just got bite by a tick

HI>>>> I just pulled a tick off my leg, just wondering if anyone has both lyme an crohn's. Would it make any symptons worse?

I'm sure there are people with Lyme and Crohn's. I feel we've discussed this here before, but quite some time ago. Also, if you really look into Lyme you'll see that Crohn's is one of the many diseases that it can mimic.

Were you bitten by the tick you pulled off of yourself? Ironically, tick bites are what led us to discovering my son's Crohn's. He was hunting with his dad and was bitten by two ticks on his back. He had the classic bulls-eye rash that often develops (but doesn't HAVE to). Because of the clear indication that SOMETHING was transferred, he was put on Doxycycline for about 10 weeks--considered standard preventative treatment 3 yrs. ago. Many blood tests followed to check for Lyme, but we found out he was quite anemic and had an elevated CRP. Both of these can mean Lyme, so it took us another year to discover it was really Crohn's.

Unfortunately, ticks can transfer the bad spirochete in a matter of a few hours, and exactly how the tick was removed can make a difference (no squeezing!!!).

So I would think that Lyme Disease could certainly make Crohn's symptoms worse, not to mention the standard treatment for Lyme (prolonged broad-spectrum antibiotics) could REALLY make symptoms worse as well. Hopefully you were not bitten! Also, as phoebeskye pointed out, just because you were bitten doesn't necessarily mean you contracted anything!

I got bit by two recently and didn't get lyme disease, as far as I could tell. One of them I caught as soon as it bit and flicked it off before it dug in. The other was on me for about 3 days before I noticed because he was so small and I thought it was a freckle. I only realized it was a tick because he got full and was in the process of detaching. A friend who doesn't have Crohn's but has muscular dystrophy recently got lyme disease and he just felt like he had the flu, etc., but he was pretty sick. Sure it would be way worse for us!

Did you get the head too?

*shudder* I have a wonderful mental image there.

Wold you feel comfortable popping over to the lyme forum and chatting to the people there? I did see a colitis-related thread on the lyme forum quite recently, so might be happy to talk Crohn's too.
All the best,
I.

HOPEFULLY it's not Lyme Disease. The laboratory will analize it. In the meantime, keep checking the area for a "bulls-eye" rash. The best of luck to you! Blessings, Julie