Varicose veins...Down there :(

Ok so I have had some mild pain and a pressure in my vagina for some weeks now. I vaguely mentioned it to my doc and he just said that things feel different the second time as you tend to be more aware of your body after the birth of your first child.
Anyway the discomfort has gotten worse so I decided to take a look last night and omg I wish I hadn't. It's pretty safe to say that I have varicose veins in my vagina. I don't seem to have them in my legs or anywhere else. I am 25+3 wks pg.
Last pregnancy I was huge and had rotational forceps delivery + 3rd degree episiotomy after a very long labour so not sure how the vein affect existing scar tissue.

Has anyone else had this? Was your birth affected? Were there any remedies or vitamins that helped the problem? I have a very active job in early childhood education so i can't rest up to much plus I have a 2yr old.
When in the second stages of labour does the pressure on the veins cause problems when you push?
Should I still be dtd?
When do the veins pose a problem? Is there increased risk of needing a ceaserean?
Any advice or reassurance would be appreciated as I don't see my doc for another 2 weeks. TIA

Hi

I had these quite badly... they developed in my second pregnancy also. They were quite painful was using ice packs on them from approx 25 weeks and just resting. I was also told to use hermaroid cream and also arnica cream.

They didnt affect my labour at all. and they pain went away after birth when your blood volume goes back to normal and the pressure is releaved.

Unfort with my 3rd pg things were quite different and I got them again at 12weeks. and they didnt go away after pg.

About 5 weeks ago I ended up having a operation to have them removed. I had two vertical incisions done approx from 5-8cm in length. To be honest it was alot more painful then I thought it would be and Im still recovering, with painful incision sites (scar tissue still healing)

But they wont operate or do anything while you are pregnant.

Beatrix - thanks for your reply. Did the creams help at all? I asked my local phamacist today and she recommended arnica tablets also. The op does sound painful btw, hope you start feeling better soon. How old is your 3rd child?

I got them with my third bub and I know how terrible they are. Thankfully mine didn't get too painful, more of a heavy ache type feeling and they have all but gone. In fact they were gone within a few months of birth. I didn't have any problems whatsoever at delivery. I was just told to take it as easy as possible (difficult in your job). I actually think you can get support underwear if need be.

I just wanted to let you know that I had the same experience and it was a good outcome.

HTH
Spring xx

my youngest is 2 1/2. The reason it was done just recently eas because i delayed it for a long time. It wasnt as painful after bubs was born it was just a dull ache alot so i dealth with it. The only reason i had the op was because my partner and I want to have another child and it would be out of the question if i didnt have those veins fixed. I had them done publicly and the wai from 2st to op was less then 4mths.

and Im sorry I didnt mean it to sound like a horror story.

Hi Crystalwings,

I'm sorry that you are suffering! I don't have vulval variscosities but I do have SPD (loose, floppy bones in my pelvis causing MUCH pain!!). The joys of pregnancy... Anyway, I have been wearing SRC pregnancy shorts for the last few months. They are designed for SPD AND vulval variscosities. I can't personally recommend them for your varicose veins, but they have been fantastic for my SPD and I do feel very supported in the 'undercarriage'! Perhaps they would be worth investigating? I hope you find some answers and someone can give you some other advice and answer your questions!

ETA: took a phone call between typing and posting! Glad some other girls have given you some advice.

My cousin had this when she was pregnant with her third. We didn't talk about it too much other than i think it was quite uncomfortable for her. I can't remember if she suffered too much pain. I do remember that when she had an appt with the midwives at the hosptial she was going to they suggested she had a c-section but my cousin didn't want this and when she spoke to her doctor she too said she should be fine. She delivered a gorgeous little girl April this year :D

I hope you don't get too much discomfort and find something that may help you throughout your pregnancy :D

Yep I had a doozie!!! It was quite painful. It didn't effect having dd at all and it went away soon after I gave birth prob all the icing I did of the stitches helped! I never thought to put cream on. If I get them this time I'll try!!

Thanks everyone, nice to know i'm not alone!
I will definatly enquire about the support shorts if things get worse as i'm on my feet all day.

i am so glad you started this thread as i have recently found i have them too!. I am also pg with 2nd child and 25 weeks, my midiwfe told me at last checkup that we will keep an eye on it, but they are getting bigger and after DTD i feel "pressure" as well. Has anyone been advised not to DTD if you have these veins! with myfirst birth i had an episiotmy and vontouse delivery developed a large haemotoma (sp?) which i had to go to theatre for, do you think previous births impact on whether you get these? Sorry for hijacking Crystal just thought i'd throw my questions in to the mix as well, i hope you don't mind.

Not at all. I'm keen to get as much info as possible as I haven't been able to find alot of useful advice out there. Sounds like we had a pretty similar experience. I wonder what your mw meant by "keep and eye on them"??? I too have pressure after dtd and want to know if it affects them.

I developed them during my second pregnancy. I just had a dull ache in my vagina and it was worse after DTD. I don't think it made them any worse though, it was just that the blood is flowing to the area at the time. The ache got worse towards the end and lasted for a couple of months after having DS2, but they went away of their own accord.
I had a c/s with DS1 so I don't think it is reliant on having an assisted delivery the first time.

Beatrix, I am a little scared now having read your post. lol. Hopefully I will make it through this 3rd pregnancy without requiring surgery. And I hope you fully recover soon. Sore vaginas are no fun... but at least they are the fastest healing part of the body! :)