I've had a big rope varicose vein on my left leg most of m life. I'm 23 now and it's caused intermittent pain and swelling in left leg since I was a teenager. About a month ago I got a sudden bad pain and some swelling in a vein on my left foot. It eventually went away but since then I started having extremely severe stabbing and aching pain all up and down my left leg: knee, behind my knee, in different places in my thigh, down by my ankle. It also often feels heavy in my left leg. I'm also getting intense pulsing and often feel like my entire left calf is throbbing in synch with my heartbeat. I'm very worried I have a DVT. I went to a doctor who said I should go straight to the ER for a scan (she measured my calf and it was bigger than the right side, but keep in mind it's usually bigger than my right side which I think is chronic swelling related to the varicose vein. The full leg ultrasound came back clear and they said I was ok to travel. I then went to primary care doctor who said I should see a vein specialist when I'm back from my trip. Then I saw my acupuncturist and their treatment really helped stop pain for a few days. I took a four day train ride and tried to move around a lot because I know it's bad to sit for a long time especially with varicose veins. I took daily low dose aspirin and wore compression stockings to help with circulation. Now I'm home for the holidays and the pain is getting bad again along with intense pulsing feeling in entire calf. I'm so worried that there is a DVT and that the quick ER scan missed it. I'm also worried about potential for a pulmonary embolism. I'm NOT on hormonal birth control and never have been. I'm not aware of any family clotting disorders though several old relatives have had strokes or clots but not DVTS or PEs specifically.
Is it possible that my sudden flare up in pain and pulsating in my left leg could just be the chronic varicose vein hitting nerves? Or should I worry that there is a clot that was somehow missed and pursue another scan or test?