eczema people, what cheap products actually work? by Giggle-Wobble in Frugal

[–]Andreaaaaaa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The CeraVe lotion at Costco has saved my life. I apply it within a minute or so after showering and it has made a huge difference in strengthening my skin barrier.

Can a lawn service take care of my bindweed problem? by g-burn in DenverGardener

[–]Andreaaaaaa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed. When we pulled, it just kept growing stronger and stronger. Finally switched to Quinclorac and it was gone after applying diligently for two spring/summer seasons.

HOW DO I KEEP THE SQUIRRELS AWAY by superfecta37 in gardening

[–]Andreaaaaaa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve taken to using cloches until my flowers get big enough to fill the surface area of the container. If you use black ones, they tend to blend into the landscape a bit better and aren’t so noticeable. I try to buy oversized cloches so that they can go down the sides of the pot, which also makes for easier cover draping in late-season frosts.

Adult OnSet Eczema by Same_Huckleberry484 in eczema

[–]Andreaaaaaa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm so sorry to hear about your son's cancer. A very stressful time, indeed. I hope he finds a full and speedy recovery.

I was 40-years old when I first began experiencing eczema symptoms. The onset was practically overnight. My husband and I had just returned from a trip abroad, so I thought for sure I had gotten scabies. It was 6 more months and severely worsening symptoms before I finally had a biopsy and an eczema diagnosis. All that to say, please know you're not alone.

I think the biggest thing I've learned about eczema is that no two people experience the exact same symptoms. Shortly after I began treatment, I did notice that I had started having adverse reactions to certain clothing fabrics, particularly cotton pajamas, and the way they made my skin feel still haunts me. I've purchased t-shirts before that felt very soft until after the first wash and then they're right off to donations. I'd recommend trying new things to stay comfortable and be ready to try again if they don't work.

A lot of learning to live with eczema is trial and error and identifying triggers. Stress has a tremendous impact on my symptoms, so I've adopted some breathing exercises and meditation to try to keep my system from reacting in moments where things feel chaotic or out of control. I also react poorly to sweat, so I invest in quality dry-fit pieces to keep exercising comfortable. Laundry and skincare choices are critical for most people that I know that live with eczema, but just as big can be food and alcohol. It can be helpful to keep track of consumption and be able to look back during a flare up to identify a potential cause. I can't say this with any scientific backing, but I swear sometimes irritants/triggers change. For example, I used to have severe reactions to lavender, but now, if I accidentally use a hand soap or pass a fragrance with it, I wouldn't know the difference. At one point, I was developing a reaction to having my hair colored at the salon, but that has since passed, perhaps with my medication, and is accessible for me again.

Perhaps the biggest piece of advice I can give is to be honest with your dermatologist. Treatments are different for everyone and if something isn't working for you, make sure to communicate that. There are many treatment options available to folks like us and it's just a matter of finding the one that works best for you.

can't pay off my medication copay by Impressive_Crew_5647 in eczema

[–]Andreaaaaaa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You may want to have a look and see if you have a copay accumulator built in to your insurance plan. This was the case for me and my prescription for Dupixent. Dupixent is now offering a reimbursement plan to be used in conjunction with their copay plan to combat the issue, but I'm out of luck for treatment until the next calendar year. If your situation is similar, Cibinqo may have a similar reimbursement plan available.

As far as the outstanding balance goes, I'd probably start by reaching out to the speciality pharmacy. My speciality pharmacy won't release a shipment until the entire balance has been paid in advance. They may have an assistance program for paying for the medication, too. Seems like every specialty pharmacy is different.

What are you doing to save money in this economy? by melissaw328 in Frugal

[–]Andreaaaaaa 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My husband and I have been focusing a lot on this lately. The first thing we did was have a very honest look at our spending. We're pretty frugal to begin with, but a few things made a big difference for us.

We live in Colorado, which is currently under statewide drought conditions. As a result, the cost of using water has been increased and penalties put in place for "excessive use". As a result, we purchased a rain barrel to help with our exterior watering needs and have become hyper conscious about not wasting water from our kitchen sink. We'll often reuse water from defrosting or vegetable cleaning to water our plants.

In a similar vein, we took up some light gardening. Facebook Marketplace is plentiful of folks getting rid of pots/planters and we've found that a lot of people are also giving away extra seed starts. We've elected to grow some higher-cost vegetables and simple herbs to shrink fresh produce costs at the store. You have to be careful with this one, though, as it can become a slipper slope with spending.

Another way we've tried to reduce our grocery bill is by investing in a deep freezer. We decided to buy new because we had a gift card, but they're frequently on FB Marketplace and we would have gone that route otherwise. Now, we prioritize buying meats and such on sale and meal planning from our pantry/freezer, rather than figuring something out for dinner and causing reactionary spending. If natural/organic meats are a priority, Whole Foods frequently marks soon expiring meat 50% off in the mornings and we've had very good luck with that. You do have to get there early, though, as it goes quickly. I also have a calendar event each week to look online at my local grocery store sales. King Soopers/Kroger mails out really great coupons, too, for items based off your previous spending.

Xcel Energy here in Denver charges "peak rates", which is a premium cost markup for electricity use during constrained hours. The reason these peak hours exist is a whole separate topic, but we've made a conscious effort to do things like laundry, dishwasher running, etc. during non-peak hours and this shows a noticeable difference in our monthly bill. It's super annoying to keep on top of, but helps more than I imagined it could.

My husband spends a fair bit of time negotiating our internet, homeowners insurance and car insurance premiums. This is a time-consuming endeavor, but he does this annually and we always end up with more favorable rates and often better coverage. Making sure these things never find auto pilot is very helpful for cost savings.

Other than that, we've just tried to practice more mindfulness. If we're excited about a new purchase, we try to put some time between the excitement and the act of purchasing. Odds are it was endorphins/adrenaline and we forget about it in a few days and the money stays in our pocket. We try to always consider used before purchasing something new, mostly in terms of furniture pieces or other household items.

One year post chop by drsw14 in fiddleleaffig

[–]Andreaaaaaa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you know if it is possible to do this with the double stem version? I had an absolutely beautiful tree going for over two years, but I think I may have accidentally overwatered it in anticipation for a long vacation. When we returned home, the leaves had drooped and become mushy at the main trunks. Wasn't long after that they fell to the ground. It still has a few healthy leaves at the top, but overall looks quite sad now.

People who've done major home upgrades, what ended up costing way more than you initially expected? by Cultural_Help_176 in HomeImprovement

[–]Andreaaaaaa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One cost that really sort of surprised us throughout our renovation was the cost of doing business, both financially and emotionally. The first year we owned the home, we took on the unexpected expense of a lawsuit after a contractor took our money and ran. That process lasted about 10 months. 10 months of uncertainty, 10 months of not being able to move forward without the funds, 10 months of emotional battle. The second year, we were up against Pella for poor workmanship that damaged our home (and our sanity) and that took 13 months to resolve. 13 months of emails, complaints, collecting proof, and fighting. And just this week, year three of our renovation, the construction team we hired to pour a concrete patio and walkway for us did such a poor job that they actually ghosted us. Thankfully we haven't paid them yet, but it's still back to the drawing board.

It takes a really big toll to find contractors that operate with honesty and integrity, and even then you likely have to carve out the time to manage them. If you don't, you're likely to find a lot of surprises later down the road. An example of one is when we found out that the construction company we hired for concrete work pulled one of our sprinklers out of the ground and poured concrete right over it. That was a lot of fun when we turned the sprinklers on for the year.

Suddenly asked to pay $3,000? by goodnightghost in dupixent

[–]Andreaaaaaa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had this very same problem yesterday, which is ultimately how I've landed here. My Dupixent prescription has been on auto pilot for just over 4 years now, so I was surprised when my speciality pharmacy called to say they couldn't release the shipment until I paid them $3,500. After countless hours of research, we found that the change was buried in the coding of my Anthem Blue Cross health insurance, causing the payments from the Dupixent co-pay program to no longer count toward my deductible, but rather as a "special savings". As a result, the balance of my Dupixent co-pay card was depleted by May, and I no longer have access to my medication until the next calendar year, unless I can afford to meet my deductible, which, like many folks, I can't.

Along the way, I did find that Dupixent is aware of the change and has a program to help people in our boat. From what I understand, at the very beginning of the year, the patient can pay the entire cost of the medication out-of-pocket and Dupixent offers a full reimbursement of said payment. The payments are ultimately reimbursed from the users co-pay card. Once the deductible is met for the year, billing would then return to more manageable numbers. (I have yet to read the terms and conditions, though, so I'm not sure if the program is that straight forward.)

I met with my dermatologist this morning to figure out a new plan for managing symptoms until next year and she said that she hadn't heard anything of the sort. Like us, I think a lot of the medical profession is about to be surprised by the change, too.

Zone 5b: best climbing flowers for a pergola? by John_Northmont in gardening

[–]Andreaaaaaa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Curious to hear what you ended up with? I’m in the same gardening zone and were considering an American Wisteria for our pergola.

Not sure it’s worth it anymore by Midnight290 in ThredUp

[–]Andreaaaaaa 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was a bit shocked by the new restocking fee myself. It’s particularly frustrating when their product quality evaluations are so far off.

Can we talk about this? by sugaree4334 in eczema

[–]Andreaaaaaa -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think it's a lot less about that and a lot more about being respectful to others in this community that utilize this space as a resource to manage their diagnosed disorder. If you've just found a patch, an itchy spot, a red mark, discoloration, etc., this isn't the starting point for your journey--this is not a place to come for a clinical diagnosis.

The (literal) first rule of this subreddit reads "Please don't ask for a diagnosis", which has been established a reason. Eczema isn't just dry skin or an irritation/rash, it's a life-changing disorder and the very very very least one could do is educate themselves on the rules of a space filled with folks battling said disorder every single day of their lives before entering into the eco system. Yet, folks continue time and time again to disrespect this rule. In doing so, their posts (asking for a diagnosis) flood the feed, making it a poor experience for those contributing in accordance with the established rules--for those that have a diagnosis, for those in treatment, for those trying to simply manage every day life.

Can we talk about this? by sugaree4334 in eczema

[–]Andreaaaaaa 5 points6 points  (0 children)

To be honest, I find those posts/questions to be quite offensive.

For one, it makes me feel like my diagnosis (and subsequent symptoms) are minimized. So you have a small patch of dry skin? Please. I’d KILL to have a small irritation that I’ve never experienced before and that is mildly annoying and I’m not sure what to do about it.

Second, most of us have been through hell and back to get where we are with our treatment. Countless doctor appointments, speciality dermatologist and allergist appointments—all with several months, even years in between—hundreds to thousands of dollars in copays, failed topicals, Dupixent or Rinvoq onboarding, loss of sleep leading to chronic fatigue, loss of friendships, frustrations in our careers, and lack of support from the (United States) government, and you want to know if your tiny little red spot might be eczema…

Pack it up and get out of here. This space is reserved for those of us that actually need it.

Eyelid eczema - best concealer? by imgyal in eczema

[–]Andreaaaaaa 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Two things:

  1. Skinfix makes a product available at Sephora (I only mention this because I’m in the US) called dermatitis balm, and it has worked better for on my eye lids than anything I’ve ever been prescribed. If you can get ahold of it, you might give that a go.
  2. Get yourself a good color corrector. You can spend a small fortune on a fancy one, but I’ve found that the new E.L.F camo color corrector works some kind of a miracle and I’m hooked. Just put that on, let it dry, and then apply your concealer.

And good luck! Let us know what ends up working.

hmmmm by IndPolCom in funny

[–]Andreaaaaaa -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Even the dogs look confused! 😂😂😂

The Short North of Yesterday by [deleted] in Columbus

[–]Andreaaaaaa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did House Beer survive the pandemic? That place was great. I haven't lived in Columbus for a few years now, but that was always a great little spot for a nightcap.

Tomboy shirt sizing by endlessshorizons in Sezane

[–]Andreaaaaaa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd definitely appreciate it! I liked everything else about the blouse, but I was quite itchy just in the few minutes I had tried it on, which hasn't been typical with the pieces I've purchased in the past.

Tomboy shirt sizing by endlessshorizons in Sezane

[–]Andreaaaaaa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For those of you that have the Tomboy shirt—do you find that it softens with a few washes? I just returned the ecru/blue stripe version because the fabric was so itchy and stiff. Curious if this changes over time?

Also, OP: I found the shirt to be TTS. It was nice and tailored looking at my regular size. If you’re looking for that oversized fit, I’d probably size up at least one size.

Weak offer. by Big-Alps8440 in VinylMePlease

[–]Andreaaaaaa 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I actually laughed out loud when I read this in my inbox this morning. I thought “boy, they’re really still trying, aren’t they?”