The biohack.me forums were originally run on Vanilla and ran from January 2011 to July 2024. They are preserved here as a read-only archive. If you had an account on the forums and are in the archive and wish to have either your posts anonymized or removed entirely, email us and let us know.

While we are no longer running Vanilla, Patreon badges are still being awarded, and shoutout forum posts are being created, because this is done directly in the database via an automated task.

Everything I'll need for a DIY install

BeefSteak

October 2011

edited February 2015

in Magnets

So the parlor wont do it because it's illegal. Can't say I didn't see that coming. So I've decided to really look into doing this myself. from lurking the board I've determined I will need:

A 6-8 gauge needle
povidone-iodine (for sterilizing)
suturing equipment
Bio-proofed Nd Magnets
Gloves

Now I have a few questions about this whole thing.
1) Is this all I will need?
2) What gauge needle should I get, specifically?
3) Is there a place I can order pre-bioproofed magnets, or will I have to sugru them myself?
4) Where should I get my needle and suturing stuffs?
5) is there a legal painkiller I should be looking into? (US here)
6) Do you all think a hydrocodone would help? A friend has some left over from something, but I haven't had one yet and don't know how I'd handle myself.
7) I'm really scared of needles (not pain, just the pointy things). How far am I gonna be sticking this thing in my finger?
8) Are there any good vids demonstrating the needle method?

Thanks for your patience, I'd appreciate any help or advice for this.

Comments

Displaying all 10 comments

totemboy814

October 2011

What are you going to use to get the magnet in there? From what I've seen, it's pretty tough to get it in there by hand. Magnet-wise, try looking around on here for someone's surplus, although I doubt anyone has any still. Sutures shouldn't be too much of a problem. Eg. you can buy suture kits off eBay.
SixEcho

October 2011

If you use a needle instead of a scalpel, you probably won't need sutures- a dab of superglue worked fine for me. I also recommend picking a needle size that suits the nodes. Mine are four millimetres across with the coating, which corresponds to a 6 gauge needle.

@SovereignBleak's video shows it well, step by step.
BeefSteak

October 2011

@totemboy814 Probably tweezers. I watched the SovereignBleaks video a while bag, and though it seems like a pain in the ass, I can't think of any other descent way.

@SixEcho is there a bagnet shape/size that you would recommend? Whats the norm for people who have magnets in their hand? And I've watched SovereignBleak's video. It's informative, but if I recall what I've read correctly, didnt the magnets he installed this way reject? And are there any videos using the needle method, as apposed to using a scalpel? Or even just some outlining instructions?
Oak

October 2011

I ended up putting mine in by hand. It was simply too hard to get the magnet off of a magnetic implement while the magnet was inside my finger.

@SovereignBleak 's magnets did reject after that procedure, if I recall correctly. I'm not sure why - my procedure was nearly identical (minus the anaesthetic), and rejection was not at all an issue.

If you're doing this alone, do not use the hydrocodone. It is never wise to use a drug for the first time during a critical procedure. While you would most likely be fine, there is a chance that you could be allergic, that you could be sensitive (and thus have your coordination/judgement impaired), or any other number of things. You're much better off with a local anaesthetic, though I don't know of any that you can easily obtain in the US.

As to getting magnets, you could try to organize a group buy like the last one using the same company to supply the magnets (I'm sure you've already read the thread, but if you haven't, just search for "group buy"). Outside of that, I know nothing about obtaining Nd magnets.

The needle will be going in pretty far. You're probably wanting the magnet in the center of the pad of your finger, so if you're going in from the side (you should be), you'll need to puncture a little past that point. Take a look at how far that scalpel goes into SovereignBleak's finger in the video, and that'll give you a good idea.

Disc-shaped magnets are recommended as per Kevin Warwick, though I can't recall why. The "norm" is hard to establish - DIYers seem to be mostly using the same discs as were obtained in the group buy, but there may be more people using the "grain of rice" magnets from Steve Haworth.
SixEcho

October 2011

I'm going to agree that getting high on anything before surgery probably isn't a good idea, unless you have experience with the drug and specifically know that it'll dull the pain or calm you down.
Numbing the area with an ice pack seems to work well, perhaps even better than topical anaesthetic. It also restricts blood flow to the area.

I suggest using the 2mm x 1mm discs with the parylene coat. That's what Haworth uses, ignoring the gold coat which doesn't really do anything, and I believe what they used in the group buy.
Mine is 2x3 with a sugru coat - it's less sensitive to fields, more sensitive to knocks, and big enough that you can see it under the skin.
(Also, singular. The magnets are kinda cool, but not overly useful as a sensor, or too impressive technologically, and I'd rather wait and develop active sensors than slice up the rest of my fingertips).

@Oak I wouldn't say the exact center, there's a lot of pressure placed on that area and it might reject. Maybe to the side a little so it has a chance to move out of the way.
Unqualified

November 2011

Mine's exact centre, and I've climbed walls since the implant. Not saying it was fun, but it's doable; sudden shock seems worse than pressure.
I defer to the others on magnet shape - mine seems completely non-standard, and I've nothing to compare it to - and on procedure: I sat there and let the nice man with facial tattoos slice me up. ",)
BeefSteak

November 2011

Thanks for the info everyone! So I Ice down the finger, poke it with a needle through the side (a little over half way), drop the magnet in, and seal it up? How hard will I have to press the needle? Should I be worried about piercing the other side of my finger? And is there anything I should make sure to do for "maximum sensitivity"?
Oak

November 2011

edited November 2011

I don't think you'll have to worry about piercing the other side of your finger. Flesh is pretty tough. Needles might go through more easily than a knife, though, so I'm not sure how hard you'll have to press. I imagine fairly hard. Do make sure that you don't start somewhere that will end up with you poking bone, though. I know that getting the needle through my finger for suturing required a lot of force, so keep that in mind. Unless you're using glue. That's probably easy.

For maximum sensitivity? Pray to whatever thing you worship. There really isn't enough known at this point to figure out what causes an implant to be particularly sensitive and what doesn't. I would guess that taking care of it to make sure it heals quickly and minimizing the amount of tissue torn during implantation would be the best bets - try and limit nerve damage and all of that, as that is a risk. Scar tissue isn't very sensitive.

To that end, use antibiotic ointment. Change the bandage every day. Make sure it's clean. Use topical vitamin E (thought I don't know when during the process you should start doing that - anyone know if you can use that stuff on a minor surgery site as it heals?). Try not to smash it while it's healing, do as little typing with it as you can... stuff like that. I'm sure you get the picture.

Oh, and ice down your finger while it's in a glove. Long-term contact with water will cause the skin to wrinkle, and I don't exactly know how that would affect the procedure. I'm guessing it wouldn't help.
Unqualified

November 2011

Ok, maybe I do have something say about procedure, then: for mine, an incision was made with a scalpel and the 'tunnel' was created by pushing blunt probe under the skin. Think darning needle. Therefore no risk of unexpected holes.
I had Arnica recommended to me to reduce bruising, but couldn't find a non-homeopathic preparation. I was in Brighton at the time, though... :-)
BeefSteak

December 2011

Okay, so. Ive tracked down almost everything ill need for this. The only thing left is the magnets. Id like to get them from V&P, but with the 50 dollar minimum, I may look for something else.

Also, how far beneath my fingertip should the magnet be? Like Oak said, I'd like to not poke a bone, as that sounds like it would suck.

Displaying all 10 comments