Height and Shoe Size

[Jamie D]

Actually, I'm not a doctor, but I can think of a few other ways for height to be slightly affected. I don't know if they actually happen, but I don't see how they are impossible.

-Less muscle/thick skin/etc. (meat in short) in the foot, making it narrower vertically, lowering height.
-Slight reconfiguration of the shape of the foot, making the heel stand out a little less as it would "enter" into the ankle more.
-More lax joints from the muscle mass reduction, resulting in less space between bones and/or slight bone overlap when standing. You know, how some people's knees bent backwards to some degree. I believe that kind of flexibility is partly helped by HRT.
-Slight inverted growth before bones are completed at ~25. It has been officially noted in teenagers, I think, so maybe it can happen to a lesserd extent in young adults.
-Even if the hip bone itself does not change much (if at all), maybe muscles and ligaments on HRT will somewhat react as though they were in the presence of larger hips, with the femurs taking a slightly triangular angle, meeting the hip bone farther outside. The angle created would reduce height slightly.

All of these are very hypothetical, but right now, at midnight, exhausted and without much medical knowledge, they seem possible.

Also, I think it's natural to lose a little bit of height due to the spine angle change that is said to commonly happen ( men's hips tend to be upright/slightly bent forwards, whilst women's are supposed to be bent backwards by a more significant amount. The spine would curve, following the movement, I guess, resulting in a more prominent butt/hollow back and a little less height.

I'm not a doctor either; but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn. 

[Etrina]

-More lax joints from the muscle mass reduction, resulting in less space between bones and/or slight bone overlap when standing. You know, how some people's knees bent backwards to some degree. I believe that kind of flexibility is partly helped by HRT.

Something I learnt just a few days ago, estrogen does in fact make you more flexible. While I'm not a doctor nor studying to be one, I'm studying to be registered nurse, so my teacher does know this stuff. :p

I agree on rest of the points as well. While I'm pre-HRT and stuff and as such don't have firsthand knowledge there's quite many girls stating that they've lost some height as well as shrinking shoesize. Bones do not change, but muscles, fat etc do take considerable space between them. Not enough to turn anyone from tall to short, but enough to lose an inch or two. Keep in mind that while loss of height is practically non-existant between two bones, there's quite many of those inbetweens when you think of a human standing.

And shoes, same thing except in lesser extent.

[Beverley]

My first pair of ladies shoes were size 10 court shoes and they were a bit tight. Today I tried them on for the first time in a year and they are quite loose on my feet. There is even a gap behind my heel and I have not been wearing them all this time because they were too tight and uncomfortable.

Nowadays I wear a ladies size 8 and I can just squeeze into size 7 sandals but I would never buy 7s.

[furlock]

Let me think, I wore a men's 9, 9.5  US. That said I just recently got some tennis shoes ladies 8.5 and they fit snugly a little to snugly but they fit that never happened before in my lifetime well since being an adult anyway. I am pleased as punch a ladies 9 and 9.5 fit very well thank you.

On the hand front I can almost wear a size 8 ring on my index finger and I can wear my roomie's thumb ring, so yeah HRT is doing something lol, and I have only recently started to work out.

[JenJen2011]

Shoe sizes vary so much from the type (sneakers, heels, boots) to the brand. I have many that start at a size 7 up to size 10.

[Padma]

The only way to be sure is if the same shoes fit differently. (Or by some really accurate tape measurement.)

The shoes I have that now fit better have a stiff rubber edge to them, so I know they haven't stretched - and in any case I've hardly worn them, because they were too tight (and because of winter) so they've had no chance to stretch. My feet have just got narrower. Not lots, but every little helps when you have duck feet like I do.