New Year, Old Stuff

Heading into the second week of 2013, my running progress has been excellent! I've even shaved a couple of minutes off of my mile times! In the last 11 days, I have only taken two days off and have averaged 2.5 miles every day! I know that isn't impressive to a lot of people, but it's pretty big for me. My campus has a fantastic rec center and since it has been too cold to run outside, I have been spending my time on the indoor track and cardio machines (if there's one ever open). Yesterday I surprised myself by waking up at 7:00 am to go workout because I knew my day would be too busy to go anytime later. Not only have I been running and working out more frequently to improve my "physique", but I have also noticed that my energy levels have been increasing!

I mentioned in my last post that I have some health problems, which effected my life for a pretty big chunk of time. In March 2011 I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (or POTS for short) at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. After two years of a million different doctor appointments, misdiagnosis', tests, and medicine combinations, I finally received some answers. I was initially diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease, a form of hypothyroidism, which was thought to be the root of all of my problems. It was the worst few years of my life, but along the way I had the support of my family and friends. All I wanted to do was lay in my bed and never get out. I felt awful, and I would never want someone else to have to go through what I did without answers for so long.

This is another reason why I started my blog: to maybe have one person who is going through what I did and realize that they're not crazy and that there are answers! My doctor, Dr. Philip Fischer of Mayo Clinic, has done the majority of the research on POTS and was my lifesaver! Some of my symptoms included fatigue, dizziness and fainting, weight gain, tingling hands and feet, having "panic attacks" without the panic, migraines, and constantly being cold. Triggers can include mono or other types of illness, but none of that occurred with me. I'm still not sure how I ended up with POTS.

When I first met with Dr. Fischer, he knew within a few minutes of simply talking to him what was wrong with me. At first I was thinking "Here we go again.... Another idiot giving me a wrong diagnosis along with false hope." Oh how I was so wrong. I was scheduled for some tests the next day to confirm the diagnosis, so he sent me back to the hotel with a booklet on POTS. I read through it and it was like they wrote a book about my life. From the profile of people who are most likely to have it (high achieving/motivated, flexible, teenage girls) to the symptoms. I knew this was it!

So here's the rundown: POTS is a type of autonomic dysfunction where blood has a difficult time circulating up through the body. I like to joke that my body is anti-gravity, which is kind of true! So it's not uncommon to get really dizzy when standing up for a long period of time and the lack of bloodflow results in the slew of other symptoms! POTS is treated by drinking lots of fluids, adding more salt to the diet, having regular aerobic exercise, and taking a beta blocker to increase blood pressure! There is no cure for POTS, but most people will grow out of it by their 20's. The main reason why it took so long to diagnose is because it's not well-heard of in the medical community. None of my specialists at home knew what it was. If that was happening to me for two years, I can't imagine how many other people are out suffering like I did. The word about POTS needs to be spread.

It took a while to find the right combination of what I needed to do in order to feel better, but today I feel like the old me! Almost two years later, I think I'm ready to share my story in hopes of knowing you can go from missing almost a months worth of classes during a semester in high school to running 3 miles a day and being 4,500 miles away from home at college. I know that I never thought that would be possible! POTS will never define who I am, but it will always be part of my life. I hope I can put it to good use and spread my knowledge and personal experience.

For more information about POTS, visit http://podcasts.mayoclinic.org/2008/04/23/postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots/

Why I Want to Run

Welcome to my first ever blog! For those of you that don't know me, I am from Kailua, Hawai'i and am currently a student at Oklahoma State University. GO POKES! I love dolphins, Pinterest, dance, anything pink, my sisters, spending time with friends and family, the beach, Cowboy football (no, not Dallas), and glitter! Obviously I did not include running, but that is what I am going to add to my list in 2013!

This year, I have decided to start a blog to track my progress in becoming a runner! As a dancer by heart, I have never felt the joy or satisfaction that I always hear people talk about from running. To me, it's not fun and I would much rather be in a nice brutal 2 hour ballet class than go sweat outside for a run. Now I do enjoy the cross-trainer from a nice air-conditioned gym, but only because the minimal impact doesn't bother my knees (thanks to Osgood-Schlatter syndrome). 

I am in no way shape or form an "athlete", but one could say that the rest of my family is. As the least known member of Team Clemons, as they are known as in the running world, I am going to start my road to becoming a runner in 2013. Now you're probably thinking "Why would Kiana want to run?" Well, I have a couple of answers for you:

1.To accomplish something that seems impossible for me. 
2. To become healthier.
3. Feel better about myself.
4. Have something in common with the rest of my family besides a last name. 

I won't go into the boring details now, but a few years of misdiagnosed health issues kind of turned my life upside down. Although I have a correct diagnosis today I'm still trying to recover from those years. Since I started going through my medical ordeal, I have gained a significant amount of weight and it has been impossible to lose. My confidence and self-esteem took a direct hit as a result and I haven't felt happy in my own skin since then. 

My parents have recently started their own running blogs because they are crazy people who find joy in running (shocking!) and have shared stories with me about other blogger's personal stories. I came across one blog in particular about a woman who had dramatic weight loss and serves as an inspiration to me and to many other women. While reading her posts I kept thinking "If she can do it, I can do it!"  Even though I have been mentally preparing my 2013 goals for some time now, reading about her journey was what pushed me to start a blog. I figured that blogging is a way to hold me accountable for my goals and maybe one day inspire someone who is like me to want to change. 

Wish me luck!

Oh, and I didn't tell anyone that I was starting a blog, so this is a mini contest to see which one of my friends or family members can find it first :)