Thankfully, there are no clots....
Blood is pooling in the back of my legs and the dr has told me to stay off my feet for now -- I'm taking the remainder of the week off (starting today) and waiting to see what the dr has for my dr note.
And for now...still waiting for stockings to arrive!
Thanks again,
M.
I had one leg with a very bad vein got worse threw 2nd preg had to wear stocking after birth no restriction took long time to go back to almost normal I would see dr he sent me to vein guy for an opionion. good luck
also stocking very tight
Hi there! I've had my varicose veins lasered and stripped, then got pregnant again and they are just as bad now as they were before surgery. So if you're planning on having more kids, wait until you are FOR SURE not having any more, then have surgery (unless they start to clot and get infected as mine did). Weight doesn't have much to do with varicose veins. Its actually a disease that affects the valves in the veins and is mostly hereditary. Pregnancy just speeds up the process. My vascular doctor also said the compression hose only help with pain relief and aren't a cure. As soon as the hose come off and you stand up, the veins will bulge as much as they ever did.
I can't help much with the medical aspect of your condition, but as far as getting a doctor's note to excuse you from work, I might be able to offer some guidance.
You should absolutely talk to your doctor about whether it's advisable to take time off or not. The doc may suggest to stay home with legs elevated for a short time until the stockings arrive at least. After that, you may be able to approach your principal or HR department with a doctor's note to request accommodation to help you with your condition. Perhaps they can provide a paraprofessional to help you in particularly active classes/lessons (science projects, etc). Perhaps you can use a wheelchair instead of walking long hallway distances with the kids, etc. Students can certainly help out with passing out and collecting papesr/materials, etc. Maybe they will need to come to you instead of you walking around to work with them... You and your principal will have better ideas of how to accommodate your needs. They've probably been through this before.
Bear in mind that disability time taken off ahead of the baby's arrival may shorten the amount of time that you may be allowed to stay home on disability after the birth. Just something to think about and talk about with your principal and HR department.
Good luck!
My veins are hideous and lumpy on both legs, but are only uncomfortable on the right side (all the way up, I am afraid). Compression stockings (make sure they are the correct firmness) help "in the moment". Like another mom said, when they come off at night, the veins are back. They don't cure, but they do help (until you are 8 months along and you can't put them on by yourself, lol). See a vascular specialist to discuss options for later (while s/he can see how "bad" they are at the moment). Procedures aren't recommended while you are still having kids. My OB suggested I go to rule out clotting (unlikely scenario, but possible-you don't want to throw a clot while in labor). Good luck! No one else notices how they look but you and hubby (really).
I also had terrible varicose veins with my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies. It is hereditary and your legs will look a lot better just days after delivery. I did find that after baby #3 I still have a couple large veins on my calves and the discoloration around my ankles never went back. The pain will get worse as pregnancy progresses and compression stockings help with that. After delivery, I never had anymore leg pain except around time of my period each month. Surgery is an option later, but not recommended until you are completely finished bearing children. Many surgeons want you or your husband to have had a sterilization before they will do any leg procedures. As ugly as those veins may be, they still serve a purpose during pregnancy.
I found some relief in taking a warm bath just before bed each night and keeping my legs elevated especially in the evenings. Varicose veins are not pleasant, but wouldn't trade prettier legs for any of my 3 little ones. Nurse Midwife Mom
M.,
Congratulations on your pregnancy and the little girl! Have you ever tried essential oils? One that is known to help with vericose veins is cypress and helichrysm also to make it feel better lemongrass and peppermint. My husband has them something aweful (hereitary) the oils help him and are shrinking them. Keep using the compression stockings because they help keep you from getting a blood clot. But if you use the oils they will help considerably. I recommend DoTerra they are Certified pure theraputic grade essential oils....the purest you can get. Let me know if you have any questions.... http://www.mydoterra.com/oilsbyrae/ or if you want more info go to www.oilsbyrae.idoterra.com Good luck and blessings to you and your new edition!
Hi M.
I'm on pregnancy 2, had spider veins in lower leg last pregnancy, they got better post delivery, but came back with vengeance with this pregnancy, along with varicose veins in the rest of the leg. The varicose veins freaked me out, I must admit. OBGYN last time and midwife this time both said there's nothing that can be done except comfort relief with support hose. Just last night I found this info, which I am going to look into and try: http://traditionalbirthservices.com/varicosities.pdf. Holistic approaches to helping stengthen the vascular system. Also, about the essential oils suggested earlier, I would just check first as to which EOs are contraindicated during pregnancy. I think lemongrass is one of them?
Best wishes to you!
(and I bet you can get a drs note so that you can get off your feet some during the day.)
Hi M. - the stockings will make a HUGE difference in how your legs feel. It doesnt usually take long to get them. You can also buy them w/o a prescription, go to www.jobst.com or anywhere that sells Jobst stockings. The good thing is that now they come in several different colors so you can get black, brown, gray etc. and they look like tights. You can even buy them with or without toes. If you're desperate, you can buy the knee hi type at walgreens . There were a lot of times when my feet/ankles were so swollen that I wore them to bed. Cant really comfortably wear the tights to bed.
btw - I got really really bad varicosities from my pregs on both legs. They run in my family too. The latest treatment is the EVLT laser. It works great and my insurance covered most of it. I would highly recommend you have a vascular surgeon perform the procedure.
wow that sounds really bad and I really do hope it gets better for you being that you still have a ways to go. My situation was a very different. My first daughter this never happened. My second daughter, I got this really bad vein in the back of my knee that burst as well and it was ugly. It happened my last month of pregnancy. They are very ugly and painful so I feel for you. But maybe you need to take it easy and stay off your feet for a bit. Talk to your doctor again and ask what your options are. Good luck and congrats on your soon to be here angel!
Oh yikes! I'm sure you could probably get a doctor's note if you are in that much pain! I was a teacher too so I get how much you move around, but is it possible to sit down while doing some of the lessons, at least for part of them. I'm sure the principal would be understanding that this is a special circumstance and allow it. I had a stool that I loved and I used it a lot, but maybe even wheel your desk chair out from behind the desk and wheel around a little bit instead of walking! Hang in there...hope those stockings come in soon!
