Gastrointestinal Functional Testing-Informed Protocol Associated with Improvement in Gastrointestinal and Joint Symptoms: A Case Report

A female adult patient presented with a constellation of gastrointestinal and systemic symptoms including bloating, altered bowel function, fatigue, cognitive complaints, and progressive musculoskeletal discomfort. Given the patient’s history of prior unresolved gastrointestinal issues and the absence of a unifying conventional diagnosis, a functional medicine-informed evaluation was pursued. Baseline symptom burden was assessed using the Medical Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) and the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), the latter used with formal permission granted by AstraZeneca. A comprehensive stool analysis (GI Spotlight™ stool test) was obtained and used to help inform dietary and nutraceutical intervention strategies targeting digestive function, microbial balance, and intestinal barrier support. The patient underwent a personalized gut-focused intervention consisting of dietary modification and a targeted nutraceutical protocol designed to support digestive function, microbial balance, intestinal barrier integrity, and inflammation modulation. Symptom outcomes were tracked over approximately ten weeks with follow up assessments at five and ten weeks. Compared with baseline, total MSQ scores improved by 58.7% at the first follow-up and 82.7% by the final assessment. Improvements were observed across multiple domains, including digestive, musculoskeletal, energy, cognitive, and weight-related symptom categories. GSRS domain scores demonstrated parallel reductions in gastrointestinal symptom severity over the same period. No adverse effects were reported. This case report highlights the potential for symptom improvement across gastrointestinal and extraintestinal domains following a comprehensive, gut-focused intervention. While causality cannot be established, the findings underscore the interconnected nature of gastrointestinal and systemic symptoms and support further investigation into individualized, microbiome-informed approaches.