Embrace Your Beauty

I frequently get asked about varicose veins and pregnancy. Specifically, does childbirth make you more likely to get varicose veins and does it make it worse. The answer to both is YES. Those kids, the gifts that keep on giving!

When you become pregnant, one of the early changes that occurs is your blood volume expands. If you have more blood in your veins, it is like blowing air into a balloon. Remember that the basic problem in vein disease is that the walls are not as strong as they should be. Therefore, any varicose veins you already have will look bigger very quickly and you may notice new ones popping up.

As your baby gets bigger, it will occupy more of the space in your pelvis. Remember that your leg veins drain into the pelvic veins. As the baby gets bigger and bigger, it will press on the pelvic veins and cause the blood trying to exit the legs to back up. Also, the pressure inside the veins will increase. The result will be an increase in the size of the existing varicose veins, increased swelling in the legs, and new veins appearing on the surface of your legs.

Lastly, when you are pregnant, you will produce hormones that are designed to relax collagen. The reason for this is to allow a widening of the pelvis so your baby can come out safely. Unfortunately, these hormones have an effect on all of your collagen. So, if you have existing varicose veins, they will get worse. If you haven’t developed any, you will be more prone to getting them as time goes on. This effect gets worse with each subsequent pregnancy, so the more children you have, the more likely you are to develop vein disease.

The good news is that after the birth of your child, issues one and two go away! Unfortunately, issue three, the hormonal effect, is cumulative and stays with you. So, once you are pregnant, it would be beneficial to wear medical grade compression hose until delivery. The hose will reduce your leg swelling, reduce the risk of blood clots, and make the legs feel better. They will not reduce the risk of developing vein disease. However, once you have delivered, you should seek care to treat your varicose veins. We would love to see you at the Genesis Laser & Vein Center!

At the beginning of every year, the nightmare of the dreaded insurance deductible starts over for most of our clients at Genesis Laser and Vein. The deductible is the dollar amount your insurance won't pay, and that you, as a patient, are responsible for before your insurance starts paying its portion. In my experience with insurance and healthcare, this deductible has been on a steady incline for the last 15 years, right along with the cost of everything else around us. But I can tell you, as a wife and mother of six girls, meeting that deductible early in the year frees up the worry and dread of those healthcare costs throughout the rest of the year. It is no fun to procrastinate and put off the medical appointments and treatments for myself and my family until November or December, when that deductible is finally met. Those months are a time to focus on holidays and family, not squeezing in all the doctors' appointments and procedures we put off all year. The way I see it, that deductible money is coming out of my pocket sometime this year, so why not hit it head-on?

I have worked as a vein care nurse for 15 years. I can tell you that vein treatments are unlike having a knee or shoulder fixed, where you go in for one extensive procedure and a few follow-up appointments. Vein treatments are a process that takes several months' worth of small treatments to treat the bad veins that have developed over many years. Waiting to start vein treatments in November or December does not give Dr. Prasad and our staff at Genesis Laser and Vein the amount of time needed before the end of the year to adequately treat your current vein disease.

Every year I hear the same thing from many of our clients. In the first half of the year, patients tell me they have a new deductible, so they only want to schedule vein treatments once they have whittled down a chunk of that deductible. When they come in the spring, they may have the deductible well on its way to being met, but insurance companies often require a six-week to three-month conservative treatment trial, including compression hose. By then, it's vacation season, and they don't want to wear compression hose when it's hot! Most patients finally make it back in during the fall. However, that is the busiest time of year for a vein clinic. Medical providers only have so many appointments before the year's end. Remember, it took a lifetime to develop bad veins, so it will take several months to get those veins under control. Don’t procrastinate.

To make this initial cost easier we offer CareCredit, which can spread your deductible payments out over six to twelve months. It is offered as "same as cash" with no interest if paid within six to twelve months. This way, you can continue with treatment and pay off the deductible over a longer period of time instead of all at once. At Genesis Laser and Vein, having your consult or visit early in the year will allow you to meet your conservative management trial if your insurance requires it, submit for authorization, and proceed with treatment before the end of the year. Start now and wrap up that initial treatment plan in 2023. While you're at it, throw in those other healthcare items on your wish list this year while your deductible is met. Make 2023 the year you take care of you!

As we age, we have been conditioned to put up with aches and pains as “part of getting older!” With newer discoveries and treatments, that is not always the case for your legs. Do you wish your legs would feel lighter, more energetic, less sluggish, and even look better? At the Genesis Laser & Vein Center we can help you achieve this.

Vein disease is a progressive disease that starts when you are young. Like a lot of medical conditions, the earlier you begin treatment, the better the results are. A common misconception is that if they don’t hurt, it is okay. This couldn’t be further from the truth. When you have vein disease, the main risk when you are younger is a higher risk of blood clots. If we reduce the amount of blood pooling in your legs, the risk goes down. Plus, your legs will feel lighter and more energetic! Also, as you treat the surface veins, you will be less self-conscious about the looks and hopefully be more active.

As the years go on, you will need ongoing treatment. But if you start earlier, these treatments are less frequent, and the results are better. So, if you want to live your best and healthiest life, come in and let us evaluate you. We can then help your legs stay healthy, which is far better than trying to fix things when they break!

The holidays are upon us and, like it or not, that usually leads to long days and tired nights. At Genesis, we can help you get through the rough patches! We have so many ways to keep your look and energy up so that you can maximally enjoy the season.

Let’s start with your legs. If you have leg symptoms such as swelling, heaviness, restlessness, no energy, or itching to name a few, you likely have vein disease. To get you through the holidays, you should wear thigh high compression hose. This will make your legs feel better and allow you to power through the long days.

Also, if you are traveling over the holidays, your hose are mandatory as this will reduce the chances of you developing a DVT, deep venous thrombosis, or the dangerous type of blood clot. Hose are important when travel is two or more hours in the car or any length of plane flight. No compression hose? Stop by Genesis and we can measure you for a pair. Sigvaris compression hose come in many stylish options perfect for your holiday outfits.

How about your energy? B12 supplementation can boost your mood and energy to get you through the day. We can give you a B12 for that quick fix. What about an IV for immune support or if you overindulged at the office party? Come and see the variety of IV therapies at the Genesis Wellness division. We can recommend the right one for you. Also, higher vitamin D levels have been shown to boost your immune system and make you less prone to being seriously sick from all those pesky viruses that are floating around. We can give you a shot for the quick boost and then start you on a daily Vitamin D supplement that is properly absorbed.

Lastly, let’s not forget your skin. Winter weather can take its toll on facial skin. A Diamond Glow or Hydrafacial are quick and easy treatments to get your skin glowing for those holiday events. And don’t forget Genesis for one-stop gift card shopping for those on your list. They make great stocking stuffers. Treat yourself and treat a friend, too!

So happy holidays and Merry Christmas! We at Genesis wish you a safe and joyous season and will be here to help you through it!

October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month. In recognition of this I thought I would address one of the more frequent questions people will ask when first seeking treatment for venous disease: "Why do I need an ultrasound?" Patients will also comment: "But I only want the little veins treated so that my legs look better." The most important thing we do at Genesis is educate you about vein disease. Addressing these questions is almost always part of that education.

The answer to both questions lies in the fact that the bigger internal veins let blood flow backwards towards your feet and drive it to the surface. Thus, the ugly surface veins have a source inside your legs! In order to properly identify the damaged vessels and determine a treatment plan, an ultrasound must be done. If you don’t identify the source of a problem, you shouldn’t expect it to go away. That is why it is mandatory for all new patients to have an ultrasound so that we can treat you the medically correct way. If we don’t, the veins will all come back, and you will not lower the risks of progressive vein disease.

Insurance companies also require an ultrasound along with symptom documentation to determine if your treatments are eligible for insurance coverage. Without this you will be left paying the full cost of treatment out of pocket.

So come and see us at the Genesis Laser & Vein Center to get your legs healthier and more beautiful the medically correct way and ensure that the insurance company will pick up their part, too!

This fall I am going to be doing a lot of weekend car drives. My son started his freshman year at a college in Iowa and will be part of the football team. I am hoping to not miss a game! As someone who practices what I preach, I will be donning my compression hose for these lengthy car rides.

I frequently get asked about why you should wear compression hose while travelling. Vein disease is a chronic, progressive disease and there is only so much that treatment will do. After you have had treatment, your blood clot risk is diminished, but still higher than the people without vein disease. This is because you also can have bad veins that are located in your calf muscle. Unfortunately, we cannot identify these reliably and even if we could, current treatments cannot safely treat these. There is a very high rate of blood clot formation if we try to treat the calf varices.

Thus, we are left with a compromise. If you wear your thigh high graded compression hose, you will lower your blood clot risk while traveling. Traveling is defined as 2 or more hours in a car regardless of how many stops and any plane travel. Multiple studies have confirmed that the risk is lower while travelling with thigh high graded compression hose. Your legs will also feel better when you arrive at your destination.

I hope you all get to enjoy your favorite football team this fall and do yourself a favor and don’t forget to put your hose on if you have to travel to see them! Your legs will thank you.