How One Woman Cured Her Chronic Migraines

We all deserve a doctor who really knows us and works to understand our entire health story.

We’re bringing back our Parsley Health member stories where we hear from real patients, in their own words, about their incredible health journeys that changed their lives.

This week we talked to Kate Sumser, a 27-year-old office manager in San Francisco who suffered from severe migraines and chronic stomach pain. She came to Parsley Health hoping to find the root cause of these issues to which her previous doctors had prescribed band-aid solutions that never worked.

Keep reading to see how Kate was able to reverse her symptoms and find a sense of happiness that she hasn’t felt in years.

PH: Tell us a bit about yourself.
I love to read and write, play video games, and (as of recently) hike a lot. I enjoy spending days indulging my introversion and spending time with my cat.

PH: Tell us a bit about your health story?
Before finding Parsley, I had been suffering from migraines and chronic stomach pains. I had gone to a variety of doctors to find root causes, and most of them wrote me off.

Often doctors would tell me my abdominal cramps were actually related to my period and would prescribe things like Vicodin to make them go away.

For my migraines, I was given a drug that hardly ever touched them, and was later told that this drug primarily treats migraines before they begin.

PH: How did you find Parsley Health and what made you decide to sign up?
My sister told me about Parsley and encouraged me to sign up based on the comprehensive lab work they do.

PH: How was your experience at Parsley different?
Parsley has been amazing because I’m seen as a whole human and not just a pile of symptoms. All of my systems are seen as a community, as opposed to separate entities.

It has been amazing to have a doctor talk to me about how my eating and lifestyle choices are affecting each of my systems as a whole, as opposed to just telling me to do things. My health has become a conversation as opposed to a one-sided “I know best” sort of interaction.

PH: How do you feel differently now than you did before?
I feel so much better these days – I have felt heard and empowered, in addition to physically better. My symptoms are much less severe, and now I have a much larger amount of information to work with and make educated decisions from. I know I have a support network to help me make healthy changes and maintain them.

PH: How has your improvement in your health impacted the rest of your life?
My career and personal life have been much much better – I am feeling less stressed and more even-tempered in all aspects of my life. My personal life is flourishing, and I’m happier than I have been in a long time.

PH: What do you think really made the difference for you at Parsley?
I think the thing that made the most difference for me was the way my doctor and coach speak to me. Having a professional speak to me about my health like an intelligent adult has made a world of difference.

Want to read more amazing transformational health stories?

This post is part of a series of incredible health stories our members have shared with us. Read about how a whole-body approach and a doctor that works to understand the root cause of your symptoms has helped cure Chron’s Disease , extreme gastrointestinal issues , and even brain fog .