Undiagnosed Gut Issues -

Gut issues that do not have a clear organic cause are widespread, but research shows that they are not always adequately treated. The diagnostic term for such conditions is functional gastrointestinal disorder (or FGID), and the most common FGID is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). People with such conditions experience symptoms despite returning ‘normal’ results from blood tests and endoscopy/gastroscopy.

According to gastroenterologist Dr Chamara Basnayake, medicine currently fails in treatment of these conditions because it treats brain, gut and behaviour separately. He describes people being sent on a ‘do it yourself’ journey where they must join the dots between expertise provided by psychologists, dietitians and gastroenterologists. Meanwhile, alternative health practices such as natural medicine, probiotics and DIY fecal transplants are becoming popular as people take an active role in their own gut health, creating new challenges for how we understand medical equity, ethics and care.

Stomach Ache responds to this DIY approach to gut health and the potential insights and ethical challenges implied in reframing it as a space of creative practice and experimentation. Our interviews and workshops with people with undiagnosed gut issues have explored how they are forced to adopt creative and experimental ways of living and coping, including finding alternative sources of information and support.