Question:
I have varicose veins outside the calf of one leg only. I used to get leg cramps in that same spot of the leg about ten or fifteen years ago. I didn't know why I was having them and I was too young to know what was happening. After several episodes of cramps I began to noticed the veins starting to become visible. The cramps stopped about 7 years ago but the varicose veins are still there. A week before xmas a cramp came back one night And the veins do look a little different each time I look at them. I read in a medical book that my symptoms are similiar to Phlebitis (a inflammation of vains) and that it can be the cause of leg cramps due to decreased bloodflow (Intermittent Claudication). Now I did get checked out at a hospital on xmas day but was told it's common and no body has died from it. They did not take any xray. Should I be concerned about it?

Answer: -I'm not a doctor, but my mother had varicose veins. Her legs hurt the longer she was on them during the day and ached at night. I think hers were the result of being on her feet as a nurse and/or during pregnancy, because that's the period during which they started. She was not overweight during the time I knew her (from age 34 into her 70's). That's part of why it often happens more to women. (pregnancy) Seems strange (suspicious) to me that yours is not in both legs, unless they start in one leg and progress to both. Do you work and stand more on one leg than another? Hospital (ER?) is not the place for that and I doubt that X-ray is what they'd be doing anyway. -Varicose veins don't cause cramping. Phlebitis is a hot, red, very tender area on the leg. Intermittent claudication has nothing to do with veins, it is due to blockage of a leg ARTERY causing decreased blood flow to some of the muscles in the leg. Your varicose veins are not related in any way. Varicose veins may, in some cases, cause a dull aching pain in the legs. They might develop a blood clot in them that can be very temporarily painful (superficial thrombophlebitis). If either of those things occur, it is absolutely nothing to worry about - you are in no danger. No, the blood clot won't break off and go to your lungs because it will be in the SUPERFICIAL veins. If they end up bothering you enough because of the dull pain, recurrent superficial thrombophlebitis, or because they look ugly you can get them removed. State of the art in vein removal is Trivex powered phlebectomy, although any competent surgeon can do a good job removing the those veins on an outpatient basis.