A while ago I got one of the first flexNexts and the leds died so got a custom replacement with glow powder, a more rigid polymer and reinforcements over the leds.
It’s been in for almost two months now:
The LEDs are fine (reinforcements might have worked?).
The NFC tag was dead in the first two weeks (kinda expected but not that early).
The glow is visible in complete darkness (might get brighter over time, it’s not as bright as I expected it to be yet).
Aesthetically it’s not much different from the previous one, maybe slightly more visible. The skin in the center has reatached but is still smooth and flat, no visible hole.
Overall it was kind of a suicide mission in that it was expected to fail but I would still have the glow so why not. When the new and improved FlexNM comes out with stronger components I will consider replacing it, again 
which should be easy as it is smaller. Really the only drawback is the installation price and the scar that has to re-heal every time…
Thanks for the great update, I’ve been curious to hear how yours was going.
That’s absolutely brutal, sorry to hear that… guess that sticker format is just absolutely awful, glad that amal indeed “switched” to making the flexMN.
Glad to hear your LEDs are still working at least, not all has been lost.
You mentioned that skin has reattached in the center, have you experienced the same sort of pocket cutting issues that Rosco experienced with his doNExT? Curious if the hole in the center might still be a good idea for certain people.
Also, how’s the feeling in the skin above the doNExT? Curious if there’s been any noticable nerve damage, given that you’ve had two large implants in the same pocket, plus your custom doNExT being so thick and unyielding.
First of all, thanks for the share!
All in the name of science!! 
Kudos there!!
I have the same feeling with my LED nails with glow resin.
The glow powder does add a nice kick for when it’s lit up, but the afterglow is weaker than expected, and degrades quite quickly.
Still a fun little thing anyway. And still happy I got some!
also… won’t repeat @darthdomo, but sure am curious to hear replies to his queries! 
And good luck!
I’ve had no issues with the hole in the middle (no cutting or fluids). The implant is steady and when I move it the skin moves with it. I can tell the skin is reatached because I can make it sink if I lift my fingers up (backwards).
The skin over it is noticeably less sensitive to touch and temperature, but in that spot it’s not really that important anyway.
@Eyeux Mine degrades very slowly, I would say it takes almost an hour to fully fade after charging it in the sun or with a strong flashlight 
For the brightness it’s steadily getting better so I’m still hopping there is blood and stuff over it
I’m curious: when you swapped for the new doNExT, the pocket was already there right? I assume you removed the old one and placed the new one in at the same time. Did the pocket fill up with fluid again or was it happy to stay flat and quiet as with the old implant?
Just wondering what to expect with mine. I’d rather not go through the whole experience again - not all of it anyway - if at all possible, although I kind of expect some of it since my installer will have to slice through the reconnected skin in the center of my doNExT.
Also Amal, side note: you might be interested to know my doNExT had gone very stiff and very hard. It’s almost impossible to bend out of shape now. It used to be very flexible, but no more. Does the biopolymer you use cures or ages somehow?
Yes it went right into the same pocket, we had to widen it just a bit to compensate for pushing towards the opening but that’s all.
Every time I get a new implant I keep my hand elevated at about shoulder level for a week at least (event at night by resting it on a fat pillow). This technique has proven very effective (for me) as I’ve never had excessive fluid build up (without compression). I strongly recommend it.
#edit: It also seems like I get almost no pain at all when I do this compared to the times I didn’t
So it was as swollen as much as the first one during the first one to two days and then almost nothing. I would say that after a week or so it looked just like now. I didn’t notice a difference with the first one but I’m pretty sure that if yours fill up the first time it will fill up again as you completely open it up…
Wow that’s scary 
That’s not terribly good news 
All the more reason not to do that anymore than necessary I guess.
Actually mine was completely dry for exactly one week (no elevation, no compression or nothing) then almost instantly filled up with fluid. Then it gave me crap for weeks.
This has never happened to me did you do a lot of exercise or anything in particular that could have caused that? Since it happened after a week I suspect something caused it so it might not happen every time
Edit:
@Rosco
Okay so I read your post more in detail and it definitely was the stitch removal + cycling. Also I strongly suspect that it was air, not fluid. Air pockets are quite common in body mod and are sometimes painful. They also take quite some time to go away (it explains why yours wasn’t getting better). I think removing the stitches left a hole and cycling pumped air in???
If you ever get air stuck under the skin push it out immediately (while there is still an opening) and it will be fine.My installer presses on it like you would press a sticker to get the bubbles to the edge.
This shouldn’t happen again if you’re careful not to use your hand too much
Interesting. Maybe some kind of relief valve is in order
More seriously, it really felt like liquid in there. Definitely not air. But I’ll keep that in mind for the replacement.
I finally got some semi decent shot of the glow powder. In reality it looks less shiny and a bit more uniform.
I use a 10W 395nm UV flashlight to charge it up for about 30sec as this is a good wavelength ton charge phosphorescent material without being absorbed by the skin too much…
It also looks patchier when fast charged with the flashlight compared to daylight. That makes sense because a longer exposure charges everything to saturation point… I will test that theory with a longer uv exposure but I don’t want to overdo it and end up with a taned circle on my hand
Missed a golden opportunity to call it the doN’T
ive been saying DoNuT since the very start because it has a hole in the middle