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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

dh had a heart attack....

83 replies

gotcoldhands · 22/02/2015 16:47

advice please,
we are pensioners , I am 69.
dh has recovered well from a "minor" heart attack (nurses words).
over the years he has had many "minor" things wrong with him, each one successfully healed etc.

fortunately I am still strong and healthy.

I have always cared for him, supported him, sympathised with him ,been as kind as I can, never letting him feel that it has been a difficult time for me (which sometimes it has been really hard to keep going)
we have literally no family here in the uk, all adult children living abroad.

now my question to all you wise people.

for many years, once winter arrives I feel the cold ,very cold.
my dh doesn't .he still wears shorts in November.
even today he was in the garden in shorts.

when the house...large 4 bed detached begins to get cold...., it's a bitter wind today, I turn up the heating.
my hands were like a stone.

it caused a massive argument with dh, the same one that has been ongoing for many years every winter.

at my age, it exhausts me, knowing that he will start moaning that I have turned up the thermostat......I pay all the bills....
sometimes I sit in the cold just to avoid an argument.

what can I do?

.

OP posts:
Dowser · 23/02/2015 10:58

Oh good. I felt I was going out on a bit of a limb there.

gotcoldhands · 23/02/2015 11:11

thank you all for your replies.

yes, dh did have a mild heart attack a while back, plus other medical issues for a few years now.

my main reason for posting yesterday was that even though we have been through medical issues on and off for a number of years, I have always, and I mean always, been supportive in every way.
(it has been down to me every time as there are no family here in the uk)

but I felt so sad yesterday, that when the house was cold, I turned the heating up, and dh behaved like a bad tempered misery!

I felt that through the years I had been so good to him, that one simple thing that I needed, being warm, was almost may I say, against my human rights , when dh had a tantrum.

well today is another day.
dh is totally remorseful,
said he feels like a burden on me.
says I deserve better.
says I worked hard all my life, now it should be easy for me, instead of dealing with his medical issues.

I reassured him that we can cope okay, his medication is working well.
he can drive again tomorrow, which he feels is a blessed relief, and more "normal".
I think he "hit out at me" yesterday in frustration and guilt that our retirement isn't what he imagined it to be.

(re intro thread....it really was the fact that dh had a heart attack, even though "minor", that led to his anger and frustration yesterday that just exploded!)

OP posts:
GoatsDoRoam · 23/02/2015 11:27

Glad you had the talk and that it went well.
Keep applying the thought that you deserve to be heard, and to be treated with kindness and respect.

Jacana · 23/02/2015 11:50

Yes, 'applying the thought' as in vocalising it. Please.

babyboomersrock · 23/02/2015 14:11

dh is totally remorseful
said he feels like a burden on me
says I deserve better
says I worked hard all my life, now it should be easy for me, instead of dealing with his medical issues

I'm glad you're feeling happier, OP, but don't let him treat you like that again. Pull him up on it every single time. I suspect he sensed your new strength and resolve, hence his sudden attack of remorse - so stay strong.

Dowser · 23/02/2015 16:53

Oh good. I still think an electric blanket is agood idea. Ikeepmine in a cotton duvet cover to keep it nice and clean.

Good idea to have one for your sofa though.

I'd be tempted to say something along the lines that I will help you all I can but I also have a right to adequate heating in our home so that I an maintain my good health.

( knowing me I'd probably say and if you ever turn it down without asking me if I'm comfortable I'll be putting on my coat and going to the pub!) I'd probably say it jokingly but with a steely glint in my eye.

RegTheMonkey1 · 23/02/2015 16:54

I also feel the cold dreadfully and sometimes my hands feel like marble to the touch. I am always well wrapped up while DH sits in a short sleeved T-shirt. He is always totally baffled that I can be so cold while he sits there radiating heat like a nuclear reactor (if that's what they do!). It's always so hard to compromise on the best ambient temperature for us, because he is either sweltering, or I am freezing. I'm glad your husband has apologized to you OP, and don't let him be nasty to you again.

Joysmum · 23/02/2015 17:10

I'm so glad you've talked things through, I really hope you can both move on from here. You've said this is the only thing you both argue about and its ongoing so I hope you can find a good compromise going forwards. All the best Smile

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