labia varicose

I too have a labial varicosity. Very, very uncomfortable, especially when standing to do daily tasks like cooking dinner. Then, when my two year old wants to be held it only adds extra pressure. One thing that has worked fairly well for me that puts counter pressure on the varicosity is a V2 supporter. It is made by Prenatal Cradle and costs about $60. I joke with my husband about it being my "jock strap". You should check it out on their website. I hope this is helpful to some of you out there with the same problem.

I have severe varicosities in my left labia which are extremely painful most of the time. There are days when I feel like I am completely unable to function. They are not visable (except for the swelling), they showed up on a CAT scan I had for a botched hernia repair but I have been in severe pain for years. I never had them during my four pregnancies but have had multiple abdominal surgeries and my gyno thinks this caused vascular damage. I am now afraid to have another surgery to repair the hernia as I may have more nerve damage! I talked to a vascular surgeon and he says he could fix them but my gyno says I risk nerve damage. I already am very sensitive in that area and it is ruining my sex life along with other aspects of my life (due to chronic pain, I'm not in the best mood) Help me!!! Is there anything I can due besides painkillers? I have always been very active and maybe now I am paying the price.

I have had the varicose veins on my labia for 26 years and at times they still bother me. I had an ablation done a few years ago and so I don't have periods on a regular basis but when I do I still feel a heavy feeling down there. I guess I never thought anything could be done about them. It isn't a subject that is discussed alot and I thought not many women had this problem also but from what I am reading it seems pretty common. Wish I ould have known that years ago. Code:

I developed varicose veins on my labia during the second trimester of my first pregnancy. I am now in the early stages of my 2nd pregnancy and already I have the dull aching and heavy feeling that I had before. I found that wearing maternity compression pantyhose really helped a lot but because I am going to be in my third trimester all summer I have been researching the v-brace from fembrace instead. This is basically support underwear and my doctor is going to advise me if he thinks they are a good idea or not. Has anybody had any experience with them?

It is encouraging to know that I'm not the only one who has suffered from this. In my first pregnancy, I had no problems at all. The second one I had issues with the veins in my last month or two, though I didn't know what it was until my 3rd pregnancy in which the veins struck at about 20 weeks and grew to be monstrously ugly and miserably painful. I recently learned I am now pregnant with my fourth and at week 7 I am already feeling the pain and it already feels like it is spreading to my legs and "other" places.

At the end of my 3rd pregnancy, I began seeing a chiropractor and that eased quite a bit of pain. I am seeing a chiropractor now and hoping that will help. I'm not sure if having a procedure will help, at least, not until after the pregnancy is over. I'm checking out the herbs, vitamins, foods that help and avoiding the bad stuff like sugar, caffeine, bad fats....

It is frustrating that I'm having these issues even though I am not overweight, I eat very healthy and have no blood pressure problems. It is totally pregnancy related, but I also wonder if my thyroid is underactive and a part of the problem.

Best wishes and God's blessings to all ladies who find this post.

If you are suffering from labial varicosities, search online for a product called the v2 supporter. You can get it for $40 (free shipping) from drugstore.com.

I have this problem too. I had pain during my first pregnancy and it got worse with eacy pregnancy. I have five children and am now 37. It got to the point where after my 4th child (I think it was about then) that I always have really ache pain and heaviness during my period just like during pregnancy.

I have a sister in-law with lots of vericose vein problems in the legs and pelvic area. After a lot of searching she found an "interventional radiologist". They do ultrasound of your pelivic area to find the problems and they can do coil embolization where thy block of the veins and fix all the problem areas. I found an article on mayo clinic today about varicocele in men, and they called the coil embolization procedure Percutaneous embolization.

I had ultrasound a couple of weeks ago on myself and have the same problem as her. They said my insurance does not cover the procedures....but if I was a man....they would. In men it is called varicocele, and affects the testicles area. Duh...women have veins in their pelvis too! Anyway, I do not want surgery. I would much rather have them go through my veins to shut down the areas than to have me cut open or rip things out like they used to do in the legs.

I do have leg vein problems...but the nurse who works for interventional radiologist said that most likely, with treatment of the pelvic problems, the leg problems would go away.

Pregnancy definitely makes the problem of swollen veins worse. With my 5th pregnancy I could see and feel swollen veins on each of my inner thights near my groin, which had never been there in my other pregnancies.

They can't do the procedure while pregnant. They recommend doing it between pregnancies if you are still having children.

I think enough women don't know about this (and men). My OB/GYN didn't think I had a problem with my first 2 children. I had pain, but since he didn't see anything obvious or terrible....not a problem. He told me if I had vulvar varicose veins I would know it. Well, mine don't look terrible, but I have awful pain. I can't imagine how much worse it is for someone who has really swollen veins worse than me on the vulva. I'm seriously wanting to go onto Oprah during Dr Oz to let people and doctors know there are vein problems that hurt...even if you can't SEE it!...and let them know what kinds of doctors to look for, for help. Obviously my OB/GYN didn't know anything. Even during my 5th pregnancy and different OB/GYN...they couldn't offer much help or info. Rx compression stockings do not help the crotch area and are impossible to get on with a belly in the way.

I used the V2 support metioned by someone else and it helped a bit, but not a lot. Getting off my feet was the best. Even sitting down is hard when you are in pain with vulvar veins. Also, you can have back pain from the vein pain in the pelvis...which I didn't know until my questionaire at the dr's office for the ultrasound of my pelvic veins.

hi everyone,

It's a big help to read that I have similar situations from other women.I also have some varicose veins on my right vulva and somewhere in the anus.I am living in Europe and my OB-gyne said I should better go caesarian section because I might bleed during the delivery which I don't really wanted to happen but I thought if it's the only way,then I should...any idea about this?

I have the same problem- labial vericose veins. I'm 8 months pregnant with my second child- never had this problem with my first one!
My doctor recommended soaking a 'Heavy' pad in water and then freezing it in a ziplock. I use this at night when the pain is worst for me.

It's cold, but helps!!!

So I'm glad to hear that works but do they have a surgery that would help you not have to deal with varicose veins? I am trying to figure out if that would be a fix. Do they have that sort of surgerY?

My experience with vulva varicoise veins during pregnancy and afterwards......

I don't think I had any during my first pregnancy or else they were so small I never noticed. With my second pregnancy I got them on the vulva and they were bad and ugly around 7 months. I was so freaked out! But I had this feeling of heavy and pulling at around 4 months so that was probably the start of it all.

They were so ugly and large. Kind of like purple colored hot dog weiners stuck along the side. Yuck. Sorry for the description but I had so much trouble finding information or pictures I thought I would describe my experience. I was so worried they wouldn't go away after pregnancy! I ordered a V-brace support and that helped me be less uncomfortable on my feet during the day but did nothing to help them go away. Sex was out of the question since it hurt too much.

My doctor told me natural birth was not a problem but if I tore during delivery they would have to stitch any veins that were ripped right away or risk loss of blood. Anyways, I was so happy that they went away completely after birth. The first day after birth they were still there but already much softer. About 3 days after they were a lot less swollen. About a week after I could only notice them when on the toilet and squatting. And about 2-3 weeks after they were completely gone. No trace of them or discomfort on my feet anymore!

Hope my story helps.....

I developed labia varicose veins on the inside of my right labia about 6 months or so after my 3rd child was born. I first noticed it because it was swollen almost hanging and painful. I was so scared to find out what it was and waited almost 6 months to go to the doctor. I've had it for almost 2 years now and at times it goes away so I can barely notice it for a month or two, then it will flare up out of the blue mostly during the start of my period and then stay for a month or so. Its started to get more painful this time around. Just the presser of my labia on the other side or standing its killing me. I'm laying in bed with my legs propped up as we speak. Does anyone have any advice of what I can do at home for the pain? I think I am going to make an appointment to find out what can be done about this.

They are very common people just don't talk about them. I developed a large varicosity on my Left Labia during my second sons pregnancy.
It got better after I delivered, he is 8 now. It resurfaced about 4 months ago. I went and saw a vascular physician, they said they could inject them. Has anybody else had these treated?

Oh my gosh! I am so glad I found people who understand this problem! I developed what was referred to as "vaginal varicosities" during my second pregnancy. It was like walking around with a painful baseball between my legs for the last 4 months of my pregnancy! Talk about awful. And so embarrassing. AND it was hard to find anyone who understood! Not an often talked-about problem, but boy it should be! I often wonder if it is way more common than the MD's lead you to believe. Women's health issues, especially related to pregnancy seem to get "written off" as " oh well...pregnancy is tough" Very little research and information. Anyway..ow my youngest (2nd child) is almost three and iI have developed what looks like just a lump on my labia but sure feels exactly like the varicosity felt. I know people sometimes describe the varicosity looking "rope like", which mine did during pregnancy, but now it is just a hard lump...has anyone had that experience with a varicosity?? I am scared and have made an appointment with a gynecologist, but he can't see me until the 28th! ugh.

I am 38, but had my 2 boys at 32 & 34.  With my first pregnancy, I had spider veins but no varicose veins or pain down my legs.  My 2nd pregnancy was a different story.  The spiders came back but a new emergence of the vulvar varicose on my left labia as well down my left leg.  It lasted throughout my pregnancy.  The doctors told me to try compression stockings.  They helped a little but got really itchy and hot, so they would only last a few hours.  I'm a physical therapist.  My job requires a lot of standing which makes the pain worse. My doctor put me on medical disability because teh pain was just too bad.   Sitting & elevating my legs works the best.   I was told the pain would eventually go away after my son was born.  BUT, this was not the case.  The first 36 hours from the onset of menstruation is the absolute worst pain.  It feels hot & swollen, almost like a migraine in your who-ha.  My husband just gives me a lost look when I tell him this :o))  So I pursued my issue with my gyno.  She was flabberghasted and immediately referred me to a vascular surgeon.  The surgeon came into the room baffled that I would still have this issue post pregnancy.  He had never seen this before.  Mind you, he was young, so maybe the experience part wasn't there yet.  I inquired about schlerosing the vein, but he was unfamiliar with this.  Both my gyno and surgeon inquired with their colleagues in the Kaiser system and couldn't come up with a referral for someone to schlerose them.  My next step is to look into doctors outside of Kaiser.   The research articles that I read about schlerosing the veins looked promising.  Right now, my recommendation is to look into buying the "granny panties", I think those are the V-Brace.  There's also one that looks like a jock strap, I think that one is the V2Brace.  Wow, an improvement from granny panties to jock straps, what will they think of next?  Today is my worst day of the month and the reason I'm looking into other options.  It just sucks when your worst day lands on a day when you have no choice but to be on your feet all day, like disneyland or work, etc.  What has also helped:  wearing tight biker shorts that have padding (I wear these under my pants).  I've been told to wear large maxi pads too (put them in the freezer before), but I haven't tried this yet.  My gyno prescribed me birth control pills where you only get your period every other month instead of every month, so the pain would occur 50% less out of the year.  I'm considering filling the prescription this week.  Another side effect of the vulvar varicosities is I usually get painful spasming in the left labia area randomly throughout the month, but I'm wondering if it's consistent with when I'm ovulating.  Hope this helps.