It may or may not be hard for some of you to believe but this is my first time ever discussing with others my insecurity about my height. I believe I have been blessed in many parts of life; I have two parents, growing up I never had to stress about money, pretty attractive to most girls, funny and mildly charming, but for the past 8 or so years my happiness has dwindled down and grown smaller like a candle. I had never been a big kid growing up, and it wasnt until about the third grade where at my yearly checkup the doctor noticed that I had not grown for an entire year which is extremely odd for a kid of 9 years old. My mom didnt seem to care, so neither did I. The doctor assured that everything would balance out and that I'd end up around my Dad's height at 5'9. Time went by and now I'm in 6th grade. By this time I was noticeably smaller than all of my classmates. With middle school being 6th-8th grade I was probably one of the smallest boys in the school. I wish I had numbers for you all but I know for a fact I was shorter than my mom at the time who is 5'1, so I would say it's safe to say I was about 4'10-11. This is where I became insecure for the first time in my life, about anything. I constantly tried to eat healthy foods, sleep all 8 hours and would always ask my mom to measure me in hopes of catching up to everyone else. The pain set in rather deep, and I began to have anxiety about the future and what kind of life I would have. 7th grade came and I had a spurt, I had finally began to catch up. At about 12-13 I was standing 5'3 which was pretty average for that age. Puberty had barely set in so things were looking optimal for me at this time. All I ever wanted was to be as tall as my dad, even an inch less. I never once sought out to be tall; I just HATED being short. Going into highschool 9th grade year I was probably about 5'4. growing an inch in two years where growth is supposed to be the most active was terrible. Everyone shot up past me. Fast forward to 20 years old I stand 5'5-5'6. I've tried so many times to to convince myself that it's just a part of life and that everyone has insecurities or even do things that I enjoy to remind myself of all that I have to be grateful for but as of recently those things that have made me happy are starting to fade as I finally face reality. Unless I do something, this is my height. forever. I'm sick of making excuses on why I can't meet with people or go out and do things that I want to because I hate my height. I wear insoles in my shoes to give me an extra inch which doesn't even make me feel good anymore because of how embarrassed I feel when the shoes come off once I go inside. This insecurity has eaten up part of my personality to where I hide my feelings and distance myself from others, even my family. I hate going out now, and would prefer to just stay home and play video games but not because I enjoy them so much! simply because I don't want to have to allow other people to see me. For quite some time I felt resent to my mother, because it is her genes that gives me such short stature, or even to my younger sister who luckily gets to be the same height as me. The older I get the more guilty I feel about all the opportunities I've missed out on and how much happiness and experience I have missed out on. I believe I'm at the point where LL is the decision that I must make for myself, I've tried very hard to get past this for the past 8 years and I have given it my all. I am not going to risk looking back on my life and regretting all of the things that I missed out on because I was insecure. Now more than ever, I deserve to be happy.
At 20 years old, I finally allow myself to meet reality
Do LL, get 6-7 cm taller and you'll have a drastic chamge in your life.
Still you won't be tall enough for many women but noone will disrespect you for your height and if you have a good body and style you'll have successes with women too.
So your only choice is LL, moaning about yourself won't change anything.
Well said.
Quote from: lickerish on April 18, 2018, 10:44:10 AMI'm sick of making excuses on why I can't meet with people or go out and do things that I want to because I hate my height. I wear insoles in my shoes to give me an extra inch which doesn't even make me feel good anymore because of how embarrassed I feel when the shoes come off once I go inside. The older I get the more guilty I feel about all the opportunities I've missed out on and how much happiness and experience I have missed out on. I believe I'm at the point where LL is the decision that I must make for myself, I've tried very hard to get past this for the past 8 years and I have given it my all.
Hey that's exactly how I also feel and what I experienced. And I'm 20 years old, too. Only shorter than you. I'm 5'3 and my dream would be 5'7 or even a bit more if possible (considering proportions).
It's funny because I think that it would have been a lot easier for me If I were 5'6...like you. But I get how many men wouldn't be pleased with that either as my aim height would be above that, too.
Even though I really want to do this as soon as possible we shouldn't forget the risks of this surgery. So before doing this we should enjoy life on our own(not concerning about others, women). Like doing sports, travelling and stuff even if it's only for a summer before.
Dear Lickerish,
This is also the story of my life.. But I am a bit older and at your age I had no options for CLL.. The first time I heard about CLL I was relieved.. for the first time in my life I realized that being short is a "choice".. There IS something I can do about it...I am planning doing CLL next year, in my late 40s. So try to change your mindset and focus purely on how to get CLL... make a plan for the project, duration of the project is no issue, since there IS an option now, you can afford time. Read about the dangers of such a big, big operation(the option IS there, but it still is a huge project), get your funding in gear, get a proper education, eat healthy, work out etc etc....Your still very young, believe me, you still have a lot of time to be happy...
As I gather from your post, you are a smart kid with a lot of mental maturity and even easy on the eyes... so the future is yours... Say in the next 10 years(it sounds like a lot of time, but I assure you that the best years of your life are past 30) you get 2 operations for a total of 4 inches(10cm), at 5'10 you are of decent height anywhere in the world...
Being short sucks. Being short can cause severe mental trauma... but also make sure that height is your only problem, so before starting this whole journey get some therapy. It will only make you better prepared for the whole thing..
Good luck, my friend.
I need to save a standard reply for threads like this.
But from your OP, it's clear you need some form of therapy/counseling. I know some posters here get mad when I bring therapy up, since therapy can't make you taller. However, due to sentences like:
QuoteI'm sick of making excuses on why I can't meet with people or go out and do things that I want to because I hate my height. I wear insoles in my shoes to give me an extra inch which doesn't even make me feel good anymore because of how embarrassed I feel when the shoes come off once I go inside. This insecurity has eaten up part of my personality to where I hide my feelings and distance myself from others, even my family. I hate going out now, and would prefer to just stay home and play video games but not because I enjoy them so much! simply because I don't want to have to allow other people to see me. For quite some time I felt resent to my mother, because it is her genes that gives me such short stature, or even to my younger sister who luckily gets to be the same height as me.
Even if you still do CLL and are/start saving for it, it seems to me you still need someone who listens to you and tries to help sorting some of these feelings out.
CLL and therapy don't need to be mutually exclusive.
Take the optimal routes to alleviate your suffering in life.
By the way, you can get a lot more than just one inch with elevator shoes. That'll help too.
Also, do spine stretching exercises before going to bed, if possible. If you're the type who stays sat all day, there's a good chance you have both terrible posture and you can get a decent amount of height by doing stretching exercises and correcting your posture (one also helps with the other).
Yep, I was average height (5’3) towards the end of middle school and beginning of high school as well. It was such an amazing time, I was really popular with girls and had a massive friend group, and for the first time in my life I felt genuinely popular and normal and dominant in the way a male should be. (I was kinda short all my childhood as well). I thought I would at least be 5’7 or 5’8 given my height back then... then of course over the next 2 years everyone shot up 6+ inches while I stayed the same height. Also 20 now and 5’6 and it’s a nightmare obviously, people treat me completely different, girls do as well. It’s like I’m a ghost desperately trying to fit in and pretend he is human, all the while not being taken seriously by anyone.
I always knew since the age of 14 if I didn’t grow significantly more I’d be fkED, I just didn’t think it would be THIS bad. I remember being angry at the thought of only being 5’7. I would KILL for that extra inch now.
I’m still in disbelief at how much I didn’t grow. My body proportions don’t even look that different from when I was 13. My body frame is still small and my waist is still narrow. (This is even after working out). Meanwhile a lot of other guys I knew at 13 with my body type, not only did they grow significantly until they were 16, but then after 16 their bodies became much wider and broader. It’s fking embarrassing having to hang out with those friends now, it’s like I got left behind. I’m really in shock at how juvenile my bone structure is, because my dad looks very manly and broad and he’s also taller, I still look like a little kid compared to him. But my mom is only 5’1 and my grandfather is 5’0 so I’m not that surprised.
And yes, I resent my mother as well. Only because she noticed I was depressed and I brought this up and she tried comforting me by telling me I was “tall” and “not short.” Then I brought it up again and she got genuinely mad at me and started yelling at me, saying that I have to stop thinking about it already and shouldn’t let it hold me back in life. 
Thanks mom, your right! Everything is gonna be just fine!
So I don’t think you should vent out to your mother expecting a lot of sympathy. They will never understand, on the basis alone of being female. Start saving up money right now and hope for the best. Good luck!
Your situation is so similar to mine it's uncanny.
I'm also about 5'5-6 and am 20 years old. Was considering HGH but I guess that my growth plates have almost certainly sealed now.
Only problem is I don't see how I'm ever going to be able to afford it, I'm very poor in the UK, starting university this September, hoping to get into banking, we are talking 5 years minimum, 10 years realistically as it would be difficult to take time off for LLS when I'm in the middle of my career.
Quote from: hirsty on April 22, 2018, 09:54:17 PMYour situation is so similar to mine it's uncanny.
I'm also about 5'5-6 and am 20 years old. Was considering HGH but I guess that my growth plates have almost certainly sealed now.
Only problem is I don't see how I'm ever going to be able to afford it, I'm very poor in the UK, starting university this September, hoping to get into banking, we are talking 5 years minimum, 10 years realistically as it would be difficult to take time off for LLS when I'm in the middle of my career.
You aren't alone in this.
We have lots of diaries where people state they only learned about this procedure a decade before they actually did it. Hang in there.
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