Shrinking feet

[Jayne]

I've seen a few people claiming that their feet shrank whilst on HRT, one person posted a couple of days ago that she dropped 2 sizes.

Is this common?
Is this even a real phenomenon?

I'd love for this to be true as i'm a size 10 (UK sizes) & as most of you will know once you go above size 9 your choices shrink to next to nothing or you end up paying through the nose for a nice pair of shoes.
I can fit into size 9's if they are open toed but I can only wear my size 9 boots for about an hour before i'm crippled, i'm hoping (praying) that HRT can reduce foot size as even a very slight reduction would enable me to buy size 9's & wear them comfortably.
Most importantly, if I could fit into 9's then it would open up a whole world of choice in shoes & boots, I would no longer have the angst of seeing a beautifull pair of shoes that would cripple me in a matter of minutes.

Does the shoe industry have a grudge against women with larger feet? Are they not allowed to feel good about their feet? Or do the shoe manufacturers see women with larger feet as cash cows?

Questions, questions

[JenJen2011]

LOL. Yeah right! I doubt it. The bone structure does not change at all for any part of the body.

Shoe sizes vary so much in my opinion. I have shoes in size 7, 8, 9, and 10. It depends on the type of shoe and the brand/maker.

[Jayne]

LOL. Yeah right! I doubt it. The bone structure does not change at all for any part of the body.

That was what I was thinking, the foot is mostly bone with next to no fat to re-arrange itself so I cant see how someones feet will shrink.
I know that some people do have fat feet so maybe their fat content drops in the foot area?? My feet are big & bony so I doubt i'll notice any change.

I'm 4 months away from my first appointment at the gender clinic & will have to wait at least 3 months before they consider HRT so it will be a while before I can answer this from my own perspective.
Before I start HRT I will be measuring my feet down to the nearest thousands of an inch with a vernier to see if I can kick this question into the kerb or verify other peoples claims.

[Jayne]

Surely bone structure plays a major part in foot size & as Jen said HRT will not change bones, this is why I mentioned about some people having fat feet (i'm not implying that you had fat feet before HRT).

Please lets not have this devolve into an argument, I get enough of that from my mother any time my transition enters the conversation & I come here to get away from that.

Peace to you both

[cynthialee]

Since I started HRT my feet have shrank just a tiny amount.
Since Sevan started HRT hir feet have grown just a tiny amount.

Before transition we had only a 1/2 size diferance in our shoe size now we are both the same size.
Yay for a doubling of my shoe selection!!!

[JenJen2011]

All I did was tell of my experience and you have to be an ...... about it? What the hell would I stand to gain by spinning a yarn about shoe sizes? I am fully aware of the difference in shoe sizes depending on the brand. Every pair of tennis shoes I have tried in a size 11 look like clown shoes on my feet where they all looked fine before NO MATTER WHAT BRAND IT WAS.

I don't play stupid games on the internet for my own amusement so don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say a single thing about bones.

My post was directed to the OP, not you.

[Jayne]

Since I started HRT my feet have shrank just a tiny amount.
Since Sevan started HRT hir feet have grown just a tiny amount.

Before transition we had only a 1/2 size diferance in our shoe size now we are both the same size.
Yay for a doubling of my shoe selection!!!

I'm still sceptical about feet shrinking due to bones & all that but 1/2 a size would put me into size 9's & that would be a dream come true.
I'm not trying to cast doubt on either yours or Lauras post as i'm not in your shoes. . . . . pun was intended

[JennX]

Yep... it happens. After about 1.5 years of HRT I went from a guy's size 10.5 US to a women's size 9.0 US. I've also lost about 2 inches in my height as well. The decrease in shoe size for me was an EPIC WIN... as I have an super, duper, insanely, un-imaginably huge, shoe habit. I love em.

[Jayne]

I have an super, duper, insanely, un-imaginably huge, shoe habit. I love em.

I know where you are coming from there, I spend hours looking at shoes online & cant walk past a shoe shop without seeing a pair (or 10) that I would love to own if they did them in my heffalump size 
I generally turn into the cookie monster of shoes. . . . SHOES, SHOES, SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!!

feel free to use the Terry Pratchett rules of exclamation marks in my signature to rate my sanity, or lack of

[cynthialee]

I think it is a matter of muscle mass that changes the feet that 1/4-1/2 shoe shize that seems to be common.

The bones are set and won't grow anymore, but add or subtract some muscle due to HRT and the size can change a smidge.

[Sarah Louise]

Or you can be like me and have Neuropathy.  My feet have narrowed some, but have gotten longer due to weakening of the bones through Charcot Disease and Osteoporosis.

[A]

If you're less than 20, with a big bucket of luck, it can happen. The bones, I mean. But I mean it. A big bucket of luck.

Past that, any shrinkage is muscle only. See on the outside side of your feet. There's a soft area, right ? Past the small toe. That can shrink, which would make your feet more slender, thus fitting thinner shoes. If the LENGTH reduces, you've either gotten used to smaller shoes, have found a bigger-sized brand or have been bestowed a miracle. Or maybe the soft part of the heel can shrink, minorly reducing the length, but... Well, in any case, you should not expect it. If it happens, take it like a happy surprise.

[JennX]

If you're less than 20, with a big bucket of luck, it can happen. The bones, I mean. But I mean it. A big bucket of luck.

Past that, any shrinkage is muscle only. See on the outside side of your feet. There's a soft area, right ? Past the small toe. That can shrink, which would make your feet more slender, thus fitting thinner shoes. If the LENGTH reduces, you've either gotten used to smaller shoes, have found a bigger-sized brand or have been bestowed a miracle. Or maybe the soft part of the heel can shrink, minorly reducing the length, but... Well, in any case, you should not expect it. If it happens, take it like a happy surprise.

Umm... I'm 28, started HRT more than a year ago... and more than just soft tissue has shrank. Almost 3 shoe sizes smaller is more than losing width and muscle mass alone. Do a search here on this forum, it has happened before. Everyone's physiology is different, and yes being younger will effect the outcome... as with most all things HRT related. Same with my height. My endo has charted my height decrease as well.

YMMV.

[A]

Thanks for sharing this. Interesting. I thought it was super rare. It's good news! I sure wish something amazing like that happened to me.

[Jayne]

That's a very good point about muscle reduction, I hadn't considered it.
I'm going to start saying my prayers every night, even a reduction of 1/4 size would make it possible for me to buy & comfortably wear size 9's, I can wear them for short periods but they are generaly a fraction too tight

[malibukay]

dont forget cartilage is smaller in females and bigger in males so hormones do playa role in shrinkage of cartilage, i think it is possible

[Julo]

I have heard of the explanation that it´s the cartilage that can shrink. I was hoping for that since my joints are way too loose anyway and I am often also in the border of being able to fit my shoe in the biggest size which normal stores have. But after 2 years of hrt it has not happened.

[lisadear]

I think your actual footwear my make a difference. Chunky boy tennis shoes my keep your feet bigger. Last year I read an article in Outside magazine about barefoot running. There was a runner whose feet shrunk 2 sizes by running barefoot. While athletic shoes may be comfortable the actually can be bad for the health of you feet. I think that with hrt and getting away from boy shoes your feet can shrink. Mine are a half size smaller mostly from Hrt, as I'm not full-time and I'm stuck wearing depressing boy shoes.

[A]

I really doubt you're right. Actually, what's bad for the health is the prolonged use of high heels. They are no good for the back. But boy's shoes are actually bigger and have more space in them than most girl's. So they're closer to being barefoot. Then why would being barefoot shrink feet ? It doesn't male sense.

Though maybe wearing tighter shoes - and not necessarily girl's - shoes could possibly have a mild chinese-feet-binding-like effect after being "softened" by HRT or something.

[Dahlia]

Hate to be the bringer of bad news..........but your feet actually increase in size over the years/decades.
A combination of gravity and walking and standing a lot on them makes them spread sideward and up en downward from the heel to the toe over the years.
Ask any 50+ GG or genetic man about what shoesize they wore in earlier days and yes, they currently wear a bigger size than back then.
Mostly they contribute their bigger shoesize to weightgain, but that doesn't play a major role in 'growing' feet over the years.

The 'good news' is, is that a lot of shoeshops in Amsterdam/Holland sell  (very) fashoniably ladies shoes and boots up until size 44 (don't what it translates to in USA/British shoesize.....size 11 I think)

I myself went from a shoesize 41 to a size 42 in 2 decades of wearing ladies shoes. And being on hormones for more than 2 decades that is...

And oh, your nose and ears grow bigger too over the years. Cartilage also keeps growing slowly over the years and combined with gravity......your nosetip starts to sag in combination with growing bulkier and your earlobes start to sag.

Interestingly.......it looks like a nose or earjob 'arrests' cartilage growth....but a 'young' looking nosejob in an older face looks very weird easthetically.