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I am short in height at the age of 20, is there anything I can do?
Hey there,
I am a 20-year-old Turkish male who has a height of 5'7 (around 170 cms). My mother is around 4'11 and my father must be something like 5'9 (around 175 cms). I am one of the shortest guys among my relatives (we can say that at least 5 or 6 relatives are only a few cms longer than I am, but still). Having a short stature influenced my mental health in a bad way even though I have been trying to overcome the thought of it and get more positive with it. I even sometimes get bullied just because of it and it hurts me a lot. Other than these, I am a huge volleyball enthusiast and even though I have good technique and knowledge of the game I can't play it properly because of the apparent and unmodifiable disadvantages I have.
My sister who has a height of 5'1-5'2 (150-155 cms) is also suffering from the same situation but she also has scoliosis so not so sure if our short stature is caused by the same specific reason.
She once was referred to Genetics specialist and that specialist told my sister that if she was referred to her before the age of 21 she could have prescribe some sort of injections that could make her grow taller.
Now my sister thinks that I should get checked by a Genetics specialist and have those shots prescribed for myself but I am not so sure if they will work or not because I am a medical student and I know epiphyseal plates tend to stop growing at the age of 20-25.
I just wondered if there is anything I can do to grow even a few more inches at this point in my life. It will mean a lot to me if there is but even if there is not, I will just accept the truth and move on with it.
***I was on isotretinoin therapy for nearly 5 months at the age 15. I thought it could be one of the reasons why I was not able to grow longer.
Thank you for your attention.
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@aykut
Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect!
You have a valid concern and want to know if you can expect further growth.
Your sister’s height might be influenced by her spine curvature.
My advice is to see an Endocrinologist- Pediatric if possible. They are better trained, I think, to evaluate growth problems. They can test all hormones involved with growth and puberty in addition to check your growth plates with imaging. They also will question you about your family’s final height.
Since you are a medical student you can request an appointment with Endocrinology at your University Hospital. Pediatric/Adolescent if possible.
Please get back to us after your visit!
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1 ReactionHello there, I appreciate the greeting!
Thank you for the suggestion, I actually was thinking of consulting a family physician before all but I was kind of afraid of the idea that they wouldn't understand the state I am in and actually make fun of me for asking for such thing. An endocrinologist sounds great, I will try to schedule a visit for an endocrinologist and will let you know about the results!
Have a nice day! 🙂
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1 ReactionHi, im 19 years old, il be 20 on the 11th of this month and I'm worrying about if I still have time to grow more or not. my height is currently 5'8 and I haven't really grown since 8th or 9th grade. I'm unsure if my height is permanent but a little hindsight, my mother was 5'7 or 5'8 and my father is 6'2 my family on his side are pretty tall. As for my mom.. not as much, I haven't been to the doctor or anything to discuss it and I've never been self conscious about my height until recently, because I feel like im not reaching my full potential. I have a good diet and I exercise frequently so im not sure if this is my set height or if im destined to be taller. I know in some cases there might be a slight delay in growing, amongst other things. I just dont know If that is the case for me. Any answers and questions would be greatly appreciated.(just to add that the last time I went to the doctor I was low on iron and I dont know if that would be a cause for growth delay).
@calvinjoyner, I moved your question about height to this existing discussion:
- I am short in height at the age of 20, is there anything I can do?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/i-am-short-in-height-at-the-age-of-20-is-there-anything-i-can-do/
I think you'll appreciate the post with tips from @astaingegerdm.
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2 ReactionsI don't have much to add that hasn't been said above. I can say from my own experience that I feel like I did continue to grow into my 20's, but only a little. So that is possible.
You also mentioned iron, which is interesting to me because I have recently learned that iron does play a role in building our bones. There are a lot of other reasons to make sure your iron levels are where they should be, too. One of the best tips I've heard of for making sure you get the iron you need is to take very small doses of vitamin C, especially with meals, because the vitamin C helps with iron absorption. I used to think I was getting plenty of vitamin C because I eat fruits and vegetables, but I found out that some things don't have as much vitamin C as I thought they did.
I've found a good place to get information about exactly how much of different vitamins are in foods is to use the 'recipe nutrition calculator' tool available for free on myfooddata.com
I also sometimes take small amounts of vitamin C, either a tablet split into small pieces or by opening a capsule and taping out only a small portion to take, so that one tablet or capsule can last a few days at least.