I had a doctor's appointment today, and the nurse weighed me and casually asked me how tall I am. I stammered that I wasn't sure, since I seem to have grown since starting T. So she decided to measure me.
Before T, as far as I know, I was 5' 6 1/4" or maybe 5' 6 3/8". I self-measured several months ago (several times, just in case) and appeared to be a little over 5' 7". I was pretty happy about that, but I know that it's hard to measure oneself accurately.
Now the nurse tells me that I'm 5' 7 3/4". I was blown away but (predictably) lamented that I wasn't measured right after I had woken up, since my spine would have been stretched out a little bit more. I might have made it to 5' 8".
But this seems extraordinary to me. I seem to have grown an inch and a half on T, and I started taking it when I was forty-six. No wonder one of my six-foot buddies was saying, "You don't SEEM five foot six." I noticed that he was right, I wasn't all that much shorter than he was. Certainly not half a foot shorter.
I honestly can't remember the last time I was measured as an adult. I'm pretty sure that I was measured once or twice during my twenties, but I'm not positive. The only way I can truly be certain that I have grown is to visit my ex and see how I stack up against him. I recently discovered some unfinished business between us, so maybe that will happen. I'm very curious.
After all I've read--that we don't grow taller once our bones have fused--I'm trying to figure out how this happened. I've heard anecdotal evidence from other trans men, but a scientific study would be nice. Still, how many of you grew taller or are pretty sure that you did? I'm not talking about picking up extra height after top surgery ("Hey--I don't have to slouch anymore!"); I mean a real measurable gain. And how old were you? Also, if you've been on T for a year or more and clearly haven't gotten taller, please report in.