Trying for Baby-September 2009

Due to my uterine fibroids, Greg and I decided that we would start trying for a baby right away after the wedding and honeymoon. Upon Dr. Beltsos' recommendation, we scheduled a myomectomy to remove any fibroids before trying to conceive. The surgery was a difficult one due to the number of fibroids present. Dr. Beltsos removed as many fibroids as she could before she had to stop the surgery due to fluid absorption. After surgery, we were hopeful that enough fibroids were removed to make room for an embryo to implant and so began our journey to make a baby.

Wedding Day-July 18, 2009

I married Greg on July 18, 2009. We met back in August of 2006. A friend that I was living with at the time worked with his mom. They set us up. Our first time meeting was at a local establishment in Kenosha, WI. It was me, three girlfriends, and Greg. :) We all had a lot of fun that night. The next day Greg asked me out to dinner and a movie and we have been together ever since. Throughout our dating life, we enjoyed many fun sporting events, trips to Florida, country concerts, and time with family and friends. We got engaged on Memorial Day weekend 2008 and the wedding planning started in full swing. We were married at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Gurnee, IL and our reception was at Midlane Golf Course in Wadsworth, IL. It was by far my favorite day up to this point. The weather was perfect and we were surrounded by all of our friends and family. We were now Mr and Mrs. Greg and Katie O'Brien. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Discovering the problem-Fall 2005

My medical issue was discovered back in the fall of 2005. I had been experiencing extremely heavy and painful menstrual periods for the past few months. One month during a three week long menstrual period, I was commuting back to the city from my job in Gurnee, screaming and crying because of the painful cramps I was experiencing. The pain would not go away. My roommates came home that evening to find me crying and still in extreme pain. I had called my OB-GYN and the doctor on call said that I needed to go to the emergency room. My roommates brought me to the hospital, where I was given an iv. The doctor did a pelvic exam and complete blood count, which revealed that I was very anemic. He recommended that I follow-up with my regular OB-GYN the next day.

The OB-GYN visit the next day, revealed that the lining of my uterus was as if I was three months pregnant. My doctor did a Dilation and Curettage(D&C) that day to stop the bleeding. The D&C revealed uterine fibroids as the cause of the bleeding and I was referred to a reproductive endocrinologist(RE), named Dr. Angie Beltsos, at Fertility Centers of Illinois(FCI) for further evaluation and treatment. Upon meeting with Dr. Beltsos, a surgery called a myomectomy was scheduled for December 2005. A myomectomy is a surgery to remove uterine fibroids. The type of myomectomy that I had was the least invasive and an out-patient procedure. Dr. Beltsos was able to remove most of the fibroids with this first surgery. After surgery, we decided that we would schedule a second surgery in March 2006 to remove the remaining fibroids. During this second surgery, Dr. Beltsos found a new nest of growing fibroids under some scar tissue from the first surgery. I apparently have many small fibroids that grow on the uterine lining inside of my uterus. They also appear to grow quite quickly. I decided that I would treat the symptoms of my fibroids with a birth control pill and schedule regular saline ultrasounds to monitor the fibroid growth. This would be the course of treatment until I was married and ready to start a family. To learn more about Fertility Centers of Illinois and Dr. Beltsos, follow this link: http://www.fcionline.com/about-fci/meet-our-physicians.html