Working So Far - 1mo out

I looked at doctors in my area for VSG surgery and they wanted $18k-$22k. I was told the majority of that cost is the hospital fee. I started looking further away, worried I'd be out of luck since none of the insurance options available to me cover it. I saw an ad for Dr. Wizman with a cost of half what local doctors charge- under $10k. They use a surgery center, which seems to cut costs.
I didn't want to jump on it just for the price, so I read any/every review I could find, and then I felt comfortable contacting the office. When I did, everyone was really nice, even though I was nervous and I get a little chatty and forgetful. 
I am short, and do/did not have as much to lose as some, but I had several comorbidities- diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, and due to my height my BMI was 42. I was 208lbs on the morning of surgery, and 4 weeks and 2 days later I am 188lbs. My healing went great- my incisions healed clean and faster than I was expecting. I pulled out my own stitches after about 2 to 2.5 weeks out- one on accident and the others to make it even, lol.
The nurses at the surgery center are top-notch, super nice and tolerant of me being a blubbering mess before surgery, and a restless, chatty, frequent pee-er after. The only complaint I have about the whole experience, is that the beds in the surgery center are uncomfortable and my tailbone/butt were numb/sore for a couple days after. Usually not as much of a problem with this much padding. Heh. 
So far, other than weight loss, I have had some other benefits. Since surgery my blood pressure has been normal. Even with bp meds my blood pressure was usually around 140/90. Since surgery my resting heart rate is between 70-80bpm, while before surgery my resting heart rate was around 110bpm. I am getting my first post-op blood work done next week, and I'm confident that the numbers returned will be better than before surgery. 
Covid info- due to Covid, no guests can go with you into the surgery center, just drop-off/pick-up. They require a negative nasal test 7-10 days before surgery and do a rapid test (finger prick blood test) the day of before you can finish getting checked in. I was glad for that.

I'm a little over 6.5 months out, down 60lbs from the day of surgery, 80lbs down total. Keeping up with my water intake is hard. I have used an IV hydration bar w/vitamins (& a dose of biotin because this hair loss is no joke) and probably will again. Keeping up with vitamins is hard (they nauseate me). I'm currently using patches to mitigate the pills and I'm 4lbs from my pre-surgery goal weight.

My hair loss is stressful. It started around 3.5-4 months I guess? But it seems to be slowing a bit now, it was the worst about a month/month and a half ago. I think it's just time- I used biotin and collagen pills this whole time. After about 4.5 months the weight loss slowed significantly. I would say down to about a pound a week. Now I'm at about a pound every 2-3 weeks maybe? I have been at 149lbs since May 31st, so about 2.5wks so far. If I stayed where I am and don't lose anything else, I would be satisfied with my results.

I always stall during menstruation.

The first month is rough. Real rough. Hormones all over the place. Lots of crying. Hungry but eating/drinking hurts. I thought I had made a mistake about 100 times in the first 2-3 months. Once I was eating regular textured food, it got *a lot* better. My energy and mood increased. My BP and heart rate continue to be normal. No apnea. My diabetes is officially gone after 2 consecutive negative panels w/my primary doctor. Still have asthma tho, lol.

Fun and unexpected side-effect: no more urinary stress incontinence. I have not had to run and change after sneezing/coughing since the surgery. I thought I would have to strengthen my core more (ie: after TT), but I guess the weight was a lot of pressure for me.

My libido is back up. Some of that is mental I'm sure, but also I am less tired and more flexible with continued light exercise. To be clear- I do not really "work out" much, but I do occasional light yoga and stretch exercises. My stamina has increased in general. With that increase, I'm able to play with the kids/pets more and accomplish more physical tasks with fewer breaks or needing to "sit down for a few minutes".

Definitely on track for plastics to fix this diastasis and belly skin! There is not as much of it as I thought there would be, probably because I had less than 100lbs to lose. But there are a lot of stretch marks and the diastasis is visible when I'm standing now (looks like my belly button is about 4" long, lol). Tummy tuck here I come... but probably not before Jan/Feb at the earliest. I need to be a year past VSG and 6 months with a stable weight.

I'm attaching before/after pics. Before pics were at my highest, right around 230. Pics from the 2 trips I'm using are the only full-body pics I have from that time frame. The after pics are between 155lbs (black tank) and 149lbs (peach).

I wanted to stay around 140-145lbs, but I kept losing very slowly. I got down to 134lbs, so roughly 96lbs down from my highest weight. I continue to make healthier choices for things and I think I can maintain. I don't really want to go below 130, personally. I have a lot more energy now and I feel more like myself again. I'll be starting to look for plastics early next year for TT and possibly BA, and have been pretty much stable right between 134-136 for about 2 months. For the last 20lbs or so I noticed skin is loose/wrinkly around my legs from hips to knees- I am hoping that light exercise and time tones it up a bit.

Fun development- I can squat with my feet flat on the ground! Haven't been able to do that since around 2008.

My hair is *thin*. It sucks- but not as much as being fat. I'm still eating hair/skin/nails vitamins daily. It does seem to be growing back a little, I have baby hairs around the edges. Thinking about getting extensions just to thicken it a bit- my styling options are greatly reduced.