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I've just been diagnosed with my third case of strep throat in two months; I wasn't even that sick, I just had a tiny bit of a sore throat and no fever, but I wanted to try out my new medical insurance that just went into effect yesterday, so I went to the doctor.
Well, the doctor looked at my throat and said, "This is definitely not strep; it's barely red, there's no blisters or anything. It's definitely viral."
But she did a strep test anyway (not the rapid test; the more accurate, 24-hour one), and wrote me a scrip for Amoxicillin, which she told me not to fill unless the strep test came back positive, which, she assured me, it wouldn't.

Sure enough, today the lab called back and told me the strep test was positive.
So I went and filled my prescription, but here's the thing: I feel completely better today. I don't feel even one single bit sick (and I barely felt sick yesterday; like I said, I haven't had medical insurance in years, and I just wanted to try it out, on a day that I was actually off from work).
Ordinarily, I never would've gone to the doctor for that tiny little sore throat and sniffle.

So anyway. I started looking on line and I found out that a lot of people are "strep carriers" and carry strep bacteria in their throats all the time, therefore will always test positive for strep, even if they aren't having an active strep infection. The condition (of being a carrier) is apparently not dangerous, and carriers rarely infect others; therefore, no treatment is necessary for the condition of being a strep carrier.

My question is, if one is (currently) a strep carrier, does that necessarily mean that one has always been a strep carrier (because I have tested negative for strep in the past. Like, years ago)?

My other question is, do I really need to take these antibiotics? Because I freakin' hate antibiotics; they tear me up inside.
About six weeks ago, I had strep (real strep, with blisters and a high fever) and was prescribed a 10 day course of penicillin. This didn't clear the infection, and I relapsed immediately upon completing the scrip. I was then prescribed a z-pac (zithromax) which is very expensive and very hardcore, and which seemed to clear up the infection (although completely f'ing up my body in the process).

Anyway, now the "strep" is allegedly back, even though I don't feel sick at all, and I'm really very reluctant to embark upon my third course of antibiotic treatment in two months, given the effect that this sort of medicine has on me (yeast infections, terrible digestive problems, mouth sores, etc).

Has anyone here ever been diagnosed as a strep carrier, or had recurrent strep infections as an adult (I know they're common in children, but not so much in adults)? If one is a carrier, does this condition persist forever?
And does anyone have any advice about this situation- especially anyone who might be in the medical field?
Thanks.

PS I am not immuno-compromised or suffering from any other serious illness to my knowledge.

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