Digestion is where I see the most money wasted, so I will start with the order I think it should go in. Your GP, first. Coeliac serology while you are still eating gluten — this is the one people get wrong, because removing gluten first can make the test falsely normal. Full blood count and iron studies, because anaemia with digestive symptoms changes the urgency. Faecal occult blood or a referral, depending on your age and symptoms. Thyroid function. And with bleeding, weight loss, difficulty swallowing, night waking with pain, or a new change in bowel habit over forty-five, endoscopic investigation rather than reassurance.
What I do not recommend: commercial microbiome stool tests, food intolerance blood panels sold direct to the public, and hair mineral analysis. They produce results that look authoritative and rarely change what anyone should do.
Once that is clear, what I assess is the pattern: whether symptoms track with specific foods, with the menstrual cycle, with stress, or with meal timing and gaps. Two weeks of records makes this quick. Most people turn out to have two or three reliable triggers rather than a mysterious condition.
Where a low-FODMAP trial is the right next step I refer to an Accredited Practising Dietitian, because supervised reintroduction is the part that matters and doing it alone usually ends in an unnecessarily restricted diet. The clinic is in Lane Cove, opposite the library.
