i was diagnosed with early stage lyme's disease. doc gave me 15 days of doxycline.?

1. 15 days of Doxy is far too short to treat Lyme, even in the early stage Lyme.

2. Studies suggest that only one third of Lyme cases present with an EM rash (or bullseye rash)

3. Your symptoms would suggest a late stage infection of Lyme (or co-infection)

4. Blood tests are notorious for giving false negatives for Lyme

What to do next.

1. Seek a LLMD (Lyme literate medical doctor); ILADS should be able to help with that

2. Get blood tests for Lyme and co-infections of Lyme (symptom chart link below for Lyme & co).

3. Don’t rely on blood tests alone a true LLMD will make a clinical diagnosis of Lyme & co.

What to be prepared for

1. Long term multiple ABX treatment of Lyme & co, healing from Lyme will take time

2. Diet, supplement and lifestyle changes to help heal from Lyme

3. Herx (herxheimer reaction) which is a worsening of symptoms as the bacteria dies off

What outcome to expect

The sooner you are treated the better the outcome, the word 'cure' is not used so much in Lyme the word 'remission' is. With help of a LLMD you will rebuild your immune system so your body can naturally fight and suppress the infection. This will take a while but you can return to full health after having Lyme.

Best of Luck

That's not a big shocker that you feel horrible. You have Lyme disease. You're getting treatment. There is no immediate fix or cure. Medication doesn't suddenly make all the fatigue go away.

You don't have to have a bull's eye rash to have Lyme disease. A rash is very obvious from a freckle pattern.

No, there is no cure for Lyme disease.

The testing for Lyme is difficult. Lyme only shows up when it hits your system and starts to do damage. Lyme can also be confused with many other illnesses. Your doctor did those multiple blood tests to likely check for other causes.

Please see a Lyme specialist. There are very few out there. Also, talk to your doctor's and educate yourself. The internet isn't a solid internet tool. Most medical resources are not accurate or out of date or only used by medical practitioners. The Mayo CLinic's site is good as is the Lyme Disease Network (www.lymenet.org), ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society...www.ilads.org), Lyme Disease Association (www.lymediseaseassociation.org), and Lyme Disease Support Group Network (www.mdjunction.com/lyme-disease/group-leaders).