Good subject!
I agree with Allen (not that I disagree with anyone)!
I think that our communication with our partner has so much to do with how this will work or not.
That is, "UNDERSTANDING" being the keyword.

This is difficult on ourselves to get a handle on all this pain. For seven years I was just frustrated that medicine hadn't caught up to what was wrong..... yet.
So, how could my spouse/partner?

My first wife never went to any doctor's appointment with me, she was not very understanding. In any way.
My second wife did and was more understanding, then she went through a depression, and I got my tbi. She became angry, violent, lying and thieving. I stopped liking her.
(I find if you don't "like" someone, it doesn't matter how much you love them, it's doomed). I remember when I was in my early mid 20's, a gentleman much older than me got talking, and he was telling me just that. It's more important that you like the person, love will come and go. But, if you genuinely like the person, you'll get through a lot more. I think he was right.

I remember my first in-laws. Nice people. Father in-law was made out to be a kook, by the mother. She never looked at him with any love-light in her eyes, it was more like "you bastard, you wrecked my life, you didn't make enough money!" And, of course, her daughter soon became that way. My Brother in law, would stop by my house often, and say dammit, there is no love under that roof! I can't stand it. (Well, he waited to move out, until he found a high paid Nurse that would marry him) He didn't love her, I'm not sure he liked her, but he had her income counted!

I've done so well in this department, (when I was younger), and have been beaten so badly later in life, that I don't know if I can really answer this question.
I should have married my HS sweetheart! (My mother died when I was 15, and I was probably carrying a bit of anger).

Personally, my 2nd wife was much more "loving" than my first. And, for the sake of my own enjoyment, I'd put off my last dose of methadone. It was "too" numbing before, and helped after...
(There's the technical side).

More recently, I had a nice girlfriend, who came with a nice mother who came with a cocktail constantly. Too complicated.
I've got enough to deal with, and can't really do that well...
With my tbi, I don't really care about it so much.

But, where there's a will, there's a way!

pete
asb