I'm just starting to parse this issue I'm having, because it came on pretty gradually. The trigger for me starting to think of it seriously is almost certainly unrelated; My cat needed to be put down from unspecific GI issues. The Vets said probable lymphoma, but also possible Inflammatory bowel disease (which is the ideopathic 'we have no idea why' designation). At first I figured my GI issues were just psychosomatic / stress issues relating to my baby (3 year old cat) being sick, but now that I've had time to think(he died a week ago), and grieve for my cat, I realize this has been coming on slowly over maybe as long as a year. I don't really know where to start. I'm thinking maybe to try a water fast and some pro-biotics, and maybe look into what a gut healthy diet looks like, but I sortof immediately feel in over my head. My question is where would be the rational place to start. Are there reasonable at home things to try? Should I be starting off asking my GP for a referral to gastroenterology? Anyway, vital stats and symptoms: 38 year old male, 5'0", 112 lbs (college weight 105, so up a little bit, but nothing egregious). VACTERL association birth defect(had all but the L), all surgically repaired to where I'm approximately "normal" at this point. I do not suspect vacterl is at play here. History of depression and ADHD, though I do not believe those to be at play here either. Recent bout with doctors to track down a temporary blindness episode in one eye that lasted 4 minutes, but all tests (carotid ultrasound, echo cardiogram, 24 hr heart halter, brain MRI, bloodwork, lipid panel) came up unremarkable, so that's mostly just a big question mark, and probably not related either, I mention them for completeness. I wake up nearly every morning with low grade nausea, though I don't vomit. I feel like I need to burp, but don't/can't. not infrequently I'll have random diarrhea, that is just 1 BM, then over with. I'm familiar with that watery feeling of peristaltic rush. Outside of the full on diarrhea episodes, my stool is far softer than it has been historically, and more frequent, and less comes at a time. I go through TP much faster than I used to. My abdomen feels distended even when I haven't eaten recently, and for the early part of the year I remember thinking I was getting fat. I have gained a little weight(112 is up 7 from my normal 105). These symptoms are not life changing, but they are uncomfortable. This past week reflecting on my dead cat, I can't help but draw parallels between my mild-moderate GI symptoms and the woes of my dead cat, primarily because of the general thickening of the bowel (confirmed by xray and ultrasound) sounding quite similar to the distended abdomen I've been experiencing. They did a fecal sample and didn't find parasites in my cat. They wanted to do a biopsy on him to confirm lymphoma, but the price tag was too high, so I can't be more specific than 'IBD or Lymphoma'. (fwiw, lymphoma is a strange diagnosis in a cat so young) I know it seems a little histrionic to consider my cat's intestinal woes being related to my own. I have one remaining cat that does _not_ have GI issues, so presumably if it were a communicable agent hearty enough to infect me and my cat, it would affect the other one too. Big shrug! Anyway, I think that's all the relevant information. If you have further questions please ask, thank you in advance for any advice you might have. --Dan