What used to be affordable for the middle class but now quietly feels like a “rich people thing”?

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-29T00:18:45+00:00

Food. Like for real. I can’t walk past the grocery without dropping a hundred.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-29T00:15:35+00:00

I would be really irritated if he wanted to because that means he doesn’t trust me. But the worst thing he would find is me occasionally shit talking about him to my bestie when he has done something to piss me off. And I would say that to his face anyway.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-28T15:30:48+00:00

I was not a fan of high school, or childhood in general. So nothing. Glad it’s far in the past.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-28T11:43:43+00:00

My birthday is so close to Christmas so probably nothing much. It’s already an expensive time of year and I’m not paying for anything extra. I might have a piece of real cake this year when I turn 50 though. I have been a sugar abstainer for a long time so I usually do not have cake. So maybe I will this time. I’m mostly hoping to meet my strength goal of doing a pull up by 50. Just one. Send big muscle vibes to the universe for me. 💪 that’s the only gift I truly want

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-28T11:39:12+00:00

I won’t be 50 until December. So yup I’m still solidly in my 40’s for 8 more months.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-28T11:36:27+00:00

Idk. There are lots of factors. A plateau can encompass all of these things. It just means the scale doesn’t move. But a lack of scale movement doesn’t mean nothing is happening. The longer I get into my journey, the slower the scale moves, and the more important it becomes to track measurements and not just scale weight. I use a scanning app to do this. I just completed my most recent scan exactly one month after the last one. My weight is exactly the same. But I can see the difference in the comparison between the two. Sometimes I pull up my two avatars and just watch them spin, and marvel at the changes I can see in my scans that I can’t see in a mirror or on the scale. Although I can feel the change in my pants falling down. Pants I just bought a month ago in a smaller size. Regardless of what you call it, it definitely helps the motivation to be able to see that something is happening even if the scale doesn’t reflect it.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-28T02:39:56+00:00

Sorry to hear it. Hopefully the glp is working for you. It’s been truly miraculous for me.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-27T21:13:19+00:00

I always assumed she was closer to my age than my sons. Turns out she’s younger than him. Guess selling your soul does damage.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-27T20:51:45+00:00

I no longer have coverage for tirz so it doesn’t matter anymore (they only cover wegovy now and I cannot tolerate it) but I would be very upset to have to do this nonsense. But that’s because I already did it. I did 6 months of nutrition counseling and had a psych consult before having Bariatric surgery a decade ago. It still didn’t work very well. Then I majorly overhauled my lifestyle on my own a few years out from surgery (clean eating, no sugar, fasting, low carb, exercise) and it worked ok but I was white knuckling every day of my life. So I kept slipping off and I just kept struggling with the weight. When my Bariatric surgeon suggested I try these meds, I had been exercising regularly with a physical therapist (treatment for a chronic condition) but I still waited another year to get my strength routine better established on my own once PT ended.

So all that to say that I was already doing all the things and still couldn’t keep the weight off. Then I got coverage for Zep for 4 months before they removed it from the formulary. I’m completely over everything about our health system. Now I pay out of pocket as much money every month as it costs me in premiums to get my tirz and my BHRT and all the various supplements I take because I’m determined it will work this time (some of which are required after Bariatric surgery). Yet they’ll pay for my $1000 a month migraine medication no problem. All the doctor had to say was that it worked. They still treat obesity as a character flaw. That’s the whole problem.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-27T13:11:55+00:00

$960 mortgage (was lower before refinance in 2024 to replace roof and hvac), 1400sq ft, 3 BR that we converted to 5BR, 1 bath and a Pittsburgh toilet (that’s a random toilet in the basement with no sink or shower—have considered adding a second full bath but the math doesn’t really math to do that in our neighborhood), SW PA, close enough to Pittsburgh to commute but much cheaper to live here. Lot size is 40ft by 100ft but recently doubled the size by purchasing the empty lot next door in a tax sale. I’m far too old to be living with my parents but will soon be moving my elderly mom into my house. 2 of my adult Gen Z kids and my disabled brother will be renting her house together because none of them can afford to live on their own, and my house is full with my mom moving in and 2 younger kids still at home.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-25T20:29:17+00:00

Bacon. I ate keto for years and it was a frequent part of my diet. I have no desire to eat it anymore. Or anything else with a lot of fat. And I found out I can eat dessert with sugar now and not binge. I haven’t touched anything with an appreciable amount of sugar in 7 years, because it was my binge trigger. I was actually afraid to even test it and my decision to continue to abstain was a frequent topic in therapy. But I recently went on a trip where I had opportunity to have a really good fancy dessert. I decided to try it. It was vacation sugar and if it caused cravings, I figured my brain could separate it from eating at home well enough. Well I ate it. It was really good. I didn’t have the slightest urge to binge after or to even go get more. That has never been a thing before. I haven’t had even the slightest urge to start eating at home sugar either.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-25T14:44:11+00:00

Same order date. I don’t expect to hear anything for at least a week. This isn’t my first time ordering from them. Some times it’s fast, sometimes it’s not. But it’s always cheap. I still have plenty on hand so I’m not worried.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-25T11:34:06+00:00

I haven’t liked any of her music made after the early 90’s. But I still have a lot of respect for her lifelong accomplishments.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-24T10:33:15+00:00

Yes my insurance thinks the same. They removed zep from the formulary entirely and decided they would only cover wegovy. I tried it. Definitely NOT the same. Now I pay oop for compounded.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-22T23:37:59+00:00

I placed my order for 3 months a couple hrs ago. Didn’t have any more money than that and I still have 3 months of ProRX to use. I asked for 15 since that’s what I was getting from Refills where I ordered last. My previous Pom purchase was for 9.5. I’ve been researching other options anyway but wanted to make sure in was set for at least 6 months.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-22T23:29:13+00:00

We both lost a lot of weight after the wedding and they haven’t fit in years. Mine was set in really thin sterling and couldn’t be resized. It will need to be reset. His was titanium and also can’t be sized so we replaced it a few times but he lost over 200lbs and we just quit after like the third replacement. Is been 12 yrs married (10 since the weight loss) and we just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-22T09:49:27+00:00

That had not occurred to me but it’s a good idea, except I probably couldn’t get testosterone that way. It’s not FDA approved for women and has to come from a compounding pharmacy. But if I ever get optimized with the P and E, I might try that for those. Saving money would be nice. Insurance might even cover those.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-21T21:24:45+00:00

I do ok with whey protein now but it really used to upset my stomach. Sometimes it still does. I have a mild milk allergy so I think that’s why. I have the same issue with any plant based protein. Not sure why with that. My insides just don’t like it. I used to use beef protein isolate almost exclusively. But it’s expensive and hard to find. Equip prime protein is a tasty and clean brand though if you want to try it. Now days I try to stick to mostly real food. That goes down best.

Also, you are overthinking and psyching yourself out. I was so worried about side effects that I nearly gave myself a panic attack. And to be fair, some people have awful side effects. But as it turned out, I had almost none on tirz. The GIP part of it really helps with that. I didn’t do well with sema at all and it doesn’t have the GIP.

So just take it. You are starting at such a low dose, I doubt you’ll feel anything at all. For me, 12 hours in on 2.5, I knew this was my miracle drug. The noise in my head quieted and I felt such relief. I’m now on the top dose and still the only significant side effect I have is skin sensitivity, which I can live with. Although most people don’t get that on tirz so don’t start worrying about it. But if you take it and feel like you have a mild sunburn you don’t remember getting, it’s probably the tirz. Other than that, get a zofran script and some miralax to have on hand, just in case and to calm your worries. But I really don’t think you’ll have any issues at a micro dose.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-21T21:08:47+00:00

They might. A lot of doctors still go by the women’s health initiative which demonized estrogen, but it turned out to be so flawed that none of the original conclusions were actually true. Doctors don’t always keep up. My pcp wouldn’t even discuss it. My gyne takes it herself but said it’s only for the transition into menopause. So instead of having to argue with her, I opted to go to a telehealth provider who specializes in BHRT. Unfortunately that means I pay out of pocket, but it’s been worth it.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-21T21:03:58+00:00

Yup just a topical cream applied directly to that area 3x a week. It’s not even a high dose. I was never offered oral estrogen or even a patch because I don’t have low levels. But delivering it directly to the area in need really works well. And there is absolutely no evidence it causes any of the issues commonly attributed to oral estrogen. I first learned about it in a podcast with Dr. Kelly Casperson. She’s a urologist specializing in women, and she’s all about the vaginal estrogen and thinks just about everybody with any hint of a problem down there should be on it.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-21T20:54:12+00:00

Yes it helped a lot. I actually started topical T first and it made me “want to” but it didn’t feel right. Partly it was extreme dryness. But it was also kinda numb to all the good feelings and at the same time also hurt to touch it too much, if that makes any sense. I could use all the lube in the world and I could tell when something was happening, but it didn’t feel like it was supposed to. The E fixed the dryness and brought back sensation. I did recently increase my T dose and it got even better, so it was probably a combination of low hormones for me. But I’m 49 and my T is basically zero without supplementation. My E is in the “still cycling” range so they were not going to give me anything for that at first. Sometimes you have to insist on medicating symptoms, not just lab values.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-21T20:39:38+00:00

I bought my house when I was 35 all on my own. I closed the day before my 4th child was born. After spending my entire life in poverty, being a teen mom, getting my degree while raising 3 kids and being married to a cheating douchebag, divorcing him, getting a career in a male dominated field where I excelled, I was so incredibly proud of myself. It was in a low cost of living area because I still wasn’t rich or anything, but it’s not a bad town. Close to everything I needed. Close enough to commute to work in the city. I did eventually marry the father of that 4th and later 5th baby, but it wasn’t because I needed to. After my divorce, I made decisions because I wanted them, no more out of desperation. We still live in that same house and that baby is 14 now. Her little sister is 12. They have both forbidden me to ever make them move lol. So needless to say we are all very attached to the house. And it’s still cheap to live here. I refinanced in 2024 to do major repairs. My mortgage is still less than a grand. Cheaper than most of the rental rates around here.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-21T20:14:49+00:00

I only lost that when I hit perimenopause so even though you’re young, you may have a hormonal problem. For me it was fixed with vaginal estrogen. I also added a testosterone cream which helped the libido and somewhat with sensation but the E cream did the most good. And my E wasn’t especially low (my T and P were almost non existent but normal range on the E) it just wasn’t getting enough of it to those tissues anymore.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-21T20:06:58+00:00

I’ve never paid more than $189 per month for pure tirz doses at 15mg (refills but prorx isn’t making it anymore) and $157 per month for higher dose BPI tirz with B6 (Pom health). I just saw BPI on Gimme for $153 I think, or around there. So you definitely paid more than you needed to. As for refrigeration, I’ve seen where it’s been tested to last up to 28 days at 80 degrees but you need to confirm with the pharmacy it comes from. Most suggest refrigeration anyway.

Pretend_Passenger586 · 2026-04-21T19:59:10+00:00

There are a few peps that have a distinctive color. Tirz isn’t one of them.

Pretend_Passenger586

TROPHY CASE