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Husband’s Indifference.

(81 Posts)
Londonwifi Tue 18-Aug-20 23:05:13

AIBU to be miffed about my husband’s indifference toward me? I have a urine infection which got quite bad and I have a lot of pain in my tummy. However, I have a high pain threshold. That means if I am mentioning it then it is very, very painful. Three times this evening I have told him and his response was
1) oh look at the grain in the wood isn’t it lovely? (Youtube video he was watching)
2) That boat’s doing 25 knots! (A different YouTube video)
3) I think I’ll have an apple.
The third time I told him was in the kitchen, side by side, no distractions!
He often does this to me and it’s not because I’m a complainer or a hypochondriac because I’m neither. When I ask him outright about it he says he never heard me even when we are looking each other in the face. By the way there is nothing wrong with his hearing!

welbeck Sun 06-Sep-20 12:58:41

i don't believe it's genetic, in most cases surely it's conditioned behaviour. on both parts.
how about the younger generation. how many of you think your sons/in law behave like this, or that your daughters/in law would tolerate it for long.

Puzzled Sun 06-Sep-20 11:52:10

Presumably you are talking to the Doctor about your UTI?
Possibly a course of antibiotics might clear it up.
My DW is a great believer in cranberry tablets to ward off evil spirits.
She has never forgotten the bouts of cystitis from the early days of our marriage.
If it needs saying, make sure that you both wash before any lovemaking.
They may not be so appealing, but cotton knickers help the area to breathe.

Horti Thu 27-Aug-20 07:40:08

My DH seems to get aggressive when there is any illness around eg can get very nasty if dinner is late due some health issue in the family
I don't think he can cope with the disruption
It’s appalling really
He is also a hypochondriac himself and endlessly worrying about his own health
I don’t think he likes anyone other than himself getting ‘ attention ‘

geekesse Sun 23-Aug-20 14:25:36

Gosh, I love threads like this! It makes me so grateful that, as a long-time divorced woman, I don’t have to share my home with an ageing husband. I can’t imagine why many of you stay married.

Londonwifi Sun 23-Aug-20 13:59:36

Thank you all for your sympathy and advice and to you LuckyFour - aren’t men just awful sometimes?

magshard20 Fri 21-Aug-20 19:13:56

My hubby is similar, only his stock answer if I say my arthritis is playing up ( I am in pain most days with joint pain and it's getting worse as I get older) "oh my shoulder is the same, but you don't hear me moaning"!!.
I try to bite my tongue now and not even mention aches and pains, but sometimes I open my mouth before I think......stupid me. I am almost 70 and was diagnosed with osteoarthritis at 27, after we were married so it has been an ongoing illness.

Madmaggie Fri 21-Aug-20 11:02:25

They bury their heads in the sand, scared witless that they will 'have to cope'. Ignore it long enough and it will go away attitude.
If they sneeze more than twice - its a cold or flu but you can be feeling like veritable death warmed up taking the strongest possible anti-biotics (described by the emergency doctor as strong enough to treat a horse, plus pain killers, lungs crackling, firmly instructed by GP to rest & sleep, taking nothing more than iced water and lo and behold they tell the relatives you 'have a bit of a sniffle & you're taking it easy on the sofa' - I think it's in the genes. It's strangely comforting to know that my DH isn't alone in this :-)

queenofsaanich69 Fri 21-Aug-20 07:03:13

Sorry to hear about your UTI,I used to have them frequently until I took a probiotic every day,miracle cure.Re husbands,they have very selective hearing,sport hear everything,wife talks don’t hear/ remember anything,been looked after too well by mother and then wife,take to your bed or lock yourself in the loo,take care.

Esspee Thu 20-Aug-20 23:42:54

I hope you are on the mend now OP. Did your husband show any empathy eventually?

gillybob Thu 20-Aug-20 23:29:32

I have to agree with almost all of the posts on this thread .

I’m currently juggling a small business and 5 employees, a poorly husband, 2 children and the childcare of 4 grandchildren and an elderly father. I have MS and various other heath issues of my own . But I have proved I can do it .

Marydoll Thu 20-Aug-20 23:21:55

The Acronym heading is at the top left of this page, under Active, Flygirl

Flygirl Thu 20-Aug-20 22:22:39

Baggs....I can't see where "acronyms" is listed above the thread title? I too, struggle with these abbreviations and would like an explanation. I can't see where you mean?

nannyof4 Thu 20-Aug-20 21:50:27

Think its a man thing,have to hear about there problems.I just keep quite if i have a problem now

debi36 Thu 20-Aug-20 20:24:42

Londonwifi I hope you are feeling better by now?
Could your husband's response (lack of) be hereditary? I had a health scare, heart related - 6 days in hospital later and come out with a clean bill of health (something heart related happened but hasn't re-occurred in 20 years). My MIL response was that I probably had indigestion!!!!
My husband is the same, I used to say I'm going to hospital for tests......no response.....
But then he has a serious disease and thinks nothing is wrong with him (there's plenty!!).
Is it down to knowledge and interest?

Ankara2005 Thu 20-Aug-20 19:17:18

I’m so glad I don’t have a husband. Lonely sometimes but worth it.

ExaltedWombat Thu 20-Aug-20 19:06:16

He's a bloke. We don't do general sympathetic support. Ask for something specific. 'I feel really rough. Can you make me a cup of tea?' That'll get a response.

Naninka Thu 20-Aug-20 18:11:15

Hope you feel better soon. xx

Anniel Thu 20-Aug-20 17:45:55

I can sympathise with your problem but I am writing to warm anyone who gets Urinary infections often. I did and had bladder cancer, luckily in early stages and it went away. However. I did keep getting the infections, cured by antibiotics and the consultant I went to did not do a scan and I ended up with kidney cancer and my left kidney had to be removed. I belong to groups of people with kidney problems but all I want to do here is to ask anyone who regularly gets infections to make sure proper testing takes place. I ended up being taken to university college hospital with Sepsis before mine had to be paid proper attention. I am ancient 86 so I just hope my remaining kidney deteriorates slowly but I know many of you are relatively young so please take care!

hollysteers Thu 20-Aug-20 17:44:17

Just to lower the tone; urine infection? Maybe he knows his sex life is down the drain for a bit?
Get well soon?

Hollycat Thu 20-Aug-20 17:08:49

If I say anything about not being well or I’ve hurt myself, my husband immediately regales me with a story about how he had exactly the same thing, how it made him feel, what he did about it, and how much worse it was for him. Then he asks what’s for dinner “because time’s getting on”!

CarlyD7 Thu 20-Aug-20 17:05:58

My Mum once gave me a very good piece of advice - "men take no notice of what you SAY, it's what you DO that hits home". So, basically if you say you're ill, but carry on doing all the usual things, it just won't register. What you have to do is to give up, go upstairs and lie down and don't do dinner, or anything-else. Or, as a friend of mine once did when her husband was ignoring her illness, throw a piece of crockery across the kitchen (it smashed on the wall a couple of feet from him). Husband finally looked up from his newspaper. "Is something wrong??" It had taken 3 days for him to ask that.

FindingNemo15 Thu 20-Aug-20 15:51:00

Occasionally I might mention that I had a headache/earache/toothache/whatever. DH then tells me about his whatever with no comment whatsoever about my complaint. I think a lot of men only hear what they want to hear and switch off at all other times!

GrannySomerset Thu 20-Aug-20 15:25:43

Whilst sympathising with the posters here I am confirmed in my long held belief that boy children are genetically programmed to tune out female voices since their early years are likely to be dominated by women. By the time they are seven or eight most boys can ignore mothers and teachers with ease whilst male sports teachers and coaches can be heard perfectly. Not sure there is an answer!

Callistemon Thu 20-Aug-20 15:13:13

Londonwifi I hope you've got the correct antibiotics and you're feeling better now.
One question- why were you in the kitchen and not lying on the sofa, jug of water to hand, moaning how you were in pain and couldn't possibly cook?

He probably heard, but doesn't listen. There is a difference.
Yes, it's taken me a long time to realise that, Marydoll. I can ask DH to repeat what I said and he can repeat it word for word but hasn't processed it.

Daftbag1 Thu 20-Aug-20 15:12:34

When I had cancer, mine said 'well it's not REALLY serious is it'?
I know he loves me, he just can't deal with health matters, and isn't a man of words. However every time I've been seriously ill, he's rushed out to buy something special, it's his way.
Now when he stubs his toe, you'd think he was at deaths door!