Susan's Place Transgender Resources

So I have read on a few posts that being on HRT has made some girls feet smaller as well as their height???  I am trying to figure out if this is at all possible since that has to do with bones and not body fat.

I guess it is possible if you have alot of muscle mass in your feet or something but other then that it's highly doubtful. Most likely it's just some transwomen exaggerating over the changes.

As for the height thing that too is probably just exaggeration on their part, now you will get shorter and shrink a lil as you get older that is a fact.

Quote from: Danielle×o on January 25, 2012, 06:00:43 PM
I guess it is possible if you have alot of muscle mass in your feet or something but other then that it's highly doubtful. Most likely it's just some transwomen exaggerating over the changes.

As for the height thing that too is probably just exaggeration on their part, now you will get shorter and shrink a lil as you get older that is a fact.

Definitely wrong.

I've gone from a men's size 10.5 US to a women's size 9 US in shoes. I've also lost close to 2 inches in my height. I'm 27 and have been on HRT for almost 2 years. Do a search here on the forum. Plenty of other MTF members with similar experiences.

Quote from: JennX on January 25, 2012, 06:45:19 PM
Do a search here on the forum. Plenty of other MTF members with similar experiences.

  I know i've seen similar posts like yours through out the net but I don't understand how that's possible considering hormones don't affect bone structure unless of course you're young and still in puberty.

  Idk but i'm hoping your right cuz I wouldn't mind being an inch or two smaller (i'm 5'7) and would like to have smaller feet (i'm size 8 in women's) too so yeah lol.

^Your are like the PERFECT Height. Try being 6 foot, you are like a giraff and I always feel like everyone is noticing me.lol Which can be a blessing or a curse.

At 5 7", you can wear heels and still look not too tall, Heels for me are a def. no-go, I am a tower in heels.

Quote from: starbright on January 25, 2012, 08:19:11 PMAt 5 7", you can wear heels and still look not too tall, Heels for me are a def. no-go, I am a tower in heels.

I think it's up to how you feel.  I'm just under 6' (5' 11-1/2"), and I do wear heels, and there are several cis-girls at work as tall as me (one is taller) who also wear heels.  It's a confidence thing.  I'll be DAMMED if I'm going to not wear heels just because I'm tall.  Lots of men (and women!) LOVE amazons, lol...

^You do have a point my friend. ;) A lot of people love a tall (and usually slender) woman. It's all about confidence and how you rock your look and what God gave us all. We have NO control over our Heights, so we just have to work with it and embrace it, we are all unique and individual. ;)

I will def. wear heels once I get my confidence level up a few more notches, but I have come a long way so far. :))

Many report changes concerning their height and shoe size, many don't. I'm almost 6 feet tall and wear women size 11 shoes, and I hate large shoes  >:( They look so clumsy, clowny, and annoying (on me at least).
I sure hope my feet shrink to like ... a size 9 or so, at the least. ;D

Quote from: michelleinktown on January 25, 2012, 05:49:39 PM
So I have read on a few posts that being on HRT has made some girls feet smaller as well as their height???  I am trying to figure out if this is at all possible since that has to do with bones and not body fat.

No. Bones do not shrink on HRT. You do not lose size in your hands or feet nor do you get smaller.

Your hands and feet may get smaller from losing weight but it has nothing to do with HRT.

If you get smaller, it has nothing to do with HRT, and I would recommend you seeing a doctor about your back.

On HRT you can have an increased loss of calcium from your bones, as is common in females. It wont make your limbs smaller but it can weaken the bone structure, so keep the calcium up. Where I am part of our care is a yearly bone density scan to make sure we are OK.

You feet can look smaller if your boobs grow bigger 'cos you may not be able to see them :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Sorry :laugh:

Quote from: Cindy James on January 26, 2012, 12:35:22 AM
On HRT you can have an increased loss of calcium from your bones, as is common in females. It wont make your limbs smaller but it can weaken the bone structure, so keep the calcium up. Where I am part of our care is a yearly bone density scan to make sure we are OK.

You feet can look smaller if your boobs grow bigger 'cos you may not be able to see them :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Sorry :laugh:

Fantastic ;D Poor girls with massive shoe sizes, they're gonna have to opt for huge breast implants. ;D

My shoes are starting to get a bit tight after only 2 months on T, so it would make sense that you ladies would be losing some size going the other way. Obviously the bones won't change, but there's also a ton of muscle, cartilage, and blood in the feet that will be affected by hormones.

Quote from: driven on January 26, 2012, 02:46:11 AM
My shoes are starting to get a bit tight after only 2 months on T, so it would make sense that you ladies would be losing some size going the other way. Obviously the bones won't change, but there's also a ton of muscle, cartilage, and blood in the feet that will be affected by hormones.

It's what I'm hoping for, really. After losing more than 50 pounds, I didn't notice my feet getting any smaller. *Crosses fingers for HRT* Go, estrogen, be free and work your magic!

I am 57 and 4 years on HRT.
I definitely used to be 6 foot with (male)size eleven feet.
My feet have definitely become almost one size smaller and I realised early last year that I had lost height. 
My height is now officially confirmed as 5'10" so I have lost 2 inches.

I don't see how any of that could happen but that is my experience, whether due to age or hormones.
To the OP I would say this ...... it may happen for you or it may not, but you certainly can't count on it.  Good luck.   :)

..... oh..... and Yes, I wear heels up to about 3 inches and always have, even when I was 6 foot

This old Question again.
In short: Yes.

It is a very common effect in MTF's on HRT.

However it is not the bone tissue in the feet that are shrinking, for logical and obvious reasons, but the soft tissues, as the HRT in a MTF functions as a Chemical Castration, which in turn makes the previously male tissues to "atrophy", for lack of better way to put it.

For the same reason, HRT in a FTM often makes the feet grow.

I posted this question about a month ago & got some mixed responses, this topic seems to be a minefield as those who havn't experienced this seem to get quite worked up when people say they've been blessed with shrinking feet.
The HRT seem to affect individuals feet differently, when I start HRT I plan on measuring my feet before, during & after, i'm not going to rely on shoe sizes as shoes vary wildly.
My trainers are size 11 (UK) & are perfect fit but my safety boots are size 11 & make my feet feel like a hamster in the Albert hall  :D

i think it depends on age because me being young i went from womens 7 tight to womens 5.5 comfortable and well the main thing map muscle and fat i think :) again its a thing that's different for everyone so don't get your hopes up it ain't work the pain with such small odds and !  gosh you can totally shrink i went down 1 cm admittedly not much but better than nothing :)

No it dosen't.

If anything increased water retention would make them BIGGER.

Quote from: Bishounen on January 26, 2012, 09:56:04 AM
This old Question again.
In short: Yes.

It is a very common effect in MTF's on HRT.

However it is not the bone tissue in the feet that are shrinking, for logical and obvious reasons, but the soft tissues, as the HRT in a MTF functions as a Chemical Castration, which in turn makes the previously male tissues to "atrophy", for lack of better way to put it.

For the same reason, HRT in a FTM often makes the feet grow.

This also explain why many see a height loss over time by an inch or two. Your cartilage and muscles shrink, which can lead to the vertabre in your back to get close and you lose height that way is how it is explained I think. Things will soften up in every area internally for MTF. It does happen because I have talked to many MTF and they have said that they def. have lost noticeable height after a few years of HRT, so it can't just be a myth. Some people may not though, it all depends on your body and your circumstances.

Same old argument format. ::)
People post in saying "This happened to me" and others posting saying in effect "No it didn't" - as if they could know better?  WTF?

Some people's feet and height DO shrink - I'm one of them so it DEFINITELY happens.

I don't care whether you think it should or shouldn't happen and whether you can or can't logically explain it.
It does happen to some.
Period!

I must admit, I was reticent to believe it, but I have been on E for 5 months now, and some of my UK size 9's which were 'pinchy' to say the least (i've always been a 10), now fit really well. And I haven't worn them enough to stretch them to that extent. And some of my old boy shoes in size 10 now feel like wellington boots... So there is definitely something in it!

Most people lose some height naturally as they get older anyway, as the spine gradually compresses down.

Quote from: Padma on January 27, 2012, 06:40:52 AM
Most people lose some height naturally as they get older anyway, as the spine gradually compresses down.

Loosing height can also be an effect of Estrogen treatment, as HRT may in the MTF slightly "thin" the Intervertebral Discs in the spine, which, in addition to thinner soft tissues in the feet, may together make a very apparent difference with inches in persons that had a masculine build pre-transitionwise.
Many MTF's, both young and old, can attest to this.

Quote from: Bishounen on January 27, 2012, 10:56:07 AM
Loosing height can also be an effect of Estrogen treatment, as HRT may in the MTF slightly "thin" the Intervertebral Discs in the spine, which, in addition to thinner soft tissues in the feet, may together make a very apparent difference with inches in persons that had a masculine build pre-transitionwise.
Many MTF's, both young and old, can attest to this.

I wasn't saying it doesn't happen on HRT, I was saying it happens to most of us anyway.

  Placebo effect maybe?   :laugh:

I've actually got taller, but that's because being myself is making me stand straighter :). Not that I'm implying etc. etc.

I'd be extremely happy if my feet got narrower, they're frogman's flipper shaped, and all shoes (for some dumb reason) seem to assume everyone's feet taper at the front end. Bring on the shrinkage!!!

OMG if my feet shrink I will be pissed. I have about 20 very cute pairs of shoes and boots that won't fit lol. BTW I'm about a USA womens 9 which for my height is about right.

Cute pairs of shoes can always be replaced by cuter. ;D The smaller your foot is, the greater the chance to find them!

I've shrank from about 5'5 3/4" to 5'4"  ???

I'm only 29 btw and been on HRT for 5 months. That means somehow I've shrank nearly 2 inches in 5 months or so. I noticed this when looking slightly up at a co worker today who used to be my height. Also, a girl in school who is not much shorter than me, told me she was 5'3" and I was thinking "no way" ... The only thing I can think of is posture? Perhaps the tendons in my hips shifted the way I stand, but I'm seriously trying to stand up straight as can be! I do not think my bones shrank in any way, as I've always thought that to be impossible short of having osteoperosis.

And honestly I don't want to shrink.. 5'6" was fine with me, now I'm approaching being short even for a girl...

As far as shoes, they've been a females size 9, and honestly I could probably squeeze into an 8.5 comfortably and possibly into an 8, when in october the size 9 was right where I needed to be.

IF ONLY MY FACE WOULD CHANGE LIKE MY BODY!!!  >:(

Quote from: Alainaluvsu on January 28, 2012, 12:10:34 AM
I noticed this when looking slightly up at a co worker today who used to be my height. ... I was thinking "no way" ... The only thing I can think of is posture? ... I'm seriously trying to stand up straight as can be!

Same story for me!  I was never expecting to shrink either, but there's certainly more tall people in my world now.  I've found it surprisingly noticeable and a bit confusing at times.  I'm sure my posture is different now too, but I can't seem to stand any taller either! I'm 10 months on HRT and I think I've lost half a shoe size too.

It looks as if the theory here is that it's the smaller, lesser known muscles in our bodies that may be accounting for this.  It would stack up with my story as pre-HRT I actually had slightly high testosterone for a boy, so I always accumulated plenty of muscle without ever trying to.  My physique is considerably different now so maybe it is something like that. 

It would be good to hear from an ex-body building MTF!

Quote from: Maja.V on January 27, 2012, 11:38:30 PM
Cute pairs of shoes can always be replaced by cuter. ;D The smaller your foot is, the greater the chance to find them!

I have no problem finding shows, this size (9/40) at least where I live must be a common size. Anything over a women's 10/42 are only made in specific styles.

Quote from: Stephe on January 28, 2012, 12:04:21 PM
I have no problem finding shows, this size (9/40) at least where I live must be a common size. Anything over a women's 10/42 are only made in specific styles.

I thought size 11/42? Now I'm confused.

Quote from: Maja.V on January 28, 2012, 02:30:22 PM
I thought size 11/42? Now I'm confused.

4 different charts show 4 different conversions lol

http://www.i18nguy.com/l10n/shoes.html (http://www.i18nguy.com/l10n/shoes.html)

Quote from: Stephe on January 28, 2012, 12:04:21 PM
I have no problem finding shows, this size (9/40) at least where I live must be a common size. Anything over a women's 10/42 are only made in specific styles.

Finding shows?
Please stay on topic. :laugh:

Quote from: Steffi on January 27, 2012, 04:40:06 AM
Same old argument format. ::)
People post in saying "This happened to me" and others posting saying in effect "No it didn't" - as if they could know better?  WTF?

Some people's feet and height DO shrink - I'm one of them so it DEFINITELY happens.

I don't care whether you think it should or shouldn't happen and whether you can or can't logically explain it.
It does happen to some.
Period!

Don't forget that most of us have been exposed to estrogen for some period of time. In terms of anecdotal evidence my personal experiences are just as vaild as yours.

I'm also saying from a biological standpoint the notion dosen't make any sense. Seeing as estrogen Fuses growthplates arresting growth sooner in natal females resulting in the smaller foot size. it dosen't shrink bones after the fact.

I saw this topic awhile back, what the main belief is now that, estrogen causes muscle loss which can cause your spine to actually compress causing loss in height as well as loosing more of the gel between your bones, which can cause your feet to shrink front to back and muscle loss shrinking left to right so theoretically this is entirely possible 

My feet have become narrower for sure and about a 1/2 size smaller in length. I have lost a full inch on my height in 18 months HRT. I am right around 5'9" verified at my last Dr. visit. It can occur whether people can reconcile it with medical science or not. I am hoping for more as time moves along :)

I used to be 5' 11" and had a 30" inseam. Now I'm just under 5' 8" and have about a 27" inseam, so I lost some leg length and have to wear petite sizes now. My feet have shrunk about 2 shoe sizes. It's a thing, it happens.

I was about to post not much change, but then I tried on some shoes that used to be tight which are now perfect. Then I also measured myself.

Probably half a shoe size down (negligible)

BUT

Height has gone from 5' 9" to 5' 7". Wow, was not expecting that

I didn't lose a shoe size, nor did I lose any height   :icon_chainsaw:   :laugh:

9's to 8 (sometimes a 7)

I've not noticed height or shoe size changes 9 months on HRT, and am not expecting to.  But I'd be thrilled if it happened.  I'm 5'8" and size 10 or 11 US womens shoes.  I don't really have much of a problem finding clothes and shoes of the rack, but it would certainly be a bit easier if I were a bit smaller.

Kim :)

I personally am the same size since starting hrt.  But a gf of mine who started at 42 yrs old back in 2000 was 5'9 and is now 5'6.  I say it can be due to age, and also large breasts are going to hinder posture. 

I thought it had to do something with the ligaments? Ether way count me in the smaller feet group. I went to a woman's 10 to about a woman's size 8 1/2-9

I definitely lost about a shoe size. I have no explanation for it either, but all the cute shoes I bought pre-HRT don't fit anymore!

I was on hrt for maybe 10 years. Just on 2mg estrodial. At 58 I suffer from severe osteoporosis. I have gone from 5ft 10inch to 5ft 7inch. Post op now about 17 years.  Always happy and very hippie


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I went down almost 2 sizes. I have no doubt the loss of muscle and weight helped result in the reduction.
Mariah

I saw this too about 3-5 months into HRT.  I used to just barely get into a UK size 8 to start, now I comfortably wear a UK size 7.  Of course it depends on the shoe, but to me it feels like I've lost muscle in my feet and maybe gained  "padding" that helps the feet conform better to smaller shoes?

I was 5'7, now 5'5. I can wear shoe size 6.5 whereas before it was 8.