Help I’m shrinking!

it's a strange word - shrunk

Apparently you are taller first thing in the morning - so measure yourselves then!

My MIL used to tower over me (and I used to be 5' 5"!) but she shrank until we ended up at about the same height. However, I seem to have shrunk now.

My late DH actually lost over 3" he had a strange curve on his spine in his 60's. My DM has shrunk considerable, she is nearly 90 though & I'm aware I struggle now to reach top shelves in the kitchen cupboards

I m on the decrease too, Osteoporosis has took me down from5’7 to 5’4.5 and yes most of my grandkids look down on me and the 6’ grandson picks me up like a fairy and unfortunately that I m not ?

I have shrunk too,was 5ft 4 and now 5ft 2 {smile}

Me too Craftycat-I have always been 5ft 6 and now 5ft 7! I can’t understand it - and I do have osteoporosis so I was expecting I might be shorter when I was measured.

I've shrunk too. From 5'7" to 5'5" . I'm quite pleased as I always hated being tall. My mother used to say "We come from a long line of shrinkers".

My poor old Mum was 4’11” shrank to 4’ 5”. Osteoporosis.

I'm going the other way! Always been 5'6" but when measured at last doctor's apt I was 5'7".

Typical- I always new I was 'special'!

Unfortunately, since the menopause I've got shorter and wider!

The incredible shrinking women hahahaha.
Yes we do shrink as we get older as muscle mass shrinks with age more so if you're stooped and bend in the middle because you lose that support. I think I've lost an inch or so from my once 5'6 height though standing next to my GS I feel as though I'm standing in a hole.
Keeping on the go will prevent too much shrinkage.

Coppernob Me too! It's my spine mainly, scoliosis and loss of density and shrinking discs. I have lost about 4 inches.

I'm down too, from 5'4" to 5'3".
I wonder if it's also due to weaker muscles, to support us upright.
I had a bone density test and I was ok.

The same happened to me, Bone Density Scan. I used to be 4’11” I was measured at 4’9”. I was gutted really couldn’t afford lose those 2 inches. Buying clothes is a nightmare.

When we had our kitchen refitted about 3 years ago, I could just reach up to close the overhead cupboard when it was open. I've realised now that I stand on tip toe to close it and can't reach stuff on the top shelf. What's to be done? I do have niggles with my back, very stiff in the morning but does it warrant a trip to the doctor or will they just say "It's old age, what can you expect" ?[I'm nearly 67]

My DM was 5'2 and gradually went down to 4'9"! She still insisted on putting 5'2" on any form that asked her height, with the reasoning that "its in my passport that I'm 5'2". That'd be in the passport that expired some 30 years earlier! My MiL is now a lot lot shorter than she ever was although I don't know by how much. I was 5'7" and was always annoyed about not being 5'9". I've now started to go the other way and am 5'6". My DH has a theory on why we all shrink and get skinny as we get old but I won't pass it on!!!!

Yes... was 5ft 10 and a bit... now just under 5 ft 9ins. Two slipped discs and a crumbling spine no doubt. But what makes it worse, is they divide how much you weigh by how tall you are... so I am officially now under tall !

I have shrunk about an inch I think, though a recent measurement at a hospital had it as two - I think I was crunched up with anxiety at the time! I do seem to have less of a gap between my bottom rib and the top of the pelvic bone, so there’s more sticking out at the front! We all shrink a bit by the end of the day and inevitably there is wear and tear and compression of the cartilege (sp?) between the vertebrae.

Yes, men shrink too - was 182cm in my prime now 179cm - am 70y/o.

Like my late mother I too suffer osteoporosis and it ''can'' be but not always part of the aging process. I saw her 'shrink' over the years and now when I go for my medication review I ask for a height measurement.
Have to acknowledge that what will be will be but was fortunate in having two HR's which certainly gave me a new lease of life.

I was 5’ 2” now 5’. Osteoporosis and compression fractures in the spine! The worst thing is trying to reach things in the kitchen cupboards!!

I've shrunk too from 5'1" to 5' and also have been diagnosed with osteopaenia. An unfortunate side effect of the medication I have to take.

Willow 5ft 6 is 167cm if that's any help

Bone 'settle' as we get older and as oestrogen concentration decreases. The same happens to men but to a lesser extent, though osteoporosis cause decrease there too.

I've lost a couple of inches, down from 5'6" to 5'4" - yes I have had a DEXA scan, and no sign of osteoporosis. I think everyone shrinks in height as they age. Meanwhile, my 12 year old DGS is towering above us all at nearly 6'. In the immortal words of Kevin, "It's not fair".