Collapsed and distended veins

Does anyone notice that the veins in their arms collapse for periods of time throughout the day? There's also periods when the veins are absolutely huge. I've been intending to take notice of exactly when this happens but so far I haven't managed to, although I suspect eating may have something to do with it.

It didn't happen in the earlier years with ME (long-termer here) but certainly has for the last several.

Does this happen to anyone else?

 

I have it too - have had for a long time. I'm nearly 65 and have had ME for 23 years. Don't know how long my veins have been like this, but it's quite a long time.

 

Thanks for weighing in @Trish and @MeSci

I've been laying flat all morning except for one brief period of being upright to get a cup of coffee.

When I wrote this a couple of hours ago with my arms at rest, my veins were collapsed, actually inverted, and I was very much feeling drained. I had a cup of coffee maybe 45 minutes ago and my veins are now huge and bulging. I'm probably feeling a little less drained.

It's hard to tell the various levels of 'crappy' apart.

 

It sounds like you could have been dehydrated. That would certainly cause your veins to be less prominent. And it could also explain why you were feeling drained. Make sure you drink some water throughout the day as it is more hydrating than coffee; caffeine is dehydrating.

 

Mmm - Could be I suppose but I drink over 60 oz of water a day.
It's been like this for years. Wonder if it has something to do with blood volume.

 

I have no idea how old you are, @brf , however, aging does cause our veins to be more prominent, especially with gravity as someone else mentioned. As we get older our subcutaneous fat thins out causing our veins to be much more noticeable.

 

This is entirely normal.

The veins in your arms can vary from being huge and bulgy to completely collapsed and all it takes for the difference is to move the arm by about six inches in relation to the heart. It is also very dependent on how warm your body is (not just the arm). It has nothing to do with dehydration, unless you have been stuck in the desert for a couple of days. If people do sport on a hot day until they need to drink a couple of pints it is not likely to make any difference to veins bulging - they will do if the body is hot.

 

I don't have ME but certainly see it. I'm sure it must be a mind/body thing because whenever I have to go for a blood test the damn things disappear altogether!

 

Well, one thing I've noticed is that when the veins in my wrists can no longer be discerned, my blood pressure is significantly higher than when those veins are prominent.

 

Blood draws can be quite the trial for me, especially if I'm supposed to be fasting. My veins always wiggle away, even if not fasting, sometimes collapse/are blown with blood draws. I've had lab techs try six times or more at one go to fill one test tube. Pre ME my veins were never a problem.

 

Hi everyone

For the past year I’ve been experiencing episodes where the veins in my arms/hands and legs/feet are very dilated. I first noticed it when my hands started to hurt when I had them down by my sides, they felt like they were about to burst. I also had a bounding wrist pulse. Fast forward to now and It feels like they are now almost permanently dilated and my wrist pulse always feels very strong. I’ve been to the doctor a couple of times about it and they don’t really understand what’s going on. I’ve been doing my blood pressure at home when it happens and I’m getting anywhere from 130/80 to 115/60 - I’ve used a couple of different monitors and they all seem fairly similar. When the doc measured he got 138/80. I really am at a loss as to what could be causing it, could it be some kind of dysautonomia or is it cardiovascular in nature? Has anyone else had this symptom?

 

@Sjr88 there was a recent thread with interesting discussion on this topic on PR recently. You might find it helpful to know others have this symptom.
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/excessive-vein-dilation.80046/

 

I know this symptom. It's associated with POTS.

 

Can't say for sure that it's the same as what I have but I have pots and I take medication to constrict my veins (Midodrine) which does help me with this sensation.

Do you also have orthostatic Intolerance? For me the peripheral dilation leads to blood pooling when upright and makes me feel very unwell with hypotension and tachycardia, so the doc gives me some meds to help with it. Hope you find something that helps!

 

I was sitting with my feet elevated high up and noticed that all the veins on my feet, which are usually protruding outward markedly when standing, were deflated so much that the skin was instead protruding inward along the veins. I've never seen anything like this before.

Does it suggest an alteration in elasticity of the blood vessels?

It looked and felt like blood continued to circulate normally. Just that a lot less of it was in these veins compared to usual. Is this an easy test for blood pooling?

 

The deflation of your veins when your feet are elevated is probably just caused by gravity, I would guess.

 

Yes, but is it normal for them to deflate tso much that the skin protrudes inward? If it's not normal, what does it tell me about my illness?