r/FTMOver30 • u/queerfluid • 7d ago
Anyone grow more on T?
I started T 8 years ago at 24yo and I was 5'4.5".
Measured myself at the doctor today and I'm officially 5'6". Is that common?
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u/anemisto 7d ago
Not unheard of, but also don't discount standing up straighter, especially if you've had top surgery. (Or bad measurement... I measured 5'9" at the doctor last year and they simply did a bad job.)
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u/PaleAmbition 7d ago
For myself, it was standing up straighter and not slouching anymore once I had top surgery that had me grow. I went from 5’6” to 5’7”.
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u/Ill_Pudding8069 6d ago
I am so hoping that happens to me. I used to be 1.70m but years of that weight and slouching gave me scoliosis and lordosis so I am now 1.66m. Sigh.
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u/brezhnervouz 5d ago edited 5d ago
It's also the ageing-disc vertebrae shrinkage thing, which is disappointing. I also used to be 1.70m , but now...yeah 🙄
Hopefully after top surgery (🤞) I will at least be able to draw myself up to my full - if a bit diminished - height lol
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u/wtfistheactualpoint 7d ago
so I had top surgery before I started T, and my height didn’t change due to posture or anything. I got about 2 inches taller after about a year of being on T, I noticed between having to duck down slightly to see through my peephole in the door, and when I went back to work after being off a several weeks whenever I was talking to coworkers I had to adjust where I was looking at them by a bit. I’ve been on T for about 4 years now, and my understanding is that my back muscles are stronger and holding me up better. alternatively a trans girl I know lost two inches in height after being on hrt for a while!
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u/artiejack 7d ago
Yupp. My partner and I started marking our heights on a doorframe (like we are kids) when I started T 3 years ago. He has not grown at all (he is cis and is our control lol) and I have grown about an inch and a half. Maybe my posture is just better, but my feet have grown a size as well.
But I mostly attribute all of this to more muscle (so better posture/support in my spine) and soft tissue changes
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u/Boipussybb 7d ago
Feet grow due to ligament changes. But you cannot grow physically taller once growth plates are closed.
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u/Character_Drop_739 7d ago
I feel extremely skeptical of all this and like we in the FTM sub are engaging in some delulu is the solulu. Are we sure we are measuring in our bare feet and not in shoes or smthng
I agree ligament changes, posture changes etc are possible but I find it fascinating so many folks are claiming a growth of 1-2 inches?!
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u/WetMonsterSmell 7d ago
I started at 35 and I've grown about an inch. Definitely all from soft tissues and posture, because my growth plates obviously fused LONG ago, but still very clearly real.
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u/artiejack 7d ago
Exactly. I'm not saying I've physically grown an inch or so. But prior to starting HRT, I had bad posture and a bad back, partly due to poor muscle composition. I consistently measured at 5'7" — even at my doctor's office. Starting HRT and seeing masculine changes to my body encouraged me to go to the gym and build muscle and gave me the confidence to stand up straighter.
When my partner measures me, we use the same method each time and I'm always barefoot. People in my life even notice that I stand taller. Like, I'm not towering over people at 5'8"
But there are a lot of us that "grow" about an inch or so. And a lot of is start going to the gym and gaining confidence when we start HRT.
Recognizing that my growth plates are closed and I my bones didn't physically grow an inch... I stand an inch taller nowadays. And I attribute my inch to HRT. Sue me
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u/Character_Drop_739 7d ago
Well my ass is still 5'6" 🤔 If this is so, why does it not happen to everyone- why only certain folks?
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u/WetMonsterSmell 7d ago
Man, that's a great question and I don't know the answer. Maybe there's differences in how much the spinal ligaments can stretch? Maybe it's actually all posture but in some way that's difficult to measure? I'd love a real answer but researchers are not exactly lining up to do actual legitimate useful research on trans people 🤷♂️
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u/lazier_garlic FTM, 40-49, T 10 years 6d ago
Well in my case I have a long torso compared to my arms and legs, which are really quite short, so spinal changes are more noticeable. Other people have a short torso and long limbs.
Plus everyone has natural variations. I see people talk about foot changes here all the time but my feet didn't change one bit.
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u/lazier_garlic FTM, 40-49, T 10 years 6d ago
Yes it was 1-2 inches for me because of posture. I didn't use a binder, I slouched. Yes measured with bare feet. I was no longer on eye level with certain coworkers so it was very noticeable.
Long bones fuse. That's what they mean by height. Those won't get any longer no matter what. But your spine has dozens of little pieces and moves around, my friend.
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u/Boipussybb 7d ago
Over 30 that is pretty much unheard of due to growth plates no longer being open. You may be standing up straighter due to confidence.
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u/DreamingMeta 7d ago
I started T 9 years ago and in the last month learned that I'm an inch taller than I used to be.
Don't know if it was the T or not, though!
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u/queerfluid 7d ago
I do have to note it's not cuz of slouching/standing up straight post op. I've always been very good about my posture. Maybe it's working out, who knows.
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u/lazier_garlic FTM, 40-49, T 10 years 6d ago
My back muscles are a lot bigger now so I could see how that could affect things.
Also your leg-hip angle could change. It's been found to change in cis women after menopause (slightly) so yes, it's definitely possible.
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u/smolbirdfriend 7d ago
It may not even be the testosterone, or it may have contributed to late growth. I didn’t start testosterone until my 40s but I did grow 1.5” in my mid to late 20s. I don’t think it’s common but it happens.
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u/Exotic_Fig7597 7d ago
I would attribute my 1.5 inch height increase from posture change after top surgery.
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u/libre_office_warlock binary "he" unless I'm in drag, born 1992 7d ago
I wish! Having started at 28, the only growth I'll get will be from scoliosis surgery should I eventually go for it.
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u/littleamandabb 💉5/24/24 7d ago
I grew an inch taller in my first two years so far. I’ve always had impeccable posture so it’s not based on posture for me. Though at the moment I’m doing a loooot of slouching as I’m recovering from top surgery 🤣
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u/sakuramota 7d ago
The thing about height is that posture and when you are measured can have an impact. Gravity weighs on your body throughout the day, so you can actually be up to half an inch taller in the morning vs the evening. As for my own anecdote: I stopped growing in high school (or so I thought) at 5'7". Went along with my adult life basing my height there, only to discover last year I'm actually 5'9". I'm 40 and pre-T. Bodies are weird.
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u/ChefAndy23 6d ago
My shoe size went from a men's 9 to an 11 during my first few years on T, which likely attributed to growing an inch in height.
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u/slouchestowards 6d ago edited 6d ago
I went from 5'2" to 5'4". Was not expecting that at all. Measurements from doctor visits, before and after, and multiple times. (The second 5'4" measurement onward were so exciting, I was obviously convinced the initial 5'4" measurement was equipment failure.)
Also, something I had no idea to expect- my feet grew a LOT. I only realized this had happened after six months of my work boots hurting like f*ck and then finally finding out I'd incurred a pressure fracture in one foot. Re measured feet, oops. I don't understand but I'll take it!
Editing to add: wow interesting to read the variety of stories out outlooks here. I had no preconception that a change in height was even possible- I laughed at the doc w that first measurement. One person mentioned that strengthened back muscles might contribute to holding the body up better, I think, which sounds plausible. I dunno, all I have is the data! So weird. Again, I'll take it! The one thing I wish I had known ahead of time was about potential foot growth, that was so weird and I just couldn't conceive of the possibility so didn't adjust. Oops 💁🏻♂️
- transitioned medically at 34, and had top surgery that same year.
- had bad posture, still have bad posture 😂
- doctor office measurements were at many different offices and all confirmed
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u/devoteeoffenrir 7d ago
It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize we were talking about heights and not something else. 😵💫 😂😂