Be sure to mention that your mom has a DVT to your doctor. I would also communicate how strong your feelings are on the subject. I can tell you that varicose and spider veins are very common, and we’ve had girls as young as 16 in our office (she had severe problems so it wasn’t just a cosmetic thing). Of course you shouldn’t put so much of your self-esteem on something as insignificant as a few veins, and focus on all of the great things in your life. It sounds like you’ve found a boyfriend who cares about what’s really important, and I’ll bet many of the women on the subway whose legs you’re jealous of, would probably love to be in your situation.
Your mother may be right about reflux not being detectable at your age, it’s the kind of problem that builds over time as the valves of the superficial leg veins stretch and break. pregnancy exacerbates this problem because the excess weight combined with hormonal changes can greatly accelerate the problem.
Treatment is done with a catheter that is inserted into the knee and pushed through the refluxing vein until it’s up in the thigh at the saphenofemoral junction. Several injections of local numbing anesthetic is injected along the course of the vein (like at the dentist). The catheter is turned on and it heats up to a temperature that kills the damaged vein as the catheter is slowly pulled out (the patient feels nothing). There is an ultrasound scan of the entire procedure, so they know everything is going properly. Finally you are placed in compression stockings for a week, and you walk out of the office. It’s called the VNUS Closure procedure, and we’ve had really success with our patients using it.
So, if it were me, I would take things as they come, and if your legs start to show symptoms of reflux, then get an ultrasound doppler study and cross that bridge when you come to it.
DVTs can be very serious and can lead to a fatal pulmonary embolism. Be sure to tell your MD about your family history of DVTs.