It still looks infected to me. Maybe there was a period of stability, but bacteria can find places to hide while they set up a colony and start producing biofilm to hide under and grow.
Get antibiotics and consider removal. That’s my suggestion.
1 Like
Heard loud and clear, I think I would have acted much sooner if I’d heard the “I” word the first time 
I contacted the NHS straight after reading your message, and they agreed and had a prescription for penicillin filled. I’ve just taken my first dose.
Nothing much else has changed.
2 Likes
yeah it’s hard to make medical assessments on a forum. i think @greydoc suggested it didn’t look infected at some point, but this is the difficulty of telemedicine via forum 
i think you’re on the right path at this point. even if it’s not infected, removal is the best course of action.
if you would like to return it for cleaning and re-processing we can do that for you;
then you can have another go at installation in a new spot.
4 Likes
Alrighty, it’s 5 days later, haven’t quite finished the course of antibiotics yet but I’m working on it.
Trying to get ahold of a surgeon is proving to be hard. My GP has also made a private referral but I have not heard back yet. (I briefly considered a flight back to Czechia to visit the body modder who installed my Flex NeXT; he did an amazing job)
Observations:
- Any aching/pain I felt is gone. No pain when giving it a gentle prod.
- Only very minor swelling.
- Visual inspection, the site looks near identical to the photo I shared in the very first post. The skin is a little glossy still, but colouration wise, it’s “normal”.
- Curiously, I’m noticing movement above the implant. When I run my finger along the top of it, I can see the skin giving way, as if there is fluid above the implant.
I am wondering if the implant is somehow migrating deeper under the skin. I realise it’s hard to know over the net; but I’m happy to try and make that work. What I’d give for 30 minutes of face time with someone qualified. State of healthcare in this country is shocking 
I’ve been attempting to keep a sane head here… I worry that the infection is “quietly out of control” despite not having read anything about that happening to anyone. I have no obvious signs of immediate danger, though (at least from my perspective).
This may be due to the implantation site having no way to get the dead bacteria and it’s effluent out… so your body will just have to absorb and process it… so yeah there is probably fluid in there.
The antibiotics seem to be doing their job at least.
1 Like
Update time!
My course of antibiotics is complete, the implant seems to have stabilized. Any swelling/fluid appears to have settled, too.
I’m in touch with a consultant and fingers crossed, I’ll be getting the implant out in a couple of weeks 
Cheers guys.
2 Likes
Glad to hear it’s stable… soo… why does it need to come out now? Did I miss something?
No, it’s a good question…
Truthfully it’s more of a peace of mind deal.
Earlier this year I definitely felt differently; this last week or so I’ve been quite worried and would rather get the install done properly.
That way I’m not constantly on the lookout for when “the red blotchy patch looks different enough”.
At least when the install is done right it’s obvious when something is wrong.
Infection is really only possible during install. That’s when contaminants get under the skin. If the infection has been killed off by antibiotics, then you’re done. Unless the skin is open, you won’t be seeing that infection again.
Technically speaking… there could be dormant bacteria hiding in the pocket somewhere… But it’s super unlikely. The antibiotics have done their job and your implant should be just fine now.
4 Likes