Well, it's official. I'm the not so proud owner of a bouncing baby ulcer. I was due for an endoscopy anyway to check if I've developed esophageal varices, but I've also had pretty constant heartburn for a few years so I figured they could take a look at that at well. I'm clear on varices (which is really the most important thing since that means I won't spontaneously bleed out) but near where the esophagus joins the stomach there is a small ulcerated area, so I'm now on prescription strength Prilosec.

I suppose it's another souvenir of my formerly spectacularly unhealthy lifestyle with Covid stress added, so now I can add another medical ailment to my list. After hearing my mom complain non-stop about her GERD after her endoscopy in October, I yet again can point to my health and it's like "Yep, got that, about twice as badly, and with less then half the complaining." To put this in perspective my mom has told everyone, and I do mean everyone including all of her friends here AND every single restaurant server we've had, about her dietary restrictions because of GERD *roll eyes*. As I've told her many times "Mom, they don't care. Order what you're going to eat."

Screw it, once this omicron wave passes I'm still going to try and find a decent Thai restaurant in South Jersey. If I restricted everything I did depending on my health I'd have even less of a life, so I'll look forward to occasional Thai instead. That's a philosophy I can live by. And I won't tell the server about my ulcer ;).