Sometime this morning, I awoke very thirsty. I opened-up a bottle of tea that I had by my bed, and gulped some down. My lower esophageal sphincter — the valve between the esophagus and the stomach — suddenly started spasming, and hurt as if I had swallowed something relatively large and inelastic. I don't recall previously having that experience from drinking liquid (and tepid liquid at that).

At this point, several hours later, I'm still aware of a low-level discomfort there. (And it truly hurts when I laugh.) I think of food warily.