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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be worried about sex drugs I found

243 replies

TellmeImwrongnow · 19/04/2026 17:58

Sorry for loooong message - I've literally just discovered this and been sat on the floor in the bathroom for 30 minutes wondering what to do.

DH of nearly 20 years has gone away with work so I was happily having a thorough spring clean and 'Sort Your Life Out' style tidy. Going through all the bathroom cupboards, consolidating multiple buys of things, getting rid of empty bottles, etc.

I had done mine, my children's stuff, travel bags, toiletries, and sorting through old bath toys to get rid of, but then I thought I might as well do his cupboard too - it was the last one.

I pulled everything out and found, right at the back...

1 temporary hair dye kit... that was weird enough. I was never aware he'd used hair dye and he's never told me about. He's never coloured his hair apart from for fancy dress, when it was a spray can job and I did it for him. The dried foam on the inside of the clear lid implies it's been used at least once.

1 brown cardboard delivery box with a 6 boxes of drugs in it. He takes heart and blood pressure stuff anyway, so assumed it was that. Pulled one out to consolidate with his other pills and realised...

It said on the box, "Take one 30 minutes before sex."

Now... he's never had any problem in that area, with me, anyway.

He's never told me he was getting these drugs.

I wouldn't have thought he taken one 30 minutes before being with me as it's never that premeditated.

It's not a medical prescription - he's bought them, clearly off some random company on the web. Which is worrying with his heart/blood pressure meds.

The delivery slip said 7 boxes, but there were only 6 remaining and one of them was empty (told you he was a hoarder), the other half-full. Each box contains 4 tablets, so that means 4+4+2 times he's used them already - ten times - and I've not been made aware of this.

There is a complication in our relationship as a few years ago I got cancer and had a double mastectomy. I have had reconstructions, but my relationship with my body has not been good since. I am covered in scars and don't have much feeling anyway.

That, with menopause and anxiety (I suspect also undiagnosed ADHD), the death of a parent and insecurity in my job...it has all completely killed my sex drive. So we don't have sex that often. And when we do, I can barely cope with penetration as it's so painful. HRT is not an option because of the cancer. So it's usually me pleasing him orally because I still love him and don't want him to miss out just because I don't feel sexy. To be honest, I love that I can still do that for him and get that reaction from him.

He is incredibly affectionate with me, has been so patient, loving, supportive and kind through the last few rocky years, and says that he's with me every step of the way and not going anywhere.

So until now, I had no reason to believe anything to the contrary.

I looked at the date of the drugs and they were bought 15 months AFTER my mastectomies when I was really not being sexual at all and 2 months before my second round of surgery so again, I wasn't having sex with him then either.

I wish I could remember how many times we've had sex in the last 3 years, but I'd struggle to say it was 10 times with all the surgeries and grief and anxiety and depression I've been going through. (I have recently gone to a doctor and asked for anti-anxiety meds as it's got really bad - I have an assessment and blood tests and an ECG to go through first)

I just thought how lucky was I to have this amazing patient saint of a man looking after me and being there for me.

Now of course I'm imagining the worst.

That, no wonder he's been smiling through all of this if he's getting his end away anyway and getting away with it.

I'm not a suspicious person, never had any reason to doubt him before (he doesn't even go out that much - he's a real homebody and family man, loves cooking and entertaining...) and have never even looked at his phone.

I'm not here to have everyone confirm my suspicions - I can see in black and white how this looks.

I'm asking MN here (if you can) to give me a perfectly reasonable, non-adulterous explanation for what I've found.

Might there be one?

I will speak to him tonight but won't see him till Wednesday.

Meanwhile I've got to be mum to our kids and act normal round them.

Do I bring it up with him? It will be easier to lie to my face with distance. What do I say? Or do I wait till he's back?

I'm now even doubting he's away with work. I've always trusted him all this time and all our friends and family think we're the best couple ever.

AIBU?

Yes - there may be a non-adulterous explanation (please do say!).

No - wise up woman FFS.

I'm really scared to press 'post' but here goes... (please be gentle).

Thank you for reading this far.

OP posts:
NoraButty · 21/04/2026 16:30

I found Viagra in my then husband’s wardrobe, he’s now an ex.

He did use it with me once, and once only, which I assumed was a one off. I don’t mean to sound crude but you know if they’ve had Viagra. It was solid, like concrete. It made me very sore.

It was around 6 months later that I found his stash. Mine didn’t have the time to be having an affair but he was seeing sex workers, it was a combination of hotels and their places. He’d suddenly started seeing old mates, true, but he’d have these women round to his hotel after. His works van broke down so many times too, making him late home from work!

I found out because I checked the mobile phone bill, that I paid for, and found text messages. No one texts now, it’s all WhatsApp! So I googled the numbers and sex workers came up.

Turns out he was at it for years. He found them through an app that was like an Argos catalogue of women.

I found a chat room where my ex discussed sex workers with other users. They took Viagra to ‘get their moneys worth’. Disgusting!

Main thing is, I know I’ve only had experience of one man taking Viagra (also online version), but it feels so very different. Concrete hard. Unnatural. I think you’d know if he’d been using it with you.

Alwaysthesameoldstory · 21/04/2026 16:59

Alwaysthesameoldstory · 21/04/2026 10:01

So why aren't you reporting it to rather than troll hunting?

Fair enough.

I've reported a few of the posts which are quite openly questioning whether the OP is genuine because quite honestly it just makes a nonsense of the thread when doubt is so openly voiced.

TellmeImwrongnow · 22/04/2026 16:47

Alwaysthesameoldstory · 21/04/2026 16:59

Fair enough.

I've reported a few of the posts which are quite openly questioning whether the OP is genuine because quite honestly it just makes a nonsense of the thread when doubt is so openly voiced.

Wow - thank you - I had no idea. Were they saying I was not genuine? Or was it the thing about me supposedly using AI to write my content? (I wasn't).

Some people are weird. And MN attracts them (as well as genuinely helpful folk).

Thanks anyway. x

OP posts:
TellmeImwrongnow · 22/04/2026 17:11

NoraButty · 21/04/2026 16:30

I found Viagra in my then husband’s wardrobe, he’s now an ex.

He did use it with me once, and once only, which I assumed was a one off. I don’t mean to sound crude but you know if they’ve had Viagra. It was solid, like concrete. It made me very sore.

It was around 6 months later that I found his stash. Mine didn’t have the time to be having an affair but he was seeing sex workers, it was a combination of hotels and their places. He’d suddenly started seeing old mates, true, but he’d have these women round to his hotel after. His works van broke down so many times too, making him late home from work!

I found out because I checked the mobile phone bill, that I paid for, and found text messages. No one texts now, it’s all WhatsApp! So I googled the numbers and sex workers came up.

Turns out he was at it for years. He found them through an app that was like an Argos catalogue of women.

I found a chat room where my ex discussed sex workers with other users. They took Viagra to ‘get their moneys worth’. Disgusting!

Main thing is, I know I’ve only had experience of one man taking Viagra (also online version), but it feels so very different. Concrete hard. Unnatural. I think you’d know if he’d been using it with you.

Oh hon - I'm so sorry about all this.

My find has shaken me, it's true, and I still feel shaky - but I have to trust his explanation as he's never given me reason to not trust him before - and without trust, what's the point?

I will - as others have said - keep my eyes open.

I hate feeling this way though as I've never doubted him before.

The whole thing just makes me feel icky.

OP posts:
Bloodyboiling · 22/04/2026 17:57

NoraButty · 21/04/2026 16:30

I found Viagra in my then husband’s wardrobe, he’s now an ex.

He did use it with me once, and once only, which I assumed was a one off. I don’t mean to sound crude but you know if they’ve had Viagra. It was solid, like concrete. It made me very sore.

It was around 6 months later that I found his stash. Mine didn’t have the time to be having an affair but he was seeing sex workers, it was a combination of hotels and their places. He’d suddenly started seeing old mates, true, but he’d have these women round to his hotel after. His works van broke down so many times too, making him late home from work!

I found out because I checked the mobile phone bill, that I paid for, and found text messages. No one texts now, it’s all WhatsApp! So I googled the numbers and sex workers came up.

Turns out he was at it for years. He found them through an app that was like an Argos catalogue of women.

I found a chat room where my ex discussed sex workers with other users. They took Viagra to ‘get their moneys worth’. Disgusting!

Main thing is, I know I’ve only had experience of one man taking Viagra (also online version), but it feels so very different. Concrete hard. Unnatural. I think you’d know if he’d been using it with you.

I totally disagree that you'd "definitely know" if someone had taken Viagra. DH has used it a few times after teething problems following a later life circumcision. In my experience it was no different to before he experienced the ED. I couldn't have told you if he'd used it or not. Maybe what you experienced was someone using an extremely high dose?

TellmeImwrongnow · 25/04/2026 10:13

To all of you - thank you.

It has all been whirring round my mind this week.

I ended up having a bigger, deeper chat with DH last night.

I told him that it made me nervous for his boys' weekend (he leaves in an hour).

That I had never checked his phone or bank statements before and I didn't want to "become that woman".

He handed me his phone and said 'check anything you want, and I'm happy to bring up bank statements too'

I reiterated I didn't want to become her, and I hated that he'd put me in a situation where I'd started to wonder what else he was hiding.

He reassured me over and over that he does not and never has wanted anyone but me since we've been together. That he loved me and wanted to be with me forever, that's why we got married.

He IS an old romantic and loves rom coms - so all of this I believe.

I said I have to CHOOSE to believe him otherwise there's no point.

Believing him is a choice. It's not naivety - it's an active choice to trust, which is where we can build.

I said I'd gone on online forums as I didn't want to talk to my friends about this and that roughly 75 of views were that he'd be cheating.

He looked crestfallen and said he realised what he did was foolish (both the buying and keeping it from me), but it was to try and stop him from worrying about staying hard and he wasn't proud that he needed help with that and didn't want to worry me that it was something to do with me because it wasn't. That he thought it would help.

I pointed out I'd not felt or known any difference from taking them and really, telling me would have helped in that for women a lot of being turned on starts with the mind. So even knowing he'd taken them may have made a difference. As in he was making that effort for me.

He's said he's happy for me to either keep the stash in my bedside cabinet or flush it away and if we do use them it's together - as in I'm aware when he takes them.

OP posts:
TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne · 25/04/2026 12:02

It sounds like you have a very strong marriage @TellmeImwrongnow
I'd be very content with his explanation.
Flowers

springhyacinths · 25/04/2026 12:10

Did he explain why he bought the brand that lasts for 36 hours versus Viagra?

Alwaysthesameoldstory · 25/04/2026 12:14

It sounds as though he cares very deeply for you OP.

LeftBoobGoneRogue · 25/04/2026 14:49

springhyacinths · 25/04/2026 12:10

Did he explain why he bought the brand that lasts for 36 hours versus Viagra?

Viagra doesn’t work for every man and it limits spontaneity. Tadalafil which lasts 36 hours enables impromptu sex.

tryandbepositive · 25/04/2026 15:45

I’m so glad you have such good communication with your DH. You’re very lucky with that.

TellmeImwrongnow · 25/04/2026 18:33

springhyacinths · 25/04/2026 12:10

Did he explain why he bought the brand that lasts for 36 hours versus Viagra?

Yes, he did.

OP posts:
TellmeImwrongnow · 25/04/2026 18:36

LeftBoobGoneRogue · 25/04/2026 14:49

Viagra doesn’t work for every man and it limits spontaneity. Tadalafil which lasts 36 hours enables impromptu sex.

Exactly this. And it’s not as violent a reaction!

OP posts:
TellmeImwrongnow · 25/04/2026 18:41

tryandbepositive · 25/04/2026 15:45

I’m so glad you have such good communication with your DH. You’re very lucky with that.

Thank you - We do, which is why it was so weird when the communication stopped around this issue.

We do work at it though- it’s not just luck!

We are both quite into self-development, and have both had couples therapy a couple of times in the past when things got rocky, which has really helped with our communication with each other.

I’m really proud of myself for not going off at him and for dealing with this calmly in a way that didn’t make him defensive or feel like he was being accused. I talked about how it made me feel and think and worry. I didn’t jump to conclusions. Or insist on looking at his phone or bank statements. Even when he gave me his phone.

He did say this morning before he left, he knew he had way too much to throw away and he would never do that.

Last night, he even offered to cancel going with his mates because how I was feeling was more important. But as I say, I didn’t want to be that woman.

We’re all good. I just want to thank you all for being my sounding board. I didn’t want to talk to my friends about it as I didn’t want them to doubt him and look at him differently if he was indeed innocent. He appreciated that too.

OP posts:
Arlanymor · 26/04/2026 18:55

TellmeImwrongnow · 25/04/2026 18:41

Thank you - We do, which is why it was so weird when the communication stopped around this issue.

We do work at it though- it’s not just luck!

We are both quite into self-development, and have both had couples therapy a couple of times in the past when things got rocky, which has really helped with our communication with each other.

I’m really proud of myself for not going off at him and for dealing with this calmly in a way that didn’t make him defensive or feel like he was being accused. I talked about how it made me feel and think and worry. I didn’t jump to conclusions. Or insist on looking at his phone or bank statements. Even when he gave me his phone.

He did say this morning before he left, he knew he had way too much to throw away and he would never do that.

Last night, he even offered to cancel going with his mates because how I was feeling was more important. But as I say, I didn’t want to be that woman.

We’re all good. I just want to thank you all for being my sounding board. I didn’t want to talk to my friends about it as I didn’t want them to doubt him and look at him differently if he was indeed innocent. He appreciated that too.

Edited

I am so pleased about this update. Well done for having a deep conversation with him when you saw him in person. I hope all is plain sailing now. It takes a lot to have open and honest words when you fear the worst, you've handled it brilliantly. I think him offering to show you everything on his phone, in his bank statements and offering to cancel all augur well. But the best (but also sad) part is that he knows he had let you down and made you worry and feels awful about that - I hope that while he is away he does his best to keep you assured.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 26/04/2026 22:56

TellmeImwrongnow · 25/04/2026 10:13

To all of you - thank you.

It has all been whirring round my mind this week.

I ended up having a bigger, deeper chat with DH last night.

I told him that it made me nervous for his boys' weekend (he leaves in an hour).

That I had never checked his phone or bank statements before and I didn't want to "become that woman".

He handed me his phone and said 'check anything you want, and I'm happy to bring up bank statements too'

I reiterated I didn't want to become her, and I hated that he'd put me in a situation where I'd started to wonder what else he was hiding.

He reassured me over and over that he does not and never has wanted anyone but me since we've been together. That he loved me and wanted to be with me forever, that's why we got married.

He IS an old romantic and loves rom coms - so all of this I believe.

I said I have to CHOOSE to believe him otherwise there's no point.

Believing him is a choice. It's not naivety - it's an active choice to trust, which is where we can build.

I said I'd gone on online forums as I didn't want to talk to my friends about this and that roughly 75 of views were that he'd be cheating.

He looked crestfallen and said he realised what he did was foolish (both the buying and keeping it from me), but it was to try and stop him from worrying about staying hard and he wasn't proud that he needed help with that and didn't want to worry me that it was something to do with me because it wasn't. That he thought it would help.

I pointed out I'd not felt or known any difference from taking them and really, telling me would have helped in that for women a lot of being turned on starts with the mind. So even knowing he'd taken them may have made a difference. As in he was making that effort for me.

He's said he's happy for me to either keep the stash in my bedside cabinet or flush it away and if we do use them it's together - as in I'm aware when he takes them.

Well that sounds reassuring. He sounds genuine if a bit naive re the drugs and what they could be used for.

I hope he isn’t up to anything else or if he has ever thought about this, what’s happened has been enough to scare him off. But I honestly think you have nothing to worry about now. Good luck!

TellmeImwrongnow · 27/04/2026 10:09

Arlanymor · 26/04/2026 18:55

I am so pleased about this update. Well done for having a deep conversation with him when you saw him in person. I hope all is plain sailing now. It takes a lot to have open and honest words when you fear the worst, you've handled it brilliantly. I think him offering to show you everything on his phone, in his bank statements and offering to cancel all augur well. But the best (but also sad) part is that he knows he had let you down and made you worry and feels awful about that - I hope that while he is away he does his best to keep you assured.

Thank you - me too!

Yes, he kept calling me on his night out with the lads, sending me pics videos of them all and slurring whilst telling me that he loved me and then called me from his hotel room even more slurry. All I wanted to do was catch up on my telly while he was away and he wouldn’t leave me alone!!! 🤣🤣🤣

OP posts:
Arlanymor · 27/04/2026 17:22

TellmeImwrongnow · 27/04/2026 10:09

Thank you - me too!

Yes, he kept calling me on his night out with the lads, sending me pics videos of them all and slurring whilst telling me that he loved me and then called me from his hotel room even more slurry. All I wanted to do was catch up on my telly while he was away and he wouldn’t leave me alone!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Edited

Dude, I’m in the middle of a boxset! But honestly it sounds like he’s learnt a lesson about just being open and honest about stuff, because otherwise it really can escalate. Hope you have some nice plans for the Bank Holiday to try and get back your even keel with one another. A reset!

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