Varicose veins

amandstu

Is varicose vein treatment available on the medical card?

Is there a long waiting list if surgery is required?

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058330216/varicose-veins

Urgent non cosmetic medical Treatments are available on a Medical Card in public Hospitals but waiting lists very long. Obviously you'll need a referral from your GP. Minimum waiting list of two years or more.

hawthorne

I had to wait for three years to be seen. Waiting list...I had huge trouble walking in the end. Plenty of water in the feet and legs- and hellish cramps at night.

Solution: Get the compression socks. They are a true miracle. Your pharmacist will take the measurements and get the right size for you. Start with class 2- you will quickly see a fantastic change within less than 3 days. No more water in legs and feet, no more cramps. Your legs will be like new! All without an operation and for only Euro 20.50 per pair. Without a waiting list as well. If you go to your GP and ask for a prescription, you are getting them for Euro 1.50. On the medical card you get two per year.

Word of caution: They are a struggle to put on when you are not used to them. I destroyed my first pair within 3 weeks. Plenty of you tube videos around showing how to put them on the right way.

Good luck anyhow!

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121595088#Comment_121595088

Thanks .Appreciate the post.

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121595088#Comment_121595088

I got put on the waiting list for an op (should be in a few months apparently) and was given a pair of full length stockings by the pharmacy who said it was covered (the doc didn't seem to know)

They keep falling down all the time and I am using safety pins attached to my shirt for now.

Can I get suspenders on the medical card or will I have to buy them myself?

hawthorne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121950561#Comment_121950561

There is something not right for you. The socks should not fall down or slowly sink down when you move around. Mine don't fall down. They stay in place. It looks to me as if you got a pair which does not fit the way it should. By the sound of it the pair you got are too big- and are useless that way. The pharmacist took measurements of my legs and found the correct size that way. There is no other way to find out the right size.

https://www.foleyschemist.ie/product/activa-class-2-compression-stocking-2/

I took the ones with open toes.

You can check if you got the right size in taking the measurements of your legs yourself. With this link you find the way how to take the measurements yourself and what size you would need:

M002-V4.7-BS-Hosiery-record-pad_INTERACTIVE.pdf

There should be no need for suspenders. You would not get them anyhow on the card.

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121951038#Comment_121951038

They told me at the pharmacy that I fell between two sizes and I decided to take the larger size.Maybe I need to go back and ask for the smaller size.

I wonder if there are different brands that would do a size in between what they had in the pharmacy..

hawthorne

There are several companies on the market producing the socks. Check around on the internet. You can order them as well online. I do not know enough about it. I guess I was lucky with my size. The pharmacist had to order mine- he did not have them in stock.

You should take the measurements yourself and send emails to as much companies you find on the net. Hopefully someone has the right size for you. In the meantime you should go back to the pharmacist and get the smaller size. You may might be lucky already with a swap.

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121951415#Comment_121951415

Thanks ,yes I should try the smaller size that they had in the pharmacy.

He did say "see how we get on" and so he might give me a second smaller pair on the medical card (but that is just a detail)