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Varicose Vein/Spider Vein removal?



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Has anyone had success getting insurance to pay for varicose vein and/or spider vein removal (Sclerotherapy)? I still don't wear shorts or short dresses (anything above my lower knee) due to my road-map legs. Wondering what I'm up against. Thanks!

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I have had 5 surgeries on my legs for varicose veins. it's called venous ablation, but I had venous insufficiency, mine was medically necessary, and insurance paid for it, but it won't pay for sclerotherapy thats considered cosmetic. i had that done and it was very painful and scared my skin. My legs look awful too, but I wear shorts, and some of the veins have come back, thats why I want to have surgery weight has a lot to do with it, I would ask your dr.

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I'd like to resurrect this post. My left leg looks awful. I have 1 vein that is raised. The rest are these spidery veins. Has anyone else had any luck with a vein solution center & their insurance?

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I have uhc also. Did you have good results?

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The venious closure went pretty well. The vein was still protruding some so I had the vein removal done a few months later. Still doesn't look great in my opinion for as much money as the insurance paid for it. Still have some weird nerve pain also and I had the final procedure completed last September.

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That's disappointing! I'm sorry. I'm glad I'm asking then. It's always good to hear truth from actual patients!

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I went in 2 months ago to have my varicose and spider veins checked. They protrude a lot more since losing weight. They verified that I have venous insufficiency via ultrasound. Turns out this is also the reason for my puffy ankles. I just assumed I had cankles cause I was so fat, but it turns out it's due to poor circulation. Insurance requires that I wear compression stockings for 3 months to see if this improves things before they will pay for the surgery. Well the stockings definitely make a difference with the appearance of my ankles, but my veins are the same. I go back in a month to have another ultrasound and will likely schedule the ablation at that point. The vein clinic I am going to said they will throw in one free treatment for the spider veins at the same time. I may need addition treatments, but that's on me.

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Let us know how your treatment works. Good luck and thanks for the info!

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UHC is covering my varicose veins and spider veins. My first procedure for the worst vein is this Thursday afternoon. Anyone want to tell me what to expect?

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UHC is covering my varicose veins and spider veins. My first procedure for the worst vein is this Thursday afternoon. Anyone want to tell me what to expect?

Expect varying levels of pain, and poor results. It's like stretch marks: varicose veins are simply a part of your body and it is extremely difficult to mask their appearance even with surgery. Sometimes it is easier to wear thicker dancer tights instead of pantyhose, and learn to deal with it.

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@@BarrySue yikes, really? Have you had a bad experience? I have friends who have had the vein stripping procedure done, and their legs are beautiful years later, and I'm using the same vein dr. I was interested more in what the experience of the actual procedure was. I have been assured that it is not painful, due to the local anesthetic, but what the sensation of the vein pulling is like. Thanks for your response. I appreciate all input and feedback.

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@@BarrySue yikes, really? Have you had a bad experience? I have friends who have had the vein stripping procedure done, and their legs are beautiful years later, and I'm using the same vein dr. I was interested more in what the experience of the actual procedure was. I have been assured that it is not painful, due to the local anesthetic, but what the sensation of the vein pulling is like. Thanks for your response. I appreciate all input and feedback.

Several of my friends have gone through the procedure, and all of them were incredibly disappointed by the results. One of them suffered extreme pain. But if you have friends and personally know patients of a doctor who has had more success, that's wonderful.

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@@BarrySue Thanks. Yeah, this Dr is supposed to be the best of the best. Even my other Dr's rave about him. So, I feel pretty confident in his practice. Of course, I'll post on here, and let folks know my experience...good or bad.

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Just curious, since I too have spider veins and some veins that are raised now, is surgery necessary? Is the surgery just to try and make it look better or are they going to cause health issues?

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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