So, out of my 3 implants, the ones in L0 and R0 are doing great at the 6 day mark. They moved a few millimeters towards the injection site in the first day, then they’ve stayed completely put since, and the swelling is pretty much gone. If I try and push them slightly, the skin stretches instead.
However, my Spark 2 in L2 isn’t being as well behaved. This was the first implant my body mod guy had done in L2, and I gave him the go ahead to use me as a guinea pig. I think he went slightly too close to the knuckles, he went in right at the bending point. While the Spark normally sits flat on the back of the hand hand, over time the implant keeps trying to shift forward in past the bending point, between my two knuckles, and twist there. This had me worried, as it was getting within millimeters of the bone on either side, plus read distance would be heavily reduced with it lodged between the knuckles. Collagen build-up is definitely happening with the pre-natal vitamins, as I can feel it getting a little tighter over a few days, but then I reach in my pocket or lift something and end up dislodging it back to the knuckle area.
I tried making a few splints out of various materials, but due to it wanting to push directly over a joint, it was hard to figure out a design that let my hand still bend. As a CS student, I still have to be able to type. So, I had an idea. Since magnets stick slightly to the ferrite core in implants, what about just sticking a small neodymium magnet to ever so slightly pin the implant in place? I’ve worn a magnet for about an hour at a time now, and it seems to be holding the implant firmly in place. I know from a previous post that pinching the skin between magnets for a long period is a very bad idea (this post) However, in this situation only one side is an actual magnet. The pinching force is incredibly slight, and I can knock the magnet off with a slight twist of my hand. The idea would be to keep it on for a few hours at a time, just while I’m typing and working to stop it from drifting. At the moment there’s not any discomfort, and it doesn’t feel like it’s pinching the skin more than a watch strap would.
Interesting. In theory it should be weak enough that it may hold the implant in place but gentle enough to not cause any necrosis… but I’d tape it overtop and let it breath for an hour a couple times a day maybe.
Glad to hear that it’s not a completely bad idea, haha. It’s definitely gripping well, I tried poking at the magnet a bit in the direction of migration, and it stayed firmly in place. I’ll tape over it for tonight then and see how it does, and I’ll post an update to this thread tomorrow afternoon, letting it breathe a bit every 4 hours or so. Interestingly, I think it could be discrete enough to be covered completely with a band-aid, if someone were worried about public appearances (was a little worried about going to the store with a abomination of a homemade splint tbh).
Interesting that it wants to sit at such an acute angle between two bones. It should be guided straight.
Although the xEM in my foot did turn a bit despite sitting almost right next to my big toe’s metatarsal - although not nearly as much - and it logically shouldn’t be able to do that. So it can happen…
I think there’s a slight grading to the muscle between the two knuckles (in my hand at least), and the implant is long enough to where it tries to do a twist rather than calmly sitting flat along the grading. It mainly tried to shift when I would try and lift something, doing a major clench and unclenching with my fist. It would slowly ratchet its way forward and sideways. It’s quite odd. On the bright side, the magnet seems to be helping a ton. I wore it for about 2 hours, then went to the store without it. It seems like having it on for a period of a few hours creates enough irritation/swelling to help force the implant to stay in place, even without the magnet on. I’ve got the magnet back on now, but it didn’t shift a millimeter even after carrying in groceries. Hoping that getting it sorted in the first week or two will mean that it’ll stay put after that.
Yeah that’s how it works: the implant wants to find the lowest place where it can stay stable. Indeed you probably have some sideway “valley” between your knuckles that’s irresistible to yours.
The thing is, with coated implants, it makes total sense to lock it in place. within a week or two, your body will trap it there. But it’s not so certain with non-coated implants such as DT’s. I know people here report their body finally encapsulating their DT implants with the help of splints and vitamins. But that never happened with mine: they’re totally free to roam, and just stay where they are purely by mechanical means.
I even had one that stayed in place for a few weeks - and I thought it was encased - and then suddenly out of the blue, it shifted half an inch backward. I know there’s just no sense in fighting an uncoated implant. At least not in my body.
Oddly my next on the top of my wrist, idk if you would call it migrating or not, decided to dive like a submarine, got a little worried for a minute when I couldn’t did it by feel
Still exactly where it’s been just felt deeper between the bones I guess, couple hours later felt normal
Shrug
Btw while we are on the topic, how tender do your implants feel after a considerable amount of time?
My wrist is absolutely a zero, as it was from the day it was implanted,
My knife edge xem I would say still always feels like a 0.5 out of 10 but it’s constant, doesn’t bother me, but I wouldn’t call it “normal”
My position 0 xSIID feels even less that 0.5/10 but still not 0, if I poke or fiddle with it it feels in the most mild sense tender
my most recent was ~2 months ago, which was my payment one, knew it was there for about 3 days, itchy for about 2 after that, I didn’t even know it was there after a week, unless I bump it… which I do a lot, .then it reminds its there. not painful, just a reminder
Just a bit of an update a little more than a day later, the magnet has been working great. The first thing I would recommend, depending on the strength of the magnet, is to add a small layer of tape in between the magnet and the implant, to help spread out the force a bit. I used electrical tape, it helped dampen the pinch a bit while still not hurting magnet strength too much. I tried two different sizes of magnets, the larger one is definitely better if you’re actively doing things.
This is what the whole setup looks like. It works EXTREMELY well for holding the implant exactly where you want. I cooked with it on, I carried in groceries, and more, without it shifting even a millimeter. Something else that I noticed, the long term pinch seemed to have caused a tiny bit of beneficial swelling which is helping to hold everything in place. Even during my break sessions with the magnet off, the implant seems much firmer. Beforehand, the implant would move maybe 4 times a day on average, now it hasn’t moved in over 24 hours. Without the magnet on, I can lightly tap it towards where it was smoothly travelling before, and I get 0 movement, the skin just stretches. Amal would know way way better than me, but if the injection trauma helps with “telling” your body to encapsulate the implant, I’m wondering if the constant pressure/pinch is helping give that signal to the body as well.
Another small note, I’ve been doing about 3 hours on, 1-2 hours off, and that seems to be working pretty well. It leaves a small pressure mark after 3 hours, so I’m not sure if I would recommend keeping it on for much longer than that without a break. I tried sleeping with the smaller magnet on, and I just ended up losing a whole magnet and tape assembly (hopefully it’ll turn up at some point). I also just throw the magnet and tape on whenever I know I’m gonna have to heavily use my left hand.
Hopefully this can help someone with any similar issues with implants near joints, or issues with implant migration overall.
Lastly, here’s a photo of the mark left by keeping it on for a whole session. It surprised me that the implant leaves such a clear and consistent mark, even with a layer of tape acting as a cushion.
not even a slight mark.