Need Husband's Help

Updated on July 23, 2010
B.N. asks from Wilsonville, OR
11 answers

I have been married for 18 yrs. to a man who used to be so wonderful and caring. After all the kids grew up things were going great until he wanted to quit his job in the military. About 14 years ago I was diagnosed with MS. He was helpful and caring through it all. He quit the military to start his own business and wanted me to help him with it. I was reluctant because I didn't want to have work up in our face 24/7. And due to the MS I knew I wouldn't be able to be consistant and didn't want to let him down. Exaserbations can last up to weeks, months, and even longer. Plus the shots I take weekly kick my butt for up to a few days a week. He has been angry over it for a while now.
He gives me my injection somtimes and used to take care of me during the side effects. But his home business hasn't taken off as he would have like so he's had to get other jobs. They never work out because he doesn't want to work for an employer. He's going to college now and doing the home job part-time. This hardly pays the bills and he has not cared about anything in our home or our lives. I can't do all it takes to keep up with things around our home and he won't do anything more than put the dishes in the dishwasher and cook simple meals like hotdogs or beans.
The last few years he will let everything pile up while making bigger messes so when I feel semi-ok I wake up to disasters. On top of all that he acts like I'm not there. He won't even get me a glass of water unless I about beg when I'm totally incapacited. He doesn't even try to talk about any of these things, he wants to be always right, always perfect. He is a strapping man and able-bodied but says he's too busy and works too hard to be bothered with anything but his online part-time job and going to class 2 hours a day for 4 days. I'm heartbroken, worn out and it's literally killing me because stress is the worst thing for MS.
His military job was a desk one and he spends money on things we don't need. Please tell me what to do? I just want to die already rather than keep up wih this situation. He says he loves me but I feel hated worse than any enemy known to mankind!!!! HELP PLEASE??????!!!!!!!

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More Answers

C.B.

answers from Kansas City on

it sounds like the two of you have had a very rough life together. he sounds depressed and beaten down. i would try to get him counseling. i am no expert. but if he's been such a wonderful husband for most of your lives together and this is relatively new, it's not him. sounds like a lot of stress, a lot of responsibility, his needs (emotional) perhaps not being met, for years upon years upon years....sounds pretty depressing to me. not that i'm saying it's anyone's fault...but sounds like the man needs help you are just not able to give. as the man you love and have loved and depended on for 18 years, find him some help.

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A.H.

answers from Johnstown on

Hi there - I ain't married but I can understand where you're coming from in the MS department. My nonna (grandmother) has it and I spent most of my time taking care of her when I lived in Italy. I learned a lot from her. My nonno (grandfather) took great care of her but he eventually got old, as everyone does. So I helped. I know how terrible it is and your husband needs to understand. You should DEFINITELY have a very deep sit-down talk with him about how you feel. Don't hold back. Stand your ground. Be forceful. It'll be difficult, but please just try! You need to be happy and you wanting to die is such an incredibly horrible thing. Show him how it hurts you. Explain how his behavior around the house makes you feel. Perhaps give him extra details about this vicious, debilitating disease, because it's not easy to live with. I sympathize greatly with you.
Another suggestion is marriage counselling. I'm not sure if your marriage is totally on the rocks, but still. A professional assessment might help in opening his eyes a bit. However, as I hear, most men aren't usually up for that. Like you said, he always wants to be right and always wants to be perfect. According to every woman I know, most or all men are like that. I'm not sure, though. He should definitely be more gentle and sympathetic to you!! I am and I've never even met you! It'll be difficult, but please, please, please see if you can get a professional's help!!!! It could aide your marriage so much and you would feel less stress. You would be more able to cope with your MS. You seem like a lovely lady. Really and honestly, you do. Feel free to private message me on here; I'd love to chat. You can freely rant to me and exchange advice. I hope I could help just a little bit, if anything :/ Good luck (:

-A.

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B.S.

answers from Houston on

See if he will do counseling with you. If not, go by yourself. A lot of people when they get married don't expect to have to deal with the other one becoming very sick. I have fibromyalgia and have had it for 3 years but just diagnosed in the early part of last year. It showed it's ugly face when I was 5 months pregnant. My husband and I have been together for 11 years with the first 6 years being very rocky. We even divorced and remarried.

He needs to understand what you are going through. I know even as much as my husband said he understood, he could never know what it is really like. My mom had MS. There are days when my husband is very honest with me and tells me how frustrated he is with the situation. I know he needs to vent too even though it really hurts me since there is nothing I can do about it. He has to pick up more chores and I have to sleep much more than him even though he works 60-70 hour weeks outdoors in the heat (here in Houston) as an auto mechanic.

If your symptoms are bad enough, can you file for disability? That would help some and take some of the burden off him of having to make all the money ya'll need.

We are in counseling. It didn't start out as marriage counseling. First it was just me being seen but the counselor decided that a lot of what I am going through has to deal with my husband. It has helped some but we haven't been going together for very long so we will see.

Good luck.

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I.A.

answers from Seattle on

I am sorry to hear your situation but being positive will help, where there's a will there's away! No situation last forever, try talking to him and be frank. Do not give excuses for his behaviour, he is being inconsiderate.

Your are not well and it's not your problem the business isn't doing well. The economic climate world wide is not atime to start new business.

As your husband, he has alegal duty to support and maintain you. Do not let him bring your self esteem down, it's the only thing you have and hopefully to bring you out of this stressful situation.

You cannot give up now, hang in there, a solution should come up soon. Is there no organizations near you who could help you out? Give you afew hours of support, cleaning the house and cooking, shopping, hospital appointments?

If you do not have, advertise in the internet for volunteers in your area to help you a few hours in a week. You need help, accept it's time to look for outside help. Lot's of people will come to your aid, offering hours of service.

God is waiting for you to ask him for help. Hope things get better soon.

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E.A.

answers from Seattle on

Men are told that they are supposed to be strong/silent and take care of the family. Your husband was in the military, that furthers his mistaken belief that he just needs to put his head down and work and not talk!

You have MS and the two of you aren't talking. He no longer has a steady paycheck from the military and the two of you aren't talking. The two of you are stressed beyond belief and yet you're still not talking.

Go thru the military, try OneSource?? or talk to your doctors. You need a moderator, a marriage counselor, as individuals and as a couple. The beginning for the two of you is communication. Talk, listen and try to understand. I "heard" you is not the same I'm "listening".

Many blessings as you begin your journey as a new and improved couple.
E.

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M.B.

answers from Washington DC on

Ok, first, if you marriage was ok before he quit his job, then this is one of the "worse" parts of marriage and you should give yourself a year to try to adjust. So make up your mind that you are going to get through the first year of him not being in the military any more, and then reevaluate the marriage issues.

Second, you appear to have a money problem, a communication/consideration issue. The C/C problem is the biggest one I see, and you may need professional help here. Have you ever considered marriage counseling -- together or on your own. He needs to better understand your medical issues and how you feel. You also need to understand that he feels like a failure and real bad about himself, since his plan didn't work out -- at least that is my guess. However, he needs to come to grips with the fact that that is how he feels.

In December 2004 I quit my job because I was pg with our son. The plan was for me to take 2 years off and then go back to work. Five years later, I still don't have a job. A week after our son was born, my husband found out his job was ending in 18 months. In December of 2006 my husband became unemployed for the first time in his life. He had worked for the same place since he was a teenager. He didn't know what to do. He finally got a job after three months of no work, but it paid 30% less than what he had been making. We had money saved so we could do ok. We figured one of us would get another job in a year or two and it would be ok. Five years later I still don't have a job, and he has gotten some raises but is no where near where he was earning. He has been depressed and felt like a failure for most of this time. As if all this wasn't bad enough, our son was diagnosed with epilepsy and celiac disease -- lots of medical bills. (This is also part of why I don't have a job.) When we try to talk about this and make decisions about things like the house, we can no longer afford, he just yells and says he is a failure. This is really hard for him as a human being and as a man.

This has been really stressful. My Dad also died in March which was really hard for me because my Dad and I were really close. However, in all this I still love my husband. I still like watching sports, and TV with him. We still enjoy movies, and card games. Find something you like doing with your husband and try to find an hour to avoid the issues that are bothering you. It can really help you remember why you love this man, and give you some perspective to help you deal with the rest of this.

That all said, if you really would rather die then live like this. Do you want to live without this man in your life? Are you ready to never see him again? If so may plans to leave and divorse him. You wouldn't be the first person, for whom work/money problem became the last straw. Chances are if this is pushing you this far, then there are other problems in the relationship. However, you could just be having a bad day ... only you can answer the tough questions.

Best of luck! One last thing, five years from now things will be different -- what do you want it to look like? What are you going to do to make it that way?

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D.D.

answers from Seattle on

My heart goes out to you. Having suffered from chronic fatigue for 12 years, not knowing what was wrong, then 8 years of recovery, I know how hard a long-term illness is. I've also been burnt out myself, in the process lost my marriage of 8 years, my mind - my sanity - it cost me everything. Through the grace of God I have regained my health and my sanity and am now in a MUCH better marriage than I was at that time. Like you, I have been through the fire.

It sounds to me as though your husband is completely burned out. It sounds as though he is struggling to go on, himself. Is there some way to simplify your life? Live cheaper? Go on vacation, rekindle your love for each other? Support him in spite of your illness? Find a better Naturopath that can help YOU feel better? Have some support from your family until he can recover?

There is no way out of this other than turning to God and praying. God can comfort in the worst of circumstances. Check this out: http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/closetohome/healing. I think this will help give you some meaning to what you are going through. Please don't lose hope. Hope is absolutely the WORST thing to lose. Pray to God instead. Often when God allows us to go through the fire, he has a bigger purpose for us. Our life is not about this life. It is about eternity. God helps our souls through trials. We have a lot of saints that became saints going through trials just as fiery as yours. I hope you can find some encouragement for your situation through exploring the Orthodox Christian faith. I found "regular Christianity" to actually be more hurtful than healing when I was going through hell. I find the Orthodox Christian faith to be very healing (think Greek and Russian Orthodox - same church - 2000 years old). I will be praying for you. Lord have mercy, God make His face to shine upon you, and keep you by His grace.

Feel free to contact me further if you wish.

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M.C.

answers from Bellingham on

I am so sorry for what you are going through. My mother went through a similar situation while I was growing up. She came down with a muscle disease when I was eight years old, my brother was three and my sister was eleven. My father helped out for awhile with everything while she was at her worst and had treated her fairly well before the disease. As time went on he just quit helping. She suffered through until we were grown and she divorced him. She has done fine on her own and has been happier.

Everyone has given you really good advice. It does sound like he might be depressed. I have suffer with depression and when it gets bad you dont care about things like you should. You can talk to him and try to get him to understand how you are feeling or possibly get him to go to counseling, but he is going to have to want to change. Someone already mentioned disability social security if you are bad enough where you can not work then you should be eligible. Get your own income and if things do not change then try a trial separation give him an ultimatum.

Dont let your disablilty stop you. I watched and helped my mother for years because my father wouldn't. She is wheel chair bound, lives alone and does fine with support of her children and friends. If there is a will there is a way. Stay strong you can make it through.

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S.H.

answers from Seattle on

I would talk to my doctor to see if they could heip me get someone to help me on programs that are available to education him on you needs and to help him to see where he needs to work out his problems. It sounds like he is in need of help also. Where are your children? Can't they help alittle?

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L.H.

answers from Seattle on

Write him a letter if he has the time to read it, put down all your feelings and explain why your unhappy

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J.F.

answers from Philadelphia on

I would go to counseling and have a home health nurse come in to help you.

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