[igravious]

You know jhollingworth, nobody has put forward your analysis here or suggested (hushed voice - hypochondria - which could be related to what you describe). But, and please don't mod me down here, this person must a) be either _extremely_ unfortunate in not finding one competent person to perform a correct diagnosis in 18 years, b) have an extremely rare ailment or an ailment that is not so rare but is habitually not picked up on or c) mentally deluded in some way. I am not a medical expert, I completely sympathise and hope for a successful outcome.