Hydrate or Die-Drate?
How my New Years Resolution to drink more water came at a critical time…
This past week to start the new year, I had a doctor’s appointment (as one does when they are in town for winter break from school). Among the other dentist, dermatologist, and eye appointments, this was just a routine, annual doctor visit with the addition of a blood panel test to check that all hormones, vitamins, and blood count levels were normal. At the visit, my doctor remarked that I’d get the results back within a few days but not to expect a call or notification as no news was good news.
So when I received a call back from the doctor’s office yesterday, that thought popped back into my head: if no news is good news, what did this mean? The lady on the phone— we’ll refer to her as Cindy—walked me through the results of my test. She asked if I’d ever been told I had “Polycythemia Vera” to which I nervously laughed that I’d never heard those words before. She broke down the term for me: poly meaning many, ci meaning cell and themia referring to blood. So in summary, she proposed that perhaps the slightly high blood cell count was a condition called “Polycythemia Vera.” What she didn’t say, and what google quickly informed me after the call, was that Polycythemia Vera is a very rare blood disorder that’s caused by the overproduction of red blood cells from bone marrow.¹
This is concerning for a couple of reasons. More red blood cells equate to thicker blood that can result in complications such as blood clots. Google also informed me that the upon diagnosis, the life-expectancy with this condition is around 20 years… While Cindy had the right intentions warning me about this possible complication, she failed to account for the fact that tossing around a diagnosis like that could be a little emotionally taxing, to say the least. She also failed to account for the fact that a high blood cell count can be the result of a couple other things.
To start, exercise can increase the ratio of blood cells to water as water is absorbed from blood into muscular tissue to help it rebuild. Secondly, general dehydration can result in a skewed ratio of blood cells to water.
Did Cindy ask me about my exercise and/or hydration habits? Unfortunately, she did not, so the assumption jumped off a cliff rather than following a more practical pace. The ironic thing about the whole situation is that my New Year’s resolution was already to increase my water intake. Anyone who knows me knows that I am very very bad about drinking water. Do I think I have Polycythemia Vera? I sure hope and pray not (and I will get my blood redrawn to double check). Do I think I need to probably drink more water? Yes. Apparently it sometimes takes a scare with an incurable disease to slap you hard enough to actually commit.
So with that said, how much water should I consume daily and why?
My goal before the jump scare: 25 oz of water a day. Yes, I am aware that this is roughly just three cups of water. And yet this was my goal….because I didn’t drink this much consistently on a regular basis….I think that should tell you enough about my water habits…
- My updated goal: 100oz per day.
The rule of thumb that produced this goal: half of my body weight in oz of water then add around 20oz for every hour I spend exercising. (This got me to around 91oz, but considering I take Creatine monohydrate and for the sake of round numbers, I’ve updated the goal to 100oz.)
To go from around 15 oz of water (a rough estimate of my previous daily intake) a day to 100 oz is going to be a jump, but I’ll remind myself that I’d rather chug water than deal with blood clots.
Key Takeaways
(The section that you should read if you read nothing else)Daily Water Intake Rule of Thumb: divide your body weight (in lbs) by two to get your baseline oz water intake. Add 15 to 20 oz for every hour of physical activity you do. (Remember that other factors such as heat, sweating, altitude, medication, and supplements can influence this number as well.)
Don’t wait to drink water until it’s too late. For me, the possible diagnosis is (most likely) a fluke. While my blood cell count is a little too high, it shouldn’t have taken a scare with disease to start being serious about simple health practices. I’m grateful that I get another chance to try again. “Hydrate or die-drate” came at me a little too literally this week….
Stay not thirsty my friends.
1. Mayo Clinic. (2022, February 11). Polycythemia vera-Polycythemia vera - Symptoms & causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/polycythemia-vera/symptoms-causes/syc-20355850
