I just wanted to update this question as I can see that many people read the posts but have no answer or comments. For those of you who are considering the surgery and read these forums, I want you to know that the worst of what I was experiencing has passed. I spoke with Dr Ortiz on day 7 post op and he confirmed that I was ok and was just experiencing post op cramping which apparently plication patients experience more of post op. I am now 10 days post op and the cramps still happen but no where near as bad as previously. Sometimes they still wake me up and a couple make me catch my breath during the day but I have learned to not let my stomach get too empty for too long. I have also started to lose weight (thank goodness). I have lost 5 lbs since surgery and a total of 25 since I started to get ready for the surgery (started 3 weeks prior with very strict carb control). I have carefully advanced my diet a bit faster than recommended because I felt that my stomach needed just a bit of substance. I have taken thicker soups and just pureed the heck out of them. That really seemed to help. At this point I am probably eating about 500-600 calories a day and thats all I really want. Before surgery I liked to eat A LOT of volume. I find that I need to eat something about every 2-3 hours but its a fraction of what I could eat before, and I mean a fraction. I'm back to work but I would not say I feel 100% just yet. I'll keep things posted as best I can to give the best idea of how things go. At this point (10 days post op) I have not regretted my decision. I did regret it my first two days post op as I was SOOOOO miserable, but now I am getting excited about being more comfortable in my own skin. My personal goal was not so much a number but more of an ability. I want to crouch down and play with my kids. I want to go places with them and participate in activities without fear of spoiling them because of my size. I want to live longer than my mother did. I want to like my body as much as I like my self. Don't know if that resonates with any of you, but that was how I knew I was ready for this. I was more tired and afraid of being fat and becoming ill, than I was fearful of not being able to eat what I wanted or the side effects of the surgery. I was just "over it". Good luck to all of you out there trying to find your answer and your way. Hopefully, I now have a tool powerful enough to help me get to where I know I want to be.