Question:
Hello.
I am slightly confused about my growth patterns and I want some clarification as to where I’m at and how far I’ll go.
My mum’s height is 163 cm (5’4”) and my dad’s height is 169 cm (5’6.5”). I am 15.5 years old and 160 cm (5’3”). Your calculator suggests my tanner stage is 3.1. I look like a little kid compared to the boys my age who stand tall around 5’7 – 6’0 on average.
My testicles are approximately 4 ml in volume and the left one hangs down more than the right. My voice in the past year usually cracks once per week but in the past month, my voice cracks at least 5 times per day. However, my voice is still considered childish pitched. So with all this information, it seems as if I’ve just entered puberty a couple of years late and am about to have a regular puberty growth spurt. But here’s where things get interesting.
Three years ago when I was 12.5, I grew an astounding 3 cm in 1.5 months, from 146 cm (4’9.5”) to 149 cm (4’10.5”). I would wake up in the middle of the night with extreme leg pain. And I’m not exactly sure but I think in that period I had a wet dream as I remember feeling aroused in the dream and waking up with wet underwear not smelling like urine. So this suggests I had a mini growth spurt and one ejaculation at that age, but nothing else. Since then it feels like I have been in a stalemate.
I have only been growing 3-4 cm per year since then and haven’t ejaculated after that incident. Every time I feel as if I reach a sexual climax nothing comes out and I end up feeling sick for a minute. So that is confusing. And my voice has only deepened slightly in 3 years.
I got a growth plate scan on my wrist when I was 14.5 years old at 156.5 cm, and my bone age was 13 years old. I don’t know how long it will be until I will start changing. Let me clear things up for you.
12.0: 144.5cm (4’9”)
12.5: 149cm (4’10.5”)
13.0: 150cm (4’11”)
13.5: 152.5cm (5’0”)
14.0: 155cm (5’1”)
14.5: 156.5cm (5’1.5”)
15.0: 158cm (5’2”)
15.5: 160cm (5’3”)
I have a healthy lifestyle, playing various sports and getting active daily, sleeping at least 9 hours per night, and trying to bulk up and eat a lot more while maintaining a healthy diet. My over-arching question is, how tall do you think I will be? And, how long do you think before I reach a growth spurt? I don’t want you to give me false hope, I just want to know what you actually think.
Thank you for reading this email.
Answer:
The Tanner Stage Calculator puts you at the start of stage 3. The bone age test last year put you at the end of stage 2 or the start of stage 3. Your testicle size indicates you are in stage 2. Your growth pattern matches someone in stage 1 or 2. Given all of these factors, I would think it safe to say the Tanner Stage Calculator is probably accurate. This means you should experience more rapid growth within the next year.
Given the lateness of your growth, it is always best to discuss it with your doctor. Delayed growth can be a sign of other problems though the vast majority of times it is just how you are genetically programmed.
I don’t have your current weight, but I ran some numbers through the calculators for Predicting Your Adult Height and came up with answers ranging from 166 to 182 cm.
The voice typically doesn’t change until stage 4 so it will be 2 to 3 years before your voice reaches its adult version.
I suspect that your damp underwear after an erotic dream was due to your Cowper’s glands producing pre-ejaculate fluid. I would not count that as an ejaculation. Ejaculations usually start somewhere between stage 2 and stage 4, so it may still be a while.
Nausea after orgasm is not common. Since it only lasts a minute, I suspect that you are reacting to the change in blood pressure and the fact that you are having a dry orgasm. What I would suggest is to stop trying to force your body to ejaculate. Wait for it to develop. It will let you know quite clearly when it is ready.