I’ll take “allergies suck” for a thousand, Alex

I woke up this morning feeling like crap, sore throat, dryness, etc. I can feel spring springing. My allergies are at full alert. “Shields are up, Captain!”

I know that I’m getting(?) old when a “hangover stomach” is a thing. Let me explain. I didn’t drink alcohol as a teen or a young adult. As a matter of fact, I didn’t drink booze at all until I was around 30 years old and fully formed. When I did start drinking, I never got a hangover of any kind. It was nice. Those were the hay days.

Around late 2019, right before the COVID fun, I started experiencing horrible stomach bloating, painful even. I remember the first time that it happened I had no idea what was going on. I felt like I couldn’t eat anything, it affected my breathing, at least in my head it did. And I couldn’t drink anything…especially alcohol.

As time marched on, it would come and go. I couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t debilitating, it was just extremely uncomfortable. Then one day, it stopped being a thing. And on that day (not literally), I had my first drink since the bloating. And the bloating came back. Ding! Ding! Ding! Sometimes I can be slow on the up take. This was one of those times.

I have since stopped drinking hard liquor and mixed drinks of any kind. I still drink beer, but I manage it. However, I still get a nauseated “hangover stomach” the following day after opening a beer too earlier in the day (think Saturday).