My LLMD didn't use doxycycline -- I think there are other suitable substitutes that don't have the stomach irritation issues of doxy. But it is still used.
Your symptoms and progression sound like classic Lyme. It's apparently common for people to test negative in the month after a tick bite as it can take antibodies to form, but there are also a percentage of people who are sick with Lyme who don't meet the CDC criteria for a "positive" test, which is really unfortunate. Lyme is a clinical diagnosis, which means they factor in symptoms and history and use test results to support a diagnosis. Unfortunately, most doctors don't know how to do this and assume the tests are 100% accurate, which they are not.
Based on the rash and your exposure, you should have been treated with Doxycycline. Definitely get a copy of those initial test results and then find an Lyme literate doctor ASAP. The sooner you get started on antibiotics, the sooner you'll get better. Don't wait until it gets any worse. Believe me, it's hell! (Most of your symptoms are the same as mine.)
Here's a link to a document intended for other doctors, but also helpful in understanding the disease. It includes a symptom list. http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf
Welcome to MedHelp Lyme --
You give a very good description of your symptoms and history -- this will be very helpful going forward. I'm not medically trained, nor is anyone here that I know of, but happy to give you reaction and comments and suggestions.
You are one of the few to actually see the round red rash -- docs who are not familiar with Lyme (and the one you saw seems to fit in that category) will always require that kind of rash and/or seeing a tick before they will consider Lyme ... but fact is that many, many of us never see the tick (which is not big like a dog tick, but tiny like a poppy seed) and never see or have a rash, but can be very ill with Lyme and/or other infections the same ticks carry.
You were SO wise to take a photo of the rash! Keep that photo, and show it to your next doc. 'Show and tell' is important.
That doc should be ashamed of himself for not reporting the test results back to you, and I suggest you call his office and ask that they send you copies of ALL the test results, negative or not, "just for my records." I think by law they have to give you those copies.
Here's the reason why: the tests are not very accurate, and they need close interpretation by docs who know how to read them wisely. Most docs don't fit in that category, but some do, and that is why the tests might be very good to have.
Here's more reason why: You are most likely to get a strong positive on the tests soon after infection, because the more time that goes by after the bite, the reaction of your immune system to the bacteria will decline. It is that *reaction* that the tests are measuring, and sometimes if it's been a while since you were infected, the tests will come up negative. And even early on, the tests are not that accurate, and a good doc will know that and not take the test as the last word -- the test results are helpful, but what really counts is your history (your rash, your having been out in the woods) and how you are feeling now.
Get those test results if you can -- ALL the pages, not just a few -- and then take them to a Lyme specialist. Lyme specialists can be any kind of doc -- an internist, a GP, an immunologist, an infectious disease (ID) doc, etc. -- and much more important than their named specialty is that they have an open mind to Lyme, which it doesn't sound like your last doc had.
You will see the term LLMD, which is not an official title, but is patient slang for a 'Lyme Literate MD', meaning a doc who knows the tests are lousy, who recognizes the patterns of your symptoms, who can make an educated guess about what co-infections you might have, and who knows that Lyme needs more than a couple weeks of antibiotics, because of peculiar characteristics of the Lyme bacteria themselves.
You don't say where you are located, but if you will post back with that data, we can perhaps suggest some ways to located an LLMD.
Like I said, I'm not medically trained, so this is just a suggestion, but you might want to try taking magnesium supplements (and be SURE to tell the doc you end up with what your symptoms were like before you started the magnesium). Any formulation ending in "-ate" is said to be most absorbable. I take a type that has magnesium malate, orotate, and aspartate in it. The reason I suggest this is that Lyme uses up magnesium in its reproductive process, and it is magnesium that carries messages between your muscle cells, including your heart muscle. Low levels of magnesium don't show up on blood test until they are VERY low, so you might give it a try. It sure helped me. I personally take 400 mg twice a day and have no side effects, but it sure helped my muscles, my heart rhythm AND my sense of well-being. Just a thought.
"I know that doctors and suggestions of Lyme don't always mix well." Your are exactly right about this, which is why finding the right doc is so important. And those docs ARE out there, it just takes a little searching around. Let us know what area you are in, and we'll see if we can find some possibilities for you, okay?
Take care, hang in there -- good for you for thinking this through.
Also, I forgot to list joint pain . . . I have that in my knees and hips, but I have it anyway, even before I thought I had Lyme. I'm not sure if this is important information or not, but might as well give it.