1. Will I EVER be allowed to drink again while eating a meal?

2. Why do we have to "sip"?

3. What are the ways I could stretch my sleeve and not realize it?

At ten months out, I still resist drinking at mealtime. The summer was manageable, but I was sipping an ounce or so every few minutes. What I do when I have something spicey is sip just enough Water to rinse around my mouth. The reason that I sip is because my surgeon told me that eating or drinking quickly could trap air in my stomach and be quite uncomfortable. Also, I am afraid that drinking with a meal will cause my stomach to be distended. So, I max out at about 1 cup of food at a meal now, and 60-80 ounces of Fluid daily (which is mostly water).