Chronic pain and Relationships

[Guest guest]

How does your chronic pain affect your romantic relationships? Has your

significant other stayed by you? Do they support you, or does it drive you

apart? How did you get them to understand what you were feeling and get them to

help you?

I'd like to hear any advice you may have. I love my boyfriend dearly, but he's

one of those annoyingly healthy types who never gets sick and never hurts. He's

never had to develop the patience to deal with a chronic condition. After about

a year and a half he started getting deeply frustrated, which I can understand.

He's scared that this will go on indefinitely, and he doesn't know if he can

cope with that. I don't know if I can stay with someone who can't stand by me

when I need him most. I don't want to lose the best relationship I've ever had,

but I don't know how to fix things.

Chronic back pain, 5 years

mild foraminal stenosis and disc bulging, L3-5