Anxious about my veins - help, please!

[bamsebjorn]

Hi there!

I was desperately seeking a way to relax and stop worrying but I just can't.

I'm currently 23 years old man and I suffer from health anxiety, social anxiety, I have terrible panic attacks and I am obsessed about my health. On top of it all I am trouble with depersonalization and terrible surreal feel.

It is mostly because I have had heart surgery 4 years ago, and my anxiety problems became couple months ago. I've been struggling with that and depression for a long time before I got to see therapist and psychiatrist.

My huge problem right now is trouble with veins. I have had stinging pains in my limbs ever since I had trouble with panic attacks, but recently it got worse. Also, that's where I've noticed new veins showing on my body. They appeared on my legs, arms, hands ( inside and outside), chest, I can even see veins on my head and stomach. I just constantly feel like I'm seeing new veins, not to mention the new ones that appear more visible.

I have seen doctor at some point, but he told me that everything is okay and we all have veins.
I have had my heart checked 2 months ago and everything was perfect.

I am very fair skinned, I don't do drugs or alcohol, I don't smoke, I'm currently on diet due to trouble with my weight, I drink a lot of water to avoid being dehydrated.
I fear all the time that it's a blood clot, but I didn't get proper check to make sure it's not the issue. It makes me annoying and makes me drive insane.

Medications I have:
- from cardiologist - beta-blocker, aspirine and dehydrating one
- from psychiatrist: xanax in case if I have an attack

I don't know what to do anymore. i feel like I should get my body checked all the time and that there's something bad happening or that I'm about to die.

Please, I know i might be just another annoying person with my problems, but please give me at least one reason to calm down and I will be endlessly thankful. I feel like I am losing my mind.

b

[stars22]

If it helps I check my veins constantly on my wrist and when they go tiny and skinny I start getting anxiouse and think thats it not enough bloods going in.then and when the ones in the crease of my arms get big from been hot I sit there lookong at that panic untill they go small again I also constantly press on my fingernails too make sure they turn white and back to pink or I check if there blue and my hands I see veins apear all over my hands and they turn purple /red and I get so scared but iv realised its when im cold they appear more I started gerting obsessed with looking at my veins when I was about 11 im now 22 and its one of them things I keep checking again if it was a blood clot ect they would be swelling and warmth ect its anxiety !!

[bamsebjorn]

Thank You for reply, stars22

Yeah that's exactly my problem. I can't stop looking at my veins and checking what's going on with them.

I can understand that veins are a normal thing and they will be more visible with age, but I'm only 22 and they suddelnly started appearing so visible to me. Especially veins I can see on chest or neck...it just doesn't even look good, beside health concern.

Sometimes I put myself in cold on purpose to make sure they get less visible, but I believe that's not normal.

[JustJoe25]

Did you ever find out why the veins were visable? You sound exactly like me. I know this post is old and you haven't posted here since but I hope you get an email about my reply and can give us an update. People here say it's normal and maybe it is but I haven't heard of any other guys with visable chest veins except you. I have heard of women getting them in their breast but online I can't find like anything about men with visable chest veins. I know body builders get them in their chest but those are bulging ones mine aren't building just visable. I am also fair skinned.

[Emilym80]

Hi Joe,

I'm a girl, but I have very visible veins just about everywhere. I can see them all over my chest at times, as well as on my abdomen, extremities and eyelids.

I showed my doctor and she said it's normal to have visible veins. I think being fair-skinned (I'm very pale) has a lot to do with how your veins appear.

You can always see your doctor if you're worried but they'll likely tell you it's just a normal part of your anatomy.

All the best :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

I can see one on my chest at times and I'm overweight thesedays. I've always had veins close to the surface though, all over the place but especially my forearms & hands.

[JustJoe25]

Hi Joe,

I'm a girl, but I have very visible veins just about everywhere. I can see them all over my chest at times, as well as on my abdomen, extremities and eyelids.

I showed my doctor and she said it's normal to have visible veins. I think being fair-skinned (I'm very pale) has a lot to do with how your veins appear.

You can always see your doctor if you're worried but they'll likely tell you it's just a normal part of your anatomy.

All the best :)

Thanks for the replies Emily and Terry. It probably does have a lot to do with having fair skin I just wonder why it occurred now when I'm only 27. These def weren't here before and hey I don't care as long as it isn't any kind of serious health condition.

The two veins I can see on my chest is one of the left side that looks like it's going to or near my heart and then another on the right side that goes into my nipple. While it makes me not want to take my shirt off and stuff I can deal with it as long as it's nothing serious. I know some people have told me it's probably anxiety making me notice them more and while I would love to believe that, I certainly would of noticed a vein going into my nipple! Lol

Like I said I don't care as long as it is normal and I know many females my mom included have visable chest veins but you don't hear guys with them often though your post Terry and the OP post has made me feel like I'm not all that special after all. :yahoo:

[MyNameIsTerry]

Welcome to the club then Joe!

Mine is above the nipple area. If you have been building some muscle there, it could be pushing it forward.

[JustJoe25]

Welcome to the club then Joe!

Mine is above the nipple area. If you have been building some muscle there, it could be pushing it forward.

Hmmm when these started showing up I wasn't really working out but did workout after that. However it showed up the same time as the rest of the veins so I don't think all of my veins pushed closer to the surface at once. Though I would certainly like to believe that's the case it just seems unlikely to me. Can you feel the vein in your chest? I can't feel mine it's just noticeable but isn't buldging out like how they do in body builders.

---------- Post added at 12:55 ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 ----------

This is what the one that goes into my nipple looks like. Unfortunately I could not get a good pic of the one on my left side because it isn't showing up in photos but I'll still try to get one. I guess if it don't show in a photo that's a good thing?

http://i.imgur.com/BoS6Q8Q.jpg

[Fishmanpa]

This is what the one that goes into my nipple looks like.

OMG! Dude! You're bringing new meaning to nip slips! ~lol~ There's nothing there! It's. Totally. Normal!

Now... if your name was "JustJane25" or "JustJennifer25", I'd be asking for more pics to be sure but that's not the case ~lol~

Positive thoughts

[JustJoe25]

OMG! Dude! You're bringing new meaning to nip slips! ~lol~ There's nothing there! It's. Totally. Normal!

Now... if your name was "JustJane25" or "JustJennifer25", I'd be asking for more pics to be sure but that's not the case ~lol~

Positive thoughts

Lol not gonna lie Fishman this post made me laugh.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hmmm when these started showing up I wasn't really working out but did workout after that. However it showed up the same time as the rest of the veins so I don't think all of my veins pushed closer to the surface at once. Though I would certainly like to believe that's the case it just seems unlikely to me. Can you feel the vein in your chest? I can't feel mine it's just noticeable but isn't buldging out like how they do in body builders.

---------- Post added at 12:55 ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 ----------

This is what the one that goes into my nipple looks like. Unfortunately I could not get a good pic of the one on my left side because it isn't showing up in photos but I'll still try to get one. I guess if it don't show in a photo that's a good thing?

http://i.imgur.com/BoS6Q8Q.jpg

I only opened the image because I thought it was "JustJo" damn! :doh::D

Thats totally normal. I've got one on my right side going from the nipple and one about 2 inches above it running across my chest. I've got about 4 on each shoulder, double that in my neck and a lot of very visible ones in my feet, wrists, forearms, hands, etc...and I'm a good 1.5-2 stone overweight and haven't lifted weights for years!

I can't feel the ones in my chest (too much fat there!) but I can all of the others mentioned as they are very prominent and always have been.

You've got no worries there, Joe.

[swajj]

I think I've told this story here before: when I first got my anxiety I became convinced that my veins were much more prominent than they used to be. I showed my arms to my psychiatrist saying something like "look how much my veins are sticking out". I can't remember what he said but it was something like "they're normal" BUT I noticed that he looked at the veins in his own arms as if to compare them with mine! Lol Anyway I eventually accepted that my veins were more prominent according to how hot it was or if I had been in a hot bath or something. And yes I did notice my veins a lot more than before because I was focused on them. Just as it is with every other HA symptom.

[JustJoe25]

I only opened the image because I thought it was "JustJo" damn! :doh::D

Thats totally normal. I've got one on my right side going from the nipple and one about 2 inches above it running across my chest. I've got about 4 on each shoulder, double that in my neck and a lot of very visible ones in my feet, wrists, forearms, hands, etc...and I'm a good 1.5-2 stone overweight and haven't lifted weights for years!

I can't feel the ones in my chest (too much fat there!) but I can all of the others mentioned as they are very prominent and always have been.

You've got no worries there, Joe.

Thanks Terry that makes me feel better about them. I wondered how I found see my fats despite the fat on my chest but I'm glad I'm not the only one. When you say hand veins do you mean above the hand or on the palm of the hand? I can see many veins on the palm of my hand that are blue and black running up my fingers into around the knuckle area but on the opposite side.