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Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 3:17 am
by Member22
Wrench Wench wrote:I don't have a disability exactly but I did have an unusual hormonal disorder when I was younger that made me grow to a staggering height of six and a half foot by the time I was 16. Finding bras that properly fit was a real pain in the ass, the only ones made for someone with a torso my size are made for fat people which means they don't sit right on me. Hell getting clothing at all was a royal pain in the ass, my school gave up on trying to get me to wear the school uniform as at first I either grew too fast to make owning one worthwhile or later on it was impossible to find one my size.
Do you mean you have Marfan's syndrome or excess growth hormone (gigantism) by any chance?

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 5:45 am
by Wrench Wench
Member22 wrote:Do you mean you have Marfan's syndrome or excess growth hormone (gigantism) by any chance?
Yeah think its gigantism seeing as it sounds about right. My doc said I was lucky that it wasn't the usual cause and that unlike other people with similar conditions I'd be huge but healthy. Then he would typically make jokes about my parents being short saying the universe just can't stand a lack of balance overall so made me freakishly tall to counter them all being tiny.

Though I tend to scare people. Six and a half foot of Scottish muscle would terrify anyone I guess.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 6:16 am
by Smoku
Wrench Wench wrote:Though I tend to scare people. Six and a half foot of Scottish muscle would terrify anyone I guess.
this condition affects anything else apart from your hight? Like, I dunno, a bit of a manly look: a muscular body figure and all. Or you're just a very high girl that apart from size, looks like every other girl, common on the streets?

(I'm not going to any point, least of all thinking of offense. I'm just stupidly curious)

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 6:45 am
by Wrench Wench
Smoku wrote:
Wrench Wench wrote:Though I tend to scare people. Six and a half foot of Scottish muscle would terrify anyone I guess.
this condition affects anything else apart from your hight? Like, I dunno, a bit of a manly look: a muscular body figure and all. Or you're just a very high girl that apart from size, looks like every other girl, common on the streets?

(I'm not going to any point, least of all thinking of offense. I'm just stupidly curious)
Nah I'm well built as a result of my lifestyle, the overall size is the product of the disorder though. Lot of manual labour and heavy lifting coupled with good diet and exercise. As my brother put it I look like someone who should be spending their time fighting bears on mountains not fixing cars.

My doc always mentions how odd it is that my body is in proportion to my height. I'm guessing its uncommon in people with this condition.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 8:42 am
by Member22
Wrench Wench wrote:My doc always mentions how odd it is that my body is in proportion to my height. I'm guessing its uncommon in people with this condition.
This question is just out of curiosity now that you mentioned it... does your doctor check you blood sugar/glucose when you visit him? I remember it quite a risk in people of tall stature, especially those with gigantism (because they have excess growth hormone)...

I'd also like to ask... did you have this large stature since birth/childhood (i.e were you obviously taller than the rest of the class) or did the excess growth start in middle/late childhood?

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:00 am
by Minister of Gloom
Member22 wrote:
Wrench Wench wrote:My doc always mentions how odd it is that my body is in proportion to my height. I'm guessing its uncommon in people with this condition.
This question is just out of curiosity now that you mentioned it... does your doctor check you blood sugar/glucose when you visit him? I remember it quite a risk in people of tall stature, especially those with gigantism (because they have excess growth hormone)...

I'd also like to ask... did you have this large stature since birth/childhood (i.e were you obviously taller than the rest of the class) or did the excess growth start in middle/late childhood?
As far as I know(not much, that is) gigantism is usually more of a health problem because it puts stress on the heart and the bones that shouldn't be there.
Then again, as I have already said, I don't know much. Welcome to the forum, anyway. Sign up if you have the time. It might be more convenient for you.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:49 am
by Wrench Wench
Member22 wrote:
Wrench Wench wrote:My doc always mentions how odd it is that my body is in proportion to my height. I'm guessing its uncommon in people with this condition.
This question is just out of curiosity now that you mentioned it... does your doctor check you blood sugar/glucose when you visit him? I remember it quite a risk in people of tall stature, especially those with gigantism (because they have excess growth hormone)...

I'd also like to ask... did you have this large stature since birth/childhood (i.e were you obviously taller than the rest of the class) or did the excess growth start in middle/late childhood?
Kicked in around age 9. After that I grew incredibly quickly and often had pain in my joints as a result. The doctor my parents took me to did some bloodwork, took some xrays and other tests involving big machines (only vaguely remembering most of it) and eventually just said "She'll be fine. She's just going to be freakishly big".

Whenever I go to see him he'll take some blood for tests but he says I'm not at risk of anything. If people like me are at risk of stuff like that I guess I'm either one of the lucky ones or he doesn't regard it as worth making me worry over. All he ever advises me to do is make sure I eat enough.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 10:39 am
by Member22
Wrench Wench wrote:Kicked in around age 9. After that I grew incredibly quickly and often had pain in my joints as a result. The doctor my parents took me to did some bloodwork, took some xrays and other tests involving big machines (only vaguely remembering most of it) and eventually just said "She'll be fine. She's just going to be freakishly big".

Whenever I go to see him he'll take some blood for tests but he says I'm not at risk of anything. If people like me are at risk of stuff like that I guess I'm either one of the lucky ones or he doesn't regard it as worth making me worry over. All he ever advises me to do is make sure I eat enough.
Its good to hear that there aren't any complications... just keep doing what the doctor says and you'll be ok :)

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 10:49 am
by Wrench Wench
Member22 wrote:Its good to hear that there aren't any complications... just keep doing what the doctor says and you'll be ok :)
Well he's never really told me to do anything (except for the eating enough for at least two people but I do that anyways). Unless you count the times where he's told me to stop being a whiner and stop wasting his time.

There may not be any physical complications but its dam well given me social ones. Probably a few minor concussions over the years too.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:17 am
by das bruce
My mental image of you is now a ten foot tall, hammer weilding, scottish viking.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:01 pm
by Wrench Wench
das bruce wrote:My mental image of you is now a ten foot tall, hammer weilding, scottish viking.
It's a bit inaccurate.

Forgetting the over-exaggerated height I'm actually ginger which would be rather odd for a viking. Also I don't often have reason to be using a hammer.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:24 pm
by Minister of Gloom
Wrench Wench wrote:
das bruce wrote:My mental image of you is now a ten foot tall, hammer weilding, scottish viking.
It's a bit inaccurate.

Forgetting the over-exaggerated height I'm actually ginger which would be rather odd for a viking. Also I don't often have reason to be using a hammer.
A. Red is an extremely common Nordic hair color. In fact, if I remember correctly, red hair actually only came(at large, of course) to Ireland and Scotland with the Norse, in that one time they went around the British isles raping everything in sight(good times...).

B. You claim to be a wrench wench. Of course a hammer makes sense.

C. No complications is very nice. I have a friend who has a similar problem(don't really know if it's the same one, though) and he says he'll only live to be like thirty or something because of the massive stress on the heart. That sucks, I guess. Good thing that you don't have that.(EDIT: Once again, I just want to mention I am not a doctor and I might actually have no idea what I am talking about. So if someone knows better then me, feel free to share)

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:36 pm
by Wrench Wench
Minister of Gloom wrote: A. Red is an extremely common Nordic hair color. In fact, if I remember correctly, red hair actually only came(at large, of course) to Ireland and Scotland with the Norse, in that one time they went around the British isles raping everything in sight(good times...).

B. You claim to be a wrench wench. Of course a hammer makes sense.

C. No complications is very nice. I have a friend who has a similar problem(don't really know if it's the same one, though) and he says he'll only live to be like thirty or something because of the massive stress on the heart. That sucks, I guess. Good thing that you don't have that.(EDIT: Once again, I just want to mention I am not a doctor and I might actually have no idea what I am talking about. So if someone knows better then me, feel free to share)
A. And now I know.

B. Not really. There's very few things I would need a hammer for except for dinging out dents.

C. Well my doc once said I'd probably live to be older than him and he's in his sixties now. A few years back he said if he was younger he'd want to write a paper about my condition but these day's he is far too sensible to bother.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:58 pm
by Minister of Gloom
oh. cool. Now you just need to find someone with a fetish for that and you are basically fixed for (a relatively long) life.
It's a wonderful world.

Re: If you *actually have* a physical disability, what is it?

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 2:01 pm
by Member22
Minister of Gloom wrote:(EDIT: Once again, I just want to mention I am not a doctor and I might actually have no idea what I am talking about. So if someone knows better then me, feel free to share)
I guess looking at these sites would help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantism


Also about the hormone that causes this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hormone#Excesses