# @ciarafoyinc on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DaBdNJDyupG
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/67163414-ciarafoyinc-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/52f3a407f4.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-06-25T20:45:50.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Ciara Foy // Nutritionist • Hormone Expert • 20 Yrs (@ciarafoyinc) — https://gondola.cc/ciarafoyinc

## Caption

You walked in exhausted, foggy, not sleeping, gaining weight. And you walked out with a prescription for the pill.

I’m a nutritionist who has specialized in women’s hormones for over 20 years, and I see this frequently.

Here is what nobody told you. The pill does not give you hormones. It takes yours away. You were told your levels were covered. They were being switched off.

In a meta-analysis of 1,495 women, the pill dropped free testosterone by an average of 61% (Zimmerman et al. 2013). For some women it suppresses ovulation too. And testosterone is not just about libido. It is how you hold muscle, stay insulin sensitive, think clearly, and feel driven. Estrogen and testosterone together are also what protect your bones.

This is where the truth matters. Birth control was designed to prevent pregnancy. It was never designed to protect your bones, your brain, or your heart for the decades ahead. Bioidentical hormone therapy is. BHRT is shown to increase bone density and lower fracture risk (Genazzani et al. 2021). The pill and HRT are not the same tool, and they do not do the same job.

When I run hormone testing on women in their mid 40s who have been on the pill for years, I regularly see levels you would expect after menopause. Not declining. Already there. And every one of them says the same thing. Nobody told me this could happen.

This is not anti-pill. It is about being told the truth before you fill the prescription. You deserved that conversation.

Comment PERI and I will send you my perimenopause guide. It helps you steady your blood sugar, calm inflammation, get a handle on cravings, and ease your symptoms. This is the foundation, and it works whether you are on the pill, on HRT, or nothing at all.

Save this for your next appointment, so you walk in knowing the questions to ask.

Follow for the hormone science nobody explained to you after 40.

#perimenopause #hormonehealth #womenshealthover40 #perimenopausesupport #hormonebalance

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## Tags

hormonebalance, perimenopausesupport, hormonehealth, perimenopause, womenshealthover40

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