Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Menopause

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Is husband hating a symptom of perimenopause?

24 replies

Wheresmemum · 05/07/2023 00:20

Hello,
So I'm definitely in perimenopause. And whilst i love my kids, (not the husband though) and I'd do anything for them, a part of me just wants to pack a bag and walk away into the sunset! This feels strange to me because for years my kids have been my everything! Now I'm also going through empty nest because my youngest went off to uni last Sept. She's my youngest daughter and we were really close. However, since her recent visit I felt that although I love her to bits, I'm not sure I like her very much. She's changed since she's been at uni. She's been quite rude to me and just doesn't listen to anything. To make matters worse her moron father who is also my moron husband is trying to bribe her by throwing money at her. This is his idea of making up for being a crap and completely absent father! In 18 years he attended one parents evening. And it wasn't because he was busy with work. He controls all the finances and although I work I've never been able to progress or work full time because someone had to look after the kids. Although I'd love to go back to full time work now to fill in the emptiness, thanks to crappy perimenopause symptoms I'm only able to work part time, mainly due to horrible fatigue and other symptoms. I've recently realised what an arsehole my husband actually is! I think over the years I was just too busy with kids and work to actually think about it. I always knew it, but tried not to think about it because i didn't want him to be arsey with the kids. Now i just wish he'd fall into a hole and disappear! And take his gaslighting toxicity with him! Is hating the very presence of your husband a symptom of perimenopause?

OP posts:
Windowcleaning · 05/07/2023 00:24

Feeling less inclined to care for others is something lots of women experience during the peri and menopausal years.

Your dislike of your husband seems stronger than that though.

Wheresmemum · 05/07/2023 09:43

Yes my dislike of him is probably more to do with me ruminating about what him and his evil mother have put me and the kids through over the years. I suppose now that life has slowed down a bit I've got the space to think about these things. I probably should be filling that space with more positive things though 🤔

OP posts:
JinglingSpringbells · 05/07/2023 10:31

LTB?

You don't have to stay married to him.

Smoothiecarton · 05/07/2023 10:34

Take some good stuff from this, be glad your daughter is well supported which will make leaving your husband far easier.

GoldDuster · 05/07/2023 10:34

Shirley Valentine was definitely on to something

Floofydawg · 05/07/2023 10:36

Yes it is..but your husband doesn't sound very nice to be fair.

My lovely/almost perfect husband totally gets on my tits at the best of times since I became menopausal. If he was useless and I didn't love him I'd be kicking him out.

SirChenjins · 05/07/2023 10:37

I don’t hate mine but he definitely irritates me far more than he ever did. My tolerance levels for everyone is far lower now and I am completely done with parenting which is not great as DC3 is still in his teens.

You sound a bit more than irritated though - do you think you still want to be married to him?

AlienatedChildGrown · 05/07/2023 11:38

It can be. But isn’t always.

Twice I’ve regarded my husband as the bane of my existence. He did nothing right and seemed to have “irritating my wife on purpose” as his main hobby.

The first time was after DS was born. It went on for a long time. But then he turned 4 and suddenly I felt like a fog (mostly made of sleep deprivation and being touched out) lifted from me. DH was back to being my mostly lovely (but every bit as imperfect as I am) husband again.

Second time was peri really taking it up a notch. Not long into HRT I was holding his hand again and choosing to be in his company. Which was a big switch from half planning to leave because there was nothing left between us and not being sure there ever had been.

We are all different. It turns out I’m basically a bag of flesh made to carry around some hormones. Hormones out of whack and the bag of flesh wanders off in some rather concerning directions. (I’m still quite shocked at how easily hormones got to over ride my values, beliefs, plans…. me, the entire foundation of me, who I am and what matters most to me.)

Other people will find that even once the hormones have settled the issues they perceived are still there, with knobs on.

Personally I’m deeply relieved my marital woes turned out to be (mostly) hormone related. I’ve watched several women in my family (some for good reasons and others perhaps not so much) exit a life built together and find the one they’re building alone is not quite what they had in mind. Or even better than the one they had. Having said that I also know women who have zero regrets. But some (not all !) of them give me this weird vibe that they are trying to convince themself, as much as they are me, that they jumped in the right direction.

However, I’m on the ride or die marriage bus for long standing personal reasons. Which will of course influence my perceptions and create a bias I can’t realistically calculate. So that has to be factored into all of the above.

escript · 05/07/2023 11:45

Sounds like your menopause symptoms only decreased your tolerance for what was already poor behaviour.

LadyJ2023 · 05/07/2023 12:11

Don't you want more because you wouldn't get me staying now the children are grown

RK800 · 05/07/2023 12:34

Sorry to hear you’re going through a tough time OP. Your use of the word moron made be laugh - it’s a word we don’t hear often enough (I regularly use it to describe my dog).

Wheresmemum · 05/07/2023 14:54

Thanks for all your replies and @AlienatedChildGrown yours resonates the most with me. For personal reasons I can't divorce/separate right now. I'm also aware that if I go down that road it might actually be more to do with peri rather than the awful things that happened and trying to move past them. As someone said to me recently, all my woes are very much about the past but are really bothering me now mostly due to crazy peri hormones and also having the time and space to actually think about what happened. Having said all that, I still think my husband is a moron! But I also have to admit that he has been trying (a bit) recently, although that irritates me even more! I just keep thinking "it's a bit bloody late now!" 😒

OP posts:
Wheresmemum · 05/07/2023 14:58

RK800 · 05/07/2023 12:34

Sorry to hear you’re going through a tough time OP. Your use of the word moron made be laugh - it’s a word we don’t hear often enough (I regularly use it to describe my dog).

😀yes I use the moron very often to describe him. Only in my head though, never out loud. Sometimes arsehole too! 😆

OP posts:
massiveclamps · 05/07/2023 15:03

Definitely. Hitting the menopause makes you realise that you are no longer prepared to tolerate shit from anyone any more.

Take it as a wonderful opportunity to dump this pig of a man, and start a new life of freedom.

SameKeyThough · 05/07/2023 16:32

I think that you might do well to consider that your perception of him might be skewed by hormones. Or not! I have a lovely, supportive, hardworking husband and over the past 6 months there have been times when I just wanted to leave. Leave him, our child, my life in general. And I have a good life! When I'm feeling happier ( and I suspect my hormones are behaving) I don't feel that way. It's very hard to know what is me and what is hormones!

Wheresmemum · 05/07/2023 19:53

massiveclamps · 05/07/2023 15:03

Definitely. Hitting the menopause makes you realise that you are no longer prepared to tolerate shit from anyone any more.

Take it as a wonderful opportunity to dump this pig of a man, and start a new life of freedom.

A new life of freedom sounds lovely @massiveclamps ! And I'm glad someone other than me thinks he's a pig! 😁

OP posts:
WhereAreWeNow · 06/07/2023 05:27

I totally relate @Wheresmemum
I feel like PMS and perimenopause heighten feelings that are already there. HRT definitely makes me chill out and stops the overwhelming urge to break stuff/run for the hills.
Having said that, the fact that you've said your husband is financially controlling and is gaslighting you sets alarm bells ringing. That doesn't sound like a hormone issue. Can you talk to someone IRL?

capercorn · 06/07/2023 05:36

I could have written this post 6 weeks ago. I started HRT 6 weeks ago, nothing has changed with my family but I don't want to murder/abandon them anymore. Or at least not immediately anyway. Seriously, I did not realise how different I would feel on HRT, maybe consider it before making huge decisions. Even if you did LTB you would (could) feel better while doing it if HRT suits you. I could cry for myself thinking I almost didn't try it as I 'wasn't that bad', I just didn't realise.

Wheresmemum · 06/07/2023 12:12

Thanks for your replies. I'm not on HRT for health reasons, but I am taking peri supplements which help massively. I think I've wanted to LTB for years tbh, peri has just highlighted the desire! I stay for many reasons, and that's including the kids, it's really complicated and yes I am getting support IRL which is fantastic and really helps. The financial control thing is in his families DNA! They are all like that, literally every single one of them. Which doesn't justify his behaviour of course. With all these advancements in technology, why can't they build a time machine and go back in time, so that I could run as fast as I could in the opposite direction when I first saw him!

OP posts:
tootiredtobother · 06/07/2023 12:18

yes, in my experience

mosiacmaker · 06/07/2023 12:28

With what you say about having a lot of built up resentment over the years, do you think couples therapy, where you could be supported to share this in a good way, might be an idea? Maybe all you need is to clear the air and get some kind of acknowledgment of your frustrations and some tools to move forward together.

CreationNat1on · 30/11/2023 10:35

What age are you OP?

Screamingabdabz · 30/11/2023 10:42

Your DH is a dick. That has nothing to do with any health issues you may have. Now the scales have fallen from your eyes you have options. You don’t have to put up with him a moment longer. See a solicitor on the quiet and just explore what a free life might look like.

pinkboulderdash · 02/12/2023 18:09

I can totally relate to much you have posted.

I have younger children than you, having had them later in life and whilst I am slightly less tolerant, I know for a fact I love them without a doubt.

It is my husband I am having difficulties with. Not making any major decisions due to the peri, age of my dc and so on but it does feel like the scales have been lifted from my eyes. I am partially to blame in our differences (it is not all one sided) but it is like I've gained some clarity on the situation. I too, have a lot of historical resentment that doesn't seem to go away.

I'm on HRT but my dose still needs tweaking. I'm not sure it's going to cure my issues though, they feel a bit more enduring.

Thanks for posting, I'm reading this thread with interest.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page