height loss

[Spring72]

Hello scoli friends......had a routine work physical today and found out that I have lost 1 & 1/2 inches of height since April of this year, I am very upset about this....seeing as I was 5 foot tall in '05 and am now 4'9 and a half. People have been telling me lately that I appear shorter or that I am 'shrinking' but I just attributed it to my recent weightloss making me look 'tiny'. My pain has been increasing...for the past 4 days I have had pain in my neck (a strain to hold my head up) it comes and goes and is better in the morning, and gets worse as the day progresses. I was hoping to put this surgery off until next year, now I am worried that things are progressing fast and I may not be able to wait. I'm planning to measure myself in the morning......I swear I am so hunched over at the end of a long work day that maybe that is why I measured so much shorter! Do you think it is possible that I could have shrunk that much in a matter of 9 months??

[jrnyc]

are you sure about your time line...
were you measured in April and hadn't lost any inches...were you measured at the same office?

i have gone from 5'5 and a quarter...i valued that quarter...to 5'3 and a half...
i am shrinking from the curves...the docs say my back is collapsing on itself, what with listhesis, etc...

i really think the folks in the doctor offices know how to measure patients correctly, so i doubt it is from being tired or in pain and hunching over...

jess

[Spring72]

yes I'm sure and to clarify....I had been 5ft tall since I was 16yrs old...I was still 5ft in 2005....I was measured in April of this year and was 59 inches so I had already lost one inch...I was NOT measured in the same office today as this was a routine physical for work and they measured me at 57 and 1/2 inches. I do believe that nurses know how to measure...that is why I am thinking this may be an accurate measurement but I also think that we may be taller in the morning than in the evening due to compression throughout the day....I'm just trying to keep hope...

[TiffanyK]

Spring,

Keep up the hope... when you're 5'0 and under you have to fight for every inch you have. I always tell the DMV people that they're mean because they wouldn't let me put the 1/2" on my license!

[debbei]

I think my 'shrinkage' happened slowly over time. I went from 5' 2.5" to 5' 1.25 without even realizing it until 25 years after I got out of my brace. After surgery I gained that back with a little extra, and am now a whopping 5' 3".

Have you seen a surgeon yet? Maybe you should go back to have another xray and see where your curves are at this point. 38 doesn't seem so old that you can't wait a few years, but if you really are progressing that fast, it may be a different story.

((Hugs)) I'm sorry.

[jrnyc]

well, i haven't had my NYC license for 3 years now, but they used to let me put 5'5" and 1/4 originally on my license...i hung on to that on quarter for years and years and years...they used to just renew thru the mail...no new measuring!

sounds like PA DMV are very mean...and possibly tall, too

i try to hang on to all kinds of hope...
but i know deep down that my spine is getting worse...with age, my spine has no direction to go in, besides downhill!
that is not to say it is true of you...

jess

[Spring72]

Spring,

Keep up the hope... when you're 5'0 and under you have to fight for every inch you have. I always tell the DMV people that they're mean because they wouldn't let me put the 1/2" on my license!

Thank you......I was so 'proud' of my 5ft status at one time...my family members think my stature 'cute'...me? Not so much

[Spring72]

I think my 'shrinkage' happened slowly over time. I went from 5' 2.5" to 5' 1.25 without even realizing it until 25 years after I got out of my brace. After surgery I gained that back with a little extra, and am now a whopping 5' 3".

Have you seen a surgeon yet? Maybe you should go back to have another xray and see where your curves are at this point. 38 doesn't seem so old that you can't wait a few years, but if you really are progressing that fast, it may be a different story.

((Hugs)) I'm sorry.

It's nice to see that you have gained height back, that part sounds promising to me I last saw my surgeon in November when I made my decision to wait, he assured me that it would not progress enough to change the surgical outcome by waiting another year...now I'm not so sure. Thanks for the hug, I needed it

[Spring72]

i try to hang on to all kinds of hope...
but i know deep down that my spine is getting worse...with age, my spine has no direction to go in, besides downhill!
that is not to say it is true of you...

jess

Thanks jess....still hoping it is not true

[jrnyc]

well...i always wanted to be very tall...or very short...in between didnt interest me...
i guess if i don't have the surgery, i'll be shorter and shorter...

my non scoli sisters are 5'8 and 5'9...don't know why...parents weren't tall....

that's life i guess...

hope you find the answers that are right for you...

jess

[Singer]

Hi Spring,

I am your size - used to be 5 feet and shrunk to just under four-ten. After surgery, I'm back up to 4-11 and three-quarters!!

Judging by my own experience, I feel it's entirely possible for shrinking to accelerate after your curves reach a certain point and gravity begins to take over. I shrunk (shrank?) about an inch and a half in less than two years...in my case, right after I turned 50 and my curve edged toward 70 degrees.

I've always liked being short, but I did NOT like slipping under four-ten. I feel much more "average' now. Good luck to you as you consider surgery.

[Spring72]

Hi Spring,

I am your size - used to be 5 feet and shrunk to just under four-ten. After surgery, I'm back up to 4-11 and three-quarters!!

Judging by my own experience, I feel it's entirely possible for shrinking to accelerate after your curves reach a certain point and gravity begins to take over. I shrunk (shrank?) about an inch and a half in less than two years...in my case, right after I turned 50 and my curve edged toward 70 degrees.

I've always liked being short, but I did NOT like slipping under four-ten. I feel much more "average' now. Good luck to you as you consider surgery.

4'11 and 3/4 woo hoo! Would really love to be that height again, that is very encouraging! I always liked being shorter rather than taller but this under 4' 10 thing is for the birds.....although my son is liking it....seems he is towering over me quickly anyway but this just adds to it! lol Thanks for wishing me luck...looks like I may need it sooner than I thought