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DeadFatDuckFat posted:You kind of have to find what works for you. The only thing that stops my allergies is Flonase, with any/all allergy pills doing jack poo poo. I know some people avoid Flonase because its a steroid, but i think there is another nasal spray that is non steroidal. Flonase is super good. My only complaint is that when I stop taking it each year, it causes some kind of ridiculous withdrawal where my nose is basically completely blocked for a week or two.
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Apr 15, 2019 22:06
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ShortyMR.CAT posted:So you guys saying the only cure for my sneezy days is to get doped up and shoot steroids in my nose? Flonase pretty much gives me diabetes. I have to pee a bunch and I get an unquenchable thirst, it’s pretty scary.
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Apr 15, 2019 22:16
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Zyrtec is the only one that works for me at this point. I tried the Kirkland generic (cetirizine), and I am a scientist and know that the active ingredient is technically the same, but it never worked as well for me as the brand name gel cap. Also remember that "-D" indicates that it has pseudoephedrine in it - likely why one would have to be purchased behind the counter. I buy pseudoephedrine separately because I usually only need the cetirizine.
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Apr 15, 2019 22:40
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skooma512 posted:Flonase pretty much gives me diabetes. I have to pee a bunch and I get an unquenchable thirst, it’s pretty scary. ... does it make your pee smell sweet?
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Apr 15, 2019 22:46
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skooma512 posted:Flonase pretty much gives me diabetes. I have to pee a bunch and I get an unquenchable thirst, it’s pretty scary. Does it make your piss taste salty?
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Apr 15, 2019 22:48
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I finally watched 'Idiocracy' last night and get the whole 'Welcome to Costco, I love you' thing. Do they say that in real life? Do they even have greeters?
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Apr 15, 2019 23:30
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Vato posted:I finally watched 'Idiocracy' last night and get the whole 'Welcome to Costco, I love you' thing. They have people who check membership cards and give you the specials sheet, of varying degrees of friendliness. One thing I have noticed is whenever I bring my (small) kids the receipt checkers at the exit will draw a little happy face. Every time!
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Apr 15, 2019 23:32
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I think the movie somehow mixed up Costco and Walmart (or Sams Club), cuz Costco greeters ain't like that at all. If anything they are a little salty at times at our location, and they sure as poo poo ain't saying hello unprompted.
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Apr 15, 2019 23:39
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Allergies: Like everyone said you just gotta find what works. The one that works for me is the Zyrtec stuff but unlike the other goon the generic works great (aka Kirkland) and also lucky for me I only need to take half a pill so they last actual years between purchases. I also only have to take them twice a year, spring and fall. I just finished off my 2016 bottle. Figure I'll see the end of this new bottle in 2022.
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Apr 16, 2019 00:24
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KakerMix posted:Allergies: Keep an eye on the expiration date - it won't "go bad" but it will start to lose efficacy after that date. Sorry for being a nerd about this stuff 
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Apr 16, 2019 00:56
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Left my card at home but was treated like the royalty I am, as a Longtime Paying Member, and given an exclusive All Day Pass.
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Apr 16, 2019 01:12
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:Left my card at home but was treated like the royalty I am, as a Longtime Paying Member, and given an exclusive All Day Pass. They didn't even suck your hog? A pity. Some of us high class members, that's a common occurrence at the Co.
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Apr 16, 2019 01:13
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I've only ever heard great things about Costco, but I've never been to one. I have been to a Sam's, and I get that they are the same concept, except people like working for one and not the other. I'm not trying to be snobby or anything because TRUST ME, I LOVE A DEAL, but I don't get the hype. I could see if I needed to buy in bulk for a...school or something, but for regular people, is it really that much cheaper? I also don't think Ikea is as great as everyone says. Like, you can get furniture and food for less. But you can't get it all in one place, so maybe that's the appeal. I don't know. Perhaps I'll be a convert one day.
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Apr 16, 2019 02:07
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Just the gas pays for the card, stuff is not just cheap but also high quality, and there is a lot of items that can only be found at Costco. If you cook a lot for yourself, totally worth it even if you live alone, but if you are only buying a lot of pre-made stuff then maybe not. But then again 4 frozen pepperoni pizzas for 8 bucks is kind of great.
Washout fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Apr 16, 2019 |
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Apr 16, 2019 02:12
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Vato posted:I've only ever heard great things about Costco, but I've never been to one. I have been to a Sam's, and I get that they are the same concept, except people like working for one and not the other. Yes. Yes it is. I'm a single dude and the prices are insanely cheap. Example 1. I bought a 6! Month supply of Zantac for $7. Example 2. I found this guacamole salsa I like at the regular store and its 3.99 for a small rear end jar. the CO! has 3 huge loving jars for $8.50. Just with those two things there I saved at least $30 vs going to a regular store. I don't go to Costco every week but even going every few months the savings is beyond worth it. Also their clothes are great.
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Apr 16, 2019 02:13
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MarcusSA posted:Yes. Yes it is. I'm still skeptical, but I'm glad you are finding good deals. I do wonder if eating so much salsa might necessitate the Zantac, but a bargain is a bargain!
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Apr 16, 2019 02:27
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Taima posted:... does it make your pee smell sweet? Didn't try that but it freaked me out enough that I had to stop using it. The weird side effects went away the day I stopped, and the same thing happened when I tried it again a couple months later, so it had to be it.
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Apr 16, 2019 02:29
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Vato posted:I'm still skeptical, but I'm glad you are finding good deals. I do wonder if eating so much salsa might necessitate the Zantac, but a bargain is a bargain! Hey man its good salsa!
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Apr 16, 2019 02:32
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skooma512 posted:That's loratadine aka Claratin, which I understand to be allergy pill fake news. It might raise the noise floor of allergies but if it's a bad day it's not gonna do poo poo. Benadryl usage for 3 years or more equivalent will raise your risk of getting Alzheimer's by about half https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-201501287667
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Apr 16, 2019 02:44
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Amazing deals abound at Costco! Before my conversion I was an anti-bulk buyer, but as I got older I realized how many kinds of items I do in fact use repeatedly, and how forward-thinking (in terms of months, not days or weeks) purchases save nice chunks of money. Example: I like to camp. Each summer I go through a bunch of freeze-dried meals which cost $8.00-10.00 individually. Costco sells a box of thirteen ("Mountain House") meals for $70.00.
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Apr 16, 2019 02:45
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Involuntary Sparkle posted:Zyrtec is the only one that works for me at this point. I tried the Kirkland generic (cetirizine), and I am a scientist and know that the active ingredient is technically the same, but it never worked as well for me as the brand name gel cap. I've been getting my face-loving wrecked here the last month with allergies. I had bought a bottle of Kirkland cetirizine a year or so ago and just started using it a few weeks ago but it really doesn't seem to be helping so far, maybe it takes a month to kick in? I think I'll try doing 2x a day and see how it goes from there. Also have some Claritin but poo poo never worked, but maybe loradtine+cetirizine combo will work better together? idk. I don't want to do Benedryl and Sudafed is pretty temporary reprieve but at least does work. I tried Flonase about 10 years back but it gave me really bad bloody noses so I stopped but I might have to try it again.
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Apr 16, 2019 03:04
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Costco is kind of a mixed bag. Pricing on certain things is excellent and it makes complete sense. If you can store a chunk of paper towels or toilet paper you probably will never beat their deals. Other stuff, not so much. Electronics are all over the place. If you hunt around for a deal you can almost always beat their TV prices, for instance. Food is almost always cheaper at Costco, from my experience. You can beat them with grocery store sales on things like chicken, hamburger, etc. The big bummer is that sometimes the sizes they sell are more than many people can use before it spoils. With furniture its hard to judge. In my experience the stuff they carry in their stores is way higher quality than what I've seen at furniture stores. I write this sitting on a one of those reclining sectional couches. I think we paid $1300 for it and it's better than anything we found in furniture stores for under $2000. Downside is that you're stuck with the colors their buyers chose.
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Apr 16, 2019 03:09
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Xaris posted:I've been getting my face-loving wrecked here the last month with allergies. I had bought a bottle of Kirkland cetirizine a year or so ago and just started using it a few weeks ago but it really doesn't seem to be helping so far, maybe it takes a month to kick in? I think I'll try doing 2x a day and see how it goes from there. Also have some Claritin but poo poo never worked, but maybe loradtine+cetirizine combo will work better together? idk. I don't want to do Benedryl and Sudafed is pretty temporary reprieve but at least does work. I think its supposed to work in like one to two weeks of taking it. Month is too long. Theres also nasacort although its still a steroidal nasal spray like flonase is.
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Apr 16, 2019 03:11
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Costco is kind of a mixed bag. Pricing on certain things is excellent and it makes complete sense. If you can store a chunk of paper towels or toilet paper you probably will never beat their deals. Other stuff, not so much. Electronics are all over the place. If you hunt around for a deal you can almost always beat their TV prices, for instance. The grocery thing depends on the area, I think. There's a lot of grocery store competition where I am, so I get a lot of food cheaper shopping ads (or just at one particular giant local store) than I do at Sam's or Costco. For example, I'm on the watch for cheap potato chips right now because of a tailgate for 50 people I'm doing in May. Chips at Sam's (I have a membership at both Sam's and Costco, but Sam's is more convenient) are 23 cents/ounce, but a sale at the grocery store last week was 19 cents/ounce. On the other hand, tortilla chips are way cheaper in a big box at Sam's than I've ever seen at a regular store. tl;dr you can find cheaper grocery stuff than Costco or Sam's, but it takes effort/time/inconvenience
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Apr 16, 2019 03:39
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I hate hunting sales and coupons so I know Costco will give me an amazing to fair price and I wish them 1000 blessings.
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Apr 16, 2019 03:41
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BeastOfExmoor posted:With furniture its hard to judge. In my experience the stuff they carry in their stores is way higher quality than what I've seen at furniture stores. I write this sitting on a one of those reclining sectional couches. I think we paid $1300 for it and it's better than anything we found in furniture stores for under $2000. Downside is that you're stuck with the colors their buyers chose. We bought a sectional couch for around $650 and it's way better than the previous 2 couches we had that were like 2k.
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Apr 16, 2019 04:17
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Xaris posted:also I cooked the raw Kirkland bulgogi that was in an aluminum tray near the mac n cheese and stuff. it was pretty decent but the meat cuts were a tad lovely. looked like a lot of gristle and fat and thought I had made a mistake at first, fortunately most of it cooked down but still were a few bits of slabs of fat stringed together with gristle. i think ultimately for the price I wouldn't get it again since it's relatively simple to make, and I think i could use some slightly better meat for cheaper. at least i have some bulgogi leftovers to throw over rice for the next few days. That raw bulgogi is lovely and great both at the same time somehow. It’s not that expensive, which is nice. And I’ve found a scorching hot griddle can render a nice sear and overall texture. Even some of the fatty bits can make some rice with an egg extra luxurious, if that makes sense. It’s basically convenience food.
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Apr 16, 2019 04:49
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Xaris posted:also I cooked the raw Kirkland bulgogi that was in an aluminum tray near the mac n cheese and stuff. it was pretty decent but the meat cuts were a tad lovely. looked like a lot of gristle and fat and thought I had made a mistake at first, fortunately most of it cooked down but still were a few bits of slabs of fat stringed together with gristle. We’re big fans of getting the pork belly though. Slice it and grill it at home for cheap samgyupsal.
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Apr 16, 2019 05:10
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Xaris posted:I've been getting my face-loving wrecked here the last month with allergies. I had bought a bottle of Kirkland cetirizine a year or so ago and just started using it a few weeks ago but it really doesn't seem to be helping so far, maybe it takes a month to kick in? I think I'll try doing 2x a day and see how it goes from there. Also have some Claritin but poo poo never worked, but maybe loradtine+cetirizine combo will work better together? idk. I don't want to do Benedryl and Sudafed is pretty temporary reprieve but at least does work. I'd try Flonase again because that poo poo is loving magical. I do 1 spray of Flonase in each nostril at night to help me sleep, and a 24 hour zyrtec to get me through the day. Keep in mind the difference between allergy relief and a decongestant though, and what the symptoms are. Allergy medicine helps with that hazy feeling when I'm outside, stops my sneezing and runny nose, but if my sinuses are blocked up no amount of Zyrtec is going to fix that. That's when I turn sudafed, but I wouldn't take that when a cat rubs up against my face and my eyes get puffy. The biggest thing that helped my stuffy sinuses and bloody boogers was a big rear end humidifier in my bedroom though. If your sinuses are giving you problems maybe it's worth a try. And it's a long shot, but if you're getting unusually face hosed, maybe you have a sinus infection? I made that mistake about 3 years ago and it's what started by flonase addiction.
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Apr 16, 2019 12:40
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Xaris posted:I've been getting my face-loving wrecked here the last month with allergies. I had bought a bottle of Kirkland cetirizine a year or so ago and just started using it a few weeks ago but it really doesn't seem to be helping so far, maybe it takes a month to kick in? I think I'll try doing 2x a day and see how it goes from there. Also have some Claritin but poo poo never worked, but maybe loradtine+cetirizine combo will work better together? idk. I don't want to do Benedryl and Sudafed is pretty temporary reprieve but at least does work. cetirizine has a really lovely half-life which results in a "2 a day" habit. "one-and-a-half-a-day" is more accurate if you're willing to chop pills in advance and keep them in a separate bottle. You need to dose twice a day even if you're chopping pills 'cause it lasts like 16 hours. loradtine should be good just once a day. It builds up in your system like you think Zyrtec does. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.... quote:maybe it takes a month to kick in? Claritin does take a while to build up in your system, but it's a few days, not a month. Zyrtech never builds up: that's why it's either poo poo if or the most amazing thing that ever happened to you. I've double-doubled up with the pair during peak allergy season with a Sudafed backer. Never, ever, ever, ever buy Claritin-D. Buy the generic claritin for $13 a year and buy the generic pseudoephedrine from the pharmacist. There's exactly 0 reasons to combine claritin and pseudoephedrine off-prescription. It's one of those dumb compound drugs that if you can get it for a prescription co-pay might be worth it but if you're paying out of pocket it makes zero sense. Buy Claritin/buy pseudoephedrine/dose accordingly. It made sense to have both a Claritin-D and a Claritin prescription in the 90's when my copay was $10. Hell, it made sense to have an ibuprofen script back then 'cause it was cheaper than OTC. Vato posted:I've only ever heard great things about Costco, but I've never been to one. I have been to a Sam's, and I get that they are the same concept, except people like working for one and not the other. Ya see this whole last page of allergy chat? A year's supply of generic Claritin or Zytec pills is like $13 at Costco. A MONTH'S supply at your local pharmacy costs more. $60 (membership) + $13 (allergy medicine) = 73 / 12 = $6.08. You can get generic claritin from your local pharmacy for around a dollar a day. If the only thing you ever bought with your membership was allergy medicines and the membership, and you had to drive several hours to get to the warehouse, it would still be a savings. There are a lot of really bad deals at Costco. This thread tends to love them. The poo poo like Bulgogi trays is white as gently caress: you could make it yourself for significantly less than the $20 Costco charges. The only "prepared meal" you should buy at Costco is the loss-leader chicken. Costco is basically 1/4 deals, 3/4 getting upsold on product (at a discount). People focus on that (at a discount) and forget they're being upsold. If you want to eat organic joining Costco is probably the best thing you'll ever do to your wallet. If you don't give a single gently caress about organic then Costco "deals" don't look so great: you're getting upsold to "organic" at the same time as "bulk." I.E.: "Beans and rice" is a cheap, healthy, mantra. Costco will sell you the rice cheaper than the local ethnic store and then charge you out the rear end for organic canned beans. Buy the Insta-Pot from Costco and then buy the dry beans from your local ethnic grocer. Buy your dishwashing soap at costco and it's a good deal deal for a single person. Don't get suckered into the prepared meals (goons love so much) or the dozen cans of organic vegetables. There are tons of things that will save you money by buying in bulk, and there are tons of things where you're getting upsold to a better product which you'll save on buying in bulk, if you wanted the upsold product in the first place. This holds true for everything down to something as basic as salt. Don't buy salt at costco: they only offer upsale bullshit. The only salt you can buy there is some hocus pocus contaminated Himalayan salt, usually only if you pay extra to grind it down to somethinging useable yourself. Even if you can buy it in "bulk" it's a bad deal. Just buy salt at your grocery store: it costs next to nothing an contains iodine to keep you healthy, unlike Costco. Sam's Club has more "working man" sort of deals. Like discounted awful bulk cheese. It's cheese for people that don't know any better, sold in bulk. Costco sells amazing cheeses at bulk prices. I've gotten sam's club cheeses, for free, and it's like "oh, great, thanks, I just got a 5lb block of havarti that tastes nothing at all like havarti. what the gently caress am I supposed to do with this? this is going to mold before i can eat it. it's not even worth the calories to put it on a sandwich" but, on the other hand, sam's club sells block mozzarella, which Costco doesn't. Costco will sell you a pound and a half of cheese for $10, but you can only get it on a hot pizza.
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Apr 16, 2019 14:43
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MisterOblivious posted:There are a lot of really bad deals at Costco. This thread tends to love them. The poo poo like Bulgogi trays is white as gently caress: you could make it yourself for significantly less than the $20 Costco charges. The only "prepared meal" you should buy at Costco is the loss-leader chicken. You do realize half the point of the prepared meals is that there's no cooking involved, right? The real value with them is the time and effort investment. The last thing I want to do after getting home from work is cook. I can only eat so many crock pot meals and weekend leftovers, and the prepared meals are still significantly cheaper than take out. It's something convenient for me to grab on a day when I'm already going to Costco after work. quote:but, on the other hand, sam's club sells block mozzarella, which Costco doesn't. Mine does, hell yeah. I loving love me some Costco cheese.
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Apr 16, 2019 14:54
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The service deli buys the meat for their bulgogi from the meat department (same with their ribs). IIRC it's choice grade chuck. RE: electronics, Costco almost always has the best deals, unless an item is at full price and another retailer has it on sale. Literally every time I ever heard someone say, "It's cheaper on Amazon" I looked it up, and a similar product may have been cheaper, but the exact same model was higher. Sometimes like Best Buy will match Costco to the cent, and I did see one time two Black Fridays ago, Best Buy was selling some cheapo computer for cheaper than anything Costco had (prob a loss leader, which Costco doesn't do), but that's about it. You also get the best return policy anywhere (90 days), free tech support, free 2-year warranty, and the extended warranties are dirt cheap compared to anywhere else. I spent $30 for a 7-year warranty on my TV. E: I completely agree with the above about the organic stuff. I've been sad to see things like my favorite Kirkland peanut butter get replaced with an organic version that was slightly smaller and slightly more expensive. The buyers definitely target the wealthy soccer mom demographic. Azuren fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Apr 16, 2019 |
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Apr 16, 2019 15:24
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MisterOblivious posted:cetirizine has a really lovely half-life which results in a "2 a day" habit. "one-and-a-half-a-day" is more accurate if you're willing to chop pills in advance and keep them in a separate bottle. You need to dose twice a day even if you're chopping pills 'cause it lasts like 16 hours. There's some misinformation in here. I buy cans of beans at Costco and they come out to less than a dollar each. I also have Kirkland regular salt. I am going to write a 5 page rebuttal to this post and distribute it to all members of our cul- err... I mean religion.
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Apr 16, 2019 15:29
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MisterOblivious posted:Costco will sell you a pound and a half of cheese for $10, but you can only get it on a hot pizza. Wat You can buy the Kirkland mozz at 5 lbs for like 12.99 PBUC
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Apr 16, 2019 15:54
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Renegret posted:You do realize half the point of the prepared meals is that there's no cooking involved, right? The real value with them is the time and effort investment. Yeah its this. Unless you actually enjoy cooking, which is cool if you do, then you're really paying for time/effort saved.
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Apr 16, 2019 16:15
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Jesus loving Christ do I hate cooking. I think for dinner I'll microwave some cold pizza. Or skip microwaving it and eat it cold. If I'm really saucy I'll boil some water and cook some Costco spinach ravioli and douse it with some Costco pesto with a liberal addition of Costco grated cheese.
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Apr 16, 2019 16:59
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Maybe instead I'll make some comfort food, I have some Costco avocados that are starting to turn. I'll melt some Costco Mexican shredded cheese on top of Costco tortilla chips and dip into some mashed up Costco avocados with some sour cream that I did not buy at Costco for some mysterious reason.
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Apr 16, 2019 17:02
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Xaris posted:
This was exactly my experience with it. I can get some better quality shaved beef from my local Meijer and then make my own sauce or use a good bottled sauce. Their sauce is good, I liked the flavor but the meat that is used in it is not good. The onions are onions so that part is fine too.
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Apr 16, 2019 17:11
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Azuren posted:
Yeah, I was disappointed when they phased out the regular Kirkland salsa in favor of the organic version. For some awful reason the organic one has added sugar while the regular stuff did not. It's just pricier and worse now than when it was nonorganic.
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Apr 16, 2019 17:25
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Costco, in general, doesn’t sell poo poo (at least for non food stuff). Their quality is mid to high, never cheap. I know if I go there to buy something it won’t be some garbage that breaks in 2 months. That’s a big plus for me.
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Apr 16, 2019 17:32
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