How much does a magnet restrict you?

edited February 2015 in Magnets
Hi guys, 

New member here and looking to start something with biohacks, and what a better place to start than with magnets in the fingers?!

But I'm looking to find out more about how much it restricts peoples everyday lives, particularly when climbing.

@Unqualified, I've read that you climb, but if you wouldn't mind giving more info on how much you do, which finger you used, at what level and how much it effects you, etc? 

Has anyone else tried climbing, done weight training or lifting heavy loads? 

I would prefer a disk magnet as that is the strongest, and position it as close to the pad of the pad as possible as I understand that it the most sensitive to sensation. But I'm concerned a lump of metal in my hand, given enough force, could just get ripped out.

Has anyone got any experiences they can share?
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  • edited November 2012
    I have an RFID and an NFC implant that have been under some pretty heavy loads and a motorcycle accident.

    They are still perfectly fine, I had some mild pain after the accident, but that is because the implant site bruised like anything else would on impact. 

    No irritation with climbing or white knuckled activities.  
    I do not have magnets yet, but I cant imagine its much different, especially since they are usually smaller than RFID tags. 

    If someone with more experience in magnets would like to tell me otherwise, id be interested to hear!
  • I would imagine the worst damage would be to the magnets themselves and the main problem them getting weaker over time
  • While I'm not a climber, I do play the balalaika (stringed instrument) and that puts acute pressure on my disk magnet implant. For good while it hurt like all get out to do. Its been just over 5 weeks since I had it implanted and now I can only feel anything weird when I stretch and put pressure on just one side of the magnet, torquing it a bit. This doesn't hurt, but it is pretty weird. I'm not used to it yet, so my body still panics a little bit because "Jiminy Christmas something is moving all wibbly-wack inside me!" (or so I imagine my body saying). I believe that with practice I'll get used to it and life will go back to normal.

    Putting pressure on the surrounding area like I imagine you would with climbing (pushing my finger into my desk as hard as I could just now) there is no pain or weirdness. Certainly that isn't the best test as it only checks one direction of applied force, but it is something.

    If you do get a magnet in your finger, I'd advise you to not get discouraged or disheartened when you can't do something you enjoy even after a couple of weeks. It takes time for this to heal and that's just the way it goes, but it will heal eventually (unless infection or other scary things happen, so take care of your finger!).


    Mr. Sticky
  • The other posters give a very positive view, and while I don't want to sound discouraging, personally I do find my magnet restrictive. I only have one disc in the lower half of the left ring finger pad, I find it quite sensitive, and when I pick up heavy objects that press on the site, it can be painful, I avoid putting pressure on that area in day to day life, and think climbing would be hard.
    That said, I tend to not do anything that normally generate calluses, maybe if I did it would become less sensitive. the positive side effect this situation is that (I think, but have no real data to back it up) that my magnetic sense is quite sensitive  e.g. I can feel magnetic fields like HDDs etc more easily than some other people.
  • OakOak
    edited November 2012
    Like everyone else who has responded, I am not a climber. I don't regularly do anything that would put pressure directly on my magnet.

    That said, when I do put pressure on the magnet - pretty much always unintentionally - it is painful in a way. It seems to press directly on the nerves, and so I feel an immediate "LET GO!" reaction when it happens. The pain itself isn't so great, really, but the reaction is really strong. I've had the magnet in my finger for around a year and a half, so I've internalized excluding my left ring finger from whatever I'm doing. It's in no way an encumbrance in my everyday life. I honestly forget that it's even there. (EDIT: The magnet, not my finger.)

    If you really want an implant, you might consider designing something to put in a glove that would redistribute the pressure on the implanted finger to avoid the location of the magnet. It might be a little challenging to get such a thing to work perfectly, but I'm certain that it could be done.
  • @everyone who's had pain from their magnets: how big are yours?  I have pain from my 2x7mm bar in my pinky, but that's a sizable magnet.  How does the pain level of a smaller magnet compare with larger ones like that?
  • I have no frame of reference for comparison. I obtained my magnet from the first group buy here on biohack.me. Don't remember the size specifications offhand, but I think it is something like a 1mmx3mm disc. As I said, It's really not so much painful as it is startling/intense. I rarely feel any residual pain in my finger after I've grabbed something in the wrong way, but I get a mild rush of sorts that lasts for a bit.
  • What about heat?

    Just now in the kitchen, carrying some pretty hot bowls it occurred to me. 

    Usually we can carry something hot for a brief period - we know we'll recover quickly.

    But how are you guys finding touching something hot? I just imagine the magnet staying hotter for longer, allowing the potential to have put down a hot plate and for a longer time afterwards than you'd expect, still be thinking "ah fuck that's hot"?
  • EnigmaTechNews I have never had anything like that happen with mine. I think before the magnet starts to get hot, you will already have serious burns to the skin, so not really something to worry about.
  • I have a cylindrical magnet in the side of my left ring finger. I wouldn't say that lifting heavy loads with it is painful, but it's usually uncomfortable. I try not to use that finger for lifting.

    I also play guitar a little, and if I'm not careful to press down on the string at the right angle, that can be uncomfortable, too. It's not that big of a deal, but, in retrospect, I wish I had implanted the magnet in my right hand instead. Strumming with a magnet would be much nicer.

    The weirdest thing that's happened to me so far has been while I was driving. I softly hit my finger against the steering wheel at an oblique angle, and the magnet got knocked onto its side under my skin. My finger started going to sleep every time I flexed it. Eventually I was able to massage it back into place, but it was an unnerving couple of hours.That's only happened to me once in two years, though.
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