Removing your own stitches

socal78

Well-known member
I got stitches last night.

They are supposed to come out in 4 weeks. It is not convenient for me as the date falls exactly on the same day I board a boat. I was up until 2 a.m. Googling "How to Remove Your Own Stitches". Frankly, I also think it is moronic to pay $50 for an office visit so the doctor can remove them. Seems like a waste of $$. Plenty of people have removed their own stitches just fine with a little help from another person. I know I could do this. Some of them are on my face, though. That part is kind of important to me. I really wouldn't want to screw up my face. If it was a less obvious place, I wouldn't even think twice, I'd just do it. I'm really bummed they didn't use glue or dissolvable stitches. They are big, ugly black Frankenstein stitches.

Have you ever removed your own stitches?
 
Last time I got stitches removed I don't remember having to pay a co-pay or office visit fee. It was part of the follow-up for the surgery.

Or am I mis-remembering that?
 
Yeah, you might be right about that. That would be nice. Someone else told me the same thing, too. Maybe it is included. Aside from the cost, though, the scheduling sucks. I'll add to my list of Pet Peeves: doctors who are only in the office 1 day per week.  :mad:  ::) I can't go the week before (3 weeks) and I don't want to wait until the week after (5 weeks!)
 
And the doctor didn't even do it (I don't even remember if he saw me). It was nurse practitioner who removed the stitches.
 
The office is going to get sick of me. I just called them again to say, "Irvinehomeowner says the nurse can do it. So, can I come in a different day?"

Yeah, the nurse does do it but she is only in when the doctor is in - that 1 day per week. Plus he wants to see the results after she removes them.  :( So, then I asked if the janitor could do it... but he was booked. Just kidding!

Tweezers and nail clippers sound pretty good to me.


 
4 offices: Los Al, H.B., M.V. (where I went), and Tustin. Tustin is pretty booked up as it's their busiest office- again, open 1 day / wk there. They asked me to go to H.B. but H.B. / Los Al are out of the question. Why would I go all the way to HB when I got scissors sitting right here.
 
SoCal said:
4 offices: Los Al, H.B., M.V. (where I went), and Tustin. Tustin is pretty booked up as it's their busiest office- again, open 1 day / wk there. They asked me to go to H.B. but H.B. / Los Al are out of the question. Why would I go all the way to HB when I got scissors sitting right here.

Because it's your face...


If an extra 15 minutes on the road is too much, the scar or repeat is your option.

 
bones said:
SoCal said:
Yeah, you might be right about that. That would be nice. Someone else told me the same thing, too. Maybe it is included. Aside from the cost, though, the scheduling sucks. I'll add to my list of Pet Peeves: doctors who are only in the office 1 day per week.  :mad:  ::) I can't go the week before (3 weeks) and I don't want to wait until the week after (5 weeks!)

Not sure what type of dr you are seeing, but this is normal if the dr operates and sees patients out of more than one office.  Generally 2-3 office days/week and 2-3 surgery days/week for most drs.  If they have 2 offices, then that's probably why they're just in 1 day a week. 

That's fine if they're upfront about that. However, their website makes it appear as though they are staffed with 5 doctors and a nurse practitioner. When in reality, it's only 1 doctor (no N.P.) and 1 day a week spread out amongst 5 locations. I picked them for the location / ease of access and availability, also thinking I could just see a different doctor in the office if need be. Nope. That's not how it works. Only one doctor in the office. The office says they know it's misleading but that's how the owner wants it. Nice. The front desk girl says she's gotten complaints about it from patients but they don't care. I didn't realize I was stuck until the stitches were already in, then they break the news to you that they're mostly unavailable to help you.
 
nosuchreality said:
Because it's your face...


If an extra 15 minutes on the road is too much, the scar or repeat is your option.

Pretty small. Only 2 stitches in the face and 2 on the shoulder. Just from where my husband socked me last night after I told him I was going to stop baking pies & cooking because Homer insinuated so in the diet thread. Thanks a lot, Homer.  :'(

At least, that's the story I'm going to tell everybody.  :)
 
Personally,  I would do it myself as you don't have very many.  Another option-  Call your local "minute clinics" (CVS, etc) a call and see if their nurse will do it for a small charge.
 
furioussugar said:
Personally,  I would do it myself as you don't have very many.  Another option-  Call your local "minute clinics" (CVS, etc) a call and see if their nurse will do it for a small charge.

Thanks. That's really interesting. I never heard of a "Minute Clinic" at CVS before. I'm looking at their website now. Good to know.

I had all the stitches removed already on July 25 at the doctor's office. I was surprised how much it hurt even though I'm not much of a baby when it comes to pain. I'm kind of glad I didn't do it myself this time.

Iho, you were right -- that visit was "free".

No skin cancer. Good! But they want me to come back every 6 months for being at risk. I don't think so.  :) So long as I rarely leave my cave and then only for a dark movie theater once every 10 years, I'll be fine.

 
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