You’ve been told it’s stress. Or IBS. Or nothing at all.
Chronic gut trouble has dozens of possible causes, scattered across thousands of articles. This is the map, so you can find yours.
After 10 years of illness, I realized that there is no researched path to follow for digestive issues. This is the systematic blueprint for digestive health that I wish I had back then.
If you have digestive problems that nobody has been able to explain, the issue usually isn’t a lack of information. It’s that there are dozens of possible causes, and no obvious way to tell which ones might apply to you.
There are excellent articles online about each individual cause. What’s missing is one place that lists them together, so you can see the full range and notice what fits your own pattern.
That’s what the Digestive Issues Path is for. It won’t diagnose you. It can focus the search into a reasonable path to follow.
If something here seems relevant, take it to your doctor. A specific question could help to resolve a case that’s been stuck for years. Many of these causes are areas that functional and integrative medicine practitioners work with regularly, and they’ll usually welcome the research you’ve already done.
If you find this research helpful
Buy Me a CoffeeWhy this exists.
The digestive options site began with a frustration many people share: you can have unresolved digestive issues for years, see a series of doctors, and still never hear a clear explanation of why, or a clear idea of what to try next.
The information isn’t the problem. There are thousands of excellent articles on each individual cause. What’s missing is a path to follow, in plain language, so you can see which might be relevant to you.
That’s what the Digestive Issues Path is for. It won’t diagnose you. It can focus the search into a reasonable path to follow.
That’s the purpose of this site. If one of these causes fits your story, a conversation about it, especially with a functional or integrative practitioner, can bring a fresh perspective.
Digestive Options has the first systematic blueprint of digestive issue causes, how to check for each one and the path to follow.
Go to different doctors and each will follow their own learned practices. A standardized path of issues to clear is what I think can clarify frustrated cases.
I was sick for 10 years and what would have really helped in that time was a system to follow and clear potential causes of those digestive issues, one after another, eventually finding the right one. That is the reason I researched and then wrote the Digestive Options path.
This site has no ads, no affiliate links, no sponsored content, only information.
Take research to the appointment.
A vague “stomach’s been bad for years” gives a clinician no information to work from. “Symptoms began after antibiotics, they worsen when I’m anxious, and I’m wondering if SIBO is worth ruling out” gives the entire conversation a focus.
Work through The Path. You’re not trying to collect every possibility; you’re trying to find the ones that echo your own story, and to describe them clearly enough that a doctor can act.
A short preparation.
- Build a timelineWhen did it start? What was happening then, an illness, antibiotics, a stressful stretch, a diet change, travel? Onset is one of the most useful clues a clinician has.
- Map the patternWhat makes it better or worse, specific foods, time of day, stress, hunger. Note it for a week before you go.
- Shortlist two or three causesFrom The Path, the ones whose “worth exploring if…” fit you. Write down why each resonates, in a sentence.
- Frame it as a question, not a demand“Could this be worth ruling out, and how would we test for it?” invites collaboration. It also finds which clinician is the right fit.
Some doctors are built for this search.
Many of the causes in this guide are the everyday focus of functional and integrative medicine, approaches oriented toward finding a root cause rather than only managing symptoms. Practitioners in these fields are often willing to test for things a rushed ten-minute visit won’t reach, and tend to welcome a patient who’s done the reading.
That doesn’t mean going around conventional medicine, it means arriving prepared, and finding someone with the time and curiosity to investigate. Bring your timeline and your shortlist. A clinician who takes them seriously is the one to keep.
- “Given my history, is [cause] worth ruling out, and how would we test for it?”
- “What would explain symptoms that persist even though my scans came back normal?”
- “If we can’t find it here, who investigates this kind of thing?”
The cause articles
Plain-language notes on each possible cause, a starting point for your own reading and for the questions you bring to a clinician. Educational information, not medical advice.
Timeline
Prepare for appointments with practitioners and clarify your story. No answers are saved: they exist only while this page is open and never leave your browser, so copy your timeline before leaving.
You can copy Timeline information and then paste in an Email or a Word page. No answers are saved. Information only remains on the local browser.
Ask for research.
If you’ve worked through The Path and hit something the articles don’t cover, ask. It’s free.
Send a question. Not your history, just the question. I’ll research it when I can and email you back what I find. The answer will be general: it is about the subject, not about you. I’m not a doctor, and what I send is research to work through with one, not advice.
I read every question. I don’t answer every one, and I answer them as I have time. If it’s a good fit, you’ll hear back.
What makes a good question.
The ones that work are about a subject, not a situation.
- What does the evidence actually say about high-dose probiotics for adult ADHD?
- How is HPHPA tested, and what does an elevated result mean?
- Is there anything behind the claim that iodine affects motility?
- Do I have SIBO?
- Should I stop taking this?
- What dose should I take?
- Why do I feel worse in the evenings?
The second set are questions about you. They need somebody who can examine you and read your labs. I can’t answer them and I won’t try.
Send a question.
This form will send me what you write, because it has to reach me to be answered. It should not include your history. No name, no age, no test results. Send only the question.