Everyone has been asking me how the pregnancy is going and my legs. I decided I would write a short post on my unfortunate "pregnancy symptom." Everyone has their cursed symptom in pregnancy. Some have awful morning sickness, heartburn, back aches, swollen feet, sciatica, etc. Mine happens to be varicose veins.
Varicose veins are where the walls of your veins become "lax" for a lack of better word (not tight). When this occurs, the blood can't flow back up your leg (goes backward) and the blood pools there. That is where the "bulges and twisted" look comes from. It's very disgusting in my opinion.
I had them with my first pregnancy but they went away after a few months I delivered my daughter. I heard that they come back with each pregnancy and tends to get worse! Let me tell you... they are worse and getting worse every day. I started to get some in my upper thigh where my leg and midsection meet. I try to lay and prop my feet up as much as possible but it's hard when I have a two year old and I have to clean my house, do the laundry and make meals. I don't know how people are forced to be put on bed rest while pregnant. I would go insane if I laid around all day.
Just a couple weeks ago they got super intense. I cry every morning when I have to get out of bed. It is the most excruciating pain I have every felt. I have compression socks but they don't do much good anymore.
I asked my OB/GYN if there was anything I could do for the varicose veins and she said unfortunately not. That is, as long as I'm pregnant. I could get surgery to remove them but typically women don't have that done until after they are done having all their children. She then proceeded to ask how many kids we wanted and I said 5. The Dr. said she would suggest that I have it done after this baby since it gets progressively worse each pregnancy and since we want that many kids. Otherwise she would tell me to wait if I only wanted 3.
That information made me excited. Honestly, I have thought of being done after this baby just because I'm not sure I can handle these unruly veins any longer. Geoff has looked into how the whole procedure would work and some insurances pay for it all (which would be wonderful)! I'm just concerned that if the varicose veins go away after the pregnancy they won't pay for it.
Some people have asked what they look like. I made Geoff take pictures this morning and he almost cried with disgust. So if you get queasy easily I would suggest not looking at the following pictures if you haven't already. I don't like looking at them either. I usually put my socks on as soon as I can.
Another bad part is shaving. I get squirmy every time I think about it. It's gross I know but I only shave once a week for church now. I usually wear pants but for some reason you see me and my legs are hairy, that is the reasoning behind it.
