My name is Katrina Brown. I enjoy spending time with my family. I enjoy walking - even more so now that I’ve had treatment on my legs.
What were your symptoms? How did they affect your daily life?
Before I had treatment, I was having restless legs at night. I hadn’t even realized how tired my legs were until after the treatment. I was having heavy, tired legs and just feeling the need to move my legs at night, just readjusting a lot as I was trying to fall asleep. Just the heaviness, the achiness, um, a lot of swelling after a day of activity when I didn’t have a chance to put my feet up and rest. I had some obvious varicose veins that I was concerned about.
How did you hear about Alsara Vein Clinic?
I’d seen a commercial about vein treatment, and so I just made a mental note to ask my Nurse Practitioner the next time I saw her, and she’s like 'Oh, yes, we can get that looked at'. And she referred be to Dr. Gupta.
What was your first impression of Alsara Vein Clinic?
After I came and saw Dr. Gupta and Kati and everyone for the consultation, I really liked the clinic. Everyone was very friendly. The clinic was nicely decorated, it’s pretty, and it smells good, and it’s always so calm and peaceful here. I really enjoy coming here… which sounds strange to say you really enjoy going for a medical treatment, but it’s just a nice, pleasant atmosphere.
How did you feel during and after your treatment?
I’ve had the laser treatment and the Varithena®. With the laser treatment, I don’t remember there being any pain. They do numb your leg as the procedure’s done – I mean, not your whole leg; it won’t be numb. They numb inside of the vein. And after the Varithena®, I didn’t feel anything. There was nothing whatsoever. Probably the most uncomfortable part was just wearing the stockings, and that’s so not a big deal. I have very sensitive skin and I get itchy from a band aid or a piece of tape, so, probably just the little band aid on there was the most irritating thing, ha!
Dr. Gupta does a good job of giving analogies to explain how your leaky veins affect the rest of your body, how it can affect your health long-term, and how – even if you can see and feel the problem – it could be lurking 'behind the walls' is what he would say! And the treatment was pretty much painless. Everyone made everything very clear before they did anything. Kati was very good at explaining what was going to happen and what she was doing. And as you’re getting the procedure, you’re able to see on the screen what Kati and Dr. Gupta are looking at and what’s taking place.
What are you able to do after treatment that you couldn’t do before?
I know for sure that I’m so much more active since I’ve gotten the treatment. And the swelling that I use to have before in my legs at the end of the day – if I was up doing anything at all, my legs would be so swollen by the end of the day that it would feel tight, and I would be just exhausted… like, I was ready for the day to be over. And now, the swelling has greatly changed – there’s not all that swelling in my legs at the end of the day. And it really helps me feel like you can go ahead and do something else the next day. You’re not going to be having to recover from a day of activity with a day of rest.
Now I feel like I can spend a whole day out shopping and running around without having to take time out to rest and put your feet up so that I’m not having swelling all day. I’m a lot more comfortable as I go about the things I do. Since I’ve had treatment, I’ve been able to walk; I’ve increased my walking between just my daily activities plus my exercise. I’ve been getting between five and seven miles of walking in a day, so I have so much more energy. I’m not flopping around like a fish at night anymore, ha hah!
I had two or three long veins that were visibly bulging, and now I can’t see those at all, so that’s great, ha! My legs look a lot better, for sure.
How would you describe Doctor Gupta?
Dr. Gupta is very friendly. I get the feeling that he’s probably a very good host when he has friends and family to his home because he’s always offering drinks, and he’s very good at simplifying things and putting them in basic, understandable terms. He always has an analogy for everything, and he takes the time to show you on the screen what he’s doing and why, and explain how this is good for your overall health in the long-term.
What is your impression of the staff at Alsara Vein Clinic?
The staff is wonderful. The first person I met was Kati, and she is amazing. She’s always calm and she’s really good at making you feel relaxed by caring on casual conversation. I felt like she was a friend as soon as I met her. She’s a hard worker. She really takes the time to make people feel comfortable. I was actually here one of the first days that Mia (Front Office Coordinator) came to work, which was pretty neat to see a new person on staff, and it was kinda fun to watch her as she’s progressed over the last few months working here.
How was your insurance coverage?
Insurance covered everything 100%. I believe my Nurse Practitioner checked to make sure that my insurance was accepted at Alsara, and there was never any problem. I believe they got pre-approval before any of the procedures, and I’ve never receive a bill or anything.
Would you recommend Alsara Vein Clinic to family or friends?
I would definitely recommend Alsara Vein Clinic. And I have recommended to my sister, my aunt, my grandmother that they come here. And actually, my first visit, I brought my mom along with me because I thought ‘Hey, we could make a day of it, go shopping, go out to eat’. And, we got to looking at the pictures, watching the video, and reading the information, and I said ‘Mom, I think you need treatment as well’. And she decided that that might be what was wrong with her legs. She’d been [previously] treated for several other medical conditions for her legs that the treatments never seemed successful. So I think, at the time, the doctors were looking at different issues and those weren’t her particular issues. So my mom did end up speaking to Dr. Gupta and he did the test on her, and she ended up pursuing treatment as well.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
My grandfather was a postal employee for many years and he always walked his route. As he got older, he had problems with his legs, and we were never really sure what the issue was. They got so bad that they ended up becoming infected, and he was in a wound hospital for several months. And after coming here to Alsara Vein Clinic, I realized by looking at the pictures that they had here that his medical condition probably was varicose veins that had went untreated for a year.
I had never really considered it a problem until I saw the commercial and realized it was a medical problem, not just a problem of wanting your legs to look good in the summer time. And when I saw the commercials, I realized ‘Oh, this might be an issue’. As I explored the issue further, after I came here for treatment, I realized that this was a medical issue for several people in both sides of my family.
I do wish I’d known about Alsara Vein Clinic and varicose vein treatment sooner. I feel like my legs are doing really well now, but there’s people in my family that I wish I could have told them about it sooner, and gotten treatment a lot sooner. I feel like mine happened just at the right time, but there are other people that I would like to have told even years ago.
I came into the Alsara Clinic because I had spider veins and they were really driving me crazy. And I really have a lot of pain behind the leg where those spider veins were, so I just kinda lived with fears. I never wore shorts or anything like that because they really looked bad.
I was at the doctor’s office and I’d seen something about “veins,” and you’re like ‘Really? Veins can have a… ?” You know, you just don’t think that there’s an issue. And the more I read, then I asked my doctor, and she sent me here to you guys [Alsara Vein Clinic].
I am a Dietary Manager. I work a lot of hours. I’m on my feet constantly, all day long. I have a couple of daughters.