Early Lyme treatment?

What does this group think is the right treatment for early lyme? I had a bullseye and fever and took doxy 100mg 2X day for 5 1/2 weeks. I started medication less than a week after the bullseye appeared.

However, I have several friends suffering with chronic lyme. Is it possible to know that I am done with this, or do I just wait and see? My Lyme test came back negative, but my doc said to ignore it, I clearly had Lyme. I felt very weak and sickly much of the time I was on the antibiotics, but now I feel FINE. Except for worrying that I am not all better, and may become chronic.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!!

Back in the 80's when I got Lyme (first time) I started on Doxy immediately after the rash appeared. 100 mg 2 x day, for a month.

This seemed to work. No other symptoms developed (that I attributed to Lyme) and I got on with my life.

In 2009-2010 I started feeling bad-- suspected Lyme (new infection)-- was diagnosed and started treatment again. Too long of a story to go into right now as far as my current journey with Lyme is concerned....

....but having learned so much about Lyme 'this time around', I now suspect that some of the strange 'symptoms' I was having since the 80's, such as: being a little dizzy from time to time, headaches on a fairly regular basis and a weird buzzing feeling in the back of my head .....

.... were probably from the 80's Lyme infection. I suspect that the Lyme hadn't all been erradicated and layed partially dormant-- hiding out-- IMO.

Through the years and whenever these mild and annoying symptoms would occur, I always dismissed them as being caused by 'something else like: not drinking enough water or low blood sugar from not eating, too many cigarettes, etc. etc.

But during my recent Lyme treatment I noticed that all of these weird symptoms have stopped completely.

Moral to the story: My 1980's Lyme infection-- probably-- was not 'cured' with the short, low dose course of Doxy.....and it just hung around mildly until I was reinfected within the last couple of years....

.....OR......I was NOT reinfected and the 1980's Lyme just finally caught up with me and exploded into full blown Lyme with dozens of debilitating symptoms.

These are just my thoughts on the situation. No way to know for sure what actually went on.

Post Edited (Cat111) : 8/27/2011 4:59:58 AM (GMT-6)

I am currently on 100 mg twice daily for 3 weeks. I had a positive test from my own PCP. However, I am going to be seeing a LLMD next week, so we shall see if treatment changes, I suspect it will. I am feeling pretty rough with just the 200mg per day so who knows. It's unfortunate for me that I am allergic to penicillin and all the associated drugs, so that is out the window. I am hoping we caught this early enough that a high dose will do the job. However, this being Lyme, who knows where I will end up?