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Can you lose height if you have a really bad diet with no exercise, no calcium in diet and no vitamins? Because I have lost like 2 inches this year due to horrible diet and bad working schedule?
Optional Information: Person's Gender: Male Person's Age: 20 Already Tried: Nothing
Hello!
Yes you can lose height with age but you should not have lost 2 inches by age 20!
Loss of height may occur with advanced age due to weakening of the bones>> osteoporosis. This can lead to colapsing of the vertebrae and some forward leaning (kyphosis)
I defintely have, I feel horrible, all this time I have still been saying I am 6'2...
But I am measuring now at 5'11?!? why?
Discs spaces also narrow with time as well
But what if I am basically starving due to over-working with no calcium or vitamins at all?
This make me wonder if one of these readings was accurate. Could it be that one was with shoes and another without plus possibly other error in measuring?
I have all classic symptoms of calcium defficiency, my nails break easily. I have sever muscle cramping
You do need to take care of yourself and eat a balanced diet
It may not hurt for you to take calcium along with vitamin D supplement.
Yes, they are accurate. I can send you a picture of last year when I am clearly a "tall" range for man, Now I look average at 5;11
But Can I gain back the inches?
You may want to take a general vitamin as well to help protect against defeciencies.
It has been such a blow to my ego....can I gain the inches back?
Generally no BUT i wonder if the more recent was really accurate. Might you have had a slumping posture for example
Well I would have the height measure rechecked...
I swear to G*d, Doctor, these measurements were taken at doctors office
But doesnt low or no calcium equal weak bones and overall height loss?
Well that does not aleays mean they are accurate as the staff are rushing people through...
Yes it can..
I am also one of those crazy guys that knows his height down the the millimeter, these measurements and height decrease is real
Why don't you schedule a physical and address these concerns with your doctor. Have them measure your height CAREFULLY and make sure your posture is good. I feel that your result will probably be improved.
Doubt it, I just moved, dont even have a doctor yet, have basically been over worked with a horrible diet since january, I have probably shrunken even more...
Work on improving your diet. There may not be much to do about the over-worked part...
Plus I am a hardcor bodybuilder and can tell you just from that I lose a solid inch every time a train shoulders. I gain it back a couple hours after any workout where the weights move above my head
If I pay more can I get a better answer?
Right and there is some minor change from morning to evening as well
Your not really elaborating or going into detail
What more do you wish to know or discuss?
What details do you need?
LOL basicalyy: why the heck does a healthy young male lose inches in height?
Im not crazy, people even tell me I look shorter since last year.
there must be asolution?
Well that typically does not occur to the degree that you describe. I would suggest that if this is confirmed that you consult an orthopedist. This would really be abnormal for your age unless this is a spurious result.
That is why I have suggested that you first MAKE SURE that you have an accurate result
I do.
Why would I make this up?
And on top waste my money and time??
You could have a connective tiisue disease which may affect the discs in your spine.
Took a long time to choke that up info, Doc
If the disks were flattening too much then this might account for the loss in height
An x-ray of the spine may help in determining this.
What are the causes? Is it reversable?
Some diseases of the connective tiisue are heriditary and may not be reversible.
But since I am displaying classic symptoms of calcium defficiency; could not the loss in height be due to that, theoretically?
You can take chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine (1200/1500mg/day) to support your connective tissues.
Also take vitamin C 500mg/day
Well I have never seen a case of your severity at your age. Yes you are right in that calcium deficiency can cause height loss. We typically see this in geriatric patients however.
so botXXX XXne, if it is due to spine and whatnot, cant I take better car of myself and heal my spine, thus gain the few inches I lost due to my horrible diet/nutrition, in theory?
I have never been under 6 foot in my entire life.
beleive me
It depends on what has happened as to how reversible this may be
Which specialist would I need to see?
I would recommend that you consult an orthopedist to evaluate you as the next step.
I would obtain a bone density study, spine x-rays, calcium and vitamin D levels.
I know of other people that go on severe diets and lose some height due to horrible nutrition
Is limb lengthening surgery only for very short people?
I would advise to hold off on the aspect of your work outs where you lift weight over your head until this can be checked out further.
You are jumping way down the road on that one and this is not likely to be indicated for you.
Well, my vitamin levels should be horrible right now. I dont even eat. I have never been like this. My urine is dark yellow etc...
I am sorry but I cant live my life under X XXXX...XX XXX..
You may have degenerative disk disease and this could be aggravated by the weight lifting...
Doubt it, I lifted all the time and never lost weight before. This height loss, in my opinion, is due to a poor nutrition with no calcium and all the vitamins the body needs. Last year I would eat really really good and I was even an inch taller than normal
Also I havent even lifted in like 2 months, and I am the shortest I have ever been...so its defintely not that
You have to eat a balanced diet and take a multivitamin PLUS chondoitin sulfate 12000mg/day, glucosamine 1500mg/day and vitamin C 500mg /day
See an orthopedic specialist for further evaluation.
I would recommend that you have an x-ray of the spine, a bone density test, calcium and vitamin D levels done.
Truly, doctor, it doesnt matter to me if you dont tell me what I need to hear, but, in your opinion, could I gain these couple inches back, in theory?
I think that you may gain some but likely not to the 6' 2" if your height loss is as you have said..
Why not?
Have you had a bad back injury in the past?
Im gonna start scheduling my limb lengthening ASAP...
A compression fracture might explain your height loss...
My back hurts every time I sit on a weak surface, like a soft couch, basically anything that isnt sturdy
due to weight lifting?
It could be
is it reversible
but I have never injured myself lifting and I have been lifting since I was 12 and not even that has detered or stunted my growth at all
It depends on exactly what is going on. If you have disks that are flattened then they may recover to a degree. If you have had compression frature of the vertebrae then that is not reversible.
I doubt its that
Well you need further evaluation to see what is going on.
Like I said I maybe have worked out a total of 30 times between Jan and March this year, very light weights, not even half of what I lift, I wasnt even trying to gain mass...
OK
Now, this has taken a toll on my social life. I dont even go out anymore..I feel like I dont measure up anymore...
Do you eat much fruit or vegetables in your diet?
This is very important to me
I dont even eat anything healthy in the least bit. I eat maybe a couple times per day. I have been incredibly busy...
Diet is horrible, Im gonna take time off to fix everything
Well vitamin C is critical to our connective tissues>> deficiency causes condition of rickets>> weakening of bones, dental problems, easy brusing
I have asked this to doctors and they alll think Im sorta nuts like you do, its ok. But the way I think of it is if I lost due to horrible diet than I can gain with fixing my nutrients vitamins etc...
Also, the reason I think its due to bad diet. Is because for the past 6-7 years I have been extremely strict with my diet and have lifted all those years as well. It seems logical to me that I lost due to malnutrition as I have never lost height and never been in a bad diet or circumstance that Im in now. So these have to be the mitigating factors that contributed to my unfortunate decrease in height.
We can hope that its the case but I don't know what exactly is going on with you and so I can't give you a prognosis. This would be too specualtive on my part. I can't tell you if this may be reversible but most of the reasons that I think of would not be readily reversible as you would wish for. By all means I encourage you to take care of yourself as this would help if any thing to prevent things from getting worse.
I encourage you to seek the evaluation by an orthopedic specialist...
I think if I actiually eat form now on Ill gain it back
But due you have to be below certain height to get limb lengthening surgery?
do*
I hope this has helped you some. If you have further questions then let me know and I will be happy to get back with you. If my answer has ben helpful and to your satisfaction then please remember to press the "ACCEPT" button.
I am not that familiar with that type of procedure. I would imagine that you would have to have medical justification for insurance to pay.
My dad can pay for it, not worried about money...
Well I defer this question to your orthopedic specialist IDK....
Just one last thing. Hasnt anyone of your patients just differed from 1-2 inches in height from one physical to the other?
2 inches isnt even that much in my opnion...
but I worry about it because if I am trully gonna stay at 5'11 then I would be like 5'9 in my 50s and up and that is totally unacceptable....
Yes I have seen height loss but as I said I have not sen this at your age. I have seen this in geriatric patients mostly. It is common in the elderly due to osteoporosis.
but technically couldnt I have early osteo, since I dont even eat?
I also have somewhat of that dowager hunch...my back always hurts...
Yes you could have nutritional deficiencies that could lead to problems. That is true.
I think that your back is at the heart of the issue
Ok, let me phrase in a different way....If one, lets say, doesnt exercise. One would get fat. So one would have to exercise to lose fat. Likewise, in my opinion. If one doesnt not eat certain vitmains and minerals one gets malnutritioned with a side effectthat could be a loss in height. Therefore one would have to become better nutritioned to reverse the side effects that came from being malnutriotioned like loss in sight or loss in height or loss in energy,...no??
Yes I understand your logic!
Im sorry if I am sounding weird, but I just know that Im not crazy, why would I have degenrative disk disorder at 20? lol...not
This can happen
not that that couldnt be true...but I just dont see how I could have a spine disorder. I have a very straight gait...
You said that you have a bit of a hunch and chronic back pain and the height loss. This sounds like a back problem to me...
Which could be due to calcium deficiency...just right now my big toe nail broke for no reason....all classic symptoms of calcium deffiency...
Well my back only hurts with soft surfaces, Ive always been like that
Well as I've said I do recommend that you have your calcium and vitamin D levels checked..
haha I would be embarassed to even go to a doctor for that, I already know they are horrible
In regards XX XX logic in that paragraph, wouldnt that make sense?
According to your logis it makes perfect sense but in my experience the problems that lead to height loss in general are not readily reversible.
Ok so just as a finish thought. What are symptoms of the disk degenrative disorder and the disorders you think I have?
Degenerative disk disease typically presents as neck or back pain. Patients may have this to varying degrees up and down the spine. Often it is most pronounced in the lumbar spine. This is flattening of the disks but may also include disk ruptures. Some patients may have it diagnosed incidentally in a routine x-ray that they had for some other reason. It is not aleways symptomatic in earlier stages.
It also seems like a deep punishment if I just lost control of my diet for a few months and had to lose 2 inches permanently, there is nothing I could have done to have a spine fracture or disk degeneration, not to mention that all sounds extremely painful..
but is the general consensus is that it is painful?
I have no and never had pain in lumbar spine
We are simply discussing possibilities as it it relates to the dramatic loss in height. I can't possibly tell you any specific diagnosis as it pertains to your case. You need to submit to an exam and some testing in order to do that.
I have a mild pain from sitting in a soft backboard, at times...
ok, fair enough, but is all those spine disorders painful?
are*
Yes in general people with degenrative disk disease have pain.
Osteoporosis by itself is not painfuil but compression fractures of the spine are very painful
Thats what Im getting at, you would never think that I have that, I have a super straight gait and no pain with any physical force
exactly, I tend to lean towards have some sort of early osteoporosis, as that is very cummulative and take time to develop into its more extreme stages, although in the early stages in could manifest in loss of height or weak bones etc... so thats why I think this is all due to a calcium/nutrient/vitamin defficincy etc...
You are right that at your age I would NOT expect any of these disoders to be likely , HOWEVER I have never seen a patient your age with a 3 inch height loss so I am not sure what is going on to cause this....
well 2 inch. I believe the extra inch is when I am recieving over my limit of nutrients and minerals. I am 6'1 in a normal diet, 6;2 in a very super alimented diet and a little below 6 foot in extremely depraved diet....that is what I have noticed and documented during this past year...
Well I would urge you to se an orthopedic specialist in order to get to the bottom of what is going on. You need to be examined and as I sauid there are a series of tests that I think would be needed in your case.
Bummer, I have moved to europe and work around the clock for my new job, I dont get out much other than that, so I wont be able to have a steady doctor until like November when I move back to the states...
Well I encourage you to seek out an orthopedic specialist as soon as you can.
Ok and lastly if we have ruled out spine disorders what else could it be? logically?
what could explain a 2 inch height loss?
Well I would not expect any problem of the long bones (legs) to do this
Can loss of height due to early osteoporosis be gained back?
Not in my experience.
Seems like a deep punishment....
So in theory someone that is tall and maintains their height with a good diet will never lose height? So once someone eats bad they lose height?
Well there will be some loss in height over a lifetime in general >>even with a good diet>> we also are slightly taller in the AM when we get up than when we go to bed... so in some sense this is flexible...
Man, Im feeling so horrible right now. I feel like I have failed. I have never failed at anything....Cant believe I let my diet go this bad where I have developed early osteo...
I measure my height at same time every day
We don't know that you have early osteoprorosis. We are simply discussing theories.
Even the thought of lo20sing a couple inches due to early onset osteo due to a bad diet is very hard to handle especially at
I know but your basically saying that I lost this much height that its basically irreversible
You mentioned kyphosis....is that reversible?
Once you find out what is going on I would ask that you drop me a note on this site. I would be very interested to know how this turns out for you.
Ok
Kyphosis is an angulation of the spine....it is a forward angulation...you mentioned that you had a bit of a hump and this is what I picture.
Is it reversible?
It may be heriditary, developmental or due most often to a series of compression fractures that leave wedge shaped vertebrae
But can it be reversed by some method?
Some types might benefit from a back brace or possibly surgery>>here again I defer to the orthopedic specialist....
ok
well thanks for your time
You are very welcome!
Good luck to you.
Thanks.
Experience: 14 years as clinician in the field of Family Practice