On Jan. 2, 2000, Christina Vogt, 14, awoke from a restless sleep to see her parents gazing at her with worried expressions.

"I had been up real late the night before, and I hadn't had much sleep. I just had seizure after seizure, like five seizures in a row," said the Lawrence Township student. "We couldn't figure out what was wrong with me."

After a series of tests, neurol ogists diagnosed epilepsy, which left Christina even more confused. With help from her doctors, she began to understand.

Dr. Hema Patel, a neurologist specializing in pediatric epilepsy at Indiana University Medical Center, describes what typically happens to an epileptic patient.

"The brain matter is made up of cells, and if they get irritated for whatever reason, say from infection or from a head injury, then those irritated cells will tend to fire electrical discharges. And when they do that, then the area of the brain that they control will jolt." A seizure is the physical result of this jolt.

Nearly 9 percent of Americans experience such jolts at some time during their lives, according to the American Academy of Neurology. However, only 3 percent are diagnosed as epileptic.

Epilepsy and seizures usually can be traced to trauma or infection in the brain, or to genetic problems, "like you're just born with the tendency to have seizures. The brain is normal, but for whatever reason you are having seizures," Patel said.

In diagnosing epilepsy, neurologists follow several steps, Patel said.

First, the patient describes the type and frequency of seizures. Then an EEG, or electroencephalograph, which traces electrical forces in the brain, is ordered.

"Once we figure out for sure what kind of seizure you are dealing with, then we choose the correct medicine," she said.

In Christina's case, doctors ordered a series of tests, including an EEG, in which they attached electrodes to her head to measure the electrical impulses of her brain for 48 hours.

Lindsey Evans, 12, also from Lawrence Township, was diagnosed with epilepsy about five years ago. She recalled her reaction to the test.

"I was in second grade my first time I had it, and I had like these millions of wires coming out of my head. It was really freaky."

There are two main types of seizures. Grand mal seizures involve the whole body and typically are associated with epilepsy. They are long and sometimes forceful, with a lot of shaking and thrashing. Petit mal or partial seizures are weaker, shorter and sometimes unnoticeable.

"I could be sitting over here and staring at you for a few seconds and come right out of it and go back to what I'm doing, and that's a seizure," Patel said.

Christina has grand mal seizures, though they are controlled by medication. "For me it's like I'm usually asleep, so I'm shaking and I'm usually out of it. I can't walk," she said.

Lindsey has partial seizures about four times a month. She doesn't take medication. "Mine's not as bad. I usually have shakes on like one side of my body, and it lasts for about five minutes, sometimes less," she said.

Both say they get some forewarning -- called an aura -- before a seizure. For Lindsey, it's dizziness. For Christina, it's sometimes a tingling in her hand.

Other times, "my foot will cramp up, or like it'll give out on me. Or it'll start tingling and jumping," she said.

Patel says epileptic patients need to sleep well and eat well. They also need to stay out of situations in which they would be in danger if they had a seizure, such as swimming alone. Some need to avoid flashing lights, which may trigger seizures.

Both girls say lack of sleep makes them more susceptible to seizures. "Most of the time I can't do sleepovers like two nights in a row. And I can't drink diet drinks," Christina said, because the artificial sweeteners can trigger her seizures.

Neither girl lets the condition hinder her lifestyle.

"(My friends) treat me the same as before," said Christina. "I'm not really excluded from any activities. My coaches and my teachers have to know that I have epilepsy, so if I get too tired, then like I have to take a break."

While Christina takes Topamax to control her seizures, Lindsey takes nothing. "I'm not on any medications because they're too powerful for me and they just make it worse," she explained.

Depending on the type of seizure, a prescription will be issued to help a patient lead a normal life. For young patients with petit mal seizures, Zonegran is often prescribed. For patients with grand mal seizures, Topamax or Tegretol may be used.

Patients taking any of these medications must have blood drawn regularly to check if their white blood cell and platelet counts and liver function are normal, Patel said. If the dose is too high, patients might feel clumsy, sleepy or nauseated.

If medication doesn't help control seizures,, there are other options. A diet high in fat and low in protein and carbohydrates has been found to control seizures in some individuals.

Another option for patients with hard-to-control seizures is use of a vagus nerve stimulator. "It's a little device that's put under the skin, and then it gives out little electrical impulses to a wire which is in your neck, and that's supposed to protect you from having seizures," Patel said.

Surgery is another alternative. First, doctors do an extensive brain evaluation to see if the seizures are coming from a certain area. In some cases, such a section can be removed, provided it doesn't do any damage.

Some young patients might even outgrow their epilepsy, if there is no brain damage. This happened with Christina's father. "My dad used to have seizures when he was a kid until he was in college, then he outgrew them."

The future for epileptic patients looks bright as further research for a cure continues. Patel said, "I don't know if it's going to happen in my lifetime, but in my lifetime I've seen tremendous improvement."

"It's not really a bad thing. It's just something that you've got to get used to," added Lindsey.

REPORTERS: Anna Beyer, 10; Max Dean, 11.

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