Height on HRT.

[Cindy]

I know we have had this discussion before. I think I have generally been skeptical.

I'm having my work ups for GRS and had my height etc checked by the same people who have done it previously and the details are in my medical notes. Same equipment, same person doing the measurements.

In 12 months I have gone from 175 cm (5' 9") to 170 cm (5' 7").

Ok I realised I have lost upper body strength. I am very fit. I work out 6 hours a week. I feel great, vital signs are all excellent. There is no medical reason that I can think of except for HRT.  I'm on pellet E and take spiro.

I'm beginning to think there may be something to this idea of losing height on HRT.

[sarahb]

I actually do think it's possible, from some mechanism, be it losing fat between ligaments and stuff which lowers the total height or something else. I'm pretty darn sure I used to be 5' 10" but since transitioning I've come to be 5' 8".

[Ms Grace]

Well we do tend to shrink as we get a bit older anyway (my grandmother was like a microdot by the time she got to 97!), but wow, if I could go from 6'3" down a couple if inches that would be beyond fantastic!

[Sacha]

I know we have had this discussion before. I think I have generally been skeptical.

I'm having my work ups for GRS and had my height etc checked by the same people who have done it previously and the details are in my medical notes. Same equipment, same person doing the measurements.

In 12 months I have gone from 175 cm (5' 9") to 170 cm (5' 7").

Ok I realised I have lost upper body strength. I am very fit. I work out 6 hours a week. I feel great, vital signs are all excellent. There is no medical reason that I can think of except for HRT.  I'm on pellet E and take spiro.

I'm beginning to think there may be something to this idea of losing height on HRT.

Did you measure 175 cm just before your stared hormones or 15 years before when you were young ?

5 cm is a lot, if the shrinkage was so big it would be listed in the effects of hormones.

What about feet and hands ? No difference at all ?

[Cindy]

As I said 12 months was the time line.

My hands are more delicate. But muscle loss is obvious over my body and I have a more feminine body shape than before.

[Cindy]

Well we do tend to shrink as we get a bit older anyway (my grandmother was like a microdot by the time she got to 97!), but wow, if I could go from 6'3" down a couple if inches that would be beyond fantastic!

I'm in shock, I wasn't and am not boasting, I liked being a tall woman. I went to a friends birthday party for their 1yr old. I was shorter than many of the (thin) women. I was tiny compared to the guys.
It was very obvious. I had no shoulders or pecs at all compared to the guys.

I really had not noticed this in myself.

[Starla]

Very interesting!

[Rachel]

I was 6'3&1/2" prior to HRT. The secretaries were asking what my height was last week so off with the shoes and against the wall I

went. 1st measure was 6'1" and I was shocked. Second measure 6'3". I need to get to the healthy weight lab and redo my vitals and

height correctly. 1/2 inch is ok but if I can lose more then that would be fantastic.

I exercise 1/2 hr per day walking with a 40 lbm pack and I eat very well and take a lot of supplements. I feel so absolutely rock solid

well it is not funny. I feel 20 years younger. 

[Jenna Marie]

I lost about an inch and a half... but I also noticed that it's partly the way I stand. If I try as hard as I can to stand up totally straight and put my back flat against the wall, I gain about an inch back. Having a butt and boobs has totally shifted my posture to curve forward a bit and simultaneously tipped my pelvis back somewhat, and even when I DO try I can't get flat to the wall the way I could with a male behind.

Thing is, I figure if that's the height we present to the world - if 99.99% of the time we're not straining for every last centimeter - that *is* for all intents and purposes our real height, even if technically not much shrank. (Plus who knows how tall some cis women who were told to stretch and flatten their butt might be, right?)

[Ashey]

It's weird, I think I've lost some height even before HRT. When I was a teenager I was sure I was 5' 11". Then last year my girlfriend couldn't believe that was my height so she used a tape measure. It claimed I was about 5' 9"... I figured it was lying to me so I shrugged it off. Then when I went to the endo, they measured me again. About 5' 9 1/2" with shoes on. Not that I'm complaining! xD Hoping I can go down another inch or two eventually.

[Donna Elvira]

I have been on HRT for more than 4 years, have E levels in the high female range and free T in the very low female range and, in spite of aging too, have still seen no significant change in height. I'm stuck at a little over 6' (just measured again after reading this!). I've maybe lost a  few millimeters but that's it. However, to a greater or lesser degree, I have experienced all the other usual effects of HRT from total loss of body hair to breast growth and significant fat redistribution.

Maybe another case of YMMV but I just can't see what biological mechanism apart from flattening of the inter-vertebral discs and/or severe osteoporosis  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2040850/Yes-shrink-age--rapid-decline-signal-health-risks.html would allow someone to lose whole inches in such a short time.
My 2c's worth.
Donna
 

[Erin Kay Howell]

I was 5'5" last January (2013) and now I'm at 5'3"

[aleon515]

I know guys who swear they gained an inch or two on T, so I don't know why it wouldn't go the other way (though I always thought of the "hormones giveth they don't taketh away".) I sort of thought it was bravado, so maybe not. I wish!

--Jay the vertically challenged

[LordKAT]

I also lost 2 " in height. My back is often in a lot of pain. I wonder if the 2 are related. I have an appointment monday to check on it as well as for my yearly endo visit.

[Ms Grace]

Posture probably has a lot yo do with it. I notice that although I'm holding my head and neck straighter my lower back has started to sway inwards. Swings and roundabouts!

[peky]

test

[Cassie 4 Ever!!!]

I know we have had this discussion before. I think I have generally been skeptical.

I'm having my work ups for GRS and had my height etc checked by the same people who have done it previously and the details are in my medical notes. Same equipment, same person doing the measurements.

In 12 months I have gone from 175 cm (5' 9") to 170 cm (5' 7").

Ok I realised I have lost upper body strength. I am very fit. I work out 6 hours a week. I feel great, vital signs are all excellent. There is no medical reason that I can think of except for HRT.  I'm on pellet E and take spiro.

I'm beginning to think there may be something to this idea of losing height on HRT.

I have had plenty of things happen that everyone says is not possible. I was 6' 1'' before and now I am 5' 11'. My voice has softened and pitch has risen. My high and lower ranges have gone up. and my foot is one size smaller. I have lost an enormous amount of upper body strength as well but I just find using different technique can allow me to still do everything. almost.

[KabitTarah]

I'm going to have them measure my height when I go to the doctor Friday...
I start AA's in late December...
I start E sometime in 2014 (aiming May).

I would absolutely love a loss of inches... 5'11" to 5'3" just sounds wonderful (just kidding 5'9" sounds great)!

[Nicolette]

Started HRT in my early 20s. After 19 years of HRT, I've shrunk 0.5". I always lacked strong masculine traits, had puny upper body strength. It could a combination of many issues, including reduced muscle bulk, change of posture, decreased bone density. Hey, but I look like I'm still in my 20s, so HRT must be doing something right.

[Miyuki]

I was around 6'1" when starting low dose HRT, and now I'm at a solid 6'0". I hardly had any muscle to begin with, and half my spinal column is fused thanks to scoliosis, so I have no idea where I could've lost that inch from. Not that I'm complaining.