Treatment #2 is much better

I took a picture of my leg 24 hours after the second treatment. I was able to pull down the stockings to remove the large bandages. I amazed by the pretty bruises. I don't know for sure, but I believe the bruise on the inside of my thigh above my knee was caused by the infection that made me yelp. I saw only a tiny bruise on my calf where the catheter was inserted.

The pain this since treatment is night and day from my 1st treatment. I have taken the pain medication and it helped. My leg feels a little sore, but walking is not uncomfortable and I don't have a limp. With that being said, I was still conservative with my activity over the weekend. The Tramadol makes me drowsy (I took lots of naps). The post operative instructions suggests walking and using the stairs, but nothing strenuous. We took a family walk around the neighborhood after dinner. It felt great and I would have liked to go longer, but I don't want to over do it.

I can take the stocking off tomorrow morning to shower (yeah!). Two more weeks of wearing the stockings during the day only and I hope to be done with them for a while. If the past 3 days are any indicator of how I will heal over the next 2 weeks, I am optimistic that I will survive without any unplanned ultrasounds (or additional pain killer prescriptions).

I went back again.... and again...and again

I apologize for lack of recent posts. My family has taken priority over my little vein stories. I experienced a birthday sleepover, double ear infections, and guys weekend and I lived to tell about it.

Recap of stockings during the day:

Since my last post, the pain level got increasingly worse. Not only was the pain getting worse everyday, the section by my knee was slightly red and felt a little warm. After some prodding by my husband, I called the doctor. An ultrasound did not show any blood clots. The doctor thought that my pain and leg condition was abnormal, but not a problem. He reminded me that my procedure was more involved than most. In that one ablation procedure, he treated 4 large veins. The nasty twisted rope vein was knee was causing me extra pain because it was the spot were 2 larges veins were meeting close to the service of the skin. I received a prescription for Celebrex to help manage the pain while I was at work since the Tramadol makes me feel drunk. The Celebrex was great.

Recap of post-stockings:

I was looking forward to August 13th to be my first day with wearing stockings. I took on the challenge of grocery shopping with my leg free from stockings. It was a little sore, but I wasn't surprised since I didn't have the support of the stocking. The weekend got away from me before I was about to write. Monday morning, the 15th, I noticed that my ankle and foot were swollen. Tuesday night it was still swollen so I wore my stockings to bed. I didn't see any improvement even after wearing my stocking Wednesday so I took my husband's advice and called the doctor.

I went in and had another ultrasound. Swelling is common symptom of blood clots. Thank God, I didn't have any clots, but no one had a solid answer for my swelling. (take a look at the picture). I iced my ankle, wore my stockings, and kept my feet elevated the best I could while staying home with the baby who was dealing with the norovirus.

I was wearing my stockings for an extra week and I noticed improvement. I was happy to take my stockings off. I was looking forward to finally writing the post about how fantastic life was without stockings but odd work and family schedules interfered with my spare time. Before I had time to write, the swelling came back. I couldn't believe it. The top of my foot was so swollen that any shoes that covered the top of my foot were uncomfortable. I sucked it up and didn't even mention it to my husband.

Treatment #2

Can I you believe that I went back for more? The financial aspect was a huge motivator in getting back to the doctor today. I have meet my insurance deductible for the year and my remaining EVCA procedures this year will be covered.

The plan for today's procedure was very similar to the 1st. I was more aware of what the doctor was doing today when he was inserting catheter into my veins. The long vein going from the groin to my ankle was quite twisted and the catheter was not easily moving through. (Quote of the day: "when you get to groin, you're almost done.") My husband was in the procedure room with me and he was able to see the doctor inject the catheter and move it through my veins. The vein in the middle of my thigh was not as bad as originally thought so the doctor was about to use the sclerosant to threat the area. Sclerosant was also was used on the veins at my ankle and foot. Those areas are problem some, but too small for the catheter.

My husband counted at least 22 injections in my leg. He thinks they may been more judging by my facial responses. The doctor normally gives a heads up that he is going to stab me with a needle, but a few were surprises. My husband noticed 8-9 syringes for the sclerosant, plus the injections to insert the catheter and the injections for the lidocaine.

When my head was tipped down to begin the ablation, I became dizzy. My heart was beating so fast. I had uncontrollable shaking. The cold compress on my head and a mint helped. The nurse told us that the lidocaine also included epinephrine. That helped explain why I had to take medication to lower my blood pressure when I took the Valium.

After the procedure, the doctor took a look at the swelling on my right leg. The veins that are over my ankle bone and foot are trying to heal and are irritated every time I move my ankle. He is not concerned about the swelling.

I took my Tramadol as soon as I go home today. I sat down to watch to movie and was out cold. An hour later, I woke up when my daughter gave me a kiss. I was shocked because somehow my husband had fixed dinner and picked up both girls from daycare. He said that he tried to talk to me multiple times, but I was in a drug induced nap.

I'm feeling another drug induced nap coming on.

A whole week of stockings

What a difference one week makes! The pictures this morning look so much different from the pictures last Wednesday. I don't feel like I am walking with a limp anymore. I can still see my varicose veins and fell them when I run my finger across my legs. The large swollen vein at my ankle is much smaller.

The pain level today is higher than yesterday. My postoperative care instructions state that tightness is an "expectation of a successful procedure". I can also expect to have bruising and tenderness up to a month after the treatment date.

This may sound crazy, but I was looking forward to putting my stocking back on this morning after my shower. I despise compression stockings yet I cannot argue with their benefits. Air on my leg is refreshing and relaxing. Too much relaxing means that my veins are not receiving the proper amount of support and pressure.

I forgot to mention an annoying downside of compression stockings. When I wore my compression stockings for the first 3 days straight I had no issues for the stockings falling down or bunching behind my knees. Putting stockings on and removing them daily stretches them causing them to gradually fall down during the day. After 1 1/2 days, I have to start pulling the stockings up from the back of my knee. It is driving me crazy.

7 Days In

I'm feeling much better today. I have some pain when walking. The top of my thigh that is not covered by compression stockings is finally beginning to bruise. That area is healing at a much slower pace. The spot of my above my knee that I feared was getting red and swollen last night looked great this morning. The slight redness turned into a bruise. Bruises I can handle. Symptoms of blood clots I can not.

I haven't taken any pain medication today. I don't even plan to take any before bed. A can of beer is my only medication today. I think I deserve one after the week I've had.

I took my stockings off!

It was fantastic to take my compression stockings off yesterday morning. As the first two pictures show (on the brown rug), my large varicose vein is still visible on the inside part of my leg. There is a slightly swollen red patch above my knee where the vein stuck out the most. If I would not have had errands to run yesterday morning, I probably would have stayed in the shower all day just so I didn't have to put my stockings back on. I waited until noon before I took any pain medication.

The picture on the right (green background) was taken this morning. The bruising became quite yellow since yesterday morning. I was able to sleep without my stockings last night. I waited until 7 pm to take any pain medication today. The pain today is quite different from the pain on Tuesday and Wednesday. My ankle and knee feel painfully swollen, but no swelling is visible (maybe because my stocking is restricting some it).

I am embarrassed of how white my legs look in these pictures. My doctor advised against tanning (or any sun exposure) one month before and after the procedures. I don't fully understand the month before. The no-sun one month after has something to how the sun can discolor the veins as they are closing. I'll ask for a better an explanation when I go in for the next procedure. In two weeks when I no longer have to wear my stockings during the day I plan to get a spray tan.

If my leg still feels swollen and if the stop above my knee if still red in the morning, I plan to call the doctor. My postoperative instructions say to call the doctor if I experience any of the following symptoms: redness, warmth, pain, swelling, temperature of 101 or higher, or abnormal drainage.

On Sunday nights I normally get sad when a new episode of Entourage is over. I am excited for it to be over tonight because it means time to take my stocking off again for bed.

How to Take a "Bird Bath"

My Thoughts of Day 4

• I still have pain in my leg, but I am confident it will be better soon. I can tolerate the pain (with some ibuprofen) although it is exhausting. Walking from my desk to the printer is a daunting task.
• The parts of my leg where the varicose veins were collapsed is quite tender to the touch. Sleeping on my side last night was difficult since my untreated leg was applying pressure to the recently treated large vein. Today, someone suggested that I sleep with a pillow between my legs like I during my pregnancy.
• I was bummed to realize that lidocaine is still leaking out of some of the injections sites today. My "no khaki pants" recommendation is still in effect for day 4 of EVCA.

I took my final "bird bath" of treatment 1 this morning. I was tired and groggy when got up this morning and wanted nothing more than to stand in the shower and feel the warm water hit my back. Oh, tomorrow morning will be glorious. These past 3 mornings have made me appreciate my tiny little 1968-sized shower.

My only saving grace during my "bird bath" experience has been the spray nozzle in the jacuzzi tab. I had my left leg in the tub and rested my right leg on a towel over the side of the tub. Leaning over the side of the tub to wash my hair made me dizzy. Maybe I will dry shampoo the next time. I would still have the awkwardness of getting clean without getting my stocking wet, but I wouldn't get lightheaded.

I can't wait to wake up in the morning and take off my stocking! I will be sure to take some pictures of how my leg is looking.

Compression Stockings are Fun

Day 3 is going well. My leg did not feel as numb today. It appears that the lidocaine induced swelling has gone down. The ibuprofen I took before work definitely wore off before the end of the day. Even though I took the prescription pain killer 2 hours ago, I still have some discomfort. The varicose veins that were treated are tender to the touch. When I stand up to walk, there is twinge of pain down my leg. It feels better once I get going, but it hurts a little to put all my pressure on it. I am forcing myself to walk on the stairs (since the doctor told me to) because the twisted rope vein by my knee tightens every time I bend it.

I wanted to take the opportunity tonight to tell everyone about compression stockings. I hate wearing them, but I know that add value so I tough it out. As I mentioned before, I wore compression stockings during my last pregnancy from 8-41 weeks. Why couldn't she be born early? Until this week I didn't know an option for toeless compression stockings existed (see picture). Compression stockings are made by multiple vendors and come with "variety" of options: knee high, thigh high, full pantyhose, different compression strengths, and I believe only 3 colors (nude, black, and suntan).

I broke a sweat the first time I had to put compression stockings on. I laid the stocking out in front of me and put my right arm through it to grab the heal. I used my left hand to pull the stocking off my right arm. The leg portion was now instead out. The goal was to get my toes in the stockings and get it over my heal in one motion. Easier said than done some days. Once my foot was in stocking, it was a slow and steady process to pull the stockings up to my thighs. The compression stockings, by design, are tight. My husband laughed the first time he saw me put my stockings on. It wasn't until he helped me remove them that he realized how difficult it was for me to put them on.

Putting compression stockings on is only one piece in the puzzle of my disgust for them. In the summer when it is 90 degrees outside, the compression stockings make me feel like it is 110 degrees. I am self-conscious about the physical appearance of the stockings and I always cover them with pants or long dresses. I find it terribly annoying when the stockings start to bunch be my knee. Patience is required when slowly readjusting the stockings.

I am very excited about my new toeless stockings. I probably would not have selected them in the winter. The toeless option allows me to wear sandals or flip-flops with pants and feel like I am some what normal.

During my current 3 straight day stint of not removing my stockings, I wear socks when I am at home. I am only wearing a stocking on the leg that was treated. Since I obviously can't change the stocking yet, I don't want them to get it dirty by stepping on food that a cute baby has thrown on the floor. I am looking forward to Saturday when I can remove this stocking and put on a clean one. Stockings are sold in pairs. I was advised to hand wash compression stockings in regular detergent, not Woolite, to retain the tightness. Of course, I then have to hang them to dry.

For the postoperative treatment of EVCA, compression stockings must be worn for 3 straight days (treatment was Tuesday afternoon- so Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday). Saturday morning I can begin removing my stocking to shower and sleep. That will be my new routine for 2 additional weeks.

Time for bed. The drowsiness side effect is starting to kick in.