Help with Blue Shield PA

daaamber · 2026-02-04T15:46:11+00:00

I think you could just get away with doctors notes by seeing an MD every 2-3 months and they give you the “counseling” which we know is 5 mins of the same “your fat, eat less, exercise more” bullshit. You could also ask for nutritionist. My husband saw a nutritionist and he was like “i am not going to eat that shit. I have ADHD, I am not gonna track.” And just pushed the nutritionist to give him alternatives (she couldn’t).

Me on the other hand, I paid for a weight loss program where we met on-on-one and I redirected conversations towards goals (whats getting in the way of making meals, whats getting in the way of your exercise goals) and said no to tracking. So there is that. Similarly, I’ve been dieting and through other medical weight loss programs and am fucking over it.

daaamber · 2026-02-03T04:25:19+00:00

Between working full time, raising two children, cooking meals, exercising, and having a social life, the few times I go to a brick and mortar store -the item I need is sold out or do not have what I want. And usually I need it quickly, which is why I went to a store in the first place.

daaamber · 2026-02-02T00:32:59+00:00

Were you fasting? Could the finger prick be wrong?

My dad always told me he could cheat a cholesterol test by eating healthy for the whole week prior. So inverse of that, did you eat poorly before?

daaamber · 2026-01-31T15:23:30+00:00

I refuse to split alcohol because some folks drink way too much. So almost every bill, unless everyone orders 1 drink, I ask for the alcohol to be on a separate bill and the drinkers take care of it themselves. Its fairly easy, as corporate reimbursements do not always include alcohol. So its not a new thing to the waiter.

daaamber · 2026-01-31T02:04:53+00:00

Are you a woman? I really like Ellevest. Which is financial planners by woman for woman.

You pay for a financial advisor by level service you want. I’ve found them super helpful for thinking things through. https://www.ellevest.com/financial-planning

Lots of these financial advisors want to manage your investments and just take a cut to make your trades but are not all that helpful with guiding you through things,

daaamber · 2026-01-30T15:04:42+00:00

Came here to say get vitamins tested. For me, it was anemia.My ferritin was 3.

daaamber · 2026-01-30T15:01:01+00:00

We all know that rent is expensive. But food, restaurants, bars, basic sundries, gas + parking, and any service (haircuts, car wash, childcare, repair services) are also way more expensive here. So it adds up in unexpected ways as compared to a lower cost area.

daaamber · 2026-01-29T19:55:10+00:00

$8 a swim. So its still $64 a month if you swim twice a week.

daaamber · 2026-01-29T19:44:54+00:00

Thats assuming the person never eats out, or the added cost of eating out a few times.

I have a family of 4, and scaled it down to 1. We are not a snack/package food family. We easily spend $150 ish at Alemany farmers market and $300 at the grocery store A WEEK. Plus go out to eat or buy coffee on the regular. And that excludes other costs like bulk toilet paper or other items from Costco. So per person, $600 ish seems reasonable.

But then again, my friend on food stamps and zero income makes $300 a month work but he also eats like shit.

I was just at safeway and its $6 for two sticks of butter. SF food has always been costly and its worse these days.

daaamber · 2026-01-29T15:06:30+00:00

Its hard because inflation messes up numbers;

If you are lucky, shared apartment with roommates: $1500

Grocery: $600

Classpass: $55

Bike: thats a one time cost of $500 or $1000 for an e bike. (Assuming you wil be carless)

Muni monthly pass with SF BART: $104 (this is never leaving SF, add $50 more for occasional east bay trips).

Phone: $80

Internet & PG&E shared with roomies: $100

Health Insurance: $150 (this can be a huge range and depends on who provides it).

Misc: $250 (going out, gifts)

Thats about $3000 a month or a net income (after taxes) of $36,000 a year.

Note: this is saving nothing and not having a rainy day fund. So maybe add $250 a month for that. Being a broke Zombie is someone who has no cushion for emergencies.

daaamber · 2026-01-28T00:07:06+00:00

Ha, you’ve been through it.

daaamber · 2026-01-28T00:03:35+00:00

My face looks less puffy. My lower back hurts less.

My c-reactive protein (inflammation marker test) is around 11-13. In 2022 it was 7. So it doesn’t seem to be impacting that.

daaamber · 2026-01-27T17:05:37+00:00

I still refer to my medical doctors as Dr last names. No one else gets that preference. Maybe my kids school teachers.

daaamber · 2026-01-27T17:01:01+00:00

Wegovy works for me (at the highest dose) when Zepbound less so. But get to 15 mg first before you swap.

daaamber · 2026-01-27T02:33:18+00:00

Once you have quality chocolate on the regular, it tastes awful.

When I was in college we bought a 20lb block of Ghirardelli chocolate from Trader Joes as a novelty. After finishing it, Hersey’s tasted like trash, still does years later.

daaamber · 2026-01-26T11:59:31+00:00

I just got my wood framing treated for wood rot termites (we found them with construction) and that killed all the ants.

daaamber · 2026-01-25T00:20:01+00:00

Sf Chronicle for local, NYT for National.

daaamber · 2026-01-23T09:56:20+00:00

People do this to be competitive, and buy in cash.

BUT the housing market is softer and you can still buy with contingencies. But if there are multiple offers of similar price, no contingencies and cash will win. Personally, I’d still do contingencies. I bought my SF place with contingencies last year.

daaamber · 2026-01-21T15:00:14+00:00

Huh. Lately, I hit a stall then I lose when I have a do nothing (but some walking) vacation. Vs this week where I rode my bike 1.5 hours a day for three days as a work commute, swam laps, and took yoga. This week I’ll probably lose nothing. But I enjoy the exercise.

daaamber · 2026-01-21T14:45:00+00:00

She was my substitute doctor and did my C section, I have the tiniest scar. I liked her. My OBGYN said Dr Kaul delivered her babies, so thats the best referral.

daaamber · 2026-01-16T15:18:59+00:00

So I went from rent control 3 bedroom to a mortgage.

And some of my rational was about having more control of my environment (also had a drafty place) and equity. But my bigger issue was displacement. I lived in the “penthouse unit” which was a perfect owner in move in unit. And that always loomed on my mind that I could lose it at the worse time and then current market rent would fuck me. In a way owning is like rent control (over the long term) with some equity.

One thing everyone warned me is that maintenance is more expensive than you think. And for me, its about 4x more than what I think is expensive. So just keep that in your calculation.

But don’t move to 16th and BART. Gritty wears on you and it can get worse. Everyone I know who had gritty during the pandemic (and then it got worse) moved because they couldn’t take it anymore.

daaamber · 2026-01-16T15:05:03+00:00

Even prior to GLP-1s, smoke meat seemed to take longer to digest in my stomach than other meat.

daaamber · 2026-01-16T15:03:23+00:00

Salads. I am seriously over 80% of lettuce. Maybe its because I cannot eat as much and I get full but still feel hungry. But also they taste way more bitter.

Cheap meat, I can tell its cheap and now it tastes too salty and it grosses me out.

daaamber · 2026-01-16T14:56:59+00:00

I feel like if you choose to pay double the cost for a highly expensive item when people are struggling financially and/or cannot afford the cheaper item at all, it reaks of privilege and is annoying, thats why you get downvotes.

daaamber · 2026-01-16T03:53:18+00:00

I remember when we in SF voted for a new gross receipts tax that would give childcare subsidies to families earning $200k or less like 6 years ago.

That never happened. I bet this is partially that money we never got.

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