I'm a 22 year old American guy. I'm 5'10 (a bit over in the morning, a bit under at night) and a lean 160 lbs. I hit the gym and would say I'm an average athlete with an above-average physique. My desire for limb lengthening has started in the few months as I've become obsessed with my less than ideal height. Growing up I was short; I was consistently the shortest guy in my K-8 grade of 50 guys through 8th grade. However, my father is 6'2 (with his two brothers and a father all 6'3) and my pediatrician told me at my annual checkups that I, like my father, was going to grow exceptionally late and end up 6'-6'3".
Naturally, I was very excited about this prospect. I was frequently picked on due to my height. My sophomore year I even got in a fight with a much larger football player. You can only imagine how much the 4'10 13 year old version of me looked forward to being the same height as James Bond and Derek Jeter and Han Solo and my father. Up until about a year ago, I believed this story as I didn't have my first real growth spurt until my junior year of high school and was still growing, albeit slowly throughout college. I graduated high school at 5'8 and grew to 5'10 by age 21. However, I now believe I have stopped growing and will be stuck at 5'10. On a side note, I blame my inability to meet my height on gastrointestinal /asthma issues I had in my early childhood. I remember reading a study that children who had inhalers were 2 inches shorter than their peers and my inability to keep down meals certainly didn't help.
While 5'10 may not sound too bad (it isn't, its a fine height) I am upper middle class and white. For my socioeconomic group, I believe the average height is around 5'11, thus at 5'10 I am often towered over. What's more, the women and girls in my socioeconomic group tend to favor guys in the 6'+ range and I know taller guys have an advantage in business and employment. In fact, it is that knowledge that rationalizes this decision in my mind. If at some point in my career I am in line for an executive position that could confer hundreds of thousands of dollars more in income, I would hate for my relative shortness to be the reason I don't get the position.
My younger brother is 16 and already 5'9. His doctor says he should be in the 6' to 6'2 range. It is already humiliating at my family reunions with my father and his brothers and their sons all in the 6'1 to 6'4 range. It won't be any better when my younger brother joins them in a few years.
I think I have a few advantages to making this happen. First of all, having a tall father and family will make my increased height more believable. Secondly, at 5'10, adding 5-7 centimeters should be less of a burden on my body than say adding that amount to someone 5'5. Thirdly, I think I can brush off my growth rather easily by wearing half inch, then inch lifts for the 6 months prior to surgery, and then transitioning from Nike Air Max's and Oxford to Vans and Loafers for the first year or so after my surgery. It is worth mentioning, if I get this surgery I'd like to take this secret with me to the grave and confide in no one. My largest advantage is my financial liquidity. I work in a career that allows me to save up money rather quickly. If I wanted to get to $50,000 and a 3 month leave, all it would take is a good bonus season, and a job change.
I want this badly. I do not have low self-esteem; on the contrary I think I'm a bit of a narcissist. I hate thinking that I could be with a girl who desires, on any level, to be with someone else. With a high-powered, prestigious career, bodybuilder physique (working towards it at least), and handsome face, the only thing I'm missing is that 6' to 6'3 ideal height. Please, someone talk me out of this or otherwise tell me my logic is sound. As you can see, I've thought about this an absurd amount and need to either turn my vision into reality or cut bait and think about something else.
Do it if you believe that it will improve your quality of living to an extend that is worth the pain, costs, time and the reduced fitness you'll most likely have afterwards.
Your story is pretty much the same as mine. I have the same height, wheight, family background (dad is 6'3 and the relatives my age are all around 6'5) and a similar age.
I think that 5cm's are better than 7, because you will have a much harder time when doing these extra 2 cm's. Your long term recovery will probably be worse as well. 6' is a decent height anyways.
Think about it carfully, being 5'10 really is not that bad and you may regret your decision quickly. I started visiting a pyschologist and it actually helped, LL has become more of a "want" than an actual "need" for me.
Hi Alittletooshort,
I agree. 5'10 is not that bad. I'm approaching this all from a cost benefit analysis.
The measurable costs are 50-80 grand depending on the method as well as 3 months without being able to support my own weight. I will likely lose a bit of athleticism if I do more than 4cm (which is as little as I'd do) but I'm not that athletic and am encouraged by people gaining most of their strength back. I'm not too worried about the pain; I've always been very pain resilient.
On the career side, an extra 2 to 2.5 inches will likely pay dividends for the next 50 years in subtle, perhaps immeasurable ways. I have little doubt that in the long run it is the right financial decision; if it all adds up to just a 5% boost on my lifetime earnings then, given I hope to make at least an average of $150k for my career, that comes out to 300k extra in income (assuming 40 more years of working). All of those assumptions are conservative. I already make $110k, I think a 5% boost is very conservative, and 40 years would assume I retire at 62, which is exceptionally low. With a 10% boost, 300k average income, and 40 years of work, those financial benefits shoot up to $1.2 MM.
The social benefits would also be dramatic. I think I'm very handsome. I might give myself an 8.5 on the "handsome scale" but only a 7 on the "hot" scale (something I've heard from several girls, including my current GF). I think it is hard to be "hot" without having an athletic presence. Even at my peak physical condition, when I was a lean 165 lbs with solid strength numbers, I didn't quite look like an athlete while I wore clothes. At 6 feet tall, I think I could pass for an athlete. That way, if I ever broke up with my GF I could go out at singles bars and not get caught in the frustrating cycle of being not-quite-hot-enough to pick up girls consistently. Outside of picking up girls, I think my fellow guy friends would convey more respect, as dumb as it sounds, to me if I were a bit taller. Truthfully, I don't value this potential effect as I'm a bit of a loner anyway.
Finally, the self-confidence boost would also be immense. I'm tired of thinking about height 10 times a day, measuring myself against my co-workers and people I walk by on the street. If I was in the 80th or so percentile and was only towered (I think 3 inch delta leads to being towered) every once in a while instead of every day, I think I'd forget about height. I know that a psychiatrist might also help for this. I've never really been the psychiatrist type; while it is easy to confide in strangers with the help of anonymity, I don't think I'd ever be comfortable confiding in a stranger. In fact, I remember when I was very young and had some psychological troubles in elementary school (acted out, had been lightly slapped around at home and had to talk to people at school) I ended up lying to the social workers to mislead them about the situation rather than talk to them.
As you can see, the cost benefit analysis checks out. The hardest cost to account for is the opportunity cost. 3 months in a wheelchair are 3 months of the prime of my life spent reading, playing video games, and watching TV. What's more, in just a few years there might be a better alternative that comes out. I saw something about a nearly instant 3cm gain that costs quite a bit less. Considering I am aiming for 4-6 cm, 3 might be good enough. I could do some yoga and maybe wear a 1cm lift and get the remaining centimeters that way. If anyone knows anything more about alternatives to LL or the potential to stretch or use microfractures to gain incremental height, I'm all ears.
This forum must be populated by the best looking guys on the internet. Every second guy on here is at least an 8 out of 10 and if not for their height modeling agencies would be knocking their door down. 
I don't know what this comment adds. It doesn't really matter whether you think I am or am not handsome. I have no one to talk to in real life about this subject and its nice to write down and record my thoughts with the chance for someone to add insight. For what its worth, I have some some good benchmarks for my handsomeness. Most importantly, as a guy, I have good hygiene and am in good shape. That alone can put a guy in the 60th percentile.
Then my best advice would simply be seek therapy first before you make such a life altering decision. We are still fuzy on the long term effects of LL (I'm talking long term); I'm optimistic (albeit it hopelessly) that there aren't any so long as one lengthens a safe amount.
Putting your eggs all on this one basket isn't smart at all. Get help first; you can adamantly say it won't help but at least you'd be getting more diverse perspective on life then simply from your own mind and our height obsessed minds.
Quote from: Alu on December 27, 2015, 07:04:15 PMThen my best advice would simply be seek therapy first before you make such a life altering decision. We are still fuzy on the long term effects of LL (I'm talking long term); I'm optimistic (albeit it hopelessly) that there aren't any so long as one lengthens a safe amount.
I wonder if it is possible to speak the guys who got LL in many decades ago. There must be tons of people who got this done for legit non-cosmetic reasons.
Is there such a forum? I mean this procedure is many decades old and is actually meant for real medical reconstruction.
Quote from: SAD on December 27, 2015, 07:45:24 PMI wonder if it is possible to speak the guys who got LL in many decades ago. There must be tons of people who got this done for legit non-cosmetic reasons.
Is there such a forum? I mean this procedure is many decades old and is actually meant for real medical reconstruction.
yeah absolutely.When i went to see an orthopedist to check my growth plates she said that they are closed.(And i was devestated of course, i also said this out loud) she said that there are cosmetic surgeries about height increasing.She said her proffesor(or sonething like that i cant remember) did this surgery when she was a student on a midget patient to increase her/his height 15 cm.I believe my doctor was around 35-40 so she was talking about 15-20 years ago.I wish we could find patients like this for better information.
Altough people/doctors say non-cosmetic LL surgeries have very less risks and have a better recovery rate.
Quote from: LookingAround on December 26, 2015, 07:51:41 AMI want this badly. I do not have low self-esteem; on the contrary I think I'm a bit of a narcissist. I hate thinking that I could be with a girl who desires, on any level, to be with someone else. With a high-powered, prestigious career, bodybuilder physique (working towards it at least), and handsome face, the only thing I'm missing is that 6' to 6'3 ideal height.
You serious about not having low self-esteem? You're much taller than the guys on this forum, and is thinking about breaking 2 functional limbs to satisfy your inner vanity. Every prospective patient on this forum has a mental illness and low self confidence.
I was 5'4" before surgery, which leads me to think that you are a weak man for not being able to conquer your social shortcomings, despite having 'everything' and an average height of 5'10. This is a problem that we created in our heads, and ours alone.
Most of us here are shorter than you, and would suggest that you build on the great life that you already have. That said, there are some folks in the Nordics who feel absolutely short at 5'10 in their home country and end up doing this surgery.
I have two broken legs right now and am thinking why would anyone do this to themselves? And why are there so many 5'10 guys in the forum lately? You guys are stupid crazy (as am I).
Good luck and do more research--I think you are overly optimistic about 3 months of downtime.
There was a 185 guy on this forum.. (Im not sure if he is still around) and also there are many 180-183 guys. FOR REAL?!
You must be logged in to post a reply.