Living with, and Blogging About, a Painful Medical Condition

Tamra Wroblesky’s blog, which started as a self-help tool for venting about living with her medical condition, has since turned into a widely known resource on the syndrome from which she suffers.

Words by Kelli Plasket '10

Tamra Wroblesky ’10 had never heard of Vulvar Vestibulitis Syndrome (VVS) when, during her sophomore year, she felt the sharp pain that marked the onset of the condition.

“Chronic pain doesn’t even begin to explain” what VVS feels like, Wroblesky said. “When people ask me what [I feel], I’m at a loss. It’s difficult [for them] to understand.”

Wroblesky consulted several doctors trying to discover the source of the pain, but they were equally unsure of the cause. She endured several months worth of misdiagnoses until finally a gynecologist determined that the pain was caused by VVS, a subtype of vulvodynia, which causes chronic pain in a female’s genital organs. There is no known cure.

Armed with the diagnosis, Wroblesky searched online for information about the condition. What she found were a lot of theories about what VVS is, and how it is caused, but no solid information.

So Wroblesky started blogging about her experiences suffering from VVS, seeking treatment, and searching for a cure. What started as a self-help tool for venting has turned into a widely known resource on this painful medical condition. In December, Wroblesky’s blog, “Living with Vulvar Vestibulitis,” was awarded 4th place in wellsphere.com’s 2nd Annual People’s Health Blogger Awards.

Through her blog, Wroblesky offers advice and support to other VVS sufferers (who number in the millions, she said). She receives several e-mails each day from women who have questions or just want to talk about their condition.

In addition to dispensing advice via her blog, Wrobleksy occasionally receives it from her readers. When she blogged about her upcoming vestibulectomy surgery, a reader strongly advised against having it done. Wroblesky researched the procedure some more and found that it had mixed results at best. She canceled the surgery, and opted instead for physical therapy.

Wroblesky is determined not to let VVS take control of her life. Although her treatments force her to miss a lot of classes, she will graduate with her class this May with a double major in history and women’s and gender studies and a minor in international studies. While at TCNJ, she has remained active with the Women in Learning and Leadership Program, the tennis team, and as a community adviser. She even traveled to Mount Kilimanjaro as part of a research project two summers ago, where she climbed to the top. “It was very symbolic of my struggle,” she said.

Wroblesky continues blogging about her experiences living with VVS, but remains hopeful that one day she won’t have to. As the tagline on her blog reads: “I write to form a knowledgeable and supporting community. I write to encourage myself and others. I write in the hope that one day I will write no more.”

Click here to read Wroblesky’s blog.