I have no happy medium yet?!?!?!?

Ok, so I'm still on soft foods. Sometimes the suggested amount is too much. So I either leave the table somewhere below full or I eat a bite or two much and it just burns and hurts in my sternum area--then I can't get relief unless I throw up.

Is this normal?

Yup!

It gets better with time....hang in there!!

Eventually I identified foods that tended to make that happen more often.  I don't eat them anymore.  I also learned to really slow down while eating and really pay attention to any discomfort at all and that helpd avoid that awful feeling.