I think my feet are getting bigger!

[Dee*Jay]

I've always been a US 5... which is miserable because it's almost impossible to find shoes in that size (I even buy girls' flats and sandals on a lot of occasions). Because it's so hard to find a 5 I've learned to wear a 5-1/2 in most things. It's amazing what you can do with an insole, a heel gripper, and some toilet paper! But these past few weeks I've noticed my big toe on my larger foot hitting the front of my tennis shoe as I walk to work. Same socks as always. I did put a new kind of orthotic in from last year, but I've been walking since March and this only recently started. Is this possible? I *think* so based on what I've come up with on google, but does anyone have any real experience with this? And when does it stop? Will I become a 6... or a 16?!? I want to buy some new shoes (going out today to get new tennis shoes) but should I get a whole new shoe wardrobe or will it all be too small in a year?

Ah, the joys of getting older! NOT!!!!!

 

[chrono]

Could it be that your arch is collapsing, which leads to your feet "growing" larger?

 

[VRBeauty]

Is it possible that your feet are getting wider? I find that I can go down 1/2 size (or more) in shoes that come in a wide width - I guess my wee little bunions make shoes feel shorter than they actually are. That said, my shoe size did increase, lenghtwise, a whole size over the last - well, let's just say in my adult years.

ETA - I guess you have a more limited selection with such a small shoe size - but do you also get great bargains at sale time? My feet seem to be right in the "most popular" size range, and it's slim pickings when it comes to bargains.

And while we're chatting, how are you enjoying your Nespresso?

 

[Dee*Jay]

Chrono - My arch is quite low on that foot anyway, so maybe it's falling farther? I would think the orthotics could support it up enough to make it shorter... but maybe not?

VR - my feet may very well be getting wider (I'm not sure), but it's the length I notice for sure. And sadly no, I don't really find bargains because stores carry what sells and most of them start their selection in a 6. If they ever did have a 5-1/2 it's snapped up early on by one of us small footed creatures glad to pay full price just to have shoes that fit! And my Nespresso is still AMAZING! Every other cup of coffee pales in comparison. Now that it's warmer I've even taken to making coffee ice cubes so I can have iced coffee without watering it down. Spectacular!

 

[kenny]

Dee*Jay, I'm certainly not laughing at you, but this is funny.
It was a joy to meet you at that PS GTG and picturing you for a second with size 16 feet made me spit out my coffee.

Perhaps mention your feet on your next doctor visit.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Kenny, if I really do become a 16 I'd be spitting out my coffee too!

As for my next doctor's visit... I pretty much only go to the doctor when some major part of me has fallen off or I've sprouted a third leg or something... But if I start growing extra toes I will definitely make an appointment!

 

[kenny]

Kenny, if I really do become a 16 I'd be spitting out my coffee too!

As for my next doctor's visit... I pretty much only go to the doctor when some major part of me has fallen off or I've sprouted a third leg or something... But if I start growing extra toes I will definitely make an appointment!

Uhm, go-friend, may I say, you ain't no spring chicken?
May I recommend annual checkups?
Better to catch nasty things early.

 

[Dee*Jay]

I know mom, I know... !

 

[Dee*Jay]

And I just had a terrible thought... What if only my right foot gets bigger (by continuing to flatten) but my left one doesn't? My right one has always been at least half a size bigger anyway -- that would be a real disparity in feet sizes! Forget stuffing toilet paper in the toes -- I'd have to go for paper towels!!!

 

[Calliecake]

Hi DeeJay, I have the same problems if I gain a few pounds. I lost about 7 pounds a few years ago and my shoe size went down a 1/2 size. If I gain the weight back my shoe size also goes up. That is the only thing I can think of that would cause your feet to get larger. I'm in my mid fifties so I'm assuming if they were going to change size for no reason it would have already happened. I have never heard of feet getting larger with age, just noses and ears!

 

[boerumbiddy]

It is not uncommon for feet to spread in pregnancy and during other hormonal changes, and the joints do relax with age. Thus the bones stay the same but the feet end up spreading out. If you do end up with mismatched feet, there used to be some online exchanges for you to send the unmatching shoe to someone with a reciprocal problem, as I recall.

 

[boerumbiddy]

http://www.oddshoe.org/

 

[Dee*Jay]

Callie, the links I have come across often list ears, nose and feet and the things that grow. I really don't want bigger ears either because then I will want bigger earRINGS!!!

boerumbiddy - that exchange idea is genius!

 

[Calliecake]

Callie, the links I have come across often list ears, nose and feet and the things that grow. I really don't want bigger ears either because then I will want bigger earRINGS!!!

boerumbiddy - that exchange idea is genius!

Great! Now I can also add feet to the list of things that are going change. This getting older is such a joy....not. I forget to ask you if you could possibly be pregnant? I'M JOKING!!!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Callie, I am MOST DEFINITELY NOT preggers!!! That is one of the first things that pops up when you google adult feet growing though, ha ha!

 

[Matata]

Yep. Nothing graceful about the aging body. Feet get bigger, noses and ears grow and we start to look like an elephant on skiis. Sigh.

 

[CJ2008]

That is a small foot, Dee Jay!

I thought my sister had a small foot, at 6 or 6.5 - small shoes especially heels are so much more attractive...

But yes, nothing graceful about getting older. Nothing. Unless you are extremely good looking to begin with and have been blessed with gorgeous skin and hair...then maybe it's somewhat tolerable...

I went to Marshall's yesterday looking for a new set of bathroom accessories and there was this by Kassatex which I couldn't even look at because it reminded me of a saggy aging wrinkly body http://www.target.com/p/kassatex-mojave-lotion-dispenser/-/A-16717425?lnk=rec|pdp|viewed_viewed|pdpv1

 

[diamondringlover]

I use to wear a size 5 or 5 1/2 in my teens and twenties..then I had a baby..then my feet went to a 6 - 6/2, then in my thirties I had another baby..my size went to a 6 1/2 - 7...now I am firmly in a size 7 wide

and after reading the most current post my ears are fatter as well....nose doesnt seem to have grown at least!!!

 

[artdecogirl]

Same thing here, size six as a teen, after three babies size seven. Now I am in my late forties, have gained weight and have arthritis in my feet, now I wear a solid 7.5 Sadly the same has happened with my ring size Not quite to the same extent but more then I would like.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Matata, I wish someone would just take me out back and shoot me before this aging thing progresses any further… ACK.

CJ, LOL on the bathroom accessories!

Diamondrnglover, didn’t you find that your option increased exponentially as you moved out of the 5 to 5-1/2 range? Just in standing in front of the size based racks in shoe stores that organize that way, the 5is rack is so small but by the time you get to 6-1/2 there’s a HUGE selection!

Artdecogirl, my ring size is probably ½ bigger than it was when I got marries in the late nineties, but I attribute that to being fat right now as my ring size has definitely fluctuated with my weight… but never my shoe size before!

So I went out at lunch and bought some Saucony shoes in a -- drum roll please! -- 6-1/2! Some of that might be attributable to the very thick socks I wear with my tennis shoes, but I have never ever in my wildest dreams imagined I would buy a shoe of any kind in that size. I'm really kind of thrilled right now! Makes me want to buy my own brannock device, LOL!

 

[LAJennifer]

I just wanted to chime in and say that I, too, wear a size 5. I can't even do a 5.5 with tricks. It is sooooooo hard to find shoes. I hope my feet grow.


I would be interested in buying your hand me downs.

 

[House Cat]

I have been told more than once that feet continue to grow throughout our lives. Actually what I have been told is that our feet, nose, and ears keep growing.

I haven't actually verified this, but my feet have definitely grown. I was a size 7.5 before pregnancy. The act of joints softening during pregnancy caused me to gain a half a size. I stayed a size 8 for many years. Now, I am sneaking up on a size 8.5. In flip flops, I can be a size 9.

 

[iLander]

Yeah, they grow. I used to be a 7, then 7.5, now mostly 8.

My boobs have grown too. But in the wrong direction (downward).

 

[jazzoboe]

Interesting. I'm a 5 1/2 - 6, depending on the brand and style. Many places hardly stock anything smaller than a 6, so I get so annoyed when I try on a 6 and it's too big. And the small sizes go so quick, half the time I can't find a shoe I like in a whole store that is in stock under a size 7. I've definitely done some doctoring with insoles and such to make larger sizes work. My wedding shoes were a 6 1/2! Yeah I definitely wouldn't mind gaining a half size or so. Luckily my feet are freakishly equal in size. When getting sized for shoes a few years ago, I was informed that it is very unusual to have both feet the same size.

 

[House Cat]

Yeah, they grow. I used to be a 7, then 7.5, now mostly 8.

My boobs have grown too. But in the wrong direction (downward).

Ha! I was thinking "I wish my boobs would grow!" Then I read the rest. I think that is happening to all of us!

 

[LLJsmom]

I went from 7.5 to 8.5-9. Due to running and bikram yoga

 

[luv2sparkle]

I went from a 7 to an 8.5-9 and yes one foot is and 8.5 and one is a 9. So annoying. Mostly I stay with 8.5 except in running shoes. It better stop or I will be able to use my feet as skis. Not a good thing.

 

[Sky56]

The arch settles down with aging. I have healthy feet but they are quite big - I am up to 10.5 US womens or 42 European, I can get away with size 41 in sandals. I wore a womens size 7 when I was 8 years old. My hands and feet are big and I am 5'4" yes I lost a half inch from aging and my feet are bigger, yay!

 

[diamondringlover]

Diamondrnglover, didn’t you find that your option increased exponentially as you moved out of the 5 to 5-1/2 range? Just in standing in front of the size based racks in shoe stores that organize that way, the 5is rack is so small but by the time you get to 6-1/2 there’s a HUGE selection!

lol not really because my feet are so wide, I have a very difficult time finding shoes!

 

[Gypsy]

I had the same thing happen. A full size. I've always been a 7.5-8m. Not all the sudden I'm an 8.5-9m.

I had it remeasured agian and again. My toes are short. But my arch is clearly in 8.5 territory now! Must have fallen.