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Lawrence woman finds relief from varicose veins developed during pregnancy

Catherine Ochoa never experienced issues with varicose veins until her second pregnancy. She said the pain and heaviness made her legs feel like lead.

LAWRENCE, Indiana — More than a quarter of women develop varicose veins during pregnancy. Catherine Ochoa of Lawrence had no issues during her first pregnancy. But while pregnant with her second son, Ochoa developed painful and bulging varicose veins on the back of her right leg.

Ochoa, 31, said by the end of the day, her leg would throb.

"Pain and heaviness...it's like your legs feel like lead," Ochoa said. "It hurts, but then it just becomes normal, so you put it off, put it off and then I just couldn't put it off any longer."

Ochoa went for a consultation at Vein Solutions at Ascension St. Vincent. The appointment included an ultrasound, which revealed the blood in the impacted area was flowing in two directions rather than one. Something about that imagery clicked. 

"I used to get them once a year, just to make sure. And then finally, I was like, 'why am I getting this checked once a year when I could just get them taken out and not have to come back?'" Ochoa said.

Doctors said they hear that from patients daily.

"It's a very slow and insidious process, and people just get used to it," according to Dr. Brent Marsden, a vascular surgeon at Ascension St. Vincent. "Once you start to get that pain and discomfort, or some of that limitation in your life, it's only going to get worse."

Marsden recommended and performed a radio-frequency ablation — an outpatient procedure — for Ochoa.

"Once we do the surgery and remove the varicose veins and eliminate the venus insufficiently, they have almost an overnight improvement. Then it's pretty dramatic," Marsden said.

Cosmetically, Ochoa's leg looks better, but more importantly, her pain is gone, too.

"I think the biggest thing is I don't wake up thinking about my leg hurting, and it's great," Ochoa said.

If you have a similar issues and would like to learn about your options, register for a free vein consultation today, courtesy of Check Up 13.

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