Possible m31 rejection after ~2 years

edited June 2017 in Magnets
I got one of the first m31's implanted back when they were first available, and it's been fine so far. However, the last four days my finger tip has been slightly swollen and very sensitive. Not too painful, but a bit. It hasn't gotten worse, but it hasn't gotten better either. I assumed a rejection would be very obvious, whereas this feels a lot subtler than what I've seen other people go through. 

Right now I'm just planning on riding it out, and removing it if it gets worse - is there any risk in this? Should I just bite the bullet and pull it out now?
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  • I also had one of the first batch and ended up cutting it out a month or two ago.  It was sore (but nowhere near painful) for a while, so I figured it was dying but like you said, not super obvious.  No discolouration or swelling issues, but the soreness persisted for at least a week.  Once I cut it out there was a small pie section of it was obviously pooched because looked like death.
  • Meanderingman.. do you feel comfortable doing the removal?
  • Thanks Proteus - that sounds just like what I'm seeing. 

    @Cas I've actually got a general Dr's apt on Thursday, so I might hold out till then and see if they can remove it. If they cant / wont I could do it myself if it came down to it. Think it's safe to leave it in that long? Would hate to get magnet cancer or whatever.... 

    I was actually down in Vegas over the weekend, and drove right past Tehachapi on the way out. Should have dropped you a line. 
  • Interesting that both of these early ones died around the same time. Wonder if we'll see more in the near future. I didn't do anything to disturb the m31, this just seemed to happen out of the blue.
  • The two worst procedures I've been involved with.. one was a fucked up flex chip implant. I positioned it in a way that it kept pressure on the skin.. I'll never work in a big ass loud group again.
    The other? A magnet I pulled. Someone had placed it ridiculously deep. I had to flap open the whole finger to get it out. Removals can be more of a bitch then you'd think. If the md doesn't pull it, at least let me send you some adequate supplies. The best method I've found is something Rich Lee showed me. A big ass magnet on the outside..
    But seriously, I advise anesthetic and to have a stitch handy.
  • edited June 2017
    Meanderingman the health hazards of leaving a compromised magnet in your finger is more of a "poisoning"/toxicity that can harm your kidneys and etc. High levels in your bloodstream is not likely to be fatal but it certainly isn't good, and I would recommend getting it taken out as soon as possible (but it isn't "within the hour" urgent)

    Adding onto what Cassox mentioned, I would recommend using Lidocaine. It can be purchased for very cheap on eBay.

    It would actually make sense that the coatings failed at the same time since the coating would get broken down over time. If your looking for a new magnet I would recommend looking at my magnet development thread.
  • Post how it goes either way, I'm considering a removal myself of an M31. I got it also about 2 years ago, it's not rejecting but it was never particularly sensitive and now I practically forget it's there unless I'm extremely close to a high power source, so it's basically pointless. You can also tell the magnet has lost power simply by the fact it can barely lift a single staple now.
  • @cass - yea if you want to send some supplies over that would be great. I'll dm you my address. If I can't get it taken out professionally on Thursday then I want to do it asap. I'd say things are 20% worse today than they were yesterday. 

    @ThermalWinter - Added what I have into the doc. Will update again after removal. 
  • Trip report:

    Ended up getting sent to the injury dept. at Kaiser. The Dr there was pretty interested and we worked together to remove the m31. When he stuck me with the local anesthetic a good amount of puss geysered out. 

    I had brought a magnet (coin sized medium strength) and he used it to feel the location of the m31 and cut towards it, following the line of the original scar. After two solid cuts in with a scalpel we could see the edge of the m31. By moving the coin magnet we wiggled it a bit, and then popped it out with the scalpel. 

    Overall pretty straightforward. Took some photos of the incision site and the magnet. It's very obvious how corroded it had gotten on one side. I would say this was 4 days after the first sign of rejection. 
  • edited June 2017
    Hmm. Having trouble with embedded images. Here's an a small album http://imgur.com/a/KuvVz

    If anyone working on the m31 wants this magnet for review just let me know. Happy to ship it out. 
  • @meanderingman  Could you tell if the magnet had been damaged recently or did the coating fail after that long?
  • I hadn't done anything to damage mine that I know of, and it was still magnetic (and is to this day, even though it looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/5esup).  It was from the original batch, but I only implanted it in August of 2015.  I didn't notice any puss when I cut it out, so I guess I caught mine a bit earlier?
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