A frugal cautionary tale with a happy-ish ending.
Last night, as I lay in bed, contemplating my navel – aka, wincing as odd aches and twinges ran up and down my legs – I reflected on my youth. And cursed it.
Some of you may think this whole ‘being frugal’ bit started with my $20 Or Less On Everything I Buy Challenge of ’08, but no. I was a tightwad penny-pincher looooooong before my 30’s. And that youthful frugal living is currently kicking me in the ass, or rather, my legs. Or rather, rather, the back of my legs, where my varicose veins live:
No, those are not my legs.
Yep. Varicose veins. Big, nasty-looking, hurty veins. Hurty veins that have hurt me and my poor legs since I was 15 years old. Varicose veins are hereditary and lucky me! They run in my family, as well as up and down both my legs. And idiot that I am, I’ve yet to have them removed.
You might think I’d want these bad boys gone for cosmetic reasons, and you’d be mostly right. These things are U-G-L-Y, and they’ve got no alibi. Plus, there is not enough tanning lotion/spray tan/fake baking in the world to completely cover them up. However, for those of you bastards fortunate folk sans varicose veins, let me let you in on a little secret. They hurt. A lot. All the time.
It’s a pain that’s hard to describe – a dull ache, weird twinges and vibrations, and a constant knowledge that your veins are THERE. Trust me, it feels totally unlike muscle aches or joint ouchies. How do I know? Because I suffer from those, too. Thank you, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis! You’re a gift that keeps on giving.
Moving on – back to my misspent (literally) youth. In my mid-twenties, I had a good-paying job, I lived with my Ma, and I had awesome health insurance. The perfect ingredients to bake a ‘vein removal’ cake, no?
However, I thought my station in life would stay the same for at least another 10 years. And 24 years old was waaaaaay too young to have cosmetic surgery (mind you, it was the mid-90’s, before 12 year olds were getting face-lifts). And vein removal would be the perfect thing to give as a birthday present to myself when I turned the ancient age of THIRTY. And it’s not like my veins were going to get any worse…
Thus, I decide to wait a few years. The money, the insurance and my Ma would all still be there to help me through. Furthermore, by the time I turned thirty, I’d have even MORE money, right? And even BETTER insurance, right? Right? WRONG.
Fast-forward to today – I have mediocre at best insurance that barely covers prescriptions and preventative care visits. My bills are, as the guy in the commercial says, one bajillion times more than they used to be. Ergo, all that disposable income of my youth is, well, disposed of. In short, I am in no financial position to have vein surgery. (My mom is still here, and still willing to care for me, so there is that.)
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the answer is no. Varicose veins are NOT a self-correcting problem. They do, in fact, get worse and worse as time goes by. So surgery that would have been mostly cosmetic in my youth is slowly becoming a necessary procedure in my old age.
What is the frugal life lesson we can learn from my vein-y debacle? If you can afford to do something –buy a car, have elective surgery, travel across the globe – right now? JUST DO IT. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can afford to do today. Your financial situation can and will flip in an instant, and you’ll be left with hurty veins. Or worse, missed opportunities.
On the plus side, I did spend the bucks to go to Great Britain twice, have my teeth whitened when I finally stopped smoking, buy a house, and furnish said house. So don’t cry for me, Argentina – I’m doing just fine. Achy now and then, but fine.
7 Comments
Erin,
I can’t help you with the financial aspect of your dilemma, but I can assure you that your Ma will not have to care for you. My girlfriend had a HUGE vericose vein removed last November and was not layed up at all. Albeit she had to wear a support stocking on that leg for a few years, but she really did feel great by the very next day following her surgery.
I feel your pain. Both my mom and dad had the vein removal surgery ….they had to stay in the hospital though. Eek. My legs were okay in my 20’s and 30’s but now that I’m 43 and have two kids, there is one big nasty one just below my right knee. Awful. I wear cropped pants all summer to avoid putting it on display…..you can practically see the blood pulsating through it.
My husband has insurance but I’m just a chicken really. I keep hoping that they will discover a one time pill/supplement that I can take that will flush it out. No, huh?
Sorry to hear about your problem. I can commiserate with you as I myself have had vein work done a few years ago. I did both legs, one at a time, and had to wear compression stockings for 2-3 weeks after each treatment. “Painful” veins are covered by insurance. Cosmetic ones are not and treatments were about $300 a time. I would like to do more cosmetically myself, but have not had the ready funds available either. It is best to treat them when you don’t have to wear the stockings in hot weather. Believe me, I had to wear them when pregnant too into June and was happy to be done when my baby was born! Good luck!
It runs in my family too – in fact when I was in my early 20’s a doc said – “If you have a couple of kids you’ll be getting the varicose veins just like your Mom”. Well, even without the 1 kid I do have I’ve got em. No pain at all thank goodness but not the most attractive. Mine don’t puff out like hers did either. I hope you can get yours taken care of. I would love to have it done – but for me it would be only cosmetic too.
I’m so sorry for your pain and discomfort! I wish I could help you out with the funding. Alas, I am far from that ability. If I recall correctly, Margery Punnett from FM 107.1 (er, now MyTalk 107.1) had varicose veins removed in the last year or so. I can’t remember the doctor who did her surgery. Maybe you can somehow get a hold of her for any helpful info. I agree wholeheartedly about DOING something WHILE you have the funds available. My mother has imparted that wisdom to us kids for ages. Good advice.
Poor Little Bunny.
I too have the veins, far worse than you in appearance, although I believe yours hurt more. Probably due to all those high kicks. And yes, do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today, and all that jazz. (Jazz hands!)
Eek! Maybe if you start a little side savings account specifically for this, and just put in five bucks a week, you can get started on the funds for that surgery. You’ll hardly miss the five dollars, and maybe you can start increasing what you set aside, until you hopefully get better insurance. Fingers crossed for you!