Varicose Veins & Leg Pain Worse

I only have one week until my surgery (as long as it’s approved by my health insurance) and it couldn’t come at a better time.  Yesterday morning I was up early to go to the hospital to get my pre-op blood work done before going to work.  I had only slept about 3 hours but all in all I wasn’t feeling too bad.  My body pain was minimal and I was functioning rather well considering the amount of sleep I had. 

I worked a five hour shift and after I had worked about 3 1/2 hours I was asked to do a job that requires walking around the entire store and scanning different areas with a handheld scanner.  I welcomed the change since I had been standing in the same spot all morning and gladly started the job.  About half way through the store I felt an all too familiar pain starting in my lower right calf and by the time I was finished walking the entire store, I was limping and in a lot of pain.  I went to the restroom to check out my leg but I couldn’t see anything at that time.

Once I got home from work, I walked down the stairs to the basement to do a load of laundry and the pain in my right leg was really bad – especially at one spot.  I once again started to inspect my leg and this time I saw where another varicose vein developed.  The area is all red and lumpy and extremely sore to the touch – something I have become all too familiar with.

All evening I babied my leg, took pain meds, and used some heat and ice alternately but nothing seemed to help the pain.  I never knew until I started having severe problems with the varicose veins and blood clots just how bad the pain is and how debilitating they can be when they get to the stage mine is at.  I always assumed that varicose veins just looked ugly – I never knew how it affected the whole leg & that the pain spreads throughout the entire leg.

When varicose vein problems are as severe as mine, it can cause something called severe venous insufficiency. This severe pooling of blood in the veins slows the return of blood to the heart. This condition can cause blood clots and severe infections. Blood clots can be very dangerous because they can move from leg veins and travel to the lungs, a life threatening result that can block the lungs and heart from functioning.  It can also cause painful rashes, swelling and irritation.   So this is not something to take lightly and is definitely more than just about the overall appearance of my leg. 

Please say a prayer for me that the surgery will be approved and that I will be pain free, varicose vein free, and blood clot free once I’ve recovered.