Damned Heartburn Again

I've been getting some serious heartburn recently, and I only have myself to blame.  We've been living in an alcohol-centric culture for months now, and it's all too easy to settle into a routine of drinking heavily every night - especially when the temperature is -30 Celsius outside, as it is now.

Add to that the stress of working in a foreign country, dealing with visas, rent, plumbing, internet and all the other little complications of life without a decent understanding of the language, and this all adds up to a very stressed, often drunk or hungover, heartburn filled old man.

When I was living in the US I used to use Prilosec to control my heartburn (and I'd usually be able to use a Prilosec coupon to keep the costs down), but out here in Mongolia you can only get hold of generic Russian knockoffs of western drugs.  It's pretty frustrating.

Fortunately the Russian knockoffs are pretty cheap (most of the stuff seems to be stolen and smuggled over the northern border at Ulan Ude, from what I hear.  Still, the price is still much higher than back in the US where I could get a Prilosec rebate when I bought from Amazon.

There are only a few things I miss about living in the US (God, the breakfasts!), but being able to get hold of decent medication without paying through the nose is one of 'em.