Traveling (medication, packing, etc)

[kaiju]

Long story short, I'm going to visit my girlfriend in the summer and we're going to be sharing a hotel room with one of our friends for an event. I've only ever traveled by plane once since officially starting my medical transition - to get top surgery. I had brought my Androgel in my checked luggage and it seemed alright, so I'll probably do the same again, only this time I'll just take what I'll need for that week and a little extra just in case something comes up. I didn't pack when going through security last time and my ID was all mismatched(male name, female gender etc, but it's fixed now), but I know I want to bring my STP(a peecock). Would it be best for me to just put it in my checked luggage and avoid the hassle of the body scanners and such?

I'm also thinking about the hotel arrangements. I trust my girlfriend, and our friend is another trans dude, but he doesn't know about me being trans. Since we're gonna be sharing the space for a week, I'm wondering if I should pack in my sleep/while chilling around the hotel. I tend to sleep in loose boxers without packing and I don't anticipate this friend coming close to touching me or staring at my crotch, but I'm a bit paranoid and really would prefer not to come out to him over something like this(read: I don't want to come out at all and value being stealth).

Any advice? Thanks in advance for your help!

[spacerace]

Checking the STP seems the safest bet.  It may not be an issue at all, but it really shouldn't be an issue if you just check it. Avoids the concern of them questioning you about it in front of other people.

Now, staying stealth in a hotel room with another trans guy - that is interesting. I'm going to go ahead and say *don't* pack while you sleep. He is more likely to notice the packer than notice you have nothing, in this reverse situation. If he sees what he thinks is nothing - he will wonder but have no conclusion. If he accidentally sees a tell-tale sign of the packer somehow, then he will know.

[aleon515]

I'm just amazed you are really stealth with a trans guy. I wonder if he knows but isn't saying anything. Or he must have terrible trans dar.

--Jay

[kaiju]

@spacerace - I figured that might be the smartest option. I don't really want to make a big deal at the airport. As for packing at the hotel room, I might as well avoid it just to be safe. He's definitely not going to be looting through my bag or anything like that.

@aleon515 - I dunno quite what you mean by that? I just happen to live stealth, without anyone really being able to "tell", even most trans people. As far as I know, he doesn't know anything. It's not like there's anything about me that one could peg as trans just by looking at me or knowing me for a while.

[chuck]

Medication is almost never a problem at airports. maybe if your meds were green and leafy. I ahve packed 20 vials of testosterone before (got an awesome deal on Testosterone while in serbia, so i stocked up) and have been all around the world with meds and needles. They have never asked me a thing, they see this crap all day long.

As far as your prosthetic - I always just wore mine. I have never been hassled but I was pat searched twice (once with a my packer and once post surgery) The packer was significantly smaller than my phallo, but both times, the pat searcher just moved away from my penis as soon as s/he felt it.

bunking with a trans dude. I would not pack in my sleep because its not comfortable, and i disagree that he wont be staring at your crotch. I think alot of transguys are so curious how a bio guy stuff works/functions/looks that they do pay close attention. I would just take my pants off only right before i got under the covers and dont give him an opportunity to examine.

[aleon515]

@aleon515 - I dunno quite what you mean by that? I just happen to live stealth, without anyone really being able to "tell", even most trans people. As far as I know, he doesn't know anything. It's not like there's anything about me that one could peg as trans just by looking at me or knowing me for a while.

Nothing in a mean way, just curious I guess.

TSA has no interest in drugs. I take a lot of prescription and non-prescription stuff. I take it all in individual compartments and not in the bottles, like sometimes I hear people suggest. They have never asked about it. I've often heard it's like the IRS. The IRS doesn't care what you do unless you hide your income. Smuggle drugs or whatever, they don't care. Just don't hide income. The TSA doesn't care what you have on you unless it is one of the things they don't allow (explosives, guns, knives, etc.) Don't know if this is all completely true.

I had an expensive prosthetic, and didn't want to put it in my luggage that I might never see again. So I put it in my carry on. I was a little worried about it, esp since my luggage was once pulled for my careful screening. But it didn't end up sitting on the table. Might have been an interesting story for youtube. (There's a guy who tells quite a hilarious story-- searching youtube for TSA and transgender will find it.)



--Jay

[wheat thins are delicious]

I'm just amazed you are really stealth with a trans guy. I wonder if he knows but isn't saying anything. Or he must have terrible trans dar.

--Jay

You can't tell someone is trans.  You can speculate or guess but that's rude and you aren't guaranteed to be right.  Being trans doesn't mean you have some special ability to tell if someone is trans, either.

Long story short, I'm going to visit my girlfriend in the summer and we're going to be sharing a hotel room with one of our friends for an event. I've only ever traveled by plane once since officially starting my medical transition - to get top surgery. I had brought my Androgel in my checked luggage and it seemed alright, so I'll probably do the same again, only this time I'll just take what I'll need for that week and a little extra just in case something comes up. I didn't pack when going through security last time and my ID was all mismatched(male name, female gender etc, but it's fixed now), but I know I want to bring my STP(a peecock). Would it be best for me to just put it in my checked luggage and avoid the hassle of the body scanners and such?

I'm also thinking about the hotel arrangements. I trust my girlfriend, and our friend is another trans dude, but he doesn't know about me being trans. Since we're gonna be sharing the space for a week, I'm wondering if I should pack in my sleep/while chilling around the hotel. I tend to sleep in loose boxers without packing and I don't anticipate this friend coming close to touching me or staring at my crotch, but I'm a bit paranoid and really would prefer not to come out to him over something like this(read: I don't want to come out at all and value being stealth).

Any advice? Thanks in advance for your help!

When I travel next year I'm going to put my packer in my luggage and check it just to avoid troubles, but I've heard lot of stories of guys who packed through security and had no problem.  Here's what the TSA has on the trans section of their website: 

Prosthetics: Travelers should neither be asked to nor agree to lift, remove, or raise any article of clothing to reveal a prosthetic and should not be asked to remove it.

[aleon515]

You can't tell someone is trans.  You can speculate or guess but that's rude and you aren't guaranteed to be right.  Being trans doesn't mean you have some special ability to tell if someone is trans, either.

Perhaps not.  Maybe I think personally I wear a sign or something like that. I don't mean this in a rude way. Just more surprised I guess. Perhaps for no reason.

--Jay

[AdamMLP]

I can't add anything to travel as I've never packed either (excuse the pun there) in my luggage. I'd be more interested in keeping my chest hidden whilst sharing a room with a trans man, unless you've had very, very, neat peri areola. Obviously he's going to know what a binder looks like, and the same with DI scars. Not trying to worry you or anything, buts another thing to be aware of. I know I, discreetly, pay attention to topless guys and there chests out of simple jealousy.

I would personally be tempted to pack, but maybe that's because I always pack to bed when I was at home. I wish I could here, but having my room mates stumble across a flaccid penis if it was taken off for whatever reason whilst I'm supposedly female is awkward to say the least...

[kaiju]

Ahhh, looks like a few different answers. I've been trying to sleep with my prosthetic as an experiment, and yeah. It's not very comfortable. I do have really baggy boxers/sweats that I wear to sleep, so those might be good when trying to hide that I have nothing there at night. My DI scars, hmm. I didn't think on it much, as they're pretty much invisible unless your face is right up in my chest or if you're looking at my armpits, where they're a little thicker/darker than the rest, but I might just sleep in a tank or other shirt anyway, to be safe.

I guess it's also a matter of me deciding if it's worth it to check my prosthetic lest I risk losing it in some sort of flight screwup. Hmmn. I have a cheap packer, but my prosthetic is my STP device and agh. This stuff feels more complicated than I thought it would be.

[Arch]

I pretty much have to pack at night because of my dysphoria. Not packing is much worse for me than packing. I wear a pair of Tranzwear boxer briefs, the kind with the pouch in the front, not the kind with the C-ring (although I have some of the C-ring underwear and use them when I run out of the others). You can also mess around with other types of underwear. But I like the pouches because the packer isn't right up next to my skin. So the packer isn't yanking on my pubic hair and making me sweat and getting all sticky.

If the underwear fits correctly and you're wearing it underneath your usual night clothes, you should be able to pack at night. You might experiment if you have the money and the time.

[kaiju]

Money is a thing I can't throw around at the moment, but I'm pretty crafty. I could try to create some underwear that will work comfortably with my anatomy so I can pack at night. I have a sort of underwear harness from peecock, but I find that my prosthetic still sort of slips and gets into the worst position possible if I'm sleeping in it.

[LordKAT]

I'm like Arch. I pack 24/7. The immense relief is worth it to me. I use a homemade harness without issues for the most part.

[xsmittyx]

I've traveled with T, both Androgel and injectable. I checked my bag and it was all good. I go through security wearing a packer, even had the intimate pat-down and it was all fine.