Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Today was the big day for me getting my hootus stabbed and zapped a few thousand times in its first pre-srs hair clearing.  Since I'm a big wuss and am also kind of on a short timeline for srs, I needed this done in a hurry and hopefully with a minimum of agony.

So I gave Irina at precision a call.  I found her to be super accommodating, really friendly, and her staff is much like her.  Trans people are a huge part of their business so no worries about acceptance here.

For those unaware, at this place they do complete clearings of hair from whatever you want while you're on drugs. 

Now of course you're not completely under nor totally out of your gourd having conversations with your hallucination of choice, but what they do give you is perfect for this job.  First they slather you down with topical anesthetic.  Then Dr Zukowski (of FFS surgery fame) starts your IV, administers narcotics to keep you a bit sedated and calm, and then hits you with a bunch of local anesthetic shots to numb up where they're going to work.  Due to the topical anesthetic, the shots of local are nowhere near as uncomfortable as usual.

Then the tech gets to work.  And wow did she work, and work.  She took a couple of short breaks but 5 hours later my largely virgin dingus was looking like an enraged sea creature with not a single hair left in the areas my doc wants cleared.  It's currently still kind of numb but I'm in for some pretty serious discomfort tomorrow.  The amazing thing was, electrolysis that would have had me in tears was largely painless and she cleared the whole stinking thing in the first session.

Now it wasn't totally perfect.  As with most cases with local anesthesia it isn't 100% certain to numb everything, so I had a few places that weren't quite numb and my tech marked them.  Dr. Z's anesthesiologist came in between surgeries to stick those, and it was smooth sailing from there.  Those shots were pretty painful but believe me, they're worth it.

So if you're a big wimp, impatient, or both like I am this is a wonderful service.  It wasn't cheap at just over $1200 for me, but it was so worth it.  The worst part about this was having to go without caffeine for 2 days prior, I get crabby without my life giving coffee.  (hail coffee full of caffeine, blessed are you among beverages...)

Just because I know somebody will wonder: nobody from precision nor Dr Z knows about me writing this review, nor am I being compensated for it in any way at all.

Ve have vays of making you talk... >:-)  :laugh:

I think all the ladies I saw there were Polish as well so they definitely have the accent, lol

Colleen, could I ask who's your GCS surgeon?  Just curious as I'm in the area.

Pete Raphael in Plano Texas. Im not from 'round these here parts.

Actually I'm not from there either, he's just capable and I know a few of his previous patients who have had great results.

ah, thanks.  Best wishes :)

Thanks for the report, Colleen. I'm considering these guys or Electrolysis 3000 in Texas for face and the South Pole.  My electrocutioner will only do 1/2 hour at a time once a week. This could take forever.

How ironic that at the same time I need more hair on top I need none below. And both cost much money and pain to fix.

Sigh...

Stephanie

Quote from: Colleen_definitely on March 17, 2018, 05:39:10 PM
I think all the ladies I saw there were Polish as well so they definitely have the accent, lol

Irina is Romanian, and tops in my book.

Oh ok. I knew they weren't speaking Russian but couldn't quite figure it out.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on March 17, 2018, 05:58:56 PM
Thanks for the report, Coleen. I'm considering these guys or Electrolysis 3000 in Texas for face and the South Pole.  My electrocutioner will only do 1/2 hour at a time once a week. This could take forever.

How ironic that at the same time I need more hair on top I need none below. And both cost much money and pain to fix.

Sigh...

Stephanie

Trans woman problems for sure, but these people are great for half of it.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on March 17, 2018, 05:58:56 PM
Thanks for the report, Colleen. I'm considering these guys or Electrolysis 3000 in Texas for face and the South Pole.  My electrocutioner will only do 1/2 hour at a time once a week. This could take forever.

How ironic that at the same time I need more hair on top I need none below. And both cost much money and pain to fix.

Sigh...

Stephanie

You could learn to do a handstand and talk out of your ass...like me!  :laugh:

Hugs, Devlyn

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on March 17, 2018, 06:09:48 PM
You could learn to do a handstand and talk out of your ass...like me!  :laugh:

Hugs, Devlyn

Oh my! Devlyn Marie, such language! I am simply scandalized!

Stephanie

Next day update:
Things are really, really swollen. My beanbag has never ever been this big, ever. I'm super glad I didn't get the random selection at Midway this morning.   

I went from Dr Z asking if I had already had an orchi to having an orange in my panties. Thankfully the pain is minimal so far.   It's just uncomfortable in almost a minor sunburn sort of way.

3 days in:  The swelling peaked about 48 hours out, and it was serious.

Now the swelling is definitely ebbing but this thing looks uuuuuuugly.  Lots of little scabs and some bruising, she really had that thing cranked up.  The tech also missed one hair.  One hair out of 10,000 or so is pretty impressive if you ask me.

My electrologist is in Champaign, IL and she founded that place.  She talks about Irena and tells me how nice she is.  It's a great service for large volume hair removal.  Not as cheap as regular electrolysis, but then you may have multiple techs and a doctor providing the sedation.  She founded the place for trans people so we could have a place to obtain services like these.  She's also easy to talk to and has helped me a lot.  If you need an excellent electrologist in Champaign, IL, I would highly recommend her.  She did my upper lip yesterday.  She's very gentle, but wow, is my upper lip ever swollen today.  I look like a fish. 

I find electrolysis reminds me of my former self. Prick, Prick Prick repeat 300 times.

Quote from: Breeze 57 on March 26, 2018, 03:40:57 PM
My electrologist is in Champaign, IL and she founded that place.  She talks about Irena and tells me how nice she is.  It's a great service for large volume hair removal.  Not as cheap as regular electrolysis, but then you may have multiple techs and a doctor providing the sedation.  She founded the place for trans people so we could have a place to obtain services like these.  She's also easy to talk to and has helped me a lot.  If you need an excellent electrologist in Champaign, IL, I would highly recommend her.  She did my upper lip yesterday.  She's very gentle, but wow, is my upper lip ever swollen today.  I look like a fish.

How is she doing? I know when I was going there before she was really really sick! I didn't expect her to recover, but it sounds as if she has? She was a sweetie

The gal who did all my electro also did my bottom pre op .
I am waaayyyyyyyy glad we did this, and so was my doctor ;)
Nothing but topical for discomfort, and it will probably replace waterboarding soon as torture of choice out there !!  lol
I had a couple friends in Dallas who did Electro 3000 and loved it. The TEAM of electrolysists that made the event much less of and an event .
hth
J

Oh let me tell you, drugs are DEFINITELY the way to go for electro  :D

While the procedure was relatively pain free, the recovery is kind of rough. Some areas where hair was especially dense are burn wounds now. Not a lot of fun but it's the price of impatience.

I saw Belle in September and she looked fantastic. Healthy and happy. She was in remission and hopefully still is.

To: SF Barbie and Jessica Lynne
Yes, Belle is a sweetheart.  She has helped me with the electrolysis and so much more.  I look forward to our sessions so I can talk with her.  Health-wise, she looks great, but I'm not so sure she is in reality.  But she has a good attitude and continues to make plans for the future.  I do know she is very good at what she does, is compassionate, and is very knowledgeable about her profession.  I know when I had my first session, I was dressed as a guy and told her I wanted her to work on my facial hair.  She agreed, asked me if I was trans, and then told me about her own transgender experience.  She was very honest and upfront.  Well, all my defenses disappeared and I told her I was trans too.  Yada Yada Yada...I've had 2 complete clearings and ready to start my third once I can get some facial hair to start growing again.

Glad to hear. Prior to initially meeting her I was so nervous because I had actually not had a lot of experience meeting other trans women - having only met like 2 others before, but she was so sweet and warm i immediately felt like she was my sister.

I'm in Chicago and about 1/2 of my transfemale friends use Dr Z and his total clearing approach for both facial and genital cleaning.

The other half, including me, use Kelly Inc in Oak Park Illinois.  Kelly doesn't have a medical license which has implications with insurance.  These issues were worked out with my insurance and all is good.

Kelly has an Md that comes in to do injections.  I'll tell you the truth, the shots into the face is probably the most painful thing I've over done (way more painful than GCS last week).  But I wouldn't trade the experience.  At about 1/2 the price I'm not disappointed.

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

Quote from: Breeze 57 on March 27, 2018, 04:40:15 PM
To: SF Barbie and Jessica Lynne
Yes, Belle is a sweetheart.  She has helped me with the electrolysis and so much more.  I look forward to our sessions so I can talk with her.  Health-wise, she looks great, but I'm not so sure she is in reality.  But she has a good attitude and continues to make plans for the future.  I do know she is very good at what she does, is compassionate, and is very knowledgeable about her profession.  I know when I had my first session, I was dressed as a guy and told her I wanted her to work on my facial hair.  She agreed, asked me if I was trans, and then told me about her own transgender experience.  She was very honest and upfront.  Well, all my defenses disappeared and I told her I was trans too.  Yada Yada Yada...I've had 2 complete clearings and ready to start my third once I can get some facial hair to start growing again.

Hi Paige! Would you mind if I pm'd you? Had some questions about the facility in Champaign? More so interested in costs & if one can drive to & from an appt if they use any sort of pain killer/sedation etc.

Live just under 2 hours away & have cleared most facial hair with laser. But have the usual pesky spots.

Thanks everyone in this thread for the reviews.

Quote from: Jessica Lynne on March 27, 2018, 02:15:04 PM
I saw Belle in September and she looked fantastic. Healthy and happy. She was in remission and hopefully still is.

I'm sorry to report that Belle Brine passed away November 8th. I saw her obituary online. I never met her, but she was clearly much loved.

Quote from: Steph2.0 on March 17, 2018, 05:58:56 PM
How ironic that at the same time I need more hair on top I need none below. And both cost much money and pain to fix.

Sigh...

Stephanie

I thought the very same thing tonight. To bad they can't subtract from one area and add to the other.