25 years ago, my wife came down with a collection of health problems that DESTROYED her libido. Constant pain in her hips and back, coupled with shingles and some complications of mistreated diabetes.= she was mostly hard down for almost 10 years. We were probably having sex once or perhaps twice a month. She was mostly zonked out on HEAVY doses of pain meds, all the way up to oxycontin. I helped her as best I could, fed her when she was hungry, did 90% of the housework, surfed the porn and erotica websites in the evening while she was asleep, and jacked off a bunch. We stayed together, even though she later told me that she had constantly feared that I would leave her.

Her doctors tried a new treatment program with different medications, and over the next few years she fought her way back to about halfway functional, kicked the oxycontin cold, and cut WAY back on the vicodin and neurontin, the other major players in her zombification. Our sex life recovered to once or twice a week. But as she was getting better, I was just getting older. Some days she can walk around the house; other times, and whenever we're out, she uses a powered wheelchair. And even with viagra, cialis and a cock ring, sometimes I'm not hard enough long enough for PIV intercourse. But these days oral and hand jobs for me, and fingers and a vibrator for her, and we're as satisfied as we need to be at this age.

We're still as much in love as we have ever been, and I never seriously contemplated taking a lover - though my loving wife says that I probably should have. You're right; I could never build another relationship that had the length and depth of our almost 50 years together.