Should I still hope to grow?
I'm 15.5 years old, afab, and 4'11. I'm wondering if there's anything to do to help me grow taller (if that's even possible). I have never experienced a growth spurt and I've always been quite short compared to my peers. My twin sister is 5'3, my younger sister is 5'2 (she is 13), and generally my family is quite short, but not as short as I am (except for my paternal grandmother and an aunt on my mom's side). My mother is 5'3 and my father is 5'8, so it is safe to say that I'm not going to grow above 5'5, but I would like to know if I should still hope to grow or not.
Being this short gives me a lot of body dysmorphia and I'm really not sure how to navigate being looked down upon all the time (literally and figuratively).
I did start puberty quite early, but I never got the growth spurt at the start of it. It has really just been slight and steady growth from age 10 until now.
My diet is average, I do a light workout every day, and I sleep an average of 7 hours a night (though I've been sleeping a lot more lately). I'm not sure if those are contributing factors, but I would like to know if there's anything I should change about my habits that could help me grow more.
Thank you, I really just don't want to be stuck down here.
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@baattrii
Welcome to Connect!
I understand it must be confusing for you to see yourself shorter than the other family members.
I don’t think you can do anything yourself to grow more.
However, you should ask your pediatrician or primary care physician to evaluate your growth. There are tests that can predict any further growth.
Can you please give us an update after your doctor visit?
My son was the second shortest kid in school. He always was in the 15 percentile for growth/height. At age of 15 he said that the kids are making fun of him-his voice is high, there is no hair on his legs and he is short. At 15.5 years of age he had a tremendous growth spurt of about 6 inches with growing pains. Grew at 22 years of age (without medication) to almost 6 feet tall. Have your doctor to look into this matter including doing tests for pituitary hormones (i.e. growth hormone). Maybe your height is normal/not normal for you. Find out.