...favorite activity is hiking in NY and VT. Have a camp in the mountains, very wooded....
Hi kat
You can certainly fit into the risk pool for Lyme and co-infections such as Babesia, Erlichiosis, Bartonella, Mycoplasma, etc. Bartonella is known to cause pain to the soles of the feet (not saying your foot pain is such).
The Lyme tests are largely unreliable. There are a couple of labs that specialize in Lyme. Getting a negative test does "not" mean you do not have it. Up to fifty percent of people who are bitten do not get the rash. However, if you get the rash, you definitely have the disease. Nymph ticks as you no doubt know are the size of a dot made by a ballpoint pen. They "can" transmit the disease upon biting (its a myth that they have to be attached for 48 hours). Lyme symptoms can be dormant for years. We don't know why it can affect some people more than others. And on top of all that, there is a raging controversy in the medical community about how to treat. So I wouldn't take the advice of a single physician unless that doctor is widely acknowledged as an LLMD (Lyme Literate MD is the "jargon" used by the patients).
For an updated "take" on Lyme and its ramifications, see "Cure Unknown" by Denise Weintraub. Published June 2009.
When you say you "took precautions" does that include tucking long-sleeved shirt into pants and tucking pants into socks and then showering and shampooing at the end of each day?
Kindest regards,
spncity