Varicose Vein Treatment at Veincentre Manchester

Last Updated on 30 March 2023 by Colette

This post features gifted experiences

Having had my initial consultation for varicose vein treatment at Veincentre Manchester and made the decision to go ahead with the treatment plan set out by Dr Krishnan, things moved fairly quickly. I had planned to perhaps wait till after Christmas to start the treatment so that it wouldn’t impact my work or other plans we had however Dr Krishnan quite rightly pointed out that there was little point waiting and that the sooner we got on with treating my varicose veins, the sooner they would start to feel and look better. He explained that actually getting them done in the autumn / winter is perfect timing for feeling much happier about your legs come the summer! So just a few weeks after my first consultation, I was back at the Veincentre ready to have my snakey various veins dealt with.

My treatment plan involved two appointments initially – one for Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA) to treat the main varicose veins with foam sclerotherapy for the smaller veins, followed by a second appointment six weeks later to check in on my progress and further foam sclerotherapy and microsclerotherapy as required. This is all included within the first three stages of the pricing structure.

Warning – this article does contain images of needles and a very small amount of blood towards the end.

The first round of treatment

The initial treatment plan for my varicose veins included two different treatments: Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA) and foam sclerotherapy, administered to both legs within the same hour long session and under local anesthetic. Treatment for varicose veins is no longer the invasive treatment it once was – the treatment and recovery is much quicker and less painful with a significantly lower rate of reoccurrence.

Heading into my first appointment, I was really quite nervous. Nervous about what the treatment would entail, what the the actual procedure would feel like, about the recovery and actually quite nervous about the results and whether I would be pleased with them or not! My dad had a similar treatment a couple of years ago and his results were absolutely outstanding – but I really didn’t want to expect too much from it and find myself disappointed as a result!

On the day of my treatment, Dave came into town with me – both for moral support and because you’re not allowed to drive after EVLA and whilst you are encouraged to go for a short walk straight after treatment, I didn’t fancy walking across town and getting the tram home by myself. As it turned out I think this was probably the best idea because I was quite uncomfortable immediately after the treatment – my legs felt very twingy, almost as if my veins were pinging – certain movements or areas of my legs were really quite sore and the stockings weren’t the most comfortable either so I just really appreciated having Dave there to hold my hand and hobble along slowly with me.

The treatment itself is surprisingly quick – I was probably in and out of the clinic in the space of about an hour. Whilst Dr Krishnan was carrying out the procedure, we listened to Elton John and chatted about our Christmas shopping – this all provided a nice distraction from the work he was doing.

I’m generally not too bothered by needles or injections but appreciated the fact that I was laid down for most of the procedure so couldn’t really see what was going on – I think it makes it easier to zone out from! Dr Krishnan explained what he was doing at various stages and warned me when I might expect to feel a sharp scratch or even a strange taste in my mouth. (Apparently this is quite common – at first I didn’t taste anything but then when I did was almost like over toasted marshmallows.)

I would say that the most painful part of the experience of the treatment was probably the anaesthetic injections – and even these were not painful as such, more uncomfortable. The EVLA itself wasn’t painful at all – just a little achey at times. It reminded me a of when the doctor is trying to put a canula in and they end up wiggling it around a bit. Certain bits of the legs were more uncomfortable than others, I was definitely more aware of the backs of my knees and my ankles and found myself wincing a little.

In all honesty, the worst bit was actually the Clexane injection at the end of the treatment. If you’ve ever had surgery or a Cesarean section, you’ll remember that awful stinging on the way in and as it spreads – it’s literally the worst injection I’ve ever had so definitely didn’t enjoy that bit!

EVLA and Foam sclerotherapy Recovery

In the immediate days after my first round of treatment, I was taking regular doses of paracetamol and finding that my legs were quite uncomfortable. As recommended by Dr Krishnan, I had taken a few days off work and I was really glad of this as it meant I was able to rest with my legs up on the sofa, but also get up and walk around regularly. He had said that for most people, that time off isn’t necessary but as a teacher he suggested it was a good idea.

You are required to wear surgical stockings (provided by the Veincentre) 24 hours a day, for a minimum of 7 days after treatment – they aren’t the most comfortable thing to wear but it’s not unbearable. I found wearing them in bed made me quite warm – another reason to get the treatment done through the autumn / winter! You are allowed to shower and bathe 24hrs after treatment but you must keep your stockings on – this isn’t especially pleasant as wet stockings don’t feel very nice so I avoided it as much as possible (you can blow dry them on a low setting to help them dry faster after). Make sure you’ve washed your hair etc on the day of treatment so you don’t need to worry about getting in the shower again for a day or two! I can’t tell you how nice it was to take those stockings off a week later, to get in the shower and gently scrub, shave and moisturise my legs – I felt like a new woman! (Make sure you take care of your stockings as you’re going to need to take those with you to your next appt to avoid having to pay £60 to replace them.)

In the first week or so after treatment, I was so aware of the bruising / tenderness / general post treatment discomfort, that I probably I didn’t really notice the impact of having my veins treated for a couple of weeks.

In terms of the physical recovery from EVLA – Dr Krishnan told me I’d feel much better within about three weeks of the initial treatment – and he was right.

Any discomfort or bruising from the procedure itself had settled down, my varicose veins were significantly reduced though still swollen, bumpy and tender in places – this is seen to be a good thing and means the treatment is working.

But perhaps more importantly, the physical symptoms that had caused me to seek treatment for my varicose veins in the first place were considerably better – my legs were much less achey, I wasn’t uncomfortable in bed at night and my ankles were much less swollen (they had been swollen for so long that I didn’t even recognise it as swelling any more and just thought I had fat ankles – turns out I don’t!).

Cosmetically, the bruising took a while longer to fade, I had some skin staining on my left leg – though this was minor and certainly not as unsightly as the original veins had been.

Follow up appointment and further treatment

Six weeks after the initial EVLA and Foam Sclerotherapy treatment, I returned to Veincentre Manchester for a check up and a second round of foam Sclerotherapy.

Dr Krishnan was really pleased with the results of my EVLA and commented immediately on the lack of swelling in my ankles and how much better my legs looked. He scanned my legs again to check that the veins had all responded in the way he would have hoped and then we cracked on with a second round of Foam Sclerotherapy and Microsclerotherapy for thread veins – thread veins I don’t think I’d ever really noticed! Clearly I would have always been distracted by the much larger and uglier varicose veins!

This time Dave came into the treatment room with me so that he could take photos and video of the treatment – he was absolutely fascinated by the Microsclerotherapy – you can literally see the veins disappear as they are treated! They do come back darker after before disappearing altogether over the space of a few weeks. This time, without the EVLA, the treatment and recovery felt more comfortable – though I did still have to suffer that nasty Clexane injection at the end!

Of course having further treatment on my veins meant another week in stockings, more bruising (though less significant this time as you can see in the pictures below) and more skin staining (actually probably worse than the first time in one specific vein). Dr Krishnan said that by the end of March, two months later, I would be able to see the full impact of my treatment – and would at that point know if I needed a third round of treatment to tidy up any pesky remaining thread veins. (As I write this in mid-March, I would say a final round of treatment is looking quite likely, however as Dave said, if you’ve come this far, you might as well finish the job!)

Essentially the initial recovery from the treatment is pretty quick – but it will take a while for the full benefits of your treatment to become clear. This is not a quick fix – if you want nice legs for the summer, start in the winter! (But if you’re reading this in the summer and wondering about getting your varicose veins treated, just crack on – the sooner they’re done, the sooner you’ll feel better about them!)

If you have any questions about my treatment at Veincentre Manchester, leave me a message below and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Look out for a third post sharing full before and after shots so you can see the final results of my treatment at Veincentre Manchester!

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