B?F thinks I just have poison ivy

Given that you have Fibro, and it is thought that upwords of 95% of people with Fibro have Lyme, and given you were bitten recently by a tick and have rashes, then I would say it is possible that you have Lyme. A Lyme-Literate doctor is the best person to confirm the diagnosis if you never had the "classic" bull's eye rash...Lyme tests may or may not be helpful...and tests are not required for diagnosis if the clinical picture fits. Furthermore, if the antibiotics are making the rash go away, then I'd say it is more likely that the rash is from some infection than from poison ivy (poison ivy rash is actually an allergic reaction and thus won't respond typically to antibiotics). The hydrocortisone cream may help an allergic rash, but won't help an infection-related rash (other than possibly with itching).

I hope this helps...good luck,

Drs. first diagnosed me with fibro then 6 months later I wasn't feeling worse and sent lab test to igenex for lyme and sure enough I have lyme. So many of the symptoms for lyme and fibro overlap.

with the rashes it sounds like you should get tested for lyme and probably for bartonella too. bart can cause several different types of rashes.

I understand the money thing. I have a doctor who takes care credit, a medical credit card. So I have no interest for a while and gives me more time to pay off bill. Maybe you can find a doc that takes care credit?

ladybug,

Do you have any pictures of it? It is always best to take a picture of the rash and put a coin on the side of it to give it size definition. If the rash came after the tick bite, I'd be more inclined to say that it could be Lyme.