papercliphip

I had VSG in August 2017, and I've barely noticed any hair shedding and I haven't lost any locs. My edges may have thinned a wee bit, but not much. There were also some "mind games" I played with myself because I was deathly afraid of waking up one morning and seeing a loc on the pillow. Maintained my locs as close to surgery date as possible --- since my scalp is most visible after rolling my locs, I figured I wouldn't be too freaked out to continue seeing it, THEN Didn't do any maintenance until early December --- I didn't want to overmanipulate or handle my hair too much so I wouldn't lose (more) hair. And seeing new growth over the last four months balanced out any fears of hair loss. Washed my hair the bare minimum necessary --- once again to decrease overmanipulating my locs. This turned out to be once a month and since I wasn't sweating, I could get by with a dry wash. Wore my hair out or very loosely tied back Like everyone has mentioned, MAKE YOUR PROTEIN GOALS! I made my own protein drinks with almond or cashew milk and added high quality protein powder and dried fruit. I added high quality collagen powder to my broths, soups, jello, pudding, whatever food I eat as long as it doesn't mess with the taste too much. Now, I'm able to swallow a biotin capsule without heaving so I take that as well. Don't let the hair loss scare you; I know it's hard but it will grow back if you lose a little or a lot. What's the point have having beautiful locs when you have diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, or whatever weight related illness this surgery may help prevent!

Thanks @Airstream88. I read an ABC news article that said hospitals that do over 350 bariatric surgeries per year have the least chances of complications. Almost every hospital in the DC area does bariatric surgery so it's a bit difficult to sort out which team to go with.

Does anyone have any experiences (good or bad) or recommendations with hospitals and surgeons in the DC/Baltimore area? I'm primarily looking at these hospitals and affiliated surgeons: Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center Holy Cross Hospital Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center University of Maryland Medical Center George Washington University Washington Hospital Center Thank you!