Height

[Guest Pól]

I was supposed to be really tall too. When I was 9/10 I was in the 99 percentile height wise. Then I hit puberty and 4 years later am still the same height

Yeah something similar happened to me. My parents thought I was going to be tall because I was one of the tallest in my class during primary school. Then I just stopped growing! Grr. People say they can't age photos of me because I haven't changed much in the last 5-8 years.

Lads, that's not how it works. For children who are biologically female, the taller ones are generally more mature physically, and therefore more likely to start puberty earlier. Since one stops growing approximately one year after starting menstruation, the people who were taller biologically females as children are more likely to be shorter as adults. Basically what happens is that after menstruation starts, the increased estrogen starts to close off growth plates. So if you start puberty later, you have some extra prepubescent growing years. Unless, of course, your family is generally short, in which case you may just be short (this is called "familial short stature").

I can't link to the source for this because there are pictures of different stages of development. It's from USC's Adolescent Health Curriculum - Normal Growth and Development page.

[Guest Sam_P]

Lads, that's not how it works. For children who are biologically female, the taller ones are generally more mature physically, and therefore more likely to start puberty earlier. Since one stops growing approximately one year after starting menstruation, the people who were taller biologically females as children are more likely to be shorter as adults. Basically what happens is that after menstruation starts, the increased estrogen starts to close off growth plates. So if you start puberty later, you have some extra prepubescent growing years. Unless, of course, your family is generally short, in which case you may just be short (this is called "familial short stature").

I can't link to the source for this because there are pictures of different stages of development. It's from USC's Adolescent Health Curriculum - Normal Growth and Development page.

That's interesting Pól, thanks for the info!

The same happened to my Dad, so I presume T has the same effect of closing off growth plates.

[Guest Cowboy]

Lads, that's not how it works. For children who are biologically female, the taller ones are generally more mature physically, and therefore more likely to start puberty earlier. Since one stops growing approximately one year after starting menstruation, the people who were taller biologically females as children are more likely to be shorter as adults. Basically what happens is that after menstruation starts, the increased estrogen starts to close off growth plates. So if you start puberty later, you have some extra prepubescent growing years. Unless, of course, your family is generally short, in which case you may just be short (this is called "familial short stature").

So in other words... there is no hope for me *sigh*

[Guest Pól]

That's interesting Pól, thanks for the info!

The same happened to my Dad, so I presume T has the same effect of closing off growth plates.

No, it's estrogen in males as well, actually. Here's a paper for you: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0303720701004464

You could probably just read the abstract and conclusions, but here's a quote from the section on "epiphyseal closure and growth arrest":

Estrogen treatment leads to epiphyseal closure in adult men with aromatase deficiency (Carani et al., 1997 and Bilezikian et al., 1998), being inefficacious in the estrogen-resistant man ( Smith et al., 1994). By contrast, testosterone treatment was not able to promote skeletal maturation in one of the two aromatase-deficient adult men ( Carani et al., 1997). These findings clearly demonstrate that, even in the male, epiphyseal closure does not develop without estrogens and that androgens alone are not able to complete bone maturation.

(Aromatase is an enzyme that helps your body make estrogen).

[Guest Pól]

So in other words... there is no hope for me *sigh*

Ah go on now, where's that Cowboy attitude? There's no correlation between height and manliness.

[Guest Sam_P]

No, it's estrogen in males as well, actually. Here's a paper for you: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0303720701004464

You could probably just read the abstract and conclusions, but here's a quote from the section on "epiphyseal closure and growth arrest":

(Aromatase is an enzyme that helps your body make estrogen).

My uni Athens login is playing up so I only managed to get as far as the abstract. Once I've beaten the login into submission I'll go through the rest. My biology skills might need some dusting off for this!

[Guest Cowboy]

Ah go on now, where's that Cowboy attitude? There's no correlation between height and manliness.

i know. but i was sorta hopin for another 2 inches at least. shoot, at this point, id take another half an inch. lol.

but thanks for the words of encouragement, i guess thats one way to look at it.

[Guest Pól]

My uni Athens login is playing up so I only managed to get as far as the abstract. Once I've beaten the login into submission I'll go through the rest. My biology skills might need some dusting off for this!

Yeh, I had to do the same (biology skills, my login was OK).

Also, I realised that I should probably mention that "epiphyseal closure" basically means that your bones stop growing because the growth plates 'close.'

[Guest Ryan]

Hi I just joined this site yesterday and I came arcoss this discussion and figured that I just had to say how lucky you all are for being the height that you are because at only 4 foot 8 inches all of you would tower over me (and yes if anyone wants to know that is technicaly a midget).

[Guest Larson]

This has come up a few times in this thread:

Does T increase your growth if, say, you take it during normal puberty age?

I watched one documentary that said it stops your growth. Like, if you were on hormone blockers and then switched to T, you would never get any taller than you were when you started T. That would seem to fit with what Pol was saying.

Anyone got some definite answers here? I'd hate for some of the younger guys to be reading this thread and think that they'll get taller when they start T if they truth is that they won't at all.

[Guest Pól]

Hi I just joined this site yesterday and I came arcoss this discussion and figured that I just had to say how lucky you all are for being the height that you are because at only 4 foot 8 inches all of you would tower over me (and yes if anyone wants to know that is technicaly a midget).

Welcome, Ryan! I'll say to you what I said to Cowboy: there's no correlation between height and manliness. You're going to be just fine, feen.

This has come up a few times in this thread:

Does T increase your growth if, say, you take it during normal puberty age?

I watched one documentary that said it stops your growth. Like, if you were on hormone blockers and then switched to T, you would never get any taller than you were when you started T. That would seem to fit with what Pol was saying.

Anyone got some definite answers here? I'd hate for some of the younger guys to be reading this thread and think that they'll get taller when they start T if they truth is that they won't at all.

Obviously, it's better to ask this question to an endocrinologist. From the research I did though, I'd say that doesn't make sense. If you took blockers before you started menstruating, or just shortly after that, your growth plates shouldn't be 'closed' yet, so you should continue to grow with testosterone, until you had completed male puberty. I'm not an expert at all though.

[Guest Zolrek]

No T doesn't stop your growth. If it did then how did I grow taller on T? You stop growing when your plates fuse - T doesn't force them to fuse. I'm not sure what part of your body decides when you're done growing(rather then your inherited genetics or perhaps abusing drugs when you're young that would mess up your growth) but I'm pretty sure T doesn't.

[Guest Carden]

I'm 5' 7" and I love my Doc Marten's, just cause they give me a slight boost. XD

Boots, all the way.

[Guest Conrad]

I'm 5'7" on a good day, just wish I could be few inches taller, 5'9" would be perfect. So not gonna happen.

Oh, I'm new by the way. *waves awkwardly* In case anyone was wondering who is this Conrad person?

But anyways, where I work there are two guys who are pretty good friends, one is 6'5" and the other is somewhere around 5'2" probably. They hang out a lot, (walk around chatting when they're supposed to be working lol), and I don't even notice the height difference. It's just two guys hanging out, and even when they're standing right next to each other, it's not something that stands out or seems strange, unless you purposefully start thinking about it. At least, that's what it seems to me. So I know it's something that's annoying just for the way you want your own self to be, but I don't think it's something that a lot of people think about in regards to other people. That's what I keep telling myself, anyways.

[Guest Larson]

Pól, Zolrek: Thanks for clearing that up. Wish I had been able to take T back before puberty. I might actually be tall! Alas...

Conrad: I completely agree with you. I get how frustrating it is to yourself, but what we've got to remember is that hardly anyone else sees it that way.

[Guest nelo]

5'3". Below average even for a female. It's made even worse because my dad is 5'10 and my mom is 5'7". And I'm done growing, haven't in years, basically since I hit puberty I got one growth spurt and stopped (was always one of the shortest in my class growing up, though that one year I was taller than average... then everyone caught up and surpassed me again). Even my grandmothers are taller than me, at about average female height of 5'4 or 5'5". The only people I can find in my family that are as short as me are a couple of my great-grandmothers I never met. Thanks recessive genes.

Oh, and my three female roommates and female best friend are above average height. It's ridiculous. At least they let me claim the lowest cabinets in the kitchen.

One of my favorite memories is of hanging out with a group of Hong Kong students one summer... they were all shorter than me... only by a little bit, but still, it was a nice change.

I will be looking into the shoes posted on this thread.

I have also found wearing my fedoras makes me feel a little taller. But maybe it's just my state of mind.

However, it could be worse, so I can't really complain too much. But I also wouldn't mind if my friends just weren't all so tall, makes me look just puny in comparison.

[Guest Larson]

5'3". Below average even for a female. It's made even worse because my dad is 5'10 and my mom is 5'7". And I'm done growing, haven't in years, basically since I hit puberty I got one growth spurt and stopped (was always one of the shortest in my class growing up, though that one year I was taller than average... then everyone caught up and surpassed me again). Even my grandmothers are taller than me, at about average female height of 5'4 or 5'5". The only people I can find in my family that are as short as me are a couple of my great-grandmothers I never met. Thanks recessive genes.

Oh, and my three female roommates and female best friend are above average height. It's ridiculous. At least they let me claim the lowest cabinets in the kitchen.

One of my favorite memories is of hanging out with a group of Hong Kong students one summer... they were all shorter than me... only by a little bit, but still, it was a nice change.

I will be looking into the shoes posted on this thread.

I have also found wearing my fedoras makes me feel a little taller. But maybe it's just my state of mind.

However, it could be worse, so I can't really complain too much. But I also wouldn't mind if my friends just weren't all so tall, makes me look just puny in comparison.

I know how you feel, man. I was always the tiniest growing up too. I used to be 5' 3" in high school, but at some point I hit my head so hard that it got pushed down on my spine and now I'm 5' 1.5" Completely depressing. I don't even remember how it might have happened. Plus, I have another part of my spine that has been fused since birth and, if it weren't, I'd probably be a good two or three inches taller. Everyone in my family is taller than me (parents, cousins, grandparents) and we could never figure out why I was so small until I discovered all of these wonderful spine problems.

My point with this was.... at least you're not getting any shorter! (just stay away from head injuries... )

[Guest nelo]

I know how you feel, man. I was always the tiniest growing up too. I used to be 5' 3" in high school, but at some point I hit my head so hard that it got pushed down on my spine and now I'm 5' 1.5" Completely depressing. I don't even remember how it might have happened. Plus, I have another part of my spine that has been fused since birth and, if it weren't, I'd probably be a good two or three inches taller. Everyone in my family is taller than me (parents, cousins, grandparents) and we could never figure out why I was so small until I discovered all of these wonderful spine problems.

My point with this was.... at least you're not getting any shorter! (just stay away from head injuries... )

OUCH, that doesn't sound good. I've noticed my scoliosis getting worse lately, and I think that could make me shorter. I need to get going to a chiropractor again.

[Guest AndrewK]

I'm 5'6. I was a bit paranoid about it when I first started transitioning because I thought it would prohibit me from passing. It doesn't.

I don't own shoes from these places, but here are two sites with height-elevating shoes. I've heard decent things about both of them:

http://www.increasingshoes.com

http://www.tallmenshoes.com

[Guest Sam_P]

I was a bit paranoid about it when I first started transitioning because I thought it would prohibit me from passing. It doesn't.

I think this is what we all have to remember. T does miraculous things. Cisgendered males can be under 6 foot too!!

[Guest Cowboy]

There's no correlation between height and manliness.

This shoulda been posted earlier but.... (ok ill be honest, i have no excuse.)

True story:

My dad is a lil dude. 5'4" (with a benefit of a doubt.) But hes stocky. Big attitude for a lil dude.

My *cough cough, clear throat cough* (only time i will ever call him this, just for the sake of keepin things easy to understand.) stepdad

is 6'3" almost 300 pounds. Big dude.

But my Dad is more man than my step dad will ever be.

My dad works hard for his money, isnt scared to speak his mind or put someone in their place, fights for what he loves and believes, and treats his family and woman with respect and love. He's an all around good guy.

Step dad on the other hand, lazy dont know the meanin of hard work, coward (only says things behind someones back, acts like billy bad a$ when no one is around) disrespectful towards women, and could give a dang less bout his family.

In my opinion, that 5"4" man i call dad, is a lot more man than that 6'3" who wants me to call him dad.

So yes, that statement carries a lot of truth.

[Guest Chance]

and your ranting on your height? your 5'6. Taller than me. I'm 5'1. See how I feel about it. holy christ. lol

[Guest Cowboy]

and your ranting on your height? your 5'6. Taller than me. I'm 5'1. See how I feel about it. holy christ. lol

im right there with ya bro.

*sigh* right there with ya.

[Guest karl636]

I also stand close to the ground at 5"1 and it really sucks lol. I pass as male all the time now but as a boy, not a 19 year old man. I wish I had a few extra inches there.

[Guest Chance]

Yeah. I have no problems passing. I just would like to stand up there with my male peers once in a while. Kinda makes me unique though. Gotta have someone that stands out a little in the group. Don't treat me too much differently. If anything older women underestimate my strength. That I get ticked about. (ones that know about my transition)