Migraine with Unilateral Motor Symptoms (MUMS)

A Resource for the MUMS Community: This website was created by a support person/caregiver of someone with MUMS, not by medical professionals. It aims to provide a centralized resource for patients, caregivers, family members, and loved ones affected by this condition. The information shared here reflects our personal research and experience with this condition. Always consult with qualified healthcare providers for medical advice, diagnosis, and treatment.

Note: Migraine with Unilateral Motor Symptoms is a recently recognized migraine subtype. It currently does not have a specific ICD-10 code as it is still being researched and characterized within the medical community. Very few people have been diagnosed with this condition.

What is Migraine with Unilateral Motor Symptoms?

Migraine with Unilateral Motor Symptoms (MUMS) is a relatively new and rare subtype of migraine. It's sometimes referred to as 'super migraine' because people with this condition are often highly sensitive to triggers and experience very severe symptoms. MUMS is characterized by temporary motor weakness or movement abnormalities that occur on one side of the body during a migraine attack.

Whereas hemiplegic migraine motor weakness completely resolves between attacks, for about 60% of MUMS patients some level of weakness in their arms or legs persists between attacks. In addition to typical migraine symptoms, MUMS patients may experience:

Unilateral head pain
Weakness in limbs
Giveaway weakness - where you can initially provide resistance against the examiner, but suddenly no longer can, and provide no muscular resistance
Weakness between attacks
General sensory symptoms
Symptoms often occur in a head-to-toe manner
Stroke-like symptoms including facial droop
Coordination problems or clumsiness affecting one side of the body
Difficulty performing precise movements with affected limbs

These motor symptoms typically appear alongside traditional migraine symptoms such as headache, light and sound sensitivity, nausea, and visual disturbances. The unilateral motor symptoms may precede, accompany, or follow the headache phase.

Important: This website provides general information only based on our personal experience as caregivers and research we've gathered. MUMS is a newer diagnostic category, and research is ongoing. Always consult healthcare professionals for diagnosis and treatment. If you experience sudden weakness or neurological symptoms, seek immediate medical attention to rule out more serious conditions like stroke.

Diagnostic Challenges

As a relatively newly recognized subtype, MUMS presents several diagnostic challenges:

Persistent motor symptoms may be subtle and easily missed during clinical evaluation
Differential diagnosis requires ruling out hemiplegic migraine, stroke, TIA, seizure disorders, and other neurological conditions
Limited awareness among healthcare providers, including neurologists, about this specific migraine variant
Overlapping symptoms with other migraine subtypes
No specific ICD-10 code currently exists for this condition

Diagnosis typically requires a detailed neurological examination during or soon after attacks, a thorough medical history, and sometimes neuroimaging to exclude other causes.

Resources and Further Information

Due to the relatively recent recognition of this migraine subtype, resources are limited. Below are links to the available information:

Medical Literature

Patient Support

Cannon Tekstar Hodge's Experience with MUMS

Educational Videos

Clinical Guidance

As of March 2025 I am not aware of any published clincal guidance

A Caregiver's Perspective

As a support person for someone diagnosed with MUMS, I've created this resource to help others who may be supporting loved ones with this condition. Caring for someone with MUMS presents unique challenges, especially due to the rarity of the condition and the difficulty in finding healthcare providers familiar with it.

Through this website, I hope to provide a centralized source of information for:

Patients newly diagnosed or seeking answers about their symptoms
Family members trying to understand what their loved one is experiencing
Caregivers looking for strategies to provide the best support
Healthcare providers seeking patient-centered perspectives on MUMS

By sharing information and resources, I hope to help others navigate their journey with this condition and improve awareness within both the medical community and among those directly affected by MUMS.

Contact & Contribute

If you are a person living with MUMS, a caregiver, family member, or healthcare professional with information about Migraine with Unilateral Motor Symptoms that you would like to share, please contact me at:

Email: TBD