Spider Telangiectasias
Spider Angiomas or Matted Spider Telangiectasias
When these appear on the lower legs, burning pain can awaken one from sleep. Very fine spider telangiectasia arterioles appear around the ankles, sometimes the nose, across the chest and the back and they have been associated with liver disease or decreased estrogen metabolism through a diseased liver. Spider angiomas can cause a sock like distribution of discoloration around the ankles formed by a gathering of very fine tiny vessels. These can be easily blanched when compressed.
Spiders manifest when the liver has a slowing down of the process of
estrogen and estrogen like compounds metabolism.
Diet and endocrine disruptor exposure play a role in this.
A vascular surgeon can perform sclerosing of these fine spidery arterioles. One surgeon explained that metabolism of
estrogen was decreased through a polycystic liver.
PLD liver cysts contain hormone receptors.
within their cell walls. Hormones can increase liver size. Drinking cabbage juice and eating broccoli sprouts (cruciferous
vegetables) helps the metabolism of estrogen throughout the liver
and protects DNA integrity.
Other useful herbs are turmeric, saffron, and milk thistle. They also increase estrogen metabolism.
Limiting exposure to endocrine disruptors, false estrogen or xenoestrogens are to be avoided:
pesticides, DDT, bleach, polyvinyl chloride, bleached coffee filters. Here is a detailed list of
xenoestrogens. The EWG has listed the 12 most toxic
endocrine disruptors as well as how to avoid most of them.
A liver specialist explained that generally individuals with spider angiomas or matted telangiectasias were not in very good health. They had a severe loss of liver functioning from a cancer or hepatitis. It was rare for him to find someone with a healthy liver and spider angiomas. My visit to the vascular surgeon concluded with him saying he would agree to help me if after a year I could demonstrate to him lessening of growth of my matted spider telangiectasias. Following a year's time, he agreed to sclerose my spiders. We talked first about what to use. He wanted to use alcohol, then he wanted to use cod liver oil. I explained to him that I was allergic to cod liver oil due to my liver cysts. The smallest amount of cod liver oil injected into me would cause my liver to ache as if I had drunk an entire bottle of distilled liquor or a bottle of fine French wine. He said then we would not use that. We went on to discuss other agents and finally agreed upon a detergent solution that had been diluted.
Before starting the procedure I explained to him what I had observed with PKD and PLD. My veins collapse on themselves. Drawing blood is exquisitely painful for me, much more so than for the ordinary person. I bruise easily and the vein walls collapse in on themselves during a blood draw. I always bruise after having my blood drawn. He said that wherever there are veins and arteries there is always a large amount of nerves running along side the blood vessels. I have also observed the fine veins along the sides of my fingers to be very fragile. While kneading bread I sometimes get cramps on my fingers and when I look at the finger that is cramping, the tiny vessel is bruised and painful and cramping. It becomes darkened, so I know it is a vein. This pain lasts about an hour then subsides. I have noticed the same thing happens to my toes and I wondered if this also happens to the calves of my legs when I get cramps. He asked if I had phlebitis or deep vein thrombosis or trouble with clotting? I told him no, but I had had Budd-Chiari syndrome following my liver resection. I purposely sought to try and get my body to increase the collateral circulation so the veins of my body would by-pass the obstruction caused by the liver cysts. While observing my ankles with their multitude of fine network of arteries with numerous trails of matted Telangiectasias or spider angiomas, he said, he could understand that my body was capable of laying down new vessels quickly and easily. I have not had any trouble with blood clots per se. Budd-Chiari was caused by external pressure from the liver cysts against my vessels especially the inferior vena cava and this external pressure caused the blood to slow way down as it traveled its course through my body. This slowing down of the course of the blood flow caused a back flow of blood and swelling. Prior to my liver resection surgery, I was in danger of clotting off my inferior vena cava due to the external pressure mass of the liver. It was not due to something internal from within my cells but external from the cysts.
He asked if I was ready to have this procedure done? I said yes. We went into the surgery room. He prepared the solution and at first used a very fine small needle. He had to pull back once within the tiny arteriole itself and he had to receive a blood return. The first two sticks were painful and with the pain came bruising. Then he switched needles to a super fine needle that one could barely see without the aide of some type of magnification. This hair like fine needle easily slipped into the arteriole and it was almost painless. He became very creative in his positioning of the needle to allow it to rest within the tiny vessels. The procedure took a long time but the result was a diminishing of the superficial artery vessels around my ankles known as true spider angiomas. Viola! He said if I lived locally he would have me back every 3-4 weeks to repeat the process until all were gone. Since I lived in Hawaii and came to the Mayo only once or twice a year, he would see me again tomorrow and try to sclerose a few more. He wrapped my ankle with an ace wrap and sent me off to rest and to return tomorrow for a second treatment. Once I returned to my hotel, I soaked in a warm bath and massaged vitamin E oil into my ankle. I took an extra dose of broccolive [DIMs, broccoli sprouts tablets], 3 additional tablets to aide in healing plus 2 vitamin E tablets internally. Spiders are greatly diminished.
