Jennifer “Jen” Recker is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner whose clinical experience includes critical care, primary care, work with underserved communities, rural health outreach, and major metropolitan hospital settings.
Her current clinical focus at 369 Wellness Center includes gut health, SIBO, digestion, and the relationship between digestive function and broader health concerns.
Jen’s approach begins with careful listening. Rather than assuming that every person with bloating or digestive discomfort has the same problem, she reviews the patient’s symptoms, health history, previous testing, lifestyle, medications, nutrition, and goals.
She has received functional medicine training through the Institute for Functional Medicine and combines that perspective with her conventional clinical background.
Bloating after meals. Uncomfortable gas. Constipation that comes and goes. Loose stools, abdominal discomfort, or reactions to foods that previously seemed fine.
Digestive symptoms can be frustrating, especially when they begin affecting your meals, energy, work, travel, or daily routines. They can also be difficult to interpret because several digestive conditions may produce similar symptoms.
At 369 Wellness Center in Northfield, Jennifer Recker, APRN, FNP-BC, works with adults who want to better understand persistent digestive concerns and determine which next steps may be appropriate.
People often request a gut health consultation when they are experiencing:
These symptoms do not automatically mean you have SIBO, dysbiosis, a food intolerance, or another specific condition. A personalized evaluation may help identify which factors deserve further attention.
Digestive care should not begin with an automatic supplement package or the assumption that one test will explain every symptom. Jen’s evaluation is intended to help organize the information, identify reasonable clinical questions, and determine which next steps may be useful.
Discuss your symptoms, concerns, goals, and how digestive changes are affecting daily life.
Consider your health history, medications, nutrition, lifestyle, previous diagnoses, and available test results.
Discuss whether targeted laboratory or digestive testing may help answer a specific clinical question.
Review personalized recommendations based on your findings, priorities, and clinical needs.
Evaluate progress, discuss new questions, and adjust recommendations when clinically appropriate.
SIBO stands for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. It occurs when the bacteria in the small intestine become unusually abundant or imbalanced and contribute to gastrointestinal symptoms. Possible symptoms may include:
Bloating
Excess gas
Abdominal discomfort
Constipation
Diarrhea
Nausea
Changes in bowel habits
Fatigue
Nutritional concerns in some cases
These symptoms are not unique to SIBO. Irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerances, motility issues, medication effects, constipation, and other digestive conditions may produce similar experiences. A website symptom list cannot determine whether you have SIBO. Jen can review your history and discuss whether additional evaluation or testing may be appropriate.
SIBO can recur in some patients. This may happen when factors affecting intestinal movement, anatomy, medications, digestive function, or another health condition remain present. For that reason, the consultation should not focus only on a positive or negative test result. It should also consider the larger clinical picture and whether additional evaluation or coordination with another provider is needed.
Gut health testing can produce a large amount of information. More testing does not always mean better care.
Jen may discuss testing when the results could help clarify a clinical question, guide recommendations, or determine whether another provider should become involved.
Testing that may be considered could include:
After reviewing the available information, Jen may discuss a personalized plan based on your findings and health goals.
Depending on the patient, recommendations may address:
The objective is not to place every patient on the same diet, supplement routine, or testing protocol. Recommendations should reflect the person’s medical history, clinical findings, preferences, and ability to follow the plan safely.
The digestive system is influenced by more than the food a person eats. Medications, intestinal movement, previous illnesses, stress, sleep, metabolic health, medical conditions, and prior procedures may all be relevant.
A complete consultation may explore questions such as:
The goal is to understand the pattern rather than isolating one symptom and assuming its cause.
Functional medicine often examines how nutrition, lifestyle, health history, environment, and different body systems may relate to a patient’s concerns.
Conventional care provides important medical evaluation, diagnostic testing, disease screening, medications, procedures, and specialist treatment.
Jen’s background allows her to consider the patient from an integrative perspective while recognizing when conventional testing, gastroenterology, primary care, or urgent medical evaluation may be necessary.
Functional or integrative care should not be presented as a replacement for appropriate medical treatment. The most useful approach may involve communication between several members of a patient’s healthcare team.
369 Wellness Center does not replace the specialized procedures and services available through a gastroenterology practice.
Jen may recommend coordination with a gastroenterologist when a patient needs services such as:
Patients should seek prompt medical attention for symptoms such as severe or constant abdominal pain, blood in the stool, black stools, persistent vomiting, unexplained weight loss, fever, difficulty swallowing, or a sudden significant change in symptoms.
Your first gut health consultation is an opportunity to discuss what you have been experiencing and organize the information that may be relevant. You may be asked about:
Your primary digestive concerns
When the symptoms started
When the symptoms started
Foods or situations that appear to affect symptoms
Current medications and supplements
Previous diagnoses
Past laboratory or digestive testing
Current eating patterns
Sleep and stress
Relevant health conditionss
What you hope to understand or improves
When available, bring copies of previous laboratory results, imaging reports, endoscopy or colonoscopy reports, breath testing, medication lists, and recommendations from other providers.
369 Wellness Center provides gut health and SIBO-focused consultations at its Northfield, Illinois office.
Patients may choose 369 Wellness Center because they want:
The clinic’s gut health service is led by Jennifer Recker, APRN, FNP-BC, with recommendations based on each patient’s evaluation rather than a standard program applied to everyone.
No. Bloating may occur for many reasons, including constipation, certain food intolerances, functional digestive disorders, altered intestinal movement, and other gastrointestinal conditions. Symptoms alone cannot confirm SIBO.
Evaluation may involve a discussion of symptoms, medical history, medications, previous diagnoses, and testing. Hydrogen or methane breath testing may be considered in some situations. Jen can explain whether testing may be useful based on your individual circumstances.
Yes. People being evaluated for SIBO may report diarrhea, constipation, changes between the two, or other digestive symptoms. A particular bowel pattern does not confirm or exclude the condition.
Not necessarily. The usefulness of stool or microbiome testing depends on the clinical question being asked. Jen can discuss what a test may reveal, its limitations, and whether it is likely to affect your care plan.
Do not make major dietary changes solely because of information on this page. Continue following instructions provided by your current healthcare professionals. Jen can discuss whether symptom tracking or a structured dietary strategy may be appropriate after reviewing your history.
Do not stop medications or supplements without discussing the decision with an appropriate healthcare professional. Certain tests may require special preparation, which should be provided when the test is ordered.
Care coordination may be useful when a patient has existing diagnoses, previous procedures, concerning symptoms, or an established healthcare team.
Clinic Confirmation Needed:
Confirm how records and provider communication are handled at 369 Wellness Center.
Clinic Confirmation Needed:
Add Jen’s current in-person and telehealth availability.
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Add the consultation price, deposit requirements, cancellation policy, and whether testing is billed separately.
Persistent digestive symptoms can be difficult to sort through, especially when symptoms overlap or previous recommendations have not provided enough clarity.
Jennifer Recker, APRN, FNP-BC, can review your concerns, health history, previous testing, and goals and explain which next steps may be appropriate.
Gut health consultations are available at 369 Wellness Center in Northfield, Illinois.
369 Wellness Center
1845 Oak Street, Suite 15
Northfield, Illinois 60093
855-369-9369