A Florida woman has finally lost her virginity at the age of 32 after being cured of a rare condition that meant she couldn't have penetrative sex without feeling like she was "hitting a brick wall".

Karen Buono 35, from Wesley Chapel, Florida, has spent most of her life struggling to have sex due to a painful condition called Vaginismus, which causes the vaginal wall to constrict involuntarily. After struggling to have sex for years, Karen was cured after four months of physical therapy.

According to Karen, she realised something was wrong when she tried to have sex at 16.

"I knew something was wrong with me after I tried to have sex with my boyfriend for the first time when I was 16," she recalled.

"But no matter what we did, he just couldn't get it in.

"I thought it might have just been because it was our first time. So we waited a bit and tried again.

"He said it was like hitting a brick wall and there was just no way he could get it in."

Karen claims to have had the same experience with other boyfriends, but some of them reacted in a hostile manner.

"Some of them just yelled at me to relax. I used to get really drunk to try and relax my muscles.

"But nothing worked. I was so depressed. I desperately wanted to have sex. I was dying for it. But I couldn't.

"So I just told every partner I had that I wanted to wait for marriage. But that wasn't true at all."

According to Karen, two doctors failed to diagnose the condition when she was 25, despite the fact that she spent over $4,000 on medical assistance. She said it was only at the age of 31 that she was diagnosed with vaginismus. "I heard the word vaginismus thrown around, but never really knew what it was," she said.

"It wasn't until I went to see a pelvic floor specialist at 31 that she officially diagnosed me with it.

"After just four months of therapy with her, I was cured. I could finally have sex for the first at 32 years old.

"It was one of the best days of my life. I was so happy to finally lose my virginity and have sex with the man I love."

Karen went through intensive therapy and was sceptical at the start. However, she kept at it and finally got the end result that she was after.

"After four months, she told me I was ready to try.

"I waited a few more weeks to make sure I was 100 per cent ready. And then one night my husband and I were making out on the couch. I looked at him and said 'Do you want to try?'

"It worked. I finally had sex. I couldn't believe it. I rang my doctor straight afterwards to tell her what had happened."

Describing how she felt afterwards, Karen added:

"I felt so proud. I felt like I'd just won a race of something that I'd been training for. It wasn't romantic at all. But it meant the world to me.

"Over time, we did it more and more. It took about a year for us to really get into the groove of things.

"Now we're doing it around four times a week because we're trying to have a baby."

Karen says that therapy has been life-changing: "I really value sex. It's incredible. I was without it for so long, so I'd never take it for granted."

Karen and Joe got married last year and the teacher invited her doctor to the ceremony. Speaking about their bond, she said: "I invited my doctor to the wedding because none of it would have been possible without her."

"My whole life has completely changed. I never thought I'd be able to experience the joy of sex but now I'm with the man of my dreams doing it all the time.

"We're trying to have a baby, which is something I never thought I'd be able to do I always wanted to be a mother, so this is like a dream for me.

"There are women out there suffering from vaginismus in silence. You can never give up. There is hope.

"It's not all in your head. The condition is real, and it can be cured. I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life."

Conditions such as vaginismus remain an unknown quantity, so the more people like Karen discussing them, the better.

A Florida woman has finally lost her virginity at the age of 32 after being cured of a rare condition that meant she couldn't have penetrative sex without feeling like she was "hitting a brick wall".

Karen Buono 35, from Wesley Chapel, Florida, has spent most of her life struggling to have sex due to a painful condition called Vaginismus, which causes the vaginal wall to constrict involuntarily. After struggling to have sex for years, Karen was cured after four months of physical therapy.

According to Karen, she realised something was wrong when she tried to have sex at 16.

"I knew something was wrong with me after I tried to have sex with my boyfriend for the first time when I was 16," she recalled.

"But no matter what we did, he just couldn't get it in.

"I thought it might have just been because it was our first time. So we waited a bit and tried again.

"He said it was like hitting a brick wall and there was just no way he could get it in."

Karen claims to have had the same experience with other boyfriends, but some of them reacted in a hostile manner.

"Some of them just yelled at me to relax. I used to get really drunk to try and relax my muscles.

"But nothing worked. I was so depressed. I desperately wanted to have sex. I was dying for it. But I couldn't.

"So I just told every partner I had that I wanted to wait for marriage. But that wasn't true at all."

According to Karen, two doctors failed to diagnose the condition when she was 25, despite the fact that she spent over $4,000 on medical assistance. She said it was only at the age of 31 that she was diagnosed with vaginismus. "I heard the word vaginismus thrown around, but never really knew what it was," she said.

"It wasn't until I went to see a pelvic floor specialist at 31 that she officially diagnosed me with it.

"After just four months of therapy with her, I was cured. I could finally have sex for the first at 32 years old.

"It was one of the best days of my life. I was so happy to finally lose my virginity and have sex with the man I love."

Karen went through intensive therapy and was sceptical at the start. However, she kept at it and finally got the end result that she was after.

"After four months, she told me I was ready to try.

"I waited a few more weeks to make sure I was 100 per cent ready. And then one night my husband and I were making out on the couch. I looked at him and said 'Do you want to try?'

"It worked. I finally had sex. I couldn't believe it. I rang my doctor straight afterwards to tell her what had happened."

Describing how she felt afterwards, Karen added:

"I felt so proud. I felt like I'd just won a race of something that I'd been training for. It wasn't romantic at all. But it meant the world to me.

"Over time, we did it more and more. It took about a year for us to really get into the groove of things.

"Now we're doing it around four times a week because we're trying to have a baby."

Karen says that therapy has been life-changing: "I really value sex. It's incredible. I was without it for so long, so I'd never take it for granted."

Karen and Joe got married last year and the teacher invited her doctor to the ceremony. Speaking about their bond, she said: "I invited my doctor to the wedding because none of it would have been possible without her."

"My whole life has completely changed. I never thought I'd be able to experience the joy of sex but now I'm with the man of my dreams doing it all the time.

"We're trying to have a baby, which is something I never thought I'd be able to do I always wanted to be a mother, so this is like a dream for me.

"There are women out there suffering from vaginismus in silence. You can never give up. There is hope.

"It's not all in your head. The condition is real, and it can be cured. I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life."

Conditions such as vaginismus remain an unknown quantity, so the more people like Karen discussing them, the better.