varicose vein stripping?

I'm scheduled to have my bulgy leg veins stripped next week, it will be a procedure done under general anesthesia . . . was hoping others who've had this done could tell me what to expect pain-wise, recovery time, etc.? I wish my surgeon was able to do the newer, less invasive repairs like laser, etc. but he says my veins are too "severe" and I need to go under the knife ACK!!! -BJ

This is a reply that I posted yesterday to another person...sorry for the cut-n-paste; but, I'm a bit 'handicapped' these days. (Sorry in advance that I do not have any actual answers to your questions...). I have to ask. Is the vein stripping for medically necessary reasons or for purely vane ones? I'm not trying to rain on your parade, burst your bubble, etc. I'm more concerned about your long-term health. My Mom suffered two massive heart attacks in November 2004 and underwent a quadruple bypass surgery. The veins in her legs (which would have been her strongest/best/*only* options for the bypasses) were useless to her surgeon, due to stripping of varicose veins MANY years prior. He used veins from her arm instead (not as strong of a 'pump' action back to the heart as the other ones would have been and would have given her a 50/50 chance of paralysis in her arms). Mom passed away on 12/04/04 from complications following her heart attacks and surgery. Anyway...just wanted you to think it over long and hard prior to it, IF it is NOT for a medically necessary reason. (((Hugs))) ~~Sherry