Strange vein in leg.

[Jsp]

Hey everyone. Haven't been on in a while as I was feeling a bit better with myself, but that obviously didn't last long :(

My recent anxiety over my health is a vein in my leg. It's located behind my knee and sticks out a bit. It's not the fact that it sticks out that I'm overly worried about, but that there's a kinda lump in the vein. I'm not sure if it's squash-able like a normal vein to the touch or not :/ this is accompanied by calf and pain behind the knee which I've been experiencing for some time now. Also some other veins in my calf and thigh seem to be sticking out more than usual, normally while walking, but this has been noticeable for about a month

Any help or advice would be appreciated. I'm worried sick it's a blood clot or a superficial clot which will turn into deep vein thrombosis :(

[House fan]

The vein you are talking about is called the great saphenous vein, which runs down the inside of both thighs and down to the feet. The vein is superficial and it is not uncommon to see it raised or 'more visible' on one side.

It sounds like you may be getting varicose veins on your calf too. Varicose veins are present in millions of people and won't cause you any trouble.

The 'lump' that you are referring to is just the crease in the vein which appears behind the knee.

Sounds to me that you have absolutely nothing to worry about mate, but if you want complete peace of mind, ask your GP for a D-dimer test which will rule out anything sinister.

---------- Post added at 10:05 ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 ----------

I've just seen your age and profile.

I'm prepared to bet you £1 million pounds you don't have a blood clot!

I wouldn't bother asking the GP for the D-dimer test either, he'll probably just laugh at you.

I hope this helps a bit.

House.

[Jsp]

Thanks a lot for your reply! Yeah, my mum does suffer from varicose veins so it wouldn't surprise me. But yes I am young so even they are highly unlikely, let alone a blood clot, but you know what anxiety is like! I'm just worried sick over these pains in my calf, and knee, around my veins. It may not necessarily be the veins but obviously my mind edges towards that conclusion.

And yeah I'm sure she'd laugh at me too and think a D-dimer test is unnecessary, hence me not bothering to go as it might be a waste of time. I've been before about pains around this leg and they think it could be due to my lower back (I have a slight scoliosis and have had sciatica in the past) and start physio for it next week. Would it be okay to ask the physio about it just to keep my mind at rest? Or do they not really deal with vein problems?

[House fan]

You could ASK the Physio but he won't be able to fully reassure you I'm afraid. He may well tell you that the symptoms you are experiencing COULD be linked to your back condition, but this won't reassure you for long, and the chances are that you will be back on here a few days later seeking further reassurance!

Sound familiar?

My advice to you is this: You are a young man with the whole world at your feet. The chances of having a blood clot at your age is practically zero, so please take this advice on board. Every now and again the body throws strange sensations our way but it is important to realize that they are temporary and hold absolutely no medical significance.

[Jsp]

Yeah, thats what they all say, just that it could be linked. I wish there was something that would say for definite so I stop worrying about it! And yeah, sounds very familiar haha. It's just hard to get it into my head.

At the moment, it really hurts when I poke in my calf, although I do have to poke in pretty deep. I keep getting terrible shooting pains behind my knee and in my calf, they're awful. I'm hoping it's just due to my back. Need to try and stop worrying about this :(

[Worried-jen]

Hi there, i have exactly the same vein showing behind my knee that i hadnt noticed before, well about 4 weeks ago i noticed it after having pain there, went to docs one told me it was muscular and another told me it was phlebitis and gave me anti biotics, i was absolutely terrified thinking the worst, went to docs today and she said everything looks fine and to me when i look at the vein it still looks the same, so now im kinda thinking that it is common for it to be visible, although i have thought it could be going varicose because it still sore and all my dads side has them! Im sure you'l be fine :)

[Jsp]

Well I've heard from many people that it is common for them to be visible. Glad to hear you're better now though :)

The pain in my left at the moment is horrible! It really hurts at times, I get this sudden extremely sharp twinge and it hurts so much I have to stop what I'm doing :( Like right now I have a strange feeling in my thigh, kind of a sting type of feeling. but this does all come and go. My foot is tingling too which suggests nerve pain? I don't know, but I hope so.