Shava

I've been thinking a lot lately about how it's already been 10 years since I got my sleeve. I've also been thinking about new people just starting on this journey and remembering how I felt about the whole process. I should mention I'm 5ft 2in and weighed 233 lbs and was 56 years old at the time I started my journey. I tried every diet, I mean every diet. Spent too much money on fads and diet supplements.
In the beginning I was excited and worried about having the sleeve. You can't grow your stomach back! Not that I had an emotional attachment to my stomach and actually thought my stomach was my enemy. The thought of removing part of a perfectly good organ in my body. Well, that's just crazy - isn't it??? I have to go to this extreme to stop killing myself??
I couldn't eat hardly anything at first. If I ate one bite too many I was in horrible pain and had to lay down. I remember thinking if I just could eat 1/2 of a small hamburger or one little taco I'd be happy. But pretty much 2 bites of anything and I was done. The weight came off fast in the beginning. But my energy was low, I didn't feel good and I had some regrets. Couldn't go out to eat it was a total waste of money. Besides since I could only eat a couple bites the waitress thought there was something wrong with the food. Naw, just wasn't that hungry I'd tell them. I get a doggy bag and attempt to eat the rest later.
So yes, the first 8-10 months the weight fell off. I don't remember exactly how long it took me to loose the first time over 90 lbs. Yes, I said the first time. I didn't gain it all back though. I still was not at peace with my sleeve. It was the enemy keeping me from eating as much as I wanted and when I wanted. BTW I still can't eat salad anymore it's just too hard on my stomach. I loved salad but NO sleeve doesn't like it!!
So here's the deal...no I couldn't eat a whole hamburger BUT I can eat maybe 1/2 now and then 2 hours later I eat the rest. Same with everything else. HAHA sleeve I win. I really struggled with my love/hate relationship with my sleeve. A couple years go by and I gain back around 50 lbs. HAHA sleeve I win???? Did I already say that learning to live with the sleeve was a real struggle for me?
So, it took me along time to be at peace with my sleeve. Well, I am now. It wasn't easy but I did it and it feels good today not to stress out over not being able to eat as much as I want and I stop when my friend the sleeve says "that's enough!" Okay, you win sleeve. I've lost the weight that I had gained back. No, I'm not skinny but I'm at a comfortable weight that looks good on me. The real win is my health. My blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol are good/normal! My sleep apnea is gone! I don't shop in the "big ladies" department and I fit in an airline seat and can put the tray table down! I can walk for miles and I don't break out in a sweat just walking to the mail box. I can play with my Grandkids!
If I were to give advise to anyone considering having VSG. Don't expect the sleeve to be the magic bullet. You have to work with it and listen to your sleeve. You might have to go through what I did. I hope if you do eventually you'll start listening. Most, not all of us have a food addiction and most of us don't want to stop eating when we are really full. Food tastes good, we love it. It's social and everything we do socially has food involved. Television ads for fast food, and restaurants at every commercial break! I was so addicted to food. Well, actually. I still am. But.. most of the time now I stop eating when my sleeve tells me to stop. I have a family member who had gastric bypass. She is so frustrated. " Ya can't eat a meal!" " Nope, we can't but we can share a meal and still have leftovers." I believe long term success (not that I'm saying I have that either) will happen when you accept, make peace and listen to your sleeve. It could just save your life like I believe mine has done for me.
Good luck to everyone on this journey or getting ready to start it. It was the best decision I've made for my health. No regrets!

My Doctor / Weigthloss Center just send me this card to be used at Restaurants. I love it!!!!
I can present this and waitresses will stop looking at me weird because I order a small appetizer and still have leftovers.   
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Since you already received the requisite comments about drinking above, I will just answer your specific question.
I was sleeved, and was told no alcohol for the first month. Beyond that, was told to determine on my own what I can handle, but the general recommendation was to try to abstain.
With that said, here is MY timeline:
3 weeks post op: 2-3 sips of red wine (felt weird, thought I could feel the warmth going down my intestines). Also I remember being affected by it. Not drunk or even tipsy...but something. 2-ish months post op: ~1 fl oz of soju-sake (got terribly sick within 15 or so minutes, spent the next few hours suffering : rapid heart rate/barf/diarrhea/lethargy/passed out...it was the sugar, dammit). 3-7 months post op: probably had 4-5 (partial) drinks of either red wine or vodka soda the entire time (got tipsy really fast, got sober equally fast). 8 months to present : drank more (mostly due to the fact that I was done with weight loss phase). Maybe 1-2 times a week at first (and sometimes none at all), then Covid came around, and since about may-june last year, I drink almost every day. I still get tipsy and sober pretty quickly....not as drastic as in the early months, but still. Generally, I can feel the effects by 1/2 the glass, and if I finish the whole thing, I will be completely normal again within 1-1.5 hours. So take this as validation, justification, or as a cautionary tale. You decide.
P.S. note that the effects will be different for everyone...I am pretty small (5'2", 110 lbs), so this definitely influences how I am affected. @The Greater Fool's suggestion to try it out in a safe place first is a good one.

Jeggings from Walmart are tha best!!!! They can hold weight fluctuations nicely. I keep using cute tunic shirts or something like that with them, since those a more forgiving.

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I definitely have experienced this. At first I found myself substituting shopping for eating (easy to do, having lost so much weight). Then I realized I was doing that and took a step back. Now when I feel that craving (whether for food or to buy something) I stop and ask myself why? What's going on that I am trying to assuage or pacify? Not long ago, I really wanted a cookie and when I stopped to ask myself why, I realized that I had just come out of a meeting that did not go as well as I had hoped. I felt disappointed, embarrassed, upset. And I wanted a cookie. Once I realized what was at the root of my craving, I was able to redirect those feelings. I got a cup of coffee instead. It was warm and sweet and about 200 fewer calories than the cookie. And I took it and went and sat around the backside of the building where it was quiet and peaceful (being an introvert, that was comforting to me). I thought through what had happened and what to do next as I drank my coffee. And 30 minutes later I was good to go. Every situation is different, but I'm getting better at asking myself "What's going on? Why do you want that?"

Stalls are normal. You may not being losing as much weight rapidly- which is a good thing for less loose skin. Remember you're losing inches. [emoji3059] Hope that helps.

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I feel ur pain 😞 I'm drinking lemon, cucumber & a splash of cranberry raspberry just for color that seems help me for now

My Doctor / Weigthloss Center just send me this card to be used at Restaurants. I love it!!!!
I can present this and waitresses will stop looking at me weird because I order a small appetizer and still have leftovers.   
Sent from my SM-F707U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

That is pretty cool! My boyfriend and I have decided that we will order one meal for both of us when I am able to eat out again.

LOVE IT!! I half joked to my husband the other day about how, if and when we go out to restaurants after I finally get my surgery, that I would just be eating bites of his food cause I surely wouldn't be able to eat an entire meal of my own. Then I jokingly said something about ordering off the children's menu IF they would allow it. Then here you go with this!! I wonder if my doc has anything like this? I'll have to try and remember when my times comes. So cool!

My Doctor / Weigthloss Center just send me this card to be used at Restaurants. I love it!!!!
I can present this and waitresses will stop looking at me weird because I order a small appetizer and still have leftovers.   
Sent from my SM-F707U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello,
My surgeon obstructed my biles on 3/3 which caused me to throw up my biles for a week. I had emergency surgery to correct the issue on 3/12. ( oh my goodness never knew how major of a surgery that was). I’m home now feeling a lot better just grouchy because my new belly doesn’t like artificial sweetener like my old belly did lol. Thank you so much for checking on me.

Pre-op one of my big angsts was talking to family about my surgery. I know that, for most of them, they would not be on board. I have a loving and highly opinionated family of people that view themselves as wellness and health experts and I swear if there was a family motto it would be "you know what you should do". All of this contributed to me feeling like telling them about my WLS would open a can of worms. Not telling didn't seem like an option until I realized that, because of Covid social distancing and other distractions in my family right now I could probably pull off a secret surgery. Which is exactly what I did. Only my husband and one person at work know I had WLS. And right now I am so happy about this. It has been a delight to not have to respond to a million questions about how I'm doing or field all the worry and misinformation I feel sure my well-meaning family would bring my way. I feel like I gave myself the gift of healing in peace.
Right now I don't have plans to tell anyone else about my WLS unless they ask directly. I'll see how things go when it comes to handling food related get-togethers in the near future. I'm toying with just giving an explanation that includes the partial truth, that I am working with a nutritionist in a medically supervised dietary program. I am not ashamed of having WLS, I just don't want every person I know to feel free to be all up in my business regarding my weight, dietary habits, personal health, and medical decisions. Getting my mom and sisters to not take every opportunity to talk to/interrogate me about my weight and try to create dieting regimes for me was a hard won battle many years ago. Does anyone else relate to otherwise loving and well-meaning family members having no boundaries when it comes to wanting to "fix" your fatness? I feel like letting them in on my WLS would be a step back and they would revert to their old ways. I don't need or want that in my life. I just want my family to be my family and prefer not to give them any opening to try and act as my nutritionist or Dr. again.

I have a big family, but I stopped cooking after my surgery [emoji23]. I think I've only cook soft tofu as ground meat with a bit of marinara sauce to pour over zucchini Pasta (frozen small bag Green Giant). The left overs from the tofu I used them to stuff a small Creppini (egg crepes from Sam's) and 3 slices of small pepperoni. I always keep cheese, tofu, refried Beans, canned tuna, canned chicken, cottage and eggs handy. And different sauces, Buffalo, marinara, Korean BBQ. I mix and match depending on what I feel eating. Today I got sushi grade salmon (2-3 oz, full with half) and seaweed, and pretend I'm eating sushi. I'm only texture food phase. My baby stomach feels better with smushy food.
Boyfriend loves to eat outside, I always have left overs that last for days. Thai tofu tom yum Soup. Vietnamese Pho, substitute the noddles with bean sprouts.  

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I hear you, my boyfriend enjoys going to restaurants at least once a week, seat and be server. My options will be dump him or make peace with the lifestyle. He understands I went through surgery and is mindfull that the restaurant has something I can eat. Most of them have salmon/broccoli at a minimum. That's what I get, well, ahí since I live in Hawaii. I just eat how the doctor recommended, slow, small bites. Chew until the end of the world and pack the rest. Bar/restaurants are more tricky here. I just order the smallest chicken wings plate or chicken quesadilla, I ended up eating 2 wings or one triangle of the quesadilla. I pack the rest or share with the table. No big deal. Rule of thumb, Proteins first, then salad. Avoid carbs when you can. In this pic, this particular restaurant had Ahi and the side option of rice or sweet potato. I went with the sweet potatoes, got 2 bites after a few bites of ahí, I ate 3 days from this meal.

I had my surgery 4 weeks ago.

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I know different cultures have different customs, but you are being abused. If your husband can say horrible things like "I don't know why I married you", then there are deepseated problems with the relationship. He's also contradicting himself since he's supposedly "disgusted" by the CPAP machine but yet opposes you taking a decisive step to lose the weight. It sounds to me like he wants to keep you fat and beaten down because that gives him power over you. A thinner, fitter you likely will not put up with the abuse he's dishing out. These are just my impressions based on the little bit you've told us. You have to do what you believe is right but I'm fearful for you. Someone who can go for the emotional jugular like that may hurt you in other ways as well.

I have been stalled for over a month. I got below 210 back around Thanksgiving (206.8) after I got COVID, but as soon as I started feeling better, I popped back to about 212 and have hovered between 208 and 210 ever since. Well, finally after a long month, I am finally down to 205. After three days in a row of lower numbers, I feel like the stall is broken and "onederland" is right around the corner.

I've kept my wls private, only telling my husband and (adult) children. I'm a private person anyway and don't really feel it's anybody else's business. Plus there's a LOT of judgment over wls here in the UK - the surgery is a lot less common here than in the US I think - and basically you're labelled as a "fat slob who can't be bothered to limit what you eat" and who takes the easy route of having most of your stomach removed! Nobody cares about the research showing that some people are genetically pre-disposed to weight gain and excessive hunger and that the wls actually works on a hormonal level. But my decision to keep it private has been helped by Covid as we basically haven't seen anyone socially or otherwise for months....