Single Ladies In Your Area - Sexual Health 101 Stis Contraception Smear Tests And More With Doctor Amber

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

Harriet and Amy are joined this week by Doctor Amber who gives us a sexual health masterclass, answering questions like: how can you get tested for an STI? Which is the “best” contraception? And does anyone really use femidoms? Follow @doc.ambs and @tabootopicpod on Instagram for even more sexual health information and advice.We want to hear your dating stories! Email in at [e-mail] Single Ladies In Your Area on Instagram @singleladiespodRecorded and edited by Aniya Das for Plosive.Artwork by Welcome Studio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh, hello, this is Harriet Kemsley, and I'm very excited to be back on tour around the UK with my new show, Flusi. As listeners of the podcast will know, I am really trying my best to be a bit of a flusie, but it's not going particularly well. The dates are on sale now. It's going to be autumn 2026. For tickets and information, head to plosive.com.com. Hello, I'm Amy Gladhill. And I'm Harriet Kemmsey. We're both single and in our 30s. And we've found ourselves back on the dating scene. And the landscape has changed. Everyone has settled down.

But we're back out there. We're desperately trying to figure out what the hell we should be doing. So we're going to speak to experts. Chat about dates we've been on. If we managed to get any. And share your tips and horror stories. So we all feel less alone. We might even get our exes on.

Yeah, we'll see about that. This is Single Ladies in Your Area. This week we're talking about. all about SDIs and I have a very brave confession. I wonder what that could be. And then we speak to a brilliant expert, one-only Dr. Amber. Hey, baby.

Hey, baby. Hi, everybody. Welcome to single ladies. In your area. That's so soft. So nice. Welcome in. Welcome in.

How are you? I'm good, thank you. How are you? Yeah. Yeah. All right. We're surviving, aren't we? We're surviving.

I feel frazzled. I think we've both. going on the apps. Yeah. We've been trying with the apps. Yes. Yeah. Do you know what?

I still struggle with it, but then I think back to how I felt episode one, series one. Yeah. And I, it does get better. As in, I don't know if the quality of conversation or any of that gets better. But how I feel about it is so much calmer. I'm not terrified anymore.

That's it. I feel exactly the same. I was so scared. I thought every interaction was like scary and me. and that I could fuck it up or, and no, I don't care. Although I will say, when I was in America, I went on the apps and I went on field. Because I go on just all of them and I treat them all exactly the same, which I'm learning I shouldn't. Do you have your face on field?

Yeah, because I treat it like hinge. I don't put anything. There's nothing rude about my feeling. But are you coming across it? Because I'm so scared of Field. And are you coming across a lot of that's what I worry about? So I matched this guy on Field who I thought was incredibly handsome. Like absolutely my type.

Mustache. Curly hair. Oh, come on. I was like, yes, please. And we matched and he said, hey. And then he said, hey. And then he said, oh, do you want some pictures? And I was like, yep, absolutely.

Oh. And then what? What he sent immediately was just like so graphic. But I realised, ah, right. Well, do you know what? He has asked and I did say yes. I was confused about the nature of the pictures. It sucks at this happens,

but sometimes it's like you go into their space. It's like in Bumble, the language would be, would you like a pick, they'll send your picture their brunch. Yes, exactly. You're in a different space. But that still sucks. But I mean, it was a weird one because like you say,

if it was on Hinge or Bumble or on Instagram or anything, you'd be like, oh my God, what the fuck are you doing? Arrest them immediately. Arrest them. Officer! Yes. Yeah. But he did ask. The officer's like, it was me.

Yeah. Oh, hi, officer. But yeah, I was like, oh. So I just responded with one word. Can you guess the word I picked? No. I wish I'd have put no. I put,

Blimey. That's great. And they blocked it. Because I was like, ooh, that's a lot, isn't it? I was going to put, oh, blammy. We need to unmatch.

This isn't Michael Vibbty. That's interesting because that is how I see field, I will say. It's like, it's like you go there and that's, I need to be more cautious. I think I'm feel.

they're not looking for love. Okay. I think on Field, it's like... That's an awful noise. That is an awful noise. You should see the action that's going on. She's off a chair. I think Field is like her cups.

But then I've known a lot of people that have or come across people that have fallen in love from Field. This is where I'm confused. It's not through dating. I just want to hold somebody's hand. Yeah. Boy, you're going to have to get through a lot of dickpics if you want to do that outfield. So that happened.

And I think it kind of links with the theme of today ever so slightly. Yeah, big theme. Big theme. Big thing. Big thick old theme of the S, the T, and either the D or the I. I never know which is the right. Disease or infection. Pick your poison.

Ladies choice. I'll go disease, please. Infection for me. Thank you. Well, I mean, I probably have to come out and say that this episode is poignant for me as a chlamydia survivor. So brave. So, so brave. This is an episode that I could have done with in my 20s. How did you know you had chlamydia? You got tested, I presume. How did I know I had it? That's a really good point.

I think I just got tested and found out. Nobody gave me the heads up, which is very bad. You're meant to give the heads up. Oh, right. And they need to give me the heads up. Before you... When the person gets diagnosed, they're meant to pass it on. Like a horrible chain mail.

It's like a horrible chain mail. You're meant to pass it on to the next person. You've already passed it on. You've already passed on. You've already passed on the information. And then I got diagnosed. And then I think I went back. I had no idea when it could have been.

So I went back through maybe like five years worth of people. people that gave numbers. And then it's just like everyone got these anonymous calls from the hospital. Oh my God. The hospital did it. Well, you can do it yourself. And I think I did a couple of them. But a couple of them were like, I don't know this.

Like, I'll give you their number. Because I just feel so responsible. And so I'm like, we've got to go back. You know, like we don't know when it was. Oh, my God. Really, it was international. It was an international outreach. We have a whole team of people.

We've got to let the boys know. We've got to get out there. It was a busy period for the NHS. That's about when the NHS really started to struggle. Yeah, and 2008, you know, the cost of the crisis. It was a bad time for everybody. I think I really wasn't doing, helping the economy in any way. But we've got to let the boys know.

I actually had a chlamydia scare this year. Bragg. Yeah, a little brag. I didn't have it. But I think he handled it really well in that he let me know, like as soon as he knew about it. And it was like, it was one of those things we were like, it's hard not to feel like, oh, like you've done something wrong

or that like something is bad. Like it's so like you feel like oh like it's like taints something or it ruins something. Happy to say I'm clean. I am a real stickler for condoms these days. A real stickler. I'm so embarrassing about condoms. I really, I really, I'm such like a mom about condoms.

Which is ironic really. I'm like, a mom about it. I'm like, no, no. Hate to be a stickler. Good. Yeah, I know, because so many of them are like, oh, you know, it doesn't. And in my 20s, I'd be like, oh, if it doesn't feel so good,

I want it to feel good. And I'm like, no, no, no, boys. Boys. I love that you're dressing multiple at the same time. Now then, boys. Come on, boys. Rup it up. Mama's here.

God. No, wonder you've got the old clap. I don't have the clap. I don't have the clap. This decade, this decade, I am clap free. I actually did the antibiotics twice because I was so stressed about it. Like, you just feel like, you feel like dirty. Like, it feels like, you just feel gross.

So I just couldn't stop taking the antibiotics. Have you ever had a run in with the law? With the law? No. I've been checked a lot. And I kind of, do you know, like when you go in and you're like, come, man. Yeah. Come on.

Here we go. Come on. Give me the results. Yeah. And then you're like, what, nothing at all? Have you? Nah. No, there will be, look again.

Look again. Trust me. She's not a stickler this girl. You look again. No, I once had a thing that wasn't an STD, like a UTI. That's different. It's different. I wanted to come and head cold.

It's got paper cut right there, just where it hurts. Does that count? It wasn't a UTI. It was something that's like almost a sexually transmitted disease. HPV or something like that. It had a long name. It's like Spirocuckle, Buckle Rockle. It was something, yes.

And it was from when a previous ex who I've talked about was unfaithful, I made him get a test and he had something. But luckily we had not been having a sex. Yeah. So they were like, so then I went to get tested and they're like, oh, you've got, fuck, I wonder what it was called. It was called something and it wasn't an STD, but it was something that I had to take some pills for.

In the universe. In the universe of it. Yeah. But obviously to him, I was like, I can't believe that dirty person who slept with that an SDD. I don't think anyone when the SDD is dirty. I just was in a very emotional time. I remember being so annoyed

Like my ex I think lived like I lived a life but like he lived like 10 lives before me And he'd never had an SDD And it always made me so furious I was like bad things happened to good people But I was massively responsible Well yeah I was all I remember definitely being in my early 20s

jealous of people who had SDD Really? Yeah because I just wanted to have it once Just to be like But you know what I mean? I wanted to be positive. heart of it like, all my friends are going out. Get back on field, Amy, it's possible.

Unblock, I'm unblocking him. Come around from L.A. Yeah, I just thought it seemed like pretty like sex in the city, pretty Ali McBeal. That was me. Yeah. Do you mean? Yeah. There's like, oh, girls, I'm not really drinking today because I'm on antibiotics for

chlamydia and I'm like, fuck, that's cool. Yeah. That's so fucking cool, man. It didn't feel that way. No. I didn't feel that way. People are like, why did you drink? You're like, oh, antibiotics.

And I'm like, I don't know. What about it? Infection. It's either an infection or a disease, you decide. So should we get the expert on? Let's get somebody who knows what they're talking about in this room. Please, come on. We can't be passing on information.

We've got a doctor in the house. It's Dr. Amber. It's Dr. Rumber. It's a match. Hello. Well, we're very excited to be joined by special guests. A very special guest. The one and only Dr. Amber.

Hello. Coolest name of a guest we've ever had. That's cool. I want to be Dr. Harriet. I want to be Dr. Amy, but we should never be allowed. We've not done any of the work. We should not be trusted. So Dr. Amber, do you want to tell us a bit about what you do?

Yeah, absolutely. So I'm a doctor I work in Brighton. And I've been working for six years now. I've got a special interest in sexual health. So all things sexual health, contraception. Brilliant. Yeah, love it. At the moment, I'm working in the hospital in infectious diseases.

Oh, my God. So, yeah. I've recently started doing some sort of social media stuff because I want to kind of get rid of the stigma of sexual health. There's so much stigma around it. I've been waiting to say, I am a climatian survivor. Yay. Introduce myself officially.

I've waited a while. It's been two minutes. I think I just. It just really felt as important. I'm happy that you're able to share that with the group. Thank you so much. And I haven't had an STD. But I really wanted one.

Like, I always remember being like, pretty cool. And so I think Harriet's kind of bragged. She said she had a chlamydia scared just this year. And I was like, all right. Just this year. Oh, it's fresh. Yeah, I can't stop. I'm clean for now.

You know what, though? You're not alone because most sexually active people will get an essay. at some point in their lives. It will happen, Amy. Do you really mean it? You really believe in me, guys. We believe in you. Amy, so much.

But yeah, they're so common. They're so common. And that's the thing. Talking about it reduces the stigma. So great, thanks for sharing that you had chlamydia. Thanks, guys. I've been waiting for this. Thank you.

If you're going to have an STD, which is the best one to get? Because I'm in the market for one. I'm sort of shocking around. Yeah, you're looking around. Yeah, yeah. You know what? I think we're lucky now because most STDs are treatable.

Yeah. So chlamydia is a great one to have because you get the antibiotics and it goes. I would probably choose chlamydia. Okay. But is it that if it's untreated for a while? Like that's when it can cause problems because that's what I was panicked back because I didn't know how long I'd had it for. And so it's like it can cause infertility and stuff if you don't, if you have it for ages.

Yes, exactly. So that's why it's so important to test because if it lingers, it can cause infertility. It can cause those problems down the line. It can cause pelvic inflammatory disease as well, which is really painful. So it's where you get inflammation of like the uterus, the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, and it can cause scarring, which can lead to infertility, ecotopic pregnancies, things that you don't want. So it's important to test because chlamydia, a lot of the time, you won't get any symptoms. I don't know if you had any symptoms, but...

No. No. Too demure to have symptoms, darling. In our time. What are the symptoms that you could get with chlamydia? Yeah, so symptoms you could get with chlamydia and with gonorrhea, so you can get unusual discharge, a change in your normal discharge.

Now, everybody, I just want to make it clear. Discharge was fine. There was an episode, last episode or something when we were talking about egg-yokey discharge, so let's not pretend discharge doesn't come up. I love that you're talking about your discharge. Yes, I was just talking about your discharge. Yes, I was just talking about the concept of trying for a baby, you know, that you have like a couple of days where you have. I think I said egg yolk, but I meant like egg white.

Oh, okay. No, you did say egg white. I've added the yolk there. No, I think I did say egg yolk. Okay. Because then I was like, I was going to have up to something. Everyone's going to go out like this year. What happened?

When you're discharged is like scrambled egg. Love that. Sorry, Dr. Amber. No, that is okay. And is it that men can carry it and they have no symptoms. So men can carry it and they, can also have no symptoms. But yeah, yeah. So up to like 70% of women won't get any symptoms. And up to 50% of men won't get symptoms. But is it that it doesn't really affect them long term?

So they can get infertility issues as well, but it's more common that women will get kind of the worst side effects. Of course. Yes. Absolutely. So the symptoms that you can get. Yeah, let's come back. So you can get unusual discharge, pain burning when you we. Okay. You can get discomfort. So abdominal. discomfort, abnormal bleeding. So bleeding in between your periods, bleeding after sex. They're the kind of more common things with chlamydia and gonorrhea.

But obviously there are other osteos like herpes, syphilis, and with those you can get ulcerations and kind of, they're like next tier off. Herpes, I find a bit scary because it feels like you could get that. Because is it, I feel like a child that's just like being allowed to ask. Ask whenever you want. Take it away. Adults, whatever you want.

It's going to come out with these mad questions. No, is herpes, it's like sometimes, so wearing a condom, you could still get herpes? Yeah, you can do. You can get it from kind of skin to skin contact. So if you've got like herpes lesions, whether you've got them on your lips, because it's cold so that can transfer to other people's lips through kissing.

It can transfer to their genitals if you're having oral sex. and it's kind of that skin-to-skin transmission and up to two-thirds of the world's population have herpes. Up to two-thirds? Maybe I've got herpes. Someone in this room has herpes. 100% there. One of us has herpes.

Maybe you do. Do you notice a lot of lesions down there? Not everyone will get them. You could have it and you might not have lesions. Is it good, would you say, when you're down there just to have a little look around? Do you mean on the other person or on yourself? On the other person,

I'm the other person, when you're just down there, have a little look. Could you see, you could see and then you could just be like, is there a lesion? Actually, no. Yeah, yeah.

We were talking earlier. I did get sent with consent, but it was confusing, a dick pick. Oh, okay. And I guess, I guess what I could have done, he's now blocked, unfortunately, but I could have zoomed in,

had a little look, checked for the area. Any lesions? Any lesions? I mean, if you see a lesion, ask about it. Maybe they haven't noticed it. Always mention the lesion. Always mention. Yeah.

But in a sex you were. Yeah. Oh, I noticed a big lesion. Is that a lesion on your dick? Or you're just happy to see me. But if they have, because with hubbies, they can have flare-ups. Yes. And that's when the lesions are around.

Yes. And then they can have non-flare-ups. Are they still infectious when there's no lesions? Yeah, that's really good question. So you can get something called asymptomatic shedding. So that means you don't have symptoms, but you can be shedding the virus. God damn it. Which is why, one of the big drivers for the disease,

because it spreads without people realizing, one, they have it, and two, they're passing it on. But then that's another thing. There's so much stigma around herpes, but most of us probably got it. Speak for yourself, do you. But wait, when I, when, because I haven't been tested for STDs, is herpes one that they test for?

No. So I might have it. You might have it. I might have it. I might have it. Riddled this whole bloody time. No, but I do find, you see the pictures with herpes. I do find it stressful.

Chlamydia is a much more elegant SDD. You don't even know it's there. There's no lesions. The lesions and the things I do, that is quite stressful. Yeah. Because crabs or whatever, like that's not ideal. But you can remove it. You can get rid of it.

But hubbies, it's for life. Yeah, it's not just for Christmas. It's for life. It is for life. But it's manageable. Like if you get outbreaks, there's medication to help manage them. And a lot of people will only have one outbreak and then they won't get any more. Really?

Yeah. Gosh. Oh, just one lifetime outbreak? Sometimes. Sometimes. Sometimes. Wow. So how, how, there's no way of telling if they have herbies.

If they're not telling you. No. And they might not know. So. They probably don't know. It's the same with them, HPV. Yeah. Yeah.

Because that, you know. And what's that? Up to 80% of people can have. So that's human papillomavirus. And that's the one that they check for when you have a smear. See, HPV, I find so confusing. Because I lived in America for a year. They would not shut up about HPV.

And I'd never even heard about it. It wasn't a thing we talked about in the UK at all. Yeah. But they'd be like, I have HPV and I'd be like, I don't know what that is. Like it was a TV channel. I'm like, good for you. What's on there? Yeah.

But we didn't even know it was a thing, really. What is it with HPV? Because a lot of women have HIV. Yeah, so up to 80% Asexia active people will have HPV at some point in their life. Hang on, I was coming in this morning thinking I've never had an SEDA. You are. I now believe I've got two.

Riddle. I'm riddled. I'm ridden. I'm really. Yeah, maybe. This is too many actually. Clip it. You're not happy.

You wanted one. You didn't want two. I just wanted one, a little classy one. I'm sorry. So 80% of people have probably got HPV. Up to 80% may have in their sexual kind of life. span, I guess. Most people will clear it on their own, but there's over 100 types of it, and it can cause genital warts. You've probably heard of warts. Yeah. Yeah. We've heard of warts.

Oh, okay. We've dented a few. Yeah. So it can cause warts, but it can also cause different types of cancer, which is why we screen for it in cervical screening. It can cause cervical cancer, anal cancer, throat cancers. So it can cause, yeah, not a good thing. things so we do check for it and that's what the smear test is checking for yeah exactly oh so then i don't have it because it would have it would have shown up on that yeah okay we're back down to one potential okay okay okay okay you got to get in there and sniff them okay so i recently i went away and i was at the airport and i was looking at all the condoms and um i take condoms

very seriously these days. That's good. But I was looking at the more and there's like, you know, there's like all the fun ones that you can have a fun time with. What ones were they? You know, like,

feels good. It's like thin feel. Nice fun time ones. In the corner though, then my eye glanced on extra safe and I was like, for fuck sake. Like now I've seen it, I should get extra safe.

It's a fucking myth. I bought these extra safe condoms. Firstly, no one wants to have sex with you when you have extra safe condoms. They're like such a sex with you. It's such a nerd and they're so thick and uncomfortable. It's so horrible. Yeah, it is like a rubber ball.

It's so thick and it's so like the material is so unwieldy. It's a real downer, but I googled it and there's no statistically safer than any of the fun ones. It's outrageous that they can call themselves extra safe. That is actually outrageous. I agree with you. The main thing is that it fits. It needs to fit. Okay.

You need to get the right size. Oh, that's so tricky though. If it's someone that you don't know very well and you have to be like, small? Hey, so. Yeah, but selection. Yeah. Yes.

Yes. But then they're not going to pick the small one. That's true. I think this is a really genuine, tricky thing. They don't phrase it like small though, do they? They have like big, extra big and really, really big. Oh, it's big. There's like clothing sizes for women.

Whenever you're like, it's the opposite. It's like small or very small. I think they call it trim, the small one. Trim. Trim. Trim. Trim. Trim. Trim. Trim for the quim.

But yeah, that's the important thing. That it fits. But choose whichever fun one takes your fancy. Yeah, these, but I'm on a real, I wouldn't say it's my life's work. But I think it's an important mission to let people know that they're not safer. Because I was so furious. Yeah, you went, you got it. You were doing the right thing.

I turned up looking like such a fucking nerd with these extra safe. Safety goggles. Right. Come on. In my wet suit, I've just cut out in a hole around with a funnel. That's how I do it.

I'm furious. I turned up with these extra safe condoms. Anyway, I just wanted to let all the ladies no. Public service announcement. They're not any safer. Yeah.

And you can also get them free at the sexual health clinic if you don't want to buy them. That's cool. We should go there. We should go there more. Come, please. And then we can give you free STI testing kits as well.

This is cool. Oh, so you give them a kit to test at home. Yeah, see, this is, I find very stressful. The new, see, we, we started this podcast because we were in long-term relationships, and we've come out, and it's like we've been in space. Yeah, like, trying. Genetically frozen. We've come back to Earth.

Everything's different. Like, there's apps now, and there's at-home testing kits. Yeah. Which I find so stressful. I did the one where you have to prick your finger. I pricked the wrong place. Blood's everywhere. Like, I'm there for...

When did you prick? Yeah, what did you prick actually? I swapped my finger and then I pricked my vagina. I don't even know, but it was so bad. And every time I've tried to do the blood one, it comes back and it says, we can't accept this. You're not alone. They're a nightmare.

They're a nightmare. So many people have to come in and just have to. Blood test down. You're not on your own there. Okay. But no, yeah, we've got home testing kits. You can get them sent to you on the post, order it online or come pick one up.

What do you have to do? It's a swab, right? Stick it up there, yeah. So it depends. So if you've got a vagina, swab the vagina, but you need to test all the areas that you're having sex in. So if you're having anal sex,

you should do an anal swab. No one told me that I needed. I'm not, not that. No. But that was not listed anywhere. That's not listed on the kit. Yeah. you're right, it isn't.

So, like, a lot of it, like... Okay if you're having anal sex? I'm actually not having anal sex. I mean, thanks to the lid, you don't protest too much. I do not want to talk. I mean, um, right, well... I do not know anyone at this stage in my life well enough to be having anal sex with them. I'm proud of you, girl.

I'm not getting far enough on the apps for anal sex, I will say. But no, that made me so furious because it's not written on the thing. Yeah, no, you're right. A lot of the time, the tests that they'll send out, they'll just assume what kind of sex you're having. So that's something that's important to know because if you're having other types of sex, you should be testing those areas.

Wow, I just think it's rude to profile me as somebody that is not having real tests. So that's really interesting. I never knew that. And so where do men put it? So if you've got a penis, it's a urine sample that you send off. Easy, classic again, obviously. Really? They just have to.

They just have to do a urine. But so if anyone has symptoms, you shouldn't be doing the home test kits or the like ones on your own. You should come in and see us in the clinic because we need to like examine you and everything. And if men have symptoms, if they've got penal symptoms, they've got discharged, then we need to take a swab from inside the penis, which they do not like. Okay. Finally. Let's get them. Yeah.

That sounds horrific. It's not as bad as it sounds. I don't want to put people off coming. It's a bit scratchy. Okay. Okay, okay. Okay. And so what are all the ones that you can test for, the big boys?

Yeah, so the ones that we would test from, like, the home test kits would be chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV and syphilis. Wow, you can just for HIV at home. Yeah, so that's the finger-pricks-led test. It's really important you don't skip that as well because anyone can get HIV and a lot of the time you won't get any symptoms with that. You will get any symptoms with HIV. So, so some people. when they first get it will get, it's called like a seroconversion illness and they'll get like

flu-like symptoms and then that will pass and they won't get symptoms for years and years and years. So the only way you would know is if you test for it. Wow. Because you know, flu like illness, that could be anything. Yeah. You know, so do the test. Christ. And HIV is now generally manageable? Absolutely, yeah. It's amazing how far we've come with it. So it's really manageable and people live, you know,

full lifespan. Great. And there's also something called prep. Have you heard of prep? No. So it sounds for pre-exposure prophylaxis. And it's a tablet that you can take to prevent yourself from getting HIV.

Oh my God. So if you're having condomless sex and you don't want, yeah, you don't want to use a condom, but you're going around having lots and lots of sex and you don't want to get HIV. You can take this tablet and you won't get it. We're in the future. Yeah, it's great.

That's incredible. Yeah. So we've come so far. Wow. And you don't have to do it. Take the tablet every day if you don't want to. If you think you're going to have sex tonight, you can just take two tablets now and then you take a tablet tomorrow and the day after, and then you don't have to take any more.

Or some people find it easier just to take a tablet every day so they don't have to think about it. Wow. But really good, yeah, if you're having lots and lots of sex and you aren't using condoms, then I would recommend going to speak to a doctor about it. Not me, but that's... Harriet. Do you think there'll be pills? Just up the button.

is that there should be like a cream for herbies or something. I'm just spitballing. It should be something that we could put on to stop it from transferring. Who should be speaking about this? Dr. Amber, I guess. I'll look into it. I'll look into it. If you could look into that, that would be so helpful.

Yeah, leave it with me. Because I'm a bit panicked about herbies. Don't panic. You probably already have it. No. Especially about that bomb set should have been doing. What is, Is it as accurate? To do it at home, is it as accurate as doing it?

Because I shouldn't be in charge of this stuff. I felt it's so overwhelming to be in charge of it myself. And I was like, this can't be right. Yeah, no, the tests are so good. They're so sensitive. Wow. So you can do them at home and you can trust that it will have been good enough. I believe in you.

Follow the instructions and you'll be fine. Be not too much this weekend. Oh. Can you talk to us about other types of contraception? I feel like we've covered condoms from the extra safe to the fun, which I didn't realise was the scale. But that's fantastic. Are you on an eat?

Yes, I've got the coil, the non-hormonal one. The copper coil. The copper coil. Yes, I had the hormonal one for years because I've got PMDD. Oh, do you? Yes, so I thought having the hormonal one was the best thing to do. And then I spoke to a female doctor who was like, why are you on this if you have PMDD? And I was like, because hormones affect me.

And she was like, you need the... Oh, no, no, no. I had it through around. I used have the copper coil and now I've got the hormonal coil. Fine. So you have like the Myrina or one of those. Yeah. And it has sorted out my PMDD.

That's amazing. Yeah. But it's really annoyed me because I was on the copper coil for like 10 years. Oh, that's a long time. Yeah. And I had that and it's changed my life. Oh, that is so incredible. MDD is horrible.

Yes. So, so, so awful. And not a lot of, I feel like not a lot of practitioners are either aware or interested. Yeah. No, you're right. I think it's awareness. It's really poor. Like people know about PMS.

Yes. But PMDD is so much worse because it affects you for a lot longer. Did you find that it would affect you the whole cycle or would you get kind of like last two weeks? It was like, it's basically the week, about five days before my PND, is like hell. Yeah. Like properly hell. And then a bit of a fluctuation when I ovulate.

But other than that, it was kind of fine. And it was so weak as I'd be kind of fine and could cope three weeks of the cycle. And then I would just plummet and everything changed. And every month was a shock. Yeah. And I don't know why. Because I knew it was coming and I had all the apps and attract it. And I have a writing partner and he had it on his apps when my period would be coming.

Because we knew I would just be just like, I did. different person. It's awful, isn't it? It was crazy. Yeah. It was really crazy. And I'd only I don't know if this, I'm not blaming male practitioners, but I'd only spoke to men about it and they'd kind of, for a long time, they're just like, oh, you've just got depression or you've just got anxiety. And I was like, I don't think I'd do that because I feel great. And every time I had a doctor's appointment, I'd turn up and they're like, how do you feel? I'd be like, I feel great. Yeah, because it's just that bit of time, isn't it? It must have gone. Yeah. And could you tell us a bit about PMDD. Yeah, so it sounds for premenstrual dysphoric disorder and it's where

due to the fluctuations in your hormone cycle you can get symptoms like depression, anxiety, feeling exhausted, really tearful, you can have suicidal thoughts, it can be, it can be really, really horrendous in that period and the lead up to your period. And then you get your period and you can kind of get a relief from those symptoms. So it's similar to PMS in a way, but it usually lasts for longer and the symptoms are worse. And it is a bit of a misunderstood condition. Not a lot of people know about it. And I think it needs like your GP to know about it,

psychiatrists to know about it, sexual health practitioners to know about it, because they can kind of work together to support whoever's going through it. And kind of the treatments as well. So like not one thing will work for everybody. So you found that the coil helps you, which is really good because it helps to regulate the hormone cycle. But there are other options like antidepressants will help some people. And you can actually take antidepressants for like half of your cycle.

And then not the other half the cycle. And that can help balance kind of your, yeah, the emotions that you're going through. But yeah, it's awful. And it can be really debilitating because it can impact everything. 100%. Work, social life, sex life, relationships. And as you say, you can kind of go through it feeling, oh, I'm fine now.

And then it's like a shock because you just feel so different to who you normally are. Yeah. So yeah. It's horrible. I'm glad that you're feeling better now. Thank you. Oh, me too. Yeah.

It was a real, like it felt like a miracle when I got this coil for him. And I was so, I was saying to the nurse, I was like, I can't because it's got hormones in it and it's going to impact everything. But she explained, because nobody had ever explained before, that it's the fluctuation of the hormones. Exactly. That's the struggle. It's not the hormones themselves. Yeah. Yeah.

So that really, really helped me. But I know when I was looking into it, because it can be so terrible and so life-alterine that you can actually even, in extreme cases, get a hysterectomy. Yeah, you can. Or bring you into early menopause. Absolutely.

Because it affects, it's like you're being injected with depression. Yeah, yeah. And you're like, where does this come from? Nothing's wrong. And it feels crazy. And you feel crazy talking to people about it. And I think when you go to your GP or whatever and you kind of say like, you know, how you feel

and then but you're going, but I feel fine now. And you don't know what it is. It's very confusing. And also because I'd never heard of it when I was experiencing the symptoms. So I was sort of going in with no language. Yeah, to do. Or framework.

I was just kind of going, something's not right, but I can't really explain. But apparently it's far more common than we think it is. And I imagine there's a lot of women living with it just feeling crazy. Absolutely. And don't, as you say, don't really have the words

to kind of put it together and go to the GP and be like, I think I've got PMDD because they haven't heard of it before. Yeah. But it is really common. A couple of my friends have got it. It impacts everything you're doing in that moment.

And it's like with depression, everything kind of has that cloud over it and it affects how you act and how you respond to certain situations. Yeah. And then it gets lifted and you're like, oh, I'm me again. Yeah.

But why does it have to happen every month? I know every month. Do you have any advice for anyone that might have it and is struggling? Yeah, so in terms of first steps, I think going to speak to your GP or your sexual health position. Just as someone who knows about it. And I guess, as I say, the education amongst the medical community about it isn't amazing. So kind of coming with, I think I've got this. And if you don't know about it, could I see someone who does?

I'm feeling empowered to say that. And then, yeah, having those conversations and they can kind of take you down different treatment. options. Things like exercising, eating well, all of those things. We hear hearing this Dr. Ambax, look over everything. We want there to be a pill. I mean, those things are not going to get rid of it. They're going to help. Yes. And ultimately it is going to be, you know, hormonal options can be helpful for some people. As I say, antidepressants can be helpful. But I think having a physician who knows about the condition to be able to guide you through it and try different things because not one thing works for

everybody. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's great. Amy, we've got to get out there. I'm not on a, a, what's it? Controception. I'm not on a contraception because I'm having sex on the bathtub. I don't need it. I don't need it.

And so I'm just going off, I'm just, you know, winging it. I'd say, but using condoms and my flow app, which I don't think is maybe an ideal way of doing. it. When I am having more regular sex, what advice would you give of what is the best? What's the best one? What's the best one? Yeah. So I don't think it's the same with PMDD. I think there's one size fits all. It's kind of about finding what works for you because some people really don't react well to certain pills, for example. Yeah, I tried the pills when I was like in my early 20s and it was just awful. Like I was just a nightmare. Didn't work for you. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, crying. Oh my God. It can't.

Some people really do not respond well to pills. Hello. But there's like long acting types of contraception. So like the coils, if you don't agree with hormones, hormones that agree with you, then having a non-hormonal coil can be good. It's a copper coil.

Everything has its pros and cons. With the copper coil, it can make your periods heavier and more painful. But it's... None of them sound appealing. This is the problem. Like, I've never had a coil and it looks quite painful.

and it's just having it in and then not knowing the reaction to your body. Like, I quite like that my body is just doing its own thing. Yeah, being in tune with everything. Yeah, but then the risk is baby. Yeah, exactly. It's a tricky balance, isn't it? Because most of the options are hormonal. You can get the implant if you don't want to think about taking a pill every day.

There's different types of pills. So if you tried one previously, try another one. Ask them to look at your records and see what you had. And then there's the non-hormonal things like barrier contraception, like condoms which you're already doing. There's female condoms as well. Does anyone use them, Dr. Amber. I don't think so.

I've never, over than sexual education in school, I've never seen one. I've never heard of everyone be like, going out tonight, packing my fema dom. Like, I've never. I don't think many people do use them, but they're there. Can you imagine? I just imagine that I'm a man.

They go home with a woman and she's like, Don't worry. I've got the prediction. She starts putting inside itself. Obviously, that's something that's happened. But it just feels... It just feels so... I've never seen...

I've never heard of it. Yeah, I just don't know anyone. There's also these things that are like cervical caps that cover your cervix and just sit inside at the top. Like a kind of flat moon cup. I'm so clumsy. I can't... Yes.

That's not staying in place. You know what I mean? Like that's... But you can cover. at the clinic, they'll, like, fit the right size for you. Oh, wow. So, you know, it goes inside. And then, so, like, before you're going to have sex,

you can put it in a certain amount of time before you're going to have sex. There's also, like, a gel or a spray or something. And that's, like, kills sperm. And that can stay up there. They call me the sperm killer. It's been sprayed. I just imagine you spraying your bum hole with the spray. All good.

All ready to go. And then you have to take it. that out afterwards, I presume. Yeah, you have to take it out afterwards, exactly. But coming back to coils, I think a lot of people are terrified, terrified of having a coil put in. And I can understand why, because it's like you have to go and have a procedure and it can be uncomfortable. But once it's in, it can stay in for ages. Years and years. Yeah. Yeah. Depending on the one. They vary depending on which one you've got. But like kind of the myrina is seven to eight years, copacore 10 years. So if it works for you, you can just leave it there. Do you feel it? Not at all. not 1% to the extent where when I first got the copper coil I was like, it's gone. I have pushed it out, it's gone, it's not in there. And I went back, because you go back for like a check

after about two weeks or something and they just check and they're like, yeah, it's all good and I was like, it's not in there. You're like, it's gone. You are incorrect. Yeah. It's there and I'm like, no, no, no. Honestly, you don't feel a single thing.

I have quite like body sensory thing. So if I'm wearing a polo neck, I'm just like, I'm wearing a polon neck. I'm throwing a boat. I feel like, I've been living my life. Like, I have a coil. It's not like a tampon or something where you can kind of, you're aware of it.

Like, genuinely, I feel nothing. I feel nothing. I want that to be the clip. I feel nothing. But yeah, nothing at all. Like, honestly. And I was really, the thing I was really nervous about was the removal.

Yeah. Because, so I've had some friends who have, like, it is so painful to get it. removed and I was like oh fuck and my 10 years had come to the end of my copper coil and I knew I was having that removed and I thought I was going to get another copper copper in and I was so scared about the removal fine didn't feel a thing yeah didn't feel a thing I couldn't believe it I think the cough helps kind of like bear down yeah we just take it out it's literally two seconds yeah I couldn't believe it okay and then they put the other one up and it was like oh it's done

it's done and I was like kind of wanted a bit more drama to be honest can we go again That was fine. No. No. No. No. God no. So women should be going every two years, is it, to go and have a smear test? Three years. Yeah. So from the age of 25 to... They can't keep me away. You're ready. Knock knock, knock, knock.

I'm like mixed area of blooms. So yeah, it depends on your age. But from 25 to 49, it's every three years. And then it reduces to every five years. Unless we. find something. So if you've got HPV, we would, so when we send off the test, we check for HPV and then if you've got HPV, we look at the sample to see if there's any signs of cancer or cell changes. So if you've only got HPV, we'll get you back a year later to see whether you've cleared it. Because a lot of the time you'll just clear it yourself and then that's

fine because it's so common. Yeah. Because I think a lot of people are scared, maybe or they just like put it off or they don't go, but it is such an important thing to do, isn't it? And it's very, it's very quick. Like, nobody's like having the time of their lives in there, you know. Speak for yourself. Yeah, exactly. It's so quick. How long did yours take?

Minutes. Yeah. You're in and out really quickly. And as you say, it's like a little bit uncomfortable, but it shouldn't be super painful. And if it is, we can just stop. And I know a lot of people find it's difficult with the speculums as well. Yeah, I don't.

It's not nice. It's not nice. Yeah. It's a bit of a weird. I wouldn't ask for it. Yeah. Yeah. ever.

But we say that if you want to watch a video on your phone or listen to some music. Oh, that's nice. I've never even thought about that. I've listened to music before at the dentist when things are happy. That's really a nice idea.

Yeah, just to kind of take your mind of it if that's what you want to do. Or put the speculum in yourself as well. Like have a bit of control. Give you that. Not in the bomb, Harriet. Okay. Oh dear.

You've got me. Okay, so there are things that you can do to make it a bit more comfortable. And if you're feeling really anxious about it, you've been putting it off, call up and just let your GP or sexual clinic, no, because we can book you like a double appointment, you can bring a friend with you, whatever you need.

Should I dare? Let's go. Go together. Let's go. Come on. Come on. Let's go for you. How many is too many people to bring to some.

My birthday's coming up. Do you accept parties of 20? If it means you have the smear, yeah. Okay, great. Great. This maybe is a silly question, but I always worry if I'm going for any kind of gynaological exam, I'm always like, do I need to shave and prepare?

And what should, like, you feel like, oh God, I need to be sort of ready down there. Can you talk to us about that? Yeah, do not do that. Just come as you are. You just don't care. Literally do not care. This is like day jobs, day in day out, seeing all genitalia.

Yeah. And nothing's going to be shocking. So please, just come as you are. Don't feel like you need to do anything. No. Different to normal. Yeah. And do not use soap down there.

Do not use loads of soap down there because you might get bacteria of vaginosis. This is something I have a special thing because I know that like things like fagicil and stuff like that. It's actually like destroys the good bacteria. Exactly. So I have a special wash that's like good for, I can't remember what it's cool, but you should use like a organic. A soap substitute is what we advise. And it's usually actually like a cream.

It's like a creamy texture. Okay. But either water or a soap substitute, which you can get in any supermarket. What is a soap substitute? It's basically not soapy. So usually it won't like foam up. But it might be like an aqueous cream and. That's what I use.

Is it? Great. You're doing the right thing. I'm doing the right thing. Yay. Okay, well, that's good. Because I did used to use when I was in university, one of the sort of fend, freshy, vagi-silly ones.

Vagicilil, that's funny. And I remember having it in my shower. I remember my boyfriend at the time. His hair was so strange in texture. And I remember being like, what shampoo is? And he's like, just a pink shampoo. And I'm like, Oh, you've got lovely, fresh smelling.

Did it come out well? No, it's not good for, like, it's got no conditioning. It's quite drying, I think. It's really stripping away. Yeah, like, you know, like a packet of noodles before you put them in water. Oh, no. Yeah, it was kind of crunchy. It was weird and I was like, yeah.

And then I genuinely was like, well, if that's doing that to your hair. Yeah. What is it going to do? Yeah. So then I got a little, a little pot. of acquies cream. Amazing. I'm doing the right thing.

You have done the right thing. And how do you kiss someone? Amy, you just got a lunge. Do you have any advice on how to avoid UTIs? Yes. So, I mean, staying hydrated. So making sure that you're not, yeah, keeping concentrated urine in your bladder.

So going for a wee when you need a wee. Yeah. Weeing after sex is doing that. Because it's so common. I mean, the communication, between your bladder and your urethra, the kind of outlet, where the urine comes out, is so small that bacteria can just really easily get up into your bladder. Right.

And so that's why after sex, bacteria can be moving around that area and you can get a UTI. So just go for a week after you've had sex. Okay. Those are kind of the main things, really. I saw your post saying that cranberry juice is a myth. That's really sad. I'm sorry.

I am, because I, I think this is so embarrassing. But I got into, I thought I had like a bladder infection or something because I kept having to go pee like so regular, like so often. And then they went to the doctors and they were like, you have just got into a bad cycle where you think you need to pee. And so you pee. And so then they had to put me on a pee schedule.

Oh, no. How are you. It was so embarrassing. I think I need to be. I need to be. I have to keep a little time. I'm table of when I was being because I was like, I'm just peeing. And so I got like a bit, got into a bit of tears about it.

And so I had to try and schedule my peas. Yeah. You're not alone with that. Thank you for saying that. It's really rich. You and puppies, six week old puppies. Did you get over it? Did it work?

Yeah, I'm still probably being too much, I would say. Yeah. But me saying you need to pee regularly isn't helping, is it? Yeah, I'm just going to go out. Guys, I'll see you soon. Yeah, I'm the opposite. I get in trouble because I don't pee. How often do you pee? Like, never.

Never. A couple of times a day. Are you serious? Are you drinking in a water? I'm drinking constantly. And I am, I am peeing hourly. And that's after you see the schedule. That's actually really good for me.

How often were you going before? I was going every 15 minutes or something. It's like, I think I've got a bit of an addictive by thousands of nights. It's like, You got addicted to pee panic and then it just got into this like psychop I just constantly pee Oh my God

There's no time in the day to do anything else No time There's no time I think it's as well with stand up You're like a bit like anxious And then you'd always I'd always pee a few times Before I went on And then it just got further and further into the day

And so I was just like How long did that go on for before you got help? It went on for a while Because it was getting more and more regular And then I was like, something's up, something's wrong. And there's nothing wrong. You just have to just stop. Just stop.

Please stop. Oh, I'm so glad that you... Thank you. Yeah. I'm glad it wasn't a UTI. And then you're bleeding out and now. That's a lot better. Yeah.

Yeah. Can you get Chlamydia from blowjobs before you go? Yes. Yes. Okay. You get it in the mouth. You can get it in the throne. I'm the friend.

Yeah. Yeah. So one final thing. Sorry, now we're here. I'm just having all these questions. I know. Let's use this opportunity. Can we get Chloe from my book?

I'm asking for a friend. With UTIs, once you do have one, the only cure seems to be those fucking sachets that you put in, you know, you put those sachets in water and it just tastes so disgusting. And then you drink it. Is there anything else you can do? Antibiotic. Antibiotic.

Antibiotic. So to like stop a UTI when you can feel it already coming. You know when you have like it's pain. It's like not this. It's like yeah, but it's not even, it just hurts. Like it's usually I think I get it sometimes after sex. I get it and like, um. Why didn't you?

We've done a whole podcast about how you've got chlamydia. You're doing it up the ass. And then you've just gone. It's funny. I know, I know. Everything. And then you couldn't see the word sex. I know.

I know, well, you know, overfilled a lot on this podcast. I'm trying to keep something to myself, some mystery. Sometimes get UTIs after sex, particularly if it's somebody that, like, is new, and sometimes I think it's, again, it's like an anxiety thing. I feel like maybe that's what it comes through. I don't know, but then it hurts afterwards. And then you go to the pharmacy and they say,

but there's sashay in this water, and you just, oh, it's just so, is there anything else you can do? To be honest, the evidence base for it isn't great for, like, over-the-counter remedies. So the main thing is drink loads of water to just try and flush everything out so that the bacteria isn't saying stagnant in there. And then if you actually think you have got a UTI, then it's antibiotics. Okay, so once it gets to that point.

But I feel like there's steps you can do because often it doesn't go into a UTI, but there's steps you can do. Somebody, a pharmacist told me vitamin C. If you're taking high-dose vitamin C, that's a really good thing. Okay, yeah, I didn't know that. So you're teaching me something. Wow. All the pharmacist is a liar.

Yeah. I'm now taking pretty regular this reason. But coming back to the cranberry juice, so the evidence for that showed that it can't get rid of a UTI, but I think it can help you prevent actually getting one.

So if you're like drinking cranberry juice regularly, I think it will prevent you from getting UTIs. That's what they said. But once you've got the symptoms already or you've got a UTI, then I won't do anything. So, but sometimes I have this, sorry, This is, I'm using like a doctor here, but sometimes I have the symptoms that doesn't go into a full UTI. So at that period, that's just a uncomfortable thing that could be leading there but doesn't.

Yeah, exactly. Okay. And so at that point, take the fucking sachets and drink lots of water. Exactly. Yeah. And also remember that STIs can present like UTIs because you can get burning and stinging when you wee with an STI as well. So if you haven't got a UTI but you've still got those symptoms, make sure you do an STI test. Yeah.

Swab up the bomb, Harriet. I just remember that when you're doing it. Let's get those swabs. Do you have any final advice for women, just in general, and men. We've got a few men that listen, but mainly women. Yeah, I think the main thing is if you're sexually active and you're enjoying your sex life, look after your sexual health. Go and get tested because you may not have symptoms you've got an STI,

and if it lingers, it can cause problems. And it's just part of having sex, looking after your sexual health. So yeah, go and get tested. Don't feel embarrassed if you need to come and see us at the clinic. We see it day in, day out. And we want to see you. If you're feeling anxious, we're happy to have a chat about that as well. So yeah.

Oh, that's great. That's so lovely. I've learned a lot. I feel like I've probably got an STD finally, which is great. Oh, my God. One off the bucket list. One thing actually that I should probably say. When you're testing for STIs, you have to wait a certain period after you've had sex.

Yeah. So don't do it too soon. I mean, if you have symptoms, then do it. Like, come and see us, and we'll test you in it. Probably, you know, if you've got one, it's more likely to show up early if you've got symptoms. But for example, with Comedia and Gonorrhea, to have an accurate test, you have to wait two weeks after the sex.

You could be, like, falsely reassured if you did it a week later and it was negative. So just make sure you're testing at the right theory. I got my, my, my Temea test lady was really nice, and she did an SDD test for me as well. I don't know that they could do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they can while you're there. You might as well get it down. And if you're sexually active, make sure you're getting tested at least annually.

If you've got a new partner, test before you have sex with them if you can. And if you're having sex with lots of people, then we would advise getting tested at least every three months. So annually. Annually at least, or, you know, partner change. Angily at most. Okay. Thank you so much, Dr. Amber. You've been amazing.

You're so welcome. It's been lovely to be here with you guys. We heard that you have a podcast that's beginning soon. Yes, so I've got a podcast called Taboo Topics. You can follow at Taboo Topic Pod with my friend, Dr. Becca Salmon. So we went to medical school together and we're really good mates. And we thought, let's just start a podcast as mates, just chatting about all the things that you talk about with your friends,

but trying to shed a bit of that, like, medical evidence-based light on it. Because often you feel like you want to ask someone who maybe has the evidence or has something to back it up, but you don't really feel comfortable going for. to your doctors maybe. So we're going to talk about all those things. And so yeah, watch this space. That's so cool. I would not have booked a doctor's appointment to say,

can you get chlamydia in the throat from blow jobs? Exactly. But now we know. You can ask us on the pod and we'll answer it. This is great. And also people can find you on Instagram. Yes, at dock.combs. Great.

Great. Thank you so much. We just got to get fingered by pancake day. Oh, I loved Dr. Amber. Oh, me too. I wish Dr. Amber was my doctor. Yeah, do you think we could just call her sometimes when we have a question? I think she'd hate that.

I think so. But I don't think it's a no. No, let's get a number. Yes. Producer Anba. Dr. Amber. I've just had a thought. I've just eaten some ham off the floor. Can I get committed from that?

All right, well, see you in a year then. Just trying to find excuses to see Dr. Amber. We should go to a little. and go to an SDD clinic maybe. I haven't been to an actual into a clinic in so long. Me too. Because I got the impression they didn't want you there anymore, you know, but she has been so welcoming with it.

They're just sending me these kits and I'm just like alone with it. I don't know. Like what? Where do I stick this? Well, we know now. We know now. We know now. I'd love to go to an SDD clinic.

We can make a day of it. Let's have a day trip to the SDD clinic. It could become quite like a bougie thing to do. Yeah. Let's bring cocktails in cans. Cocktails in cans. Yes. Yes.

I think that would genuinely be like a nice thing. Yeah, I think that would be nice. Nice dinner afterwards. Little pregame at the SDD clinic. And that would be great. Yeah. You know, like in there's an episode of Peep Show where Mark tries to go on a date with a girl that he fancies to get their moles mapped.

Like there could be all sorts of like hell things that you can do. Like little things where it's like... First date. SDD Clinic. What a fantastic. Fantastic first date. Because I now like sleep, if I'm going to sleep with people without condoms, I want to have a, give me the... You want a certificate of health.

Yeah, I do. Printed out. I can't be messing around with any of these. You can't be, you're a stickler. I'm a stickler. I'm a stickler for the rules. A man could literally get out of a skip and say, I'm clean. And I'd go, yeah, of course you what I love.

Pop it in. And you're like, do you want me to put a condom? I'm like, take it off. Take it off. on. Let's live a little, shall we? Are you not using protection too much? Do you know what? I think I've got complacent because I've got my contraception. Yes, that's what it's, because I haven't ever had an STD.

There is like about 3% of my brain that's like they don't exist. Don't remember is a conspiracy theorist. Very smart for a conspiracy theorist, but I don't trust her. So I do fit someone, oh my God, on a like, if it was a one night thing, 100%. But then after a few times, I'm like, I just feel like I would know if you had an SDD. I'm quite a good vibe reader.

Which is so funny because I'm not. I'm the worst judge of character. I mean, I do that. I think I could just judge if someone I'm not there to be ridiculous. It is tricky because sex that are kind of like it. It's like, yeah. But I just, I don't want to do. do that until I'm like in a thing with something that I trust, I think.

Do you know what though? When a guy says I'll get a condom, this is pathetic. My bar needs to be higher, but I'm like, that is so romantic. That is it. And you know what? I've got a new thing with men. I've got a new gripe with men. And that is, so many of them don't want to wear condoms.

But I think it's so, it's kind of so, it's like a real sign maybe that they're not thinking about you in any way because then you are left with the repercussions of it. Absolutely. And so many of them, not so many, but the small... We're learning so much about you today. The small pool that I've been, I've been dipping my toes in. They're just like, they're not even thinking about the repercussions if they come and you, then you have to go and deal with that, you know?

And so I think it's a good way of telling their character. Yes, I do too. And what I especially like is when you have... have a chat with them beforehand about this stuff. Yeah. Like, this is new for me. This is the thing that, like, adult men are doing now, which I love. So they're like, what we're going to do about this?

Are you on contraception? Do you want me to bring something? Like, how would you feel about it? And I was just like, oh, my God, this is healthy. I have not come across these men yet. Okay. And we're on there. We're on the hunt.

Yeah. Yeah, I think that's good. I think having a chat beforehand about that stuff, because in the moment. Yeah, you get carried away. You get carried away. But they just, they're thinking that's a really good. that they're thinking of you and your feelings and not just thinking with their dicks. Yes.

Yeah. Interesting. Well done. Well done. Well done. Thank you, Dr. Amber. I'm going to listen to that podcast religiously. Taboo Topics.

You can follow Taboo Topic Pod on Insta. Yeah. I thought you meant our episode. Her podcast. Yeah. I mean our episode. She's got a new pod. Check it out.

Follow her on social media. Yeah. Let's get her number. let everyone know. Give her a call. Drag her down at the SUD clinic in Brighton. Come for a single lady's night, out, day out to the SUD clinic. Bring your cans. See you there.

Hello, I'm Lucy Beaumont. And I'm Sam Campbell, as a matter of fact. Perfect Brains is one of the most enchanting podcasts. The effect it has on people is astounding. That is what we've heard, isn't it? Yeah. This changes people's lives. If you had to sum it up,

How would you sum it up? An in-depth look at sumo wrestling and the scandals. Because it used to be considered so honorable, like sumos, and they all live together, sumos. No two podcasts are the same. Do you remember that one where I just messaged loads of Derricks? I don't think people know that. I emailed 100 Derricks. I don't think it was Derricks.

I thought it was Brian. Sorry, Brian. Yeah, Lucy emailed every Brian on Facebook. Our podcast is out every Friday. It's really easy to remember. It's like if you've got an office job, it's. The first day you feel alive again. Lucy and Sam's Perfect Brains.

One of the hottest podcasts. People are going crazy for this podcast. Yeah, please give it a listen. We're loaded up on buzzballs. We've got a Laboooo in both hands, and we are ready to screech.