Her Vein Closure Update

On St. Patrick's Day, I had a vein closure done on my leg. I talked about the procedure, why I had it done, and what exactly a "vein closure" is back in March. Check it out for the backstory.

Last week, I went back to my vascular surgeon and we talked about how I am doing and all that is going on still with my leg. Here's an update:

-The redness in my leg, around the injection site and along the vein, is gone. Whoo! I found out that at the injection site, the vein is only 3 cm (1 1/4 inches) from the surface of the skin. No wonder it turned red - 120 degrees of heat that close to the surface makes the redness make total sense.

-All the bruises around and along the vein are gone. The injection site is still visible, but the rest of that area of the leg is back to normal.

-The vein is completely closed. No blood flowing through it anymore. In about one year, it will be absorbed into the surrounding tissue. Right now it's just hanging out, enjoying the retired life.

-My ankle still swells and the foot/toes will turn red, but not nearly as much swelling as before and not nearly as red as before. He found some reflux (another bad valve) in the deep vein system, but there is no fix for that. He said we hit a triple (not a homerun) and that, because of the reflux in the deep vein, there is no way to have a home run.

-I'm so grateful that I had this procedure done, even if I can't have a home run. A triple is still a huge improvement from where I was before.

I asked him several questions that I had kept on my phone over the last month. Here's what I asked and what he said.

1. Can I ride roller coasters? Those ride signs say not to ride if you have medical problems, etc. and I thought with the way the ride seats are built, it could potentially be a problem. He said I was free to ride all roller coasters that I wanted to ride.

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2. Is it safe to get pregnant? Sean and I stopped all attempts at getting pregnant because we wanted to get this stuff dealt with first. The doctor said we are good to start again and he wished us luck. *fingers crossed that God is ready to give us a baby*

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3. Is it normal to have varicose veins popping up near my ankles? The short answer from my doctor was yes. He said I am likely predisposed to them due to the circulation issues I have and if I continue to wear my compression hose it will help. 

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4. Is it normal for varicose veins to hurt? Again, the short answer was yes. He said that the varicose veins that are near the vein he closed will likely reduce in size and pain. There is a procedure that he can do that will do away with the others, so that is something to think about in the future.

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5. What exercises should I do/not do moving forward? He said that doing dead lifts or heavy weights would not be good, but I can do all manner of cardio. In fact, he encouraged me to do cardio since I have the reflux in my deep vein. He said that there are two ways to help my vein work, wear my hose (which I do daily) and exercise. Talk about motivation!

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6. Am I able to travel by plane to Australia? When you fly for long distances, there is a risk for DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) or blood clots in the leg. I was worried that he would tell me that I could not travel to Australia because the risk would be greater because the deep vein was now doing more work. He said that there is a greater risk, but I should still feel good about going. He said for me to wear my hose and take an aspirin the day we fly. I am nervous now because my anxiety likes to play up a lot where blood clots are concerned. I am hopeful that when the time comes to travel, my nerves and anxiety will not get the best of me and all will be well. 

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It was a great meeting with Dr. McKenzie and I am so grateful for his patience and insight. I will continue to wear my hose, exercise, and try to get healthy. I know this will help. I go back to visit Dr. McKenzie in one year and I am hopeful that this is the last vein closure I will need to have.

Happy Hump Day,