Originally Posted by Freder23
Rick - have you two thought about hormone replacement at all? I’d be willing to bet she also wants to feel sexy and enjoy intimate time with you, so you aren’t alone. You just have to facilitate it more at that age.
Yes Fred, I have. A little bit of background. We had a relatively good sex life up to my wife hitting menopause. I say “relatively good” because she has always been very conservative in what we might do. In her words, she refused to “play the slut”. Her idea of slut and mine always have been very different.
After menopause, it got progressively more boring – like you could set a clock on where we were at – always the same and always over in about ten minutes. I tried to bring in a bit of variety, but except for a couple of minor things, that went nowhere.
I also discovered she was not turned on by my nakedness any more. More than that – she is constantly telling me to get dressed (I do like being naked and would readily join a nudist club if she’d come with me), put a shirt on, etc. That I was able to restore (CI-3 to CI-8) and, more recently, add heaps to my length AND SHE DIDN’T NOTICE says heaps.
About 2000, I started having andropause problems (see for more details; I have also posted a bit in the Men’s Sexual Health Forum). If you check this condition up, it’s FAR more than having problems in the bedroom – it affects your whole sense of well-being. In my case, it affected my ability as a Managing Director of my consultancy.
Initially, I had no problems in the bedroom. However, in about 2002, occasionally I did. I tried cialis, viagra, etc. All worked fine, but all gave me a dreadful headache next day. SO, I WENT ONTO HRT.
About the same time, my wife declared that she wasn’t all that interested in sex anymore and, maybe, we should just give it up. We did that for about six months while I went onto HRT. Then, everything sorted itself out with me. I told her all was OK now, but she ignored my statements. Sex was now off the agenda. My own research on the topic revealed that this happens to many women after menopause.
Believing the notion of “‘til death us to part”, I had to live with this issue. Sex became a solo thing for me. Well, I always did masturbate a couple of times a week because I didn’t get enough of the real thing. Now, it was all I had.
I should mention two other things here. First, we love each other VERY much. I can’t imagine life without her. If she were to die first, I really don’t know how I’d cope alone. I do know, though, that she’d be fine. She’s very complete in herself and a real dynamo at work. So, our relationship became more good companionship.
Second, I did explain to her how my life had changed through HRT and suggested she might try it too. Her attitude was that she was fine like she was and would not. Also, worthy of mention here is that HRT ain’t cheap and she’s not your “normal” woman – she’s very tight with money, especially for herself and, to some extent, with me. Then again, she’s extremely giving with our children and especially our grandchildren. There’d be very few women of our means who has such a mean wardrobe, set of jewellery, etc. [There’s a history here that I won’t bore you with — from her childhood]
So, HRT and solo it was.
Around 2006, I decided to give foreskin restoration a go – having read heaps on how it improves your sensitivity (wow, does it ever – I’ve posted elsewhere on this just today). I did this by stealth for about 18 months, then let it all hang out. Boy, did that ever get a negative response. I think she thought such a focus on my dick must mean I’m gay (and, by default, so is everyone who does it), but she never actually said that. She did say that she felt violated because I did it behind her back. It resulted in major arguments. Even so, I continued until I was done – to about mid 2009, I think. My biggest mistake was that I showed her the website that I was using, including the photos of other guy’s dicks.
Around 2008, I purchased David Schnarch’s “Passionate Marriage” and suggested we might read it together, chapter by chapter, and discuss each as we went (Mr Bloody Fix It again?). She thought it a good book (I thought it was absolutely wonderful), but the outworking was a big fat zero – she was not going to play the slut (I should point out here that we’re both Christian, she’s Catholic).
So, PE is by stealth, too, and will remain so. I don’t like that, but it’s the only way it’ll work. In a way, it is cheating on her.
Originally Posted by Freder23
I’m not on the ‘manipulative SO’ train as far as the reason for her not liking your PE. I have two other theories that I’d more readily stand by:1. She has no idea about what PE will actually do for you, and thinks it’s a complete waste of time.
2. The fact that you feel the need to get a larger penis, presumably this is new news to her, while being with her is making her insecure. Maybe she thinks it is a knock on her skills in the bed and you are compensating for that. Men see the penis as our livelihood and a source of pride, women see it as a means for sex. She probably thinks your desire to PE comes from unsatisfying sexual experience.
One of her few faults, is that she has great difficulty understanding that while she accepts something as OK, other might not. So, if it’s OK for her to turn her back on sex, I should be able to do so as well. I suppose I could, BUT I’M NOT. While I agree with both your points here and expect them to apply to an extent, I think we should also add the gay element here as discussed above – although, she’s never actually said that so, maybe, it’s my fear only.
Originally Posted by Mr. Happy
I think it might be a little too twisted. It’s got a lot of doom and gloom in it that might not actually be there.
There’s a lot in your post brother. I’ll answer it as best as I can:
Originally Posted by Mr. Happy
Especially as Mr. baldwin doesn’t describe someone who is being controlling, but is more expressing her feelings of discomfort with his new found hobby.
She tries to be VERY controlling. She was Deputy Principal at a local school. I constantly have to remind here to drop her “school-marm” voice with me.
Originally Posted by Mr. Happy
She may just think it’s obsessive behavior. We have to admit, it’s an unusual hobby, after all. Most people find it weird. That weirdness can make people uncomfortable if they haven’t adjusted themselves to the idea.
Yes, and add the word “gay”.
Originally Posted by Mr. Happy
Here’s another possibility: she liked sex with you just fine, pre-PE, and is therefore dismayed at this activity on your part. For her, your size was fine and therefore your new found focus on it is a little bizarre and that makes her uncomfortable.I’d also think it’s possible she might be feeling a little inadequate herself; some women think PE is a statement about them - that they are somehow inadequate. This is another possibility as to why she is threatened.
Seeing as how she married you, she was obviously perfectly happy with your size. For most women, the joys of sex are much more interconnected with their overall feeling about you. The mechanics of parts moving together is only one aspect and often not all that important to them - not unimportant, but not a primary focus.
Another possibility is that you are taking time away from time the two of you have together to PE. She may feel like a PE widow.
She may be upset by this as much as the activity itself. It’s like you’re cheating on her with your PE activity. So I think she could have a lot of reasons; reasons that may seem counter-intuitive to you.
Yes, brother, apart from agreeing that sex was OK pre-PE, I think they all apply. However, I don’t see a way out of it.
Originally Posted by Mr. Happy
That she’s not demanding that you quit, but rather letting you know that it bothers her, seems to indicate (to me anyway) that she’s not a controlling person.
She isn’t demanding I quit because she does not know. But she would if she did.
Originally Posted by Mr. Happy
If you really have a problem with her, is it possible to sit down and talk to her about it? Ask her what the trouble she has with it and get her to tell you why it bothers her?In such a conversation you can explain that there are some health benefits to this and that you are mostly doing it as a means of self-improvement. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with your sex life, you just want to improve it. You don’t have to be sick or inadequate to get better. All you want is to be better.
If you can pin-point what bothers her about it you can begin to negotiate those areas and arrive at something where you can both feel comfortable with it.
Failing that, you can quit or go stealth.
No, I think any discussion would be futile. I won’t quit (yet) and will go stealth.
Originally Posted by Mr. Happy
What’s your relationship with her like on the whole? How well do you two communicate? Etc.
Our relationship is very good, except when she’s tired (which can be quite often). She works too hard and takes on everybody else’s issues. She can’t draw boundaries, especially with family. When she’s OK, we communicate very well; otherwise we argue. When you’re feeling crap, you tend to take it out on your loved ones first.
Hey guys, thanks very much for your comments here. You are a very caring lot and I appreciate it all very much. If there is a solution, I’ll give it a go. However, I think I’ve already exhausted all avenues. We’ll see, eh?