OK, It's time for Plan B

I'm moving some boxes on one of those two-wheelers or rolling carts whatever you call them. I was trying to get it thru a glass door with an automatic closer without scratching the glass. Well right in the middle of this, I trip over it and bang my leg up against the flat part that's used for lifting boxes.

My thoughts, in about this order.

1. Ow, that hurts. What a dumb thing to do.
2. Oh oh. It's bleeding. That's not so good.
3. Oh no, Those cuts are pretty big. I better change out of my panties (I was underdresed) in case I have to go to the Emergency Room. I know that the ER won't care, but my wife surely will if she accompanies me to the ER.

So, I'll bet you're wondering what this has to do with crossdressing.

I'm going to the Keystone Conference next week, so this is when I start thinking about the problems with Plan A.

1. This is going to look just great with a skirt. NOT.
2. Maybe I better re-think the pedicure I was planning. I'm not very trusting that the pedi baths get sterilized between each customer, and I'm not going to do a pedi with an open cut.

I changed surepticiously into tighty whities and went to the ER. I told my wife that I could handle this on my own. I ended up with 4 stitches and 1 tetnus shot.

The stitches need to come out in 10 days.

Oh, shoot. That's next Saturday. I'm going to be at Keystone. I'm going to have to find someone in Harrisburg to remove my stitches.

Oh shoot, oh shoot. I'm going to be in full girl mode all weekend. Nails done, makeovers scheduled. How am I going to manage to get my stitches removed in full girl mode? They're going to want to see my ID to preclude insurance fraud (borrowing someone's insurance card fraudulently to get treatment covered by insurance). I'm going to have to go to a medical facility with my girl looks and my boy ID. This will be interesting!

How about waiting until you get back and then have the stitches removed?

Take a small pair of cuticle scissors with you and remove them yourself. Keep a bottle of antiseptic handy too, Clean it when you're done.
Been there and it's not that hard to do.

I'm also a believer in DIY, but still I like the idea of turn up at a medical center in girl mode, could be fun :)

I'm with Shari, just take them out yourself. But I used to be a paramedic too. Rachel's idea is intriguing too. If you do it, tell us about your adventure here when you get back from the doctor's office.

I seem to do something like that before a big event where I want to look my best also! Mostly break a nail, but sometimes a scratch on the leg or arm that is painfully obvious when presenting as a woman. Not fun, so I understand that dilemma. Going to a doctors office, especially if it is a new one to you is easy though. I just walk up and introduce myself as Dana while handing over my ID, or if it did not register with the person I will sometimes ask the receptionist or check in person to call me by the name Dana as if it is a nickname or preferred name I go by (which is true while dressed) even if my ID says otherwise. Normally you will have a form to fill out and you can annotate it on there as well. Treat it as no big deal and the folks won't pick up on anything other than a woman in for an office visit. Like everything if you own it and treat this as a daily thing, pretty much everyone else will also. I even tease the person who checks my weight with a non-disclosure agreement on what the number actually is! Have fun and it will be a positive experience.

Im just guessing if you plan to go to the conference most people in the general area will be expecting alot of crossdressers to be in town. Can you possibly do some research and call a doctor in the area. Explain to them the situation and see if they would mind if you came in in full girl mode. They wont know who you are from a phone call. If they gladly accept then you know you will be ok. If they sound not so sure then plan (B) either put it off till u get back or DIY. As far as the bruises you may want to resort to a cute pair of slacks or tights to cover up the damage.

How about plan C. Ask a conference attendee to remove the stitches. I would bet that some one with medical experience would be there. Alternatively, remove them one day early...and that is a free medical opinion.

Stitches are easy, you can pull them yourself. Staples on the other hand are a lot harder to get out. I find myself wearing pants when I am working around the house just to help prevent cuts on my legs. I never realized how much I bang them up until I started wanting to keep them looking nice.

Stef I am sorry to hear this I know how much you were looking forward to KEYSTONE ...Hope you can still make it there and have fun! Good luck with the stitches and I hope your leg feels better. xoxo

Stef:

I, too, plan to be at Keystone again (although work and some personal stuff is starting to pile up and may force a last minute cancellation -- worse than broken nails or stitches in my book.)

My suggestion is to ask one of the doctors who is presenting if they could recommend a CD/TG friendly place to get the stitches removed on Saturday. Possibly one of them will ofer to do it gratis and on the spot. Worth a try.

Best (and hope to see you next week),
Rhonda

Look on the internet for self removal of the stitches.....

Now that is bad advice but there are people that do it.

Have an interesting weekend in going/coming out.

If it was me I would just remove them myself not a big deal and it really don't hurt

The only comment I have regarding removing the stitches yourself is to make sure none of the stitches are infected or inflamed. Most stitches are made to dissolve, especially those used by cosmetic surgeons, because having to dig them out of the skin can cause an infection or inflammation.

I had a bit of basil cell cancer on my cheek a couple of years ago and the dermatologist used a dissolving stitch. I managed to accidentally shave the stitches off the morning I was to visit his office. He told me I could have saved the trip to his office as there was nothing left to remove and he had no problem leaving the remainder of the stitches still under the skin in place. Two years later - no problems.

Stitches put in by the ER are normally non-dissolving nylon. I have been putting those in for 22 years. On face, they come out in 5 days, elsewhere 7-10 days. They are normally individual stitches and the tension is directly across the cut, but some do a running stitch, but the tension is on a diagonal and not as good. If individual, then each is a tiny loop with a knot outside. Typically, it is a nurse in an office who removes them, so you may find one at the conference, or an EMT. Usually, a good pair of fine scissors can cut the loop on one side of the knot and you then pull the knot. If you cut both sides, the loop is stuck in you. small layer of triple antibiotic ointment afterward. No proven benefit to Vit E or other stuff. Final appearance at 1 year. Keep it out of sun and/or use sunblock. I have heard of leg makeup to hide imperfections, so that would let your nice legs look their best.
Good luck!
Ellen

I don't mean to diminish your plight but suggest that you could hide the boo-boo in plain sight by wearing a Wonder Woman bandage. <grin>

Best wishes
MsVal

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Originally Posted by MsVal

I don't mean to diminish your plight but suggest that you could hide the boo-boo in plain sight by wearing a Wonder Woman bandage. <grin>

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Oooooo, l like that one. I vote for the wonder woman bandage!


ChelseyD

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Originally Posted by Alexis.j

How about waiting until you get back and then have the stitches removed?

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I checked with the RN at the ER. If you leave them in more than 10 days, the skin may grow over them making them hard to get out.

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Originally Posted by Shari

Take a small pair of cuticle scissors with you and remove them yourself. Keep a bottle of antiseptic handy too, Clean it when you're done. Been there and it's not that hard to do.

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I could do that. It's not like it's my first cut that needed stitches. In fact, it matches a cut in almost the same place on my other leg that required 10 stitches to close. I wish someone told me when I was a kid that I should be careful with my legs because you never can tell when you might want to wear a skirt.

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Originally Posted by Rachelakld

I'm also a believer in DIY, but still I like the idea of turn up at a medical center in girl mode, could be fun :)

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Yeah. I was thinking it could be fun.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dana921

I seem to do something like that before a big event where I want to look my best also! Mostly break a nail, but sometimes a scratch on the leg or arm that is painfully obvious when presenting as a woman. Not fun, so I understand that dilemma. Going to a doctors office, especially if it is a new one to you is easy though. I just walk up and introduce myself as Dana while handing over my ID, or if it did not register with the person I will sometimes ask the receptionist or check in person to call me by the name Dana as if it is a nickname or preferred name I go by (which is true while dressed) even if my ID says otherwise. Normally you will have a form to fill out and you can annotate it on there as well. Treat it as no big deal and the folks won't pick up on anything other than a woman in for an office visit. Like everything if you own it and treat this as a daily thing, pretty much everyone else will also. I even tease the person who checks my weight with a non-disclosure agreement on what the number actually is! Have fun and it will be a positive experience.

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Another Nike vote. Just do it!

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Originally Posted by Laura912

How about plan C. Ask a conference attendee to remove the stitches. I would bet that some one with medical experience would be there. Alternatively, remove them one day early...and that is a free medical opinion.

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I thought about that. There will be a lot of MtF surgeons there who have taken out more than a stitch or two.

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Originally Posted by Adriana Moretti

Stef I am sorry to hear this I know how much you were looking forward to KEYSTONE ...Hope you can still make it there and have fun! Good luck with the stitches and I hope your leg feels better. xoxo

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Oh, I'm going. I'm not in any pain, just not very cute looking.

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Originally Posted by ClosetED

Stitches put in by the ER are normally non-dissolving nylon. I have been putting those in for 22 years. On face, they come out in 5 days, elsewhere 7-10 days. They are normally individual stitches and the tension is directly across the cut, but some do a running stitch, but the tension is on a diagonal and not as good. If individual, then each is a tiny loop with a knot outside. Typically, it is a nurse in an office who removes them, so you may find one at the conference, or an EMT. Usually, a good pair of fine scissors can cut the loop on one side of the knot and you then pull the knot. If you cut both sides, the loop is stuck in you. small layer of triple antibiotic ointment afterward. No proven benefit to Vit E or other stuff. Final appearance at 1 year. Keep it out of sun and/or use sunblock. I have heard of leg makeup to hide imperfections, so that would let your nice legs look their best.
Good luck!
Ellen

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You're right. 4 big ugly individual stitches.

I don't have any medical training, but I've watched it done enough that your lesson gives me confidence to do it myself. I guess I just need to bring supplies: cuticle scissors, tweezers, alcohol, and bacitracin.

I can't put any leg makeup on until after it heals up some.

I'm sure I'll survive. I'll make it some kind of adventure.

Hi Steffi, It sounds like you are between a rock and a hard place, I take my stitches out my self.

Call the ER and ask if they can come out just before you leave town or do them yourself. The trick is to cut by the knot and pull on the knot end. A little anticeptic after removal and you should be fine. Use the alcohol to sanitize the scissors and tweezers.
I think skipping th Pedi is wise if you don't know that they are crazy good with sterilization of the tub. You could go just for a polish change, no soak. Make up for it with maybe some nail art. Have fun and please report back.

I promised a follow-up, so here it is.

In short, the mission was aborted.

I went to the urgent care center on Saturday morning, fully dressed with forms, wig, makeup, etc. I signed in on the electronic sign in board as the male me and asked the receptionist to ask for Steffi. After about 40 minutes of waiting and not even getting registered, I just walked out. I had a makeover scheduled and photos after the makeup session, and I didn't want to be late. I was going to try again on Sunday, but I got a late start, and had an afternoon of shopping planned. I had the stiches removed in boy mode by my local FP on Monday morning after I got home.

So, in short, I had the muffins to do the hardest part, which was just showing up. I knew the docs would be OK with it, or at least pretend to be. So the only thing I really missed was filling out the registrayion forms dressed like a girl but with a boy ID. Still, it would have been fun to do.

Use a pair of small scissors and tweezers and take them out your self.
I always take mine out just because I don't want to waste 45 minutes and another co- pay. For something I can do at home in 1 minute or less