Good Morning, this is my gastric sleeve surgery day. I am a 37 year old singe female (never married). My highest weight was 302lbs, but I got down to 247lbs in 2011 and have fluctuated within 20lbs of that number since then. I have researched WLS for about 7-8 yrs now, but insurance, lack of enough cash for self-pay, or relocating mulitple times with work became hurdles. But, I finally am doing it....YAY! I am very excited, and I feel thoroughly educated....both from reading posts on here (thanks), googling, reading literature from my surgeon, etc. I am doing the cash pay outpatient option in a city 4.5 hrs from me. I have my hospital bag packed. I feel confident that I know what to expect. I picked up my prescriptions last night. My friend will be here at 8:30am to take me to the surgery center. All these things are super positive. Now, I feel I have to tell you about the negative, because it is very bad. I only had to do 1 week of lower fat and lower carbs diet (nothing specific), and then only clear liquids the day before followed by 2 bottles of magnesium citrate. I knew that my body was extremely regular and sometimes my bm was a little loose, so I asked if I could just do 1 bottle of magnesium citrate. I was told no....that can jeopardize your surgery if your colon is knicked. You must be clean and empty. Well, I took the first bottle. It kicked in in 20 minutes...nothing terrible. One small solid bm and then a couple mostly liquid ones. Well, it was 2 hrs later and time to drink the second bottle. I really felt that I didnt have anything else that needed to come out, but I was scared to jeopardize the surgery, the week I took off work, the money I already spent, etc. So, I did something I regret VERY MUCH! I drank the 2nd bottle. About 45 minutes later, I had severe stomach cramping. Then, the worst 11hrs of my life followed. I had liquid bm's every 15-20 minutes and constant cramps. I drank water and gatorade until midnight to try to stay hydrated, but my mouth is parched and my lips are cracked. My body is telling me that I am going into surgery very dehydrated. I knew I didnt need the 2nd bottle, but I was too scared to trust my instincts about my body. Please trust yourself in your journey. I will know in a couple of hours if I am too dehydrated for surgery. Also, I still cant go more than 10-15 minutes without rushing to the toilet w/ extremely urgent liquid bm.
