i'm new to migraine. well, not new, but new to really trying to understand what's going on and trying to predict when and how and maybe prevent.

i have been reading the articles on this site and others and have some questions that i can't seem to find the answers to. i'm sure they're there; i'm just not able to gel it all together. i blame it on the topamax, he he he. so i need to ask the questions and maybe someone can answer in a way that i can understand. oh and disclaimer: i understand that yall are not medical professionals and are not here to give medical advice or to diagnose. i'm just looking for opinions and information based on your experiences.

1. i get a lot of headaches. i would say most of them are not migraine, but some are. some have aura. some don't. some are one-sided; some are on both sides. some are throbbing hurt-to-move pain, some just ache. is that possible? or are they all migraine, but not all have aura?

2. is it possible to have different kinds of aura and not a typical pattern all the time

3. what the heck is a prodrome and how is it different from aura? THAT i do not understand. it seems to me the same thing. is it more of a sense of foreboding?

ok, and how do you figure out what your typical migraine looks like for you? i'm keeping a diary, kind of a stream of consciousness thing. any thoughts you can share are greatly appreciated. i'm just very confused.