"Trying to get someone to help me get this illness sorted out"

I have spent sixteen years of my life trying to get a diagnosis for an illness that started after a major operation in 1994. I have seen over 70 doctors . Mistakes have been made in my diagnosis which was confirmed by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, however years on i am still trying to fight this. The SPSO claims to be impartial and independent but I feel they were negotiating with the very people that i was complaining about. They were on first name terms.

I am tired and worn down and so disheartened. I have lost sixteen years of my life doing this. Doctors appear to be telling me one thing and then they change their minds. I have seen some doctors who I feel have been rude and arrogant,lazy and dismissive.

Last week I attended an appointment in Edinburgh. I took 8 buses and spent 12 hours travelling to get to that appointment. It was a second opinion and I only saw the doctor that I had asked to see for a minute. There were no notes and there was very little on the NHS database. I had waited months for this appointment as the first appointment letter had gone to an old address. My G.P. had written very little and so I had to tell this story yet again.

Another example was that I have been bleeding from the bowel since 1994. Again a sample had come back positive. On top of this I have had severe abdominal pain for over two years. I went to my G.P. and he gave me peppermint oil! I also needed to ask him about swelling around my eye and he told me he didn't have time to deal with it!

Another example was that I had had a chest X ray and I was told that I had a very enlarged heart. I was told this by a G.P. and a cardiologist. I had always been told that my heart was ok. I queried this and when I went back to see the cardiologist he did a U turn and said there was nothing wrong. No explanation..nothing. I was in his office for less than four minutes.

These are only a few of many, many examples of the way that I have been treated. I have kept a diary since 2002 and it is shocking to read. Lost notes, missing notes, non referrals, appointments that never come and tests that haven't been done properly.

I have written to the press, Members of Parliament, patients association etc in an effort to get someone to help me. I don't feel as I am getting any help. I no longer know who to trust. The irony is that I am a qualified nurse myself.