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My husband suffers from (chronic) Maniere's Disease

By November 18, 2013 - 9:58am

Hello,
I have been married for a little under 2 years, and my husband has Meniere's. I am 56 and he is 62. He told me about his Meniere's when we first starting dating, but he described it as a "minor disability". He was first diagnosed with Meniere's 10 years ago, but in the last year his symptoms have become increasingly worse. He does not have "drop attacks", but he does suffer from severe dizziness almost constantly for the last few months. Two weeks ago, he went to see the specialist who first diagnosed his Meniere's. He was hoping to get this treatment called a "micro wick" in his inner ear. After testing my husband again, they found that his Meniere's is now bilateral. They put him on a stronger diuretic, and told him that should help. However, he stopped taking the diuretic after a couple of days because he said he couldn't deal with the side effects.(He does this every time that he is prescribed a new medication!) One week ago, he went back to his local ENT, and got a shot of cortisone in his inner ear (in one ear only). He is going back for the second shot today.The first shot seemed to help a bit for a a few days, but then he said he had a "set back". I know that my husband really has this insidious disease, and he really is suffering. However, I am having a really difficult time accepting that our marriage has now become all about Maniere's...that's it. The Maniere's and its symptoms are all he talks about or thinks about. There is no joy, no fun, no sexual intimacy...nothing but Meniere's Disease. I truly love my husband, and I am trying to be as supportive and understanding as I can possibly be. However, I am having a hard time accepting the fact that this chronic illness has become the only thing that our marriage is about. As a result of his Meniere's, my husband also suffers from depression, anxiety, and phobias. I have made an appointment to see a therapist so I can gain acceptance about what our marriage is and isn't because of my husband's Meniere's disease. However, I would love to hear about the experiences of other spouses who are married to people with a chronic illness. Maybe it would help me to communicate with people who are coping with the same situation that I am. Thank you so much for reading this!

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Spouses dealing with chronically ill spouses, without sexually or emotionally connections

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