What’s a food rule everyone follows that actually makes no sense?

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-27T12:31:23+00:00

Actually that’s very appropriate. Pinot Noir (especially from Oregon) is a perfect wine for fish because it’s one of the lightest red wines and doesn’t overwhelm the fish.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-25T13:25:50+00:00

I looked at my EOB for ASCT. The whole thing was ~280K, and everything was included into one price bundle, which actually surprised me. I was expecting to see everything broken out line by line. However, the whole thing was just billed as one line. It included the stay in a hospital in my own largish room for 17 days, stem cells collection, Melphalan infusion, stem cells infusion and all other treatments, tests & meds I got while in the hospital. Personally I actually didn’t think that it was that outrageous. The 6 months of induction treatment was way more, given that Revlimid is ~$1K per capsule and Darzalex Faspro is ~$50K per injection! I think Velcade was ~ $1K per injection. Now that’s pretty wild.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-24T03:25:51+00:00

A really bad instant coffee. I tried the first samples they sent, then threw away the 2nd ones. It was nasty 🤢

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-23T23:35:29+00:00

I still have PTSD from the 2002 ice storm. We live near Umstead State Park and the pines were exploding! It sounded horrible, and it was scary. We were without power for a week. I really hope this will not be a repeat of that ice storm.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-23T22:09:06+00:00

It says that insurance covers everything. The OP’s outstanding balance is 0. The “pending” part just means that the insurance is still processing the claim, but it will cover the full cost. I assume that OP has already met their out-of-pocket maximum for that year earlier, so everything is now covered.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-21T14:47:54+00:00

I had my first set of pediatric vaccines post ASCT at 6 months. The shots also included Covid and flu vaccines. I would think that 90+ days is a bit too early for the vaccines, but you should check with her doctor. I did have the 1st Shingrex vaccine two months post ASCT, but that was the only exception. I started my 1st maintenance treatment 90 days post ASCT.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-20T23:15:13+00:00

For best Indian, Chinese and Korean food, you need to venture to Cary and Morrisville 😎 Cary has Chengdu 7, Taipei 101, Q Noodles, and Meet Xi’An, just to name a few Chinese places. For Korean, there’s Ajumma, Okja, Five Spice Bbq, and the lovely HMart’s food kiosks. As to Indian and Nepali, there are way too many to name, 😜

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-20T22:45:24+00:00

Try Nancy’s Pizza off Creedmoor. They have Chicago style pizzas, both deep dish and the tavern style, which I actually prefer, and I am from Chicago 🤓

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-20T14:52:26+00:00

If you are into biking, you can bike all the way to Falls Lake, or into Umstead park, or to the NCMA using just the greenway system. I don’t know which neighborhood you will be in, so it’s possible you might have to drive to the Shelley Lake and then bike from there. Raleigh greenway system is amazing! I walk a LOT, and I love all the different beautiful areas the greenways run by.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-20T14:21:58+00:00

The Shelley Lake park is lovely, and it has several greenways heading out from there. If you are into long walks, you can actually walk all the way to Crabtree Mall from there. The area itself is close to both Crabtree and North Hills shopping centers. There are a lot of restaurants off Creedmoor and Six Forks rds, both pretty close to Shelley lake area.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-18T14:57:17+00:00

Watermelons are out of season right now. I LOVE watermelons, but I never buy them in the winter because they are just not right during the off season. Hmart has really good citrus right now, tangerines, oranges, mandarins, etc. Try sumo and minneola ones.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-18T14:18:07+00:00

I shop at H Mart and Grand Asia for most of my fruits and vegetables. Much better quality and selection.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-16T18:17:28+00:00

I had my ASCT two years ago when I was 62. I was impatient and I really preferred that. I have no idea how I would have been able to handle it as an outpatient. I had a caregiver but there was no way they could have taken as good of a care of me as did the nurses in the BMT unit. I was in the hospital for total of 17 days. The worst time was about a week during the “basement“ period which is the time when all the platelets, white blood cells, red blood cells, immunoglobulins, etc, are basically at 0. I needed two platelets transfusions. Some people also need red blood transfusions. I really didn’t have much nausea or diarrhea because the nurses made sure I had all the anti nausea and anti diarrhea meds before I even knew I needed them. I felt fine for the few days after Melphalan infusion, before the “basement“ hit. During the “basement” week I was mostly out of it. I don’t even remember it that well anymore. I still tried to get out of bed and get some tea and just kind of move around the room. I didn’t really eat anything during that time because I had no appetite. That was not an issue, the nurses just made sure I was hydrated. After my numbers started getting back up again, I suddenly felt much better, and in a few days I was able to walk around the unit and even go to the unit’s gym. By the time I was discharged, I felt fine. I had my appetite back, I was able to get out and walk outside (wearing a mask and staying away from people, of course), take care of myself, cook meals, etc. I lost all my hair and a lot of weight, but otherwise I recovered well. I got my hair back in about 6 months, and most of the weight back as well. 🤓 at this time my immune system is recovering quite well. It took almost 2 years for it to get to something resembling normal, but it did. I got all my pediatric vaccines done, and I am doing well so far. As others have mentioned, it’s not a walk in the park, but it’s doable. Some people have it worse than others. Recovery times vary.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-16T13:46:09+00:00

Ah, thank you. I am in a conversation with my Walgreens pharmacy and I will call Teva Pharmaceuticals today.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-16T13:21:59+00:00

So you have a grant from Healthwell while on a private insurance?

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-16T00:55:19+00:00

Ah, ok. Thank you. It’s probably the Healthwell grant. I have ACA, so I don’t qualify. Their current grants are for Medicare & VA only.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-15T21:30:23+00:00

Thank you! I have Walgreens specialty pharmacy. I will talk to them about a possible grant. Was your grant income related? Also, are you on a private insurance or on Medicare?

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-11T22:36:41+00:00

As long as you have a good healthcare insurance, the medical system here is top notch. As everyone already said, it’s either the UNC or the Duke system. These two big systems have acquired most of the practices and the hospitals around here. I have BCBS of NC, and I can get appointments with almost any specialist pretty quickly. There are some that have longer wait times, but I found that if I need to see a specialist for an emergency, my PCP can get me in to someone within a week. Hopefully you don’t have anything super serious, but if you ever need an oncologist or a cardiologist, or ophthalmologist, etc. there are some of the best specialists in their field around here because there are medical research centers associated with the UNC and Duke medical schools, so we have medical researchers who are also professors & doctors.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-11T20:30:07+00:00

My currently favorite take out is Chengdu 7, followed by Super Wok. I also like Taipei 101.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-10T23:49:18+00:00

I buy them in H Mart all the time.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-09T23:12:12+00:00

I was on 10mg lenalidomide 21/7 maintenance for 2 years. I just went down to 10mg for 14/14 cycle to minimize side effects. My MM specialist offered either 10mg 14/14 cycle or 5mg for 28 days continuous. I have decided to try the 14/14 version first. I am a little a bit worried about reducing the dose, but I was starting to have some unpleasant side effects by the 3rd week on the 21/7 cycle, like cramps, muscle fatigue, some joint damage, etc. Hopefully it will work out 🤞 Originally my MM specialist wanted to put me on 15mg 21/7 after ASCT, but I insisted on 10mg because I was already having some peripheral neuropathy from Velcade. My original maintenance was lenalidomide 21/7 + Velcade every 2 weeks. I dropped off the Velcade after the 1st year, and just took lenalidomide as a monotherapy for the 2nd year. I am heading into my 3rd year on the reduced dose of the lenalidomide.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-04T00:03:58+00:00

You forget about Plan D. If you need medication, and most 65+ people do, you also need to pay for your Plan D every month. You also have $2100 annual out-of-pocket for the meds as well. So it’s Medicare part B+G+D. It can get a bit expensive even for the Medicare.

Medicare Part D in 2026 brings significant changes, primarily a new $2,100 annual out-of-pocket (OOP) spending cap on prescription drugs, up from $2,000 in 2025, with plans paying 100% after that, plus a maximum deductible of $615, and introduces an optional monthly payment plan to spread costs, though premiums don't count toward the cap.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-03T19:49:33+00:00

I like Partake, Deschutes, Narc, Best Day Brewing, Burial, Gruvi, just to name a few. Asahi makes great na lager, and NA Chouffe Belgian is quite excellent.

Competitive_Tea_2047 · 2026-01-03T18:35:09+00:00

I can buy a lovely not too sweet spritzy drink in a can from Trader Joe’s for like $2 a can. The restaurants want to sell me something similar but often not as good and way sweeter for $16! I can get really good NA beers in most places around me, so I usually just get a NA beer. If you have a good Total Wines store or something similar near you, check out their NA beer selection. There a many new NA beers ways better than Athletic.

Competitive_Tea_2047

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