varicose veins- STM

SMLmom

Good morning,

I woke up today to find that standing up, and especially stepping down on my right leg, caused my varicose vein (which I got in my first pregnancy) to ache.  I was able to still take my dog for a walk and am at work just fine, but the vein definitely looks like it has more bulges to it (*beautiful*) than it did in pregnancy #1 and this morning's pain definitely worried me.  Anyone else have experience with varicose veins acting up in second pregnancies?  I'll of course mention it to my OB next time I'm in (she wasn't worried about it the first time around I remember) but I hope I'm not being too careless about it.  It's definitely ugly but I'm hoping that's the only real issue besides occasional achy-ness.  

Btwilhelm

I have horrible ones on my right leg, I had one giant one that went from my thigh down from my first but now I have a whole colony behind my knee from this pregnancy. Mine also have begun to ache mostly when I go from laying to standing. I had a check up yesterday and they prescribed me compression stockings and said that should relieve some of the pain. She also said to watch out for blood clots, that is their main worry with varicose veins. Definitely talk to your provider about it!

SMLmom

Thanks @Btwilhelm .  This may sound ignorant but what does "watching out for clots" actually entail?  That's certainly what I'm worried about.  Good luck with yours- they are certainly unpleasant!

Btwilhelm

She said there would be a bulge in the vein and it would be warm and tender. A cardiologists would then do some type of ultrasound to confirm and then prescribe medication to break it up. So if you ever notice anything like that call asap as it can become life threatening if it dislodges. No problem! I had to ask too.

likeabel

I don't have any but my OB did tell me they occur more often in 2nd+ pregnancies and can be more harmful. He said to make sure to let him know so he could check them out. Good luck and hopefully they don't get worse!