Help I’m shrinking!

My grandchildren were intrigued to hear that old people shrink. They keep marking my height on the kitchen door where I record theirs and seem to expect me to end up down at toddler level.

My feet got bigger
They are certainly not chubby so it's not that.

Madmum - I thought mine were small at 2.5! I used to be a couple of inches taller than you but now you're 2" taller.
So many things I can't reach now ...

Oh dear,if I shrink I will disappear,am 4”10 with silly size 1.5 feet

Anyone changing their name to Mrs Pepperpot?

I've had the suspicion that I've been shrinking for the past couple of years - can't reach the little kitchen windows now (bending over the worktop, my stretch just doesn't cut it!). Can't reach the hangers in wardrobes without standing on tip-toes and swearing!
Oh well, I've always been a little five-footer - another couple of inches doesn't faze me!

I'm almost 70 and haven't shrunk. I put that down to taking HRT for the last 30 years. At my bone scan when I was 60 they told me my bone density was that of a 43 year old! I'm going to be taking oestrogen for the rest of my life. Best decision I ever made.

I’m glad I’m not alone!

I used to be 5'2", but am now just 5'0". Not due to osteoporosis, though. I'm 79, but when I had a bone scan recently, I was told that I have the bones of a 50 year-old. I hope that she doesn't ask to have them back! Being naturally short and stocky obviously does have at least one benefit!
I have always had trouble reaching up for things, due to being so short. I spotted a very handy little folding plastic stool in the local market which just flips open and is ideal for standing on to reach things.
When I had a new kitchen fitted, a few years ago, I designed it so that everything is a few inches lower. After years of working uncomfortably it's a joy to have worktops, sink, hob and cupboards at a more practical height. If I ever sell up, though, I will have to find another 'shorty' to buy the house!
Good luck to all you incredible shrinking Grans. Like Alice, when your chin hits your feet it's time to start worrying!

Yes, we do shrink. I was always 5ft 7’ I’m now 5ft 5. Before i had a knee replacement last year I was 5ft 4’. When I have the other one done the end of the month maybe I’ll be 5ft 6.??

Looks like we have all joined the same club..LOL

At 10 I was the tallest in my class, won races, scored at netball. Then I stopped growing, at 5' and a precious (to me!) quarter of an inch. I got used to being short.

About 8 years ago DS was marking his DC's heights on a chart. They wanted me on it too. He, obviously wrongly, insisted that I was 4'10". The next week I was at a hospital clinic appointment and being measured, I told the nurse how my DS had measured me inaccurately. She said 'Sorry, you're 4'10"". I apologised to DS and got used to being 4'10"!

A few weeks ago I was again measured at a clinic. I went over the sad tale of my lost 2 and a quarter inches. The nurse very gently told me I'm now 4' 8". Help, where will it end?!
No wonder I struggle to hang my dressing gown on its peg now.

I’ve also lost an inch, down from 5’3 to 5’2. The worst thing is when my 10 year old grand-daughter stands next to me and announces she’s almost as tall as me. Which she is. I know I will soon be the shortest in the family. Very depressing!

I have shrunk too. What I have noticed is my neck seems to be shorter than it was.

Down as well....was 5'2"...now only 5'

I've lost two inches off my height and two dress sizes in general. I feel like the Incredible Shrinking Granny.

My DM shrunk from 5'8" to 5'4" and the doctor said she had osteporosis and put her on medication which made her feel so poorly. We went to see a consultant at the hospital about her arthritis and he arranged a DEXA scan. Far from having osteporosus she was actually growing bone so no more medication for her after that. At 74 I am still 5'10" and tower over all my friends. I would like a little shrinkage all over. ;)

Height loss is related to aging changes in the bones, muscles, and joints. People typically lose almost one-half inch (about 1 centimeter) every 10 years after age 40. Height loss is even more rapid after age 70. You may lose a total of 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5 centimeters) in height as you age.
medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003998.htm

I was 5ft 4in, I am now 5ft 3in. I am in my mid 70s.

Weight bearing exercise, consuming adequate portions of bone health vitamins and minerals, not smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, seem to be all we can do to limit it.

I found this quite comical thinking of us all standing on tip toe and mourning our lost inches All my friends have lost height too, so I still feel as I was, really, as we re all going down at the same rate
I m afraid I ve never thought fully in metric still work in feet and inches, miles and pints in the shops our clothes are still measured in 36/26/36 ( if you’re very very lucky) Even my grandkids talk about their height in feet and inches not sure about other things

Sadly we are all going to get shorter! We lose height because the discs between the vertebrae in the spine dry up and compress. The aging spine can also become more curved, and vertebrae can due to loss of bone density. We also lose muscle in the torso which can contribute to a stooped posture. Even the arches of your feet can drop and make you slightly shorter.
Estimates vary, but on average people lose ¼ to ½ inch every decade after age 40 or 50, with losses increasing in later years, and women generally losing more than men. Research from the Baltimore Longi¬tudinal Study of Aging, for example, found that women lose an average of 2 inches between the ages of 30 and 70 (and just over 3 inches by age 80). Men lose a little more than 1 inch by age 70 (and 2 inches by 80). But averages hide wide variability: Some people lose an inch or more in a single decade, some shrink only when they get past 60 or 70, and a few don’t shrink at all. Sadly I am not among those!

You will probably be taller in the morning than later in the day. My mother could see her face in the bathroom mirror in the morning, but not by the time she went to bed.

I am astonished that so many contributors still measure in feet and inches. Was not the metric system introduced in the UK somewhere around 1971? It's so easy in meters, but then living here, we have come to adapt and after 43 years outside GB, can no longer estimate in ' and "! For what it is worth, I too have severe OP and am 1.58m. Yaw'll can work it out!!

Most people shrink with age. I used to be 5ft 2 and am now 4ft 11 inches. Hooks and shelves I put up years ago are now unreachable and now now I cannot bend down to bottom shelves. I remember my mother having the same trouble and when she was moved to sheltered accommodation complained that the bungalows were not designed for the elderly.

Same here. Was well ticked off that the5ft 9in I’d always thought of myself as is now 5ft 8in. Know it’s still quite tall, but it was part of my identity. And ironically I hated being tall when I was young. Always seemed to tower over the boys!

I have shrunk too from 5ft.5ins to 5.4 and yes its good old Osteoporosis, have got wider though! Yes it is an odd word.