There is such a phenomena known as analysis paralysis. Read, educate yourself, sift what you have learned, apply where necessary only. Too much information can cause a athlete to freeze.....just over-thinking. I am not suggesting to be in denial....but sometimes you just need to close the book and take a break.

@KimH this is exactly where I stand. For example, I had pain in my right shoulder for about 4 months. At the onset, and having done my MS research due diligence, I was pretty sure it was MS related. However, I felt it was not serious enough to call my neurologist, as we all have live with MS related pain.

Month 2 I did contact my neurologist who didn't make a fuss over it.

Month 3 brought on more pain and I could barely lift my are, so I started thinking there's more to this than mere MS symptoms. Back to researching the causes for shoulder pain (MS, rotator cuff injuries, bursitis, etc.) I narrowed the pain down to some type of shoulder injury and went to an urgent care (Sat. so doc ofc closed) had a shoulder x-ray and was diagnosed with bursitis of the shoulder. I was prescribed Naproxen(sp?). After taking for 1 week without relief and mind you, I'm still working 50 hrs per week and running kids to and fro - I went into stress mode.

Month 4 current month still no relief. I finally decided the shoulder pain coupled with new symptoms of heart palpitations, bouts of spontaneous sweating, and nausea where early signs of a heart attack, so off to the ER I went.

I had a team of doctors attending to me (neurologists, cardiac specialist, internist, radiologist, ugh) The diagnosis yielded - no heart attack! And the newest x-ray of my shoulder suggested I had an arthritic bone spur in my shoulder. Whew, thank goodness - an answer.

The radiology tech suggested an orthopedic surgeon who's on the list of Best Doctors in the US. More research, does this doc accept my insurance. YES, I'm good. My appointment was this past Tuesday. Her diagnosis, no bone spur (incorrect diagnosis in ER), but I do have inflammation in my shoulder. She gave me a cortisone shot and 10mins later the pain was almost gone.

Today (Thursday) no pain in my! Yay!! Now I'm researching to find a psychiatrist with a specialty in patients dealing with chronic illnesses and accepts my insurance, because this independent wife and mother of two very understanding girls is in need of some serious talk-help because I'm tired.

To wrap up an extremely long story... I feel that I'm in constant 'research mode' whether it's to:

Pinpoint or rule out MS
Assist me in finding the words to convey what I'm dealing with to others, or
Find an appropriate doctor that accepts my insurance

I tell ya, it's hard to come to grips with the amount of research, the number of doctors involved, number of x-rays and tests, the costs associated with an ER visit, and now my new found lovely panic attacks resulted in a mere cortisone shot! Ugh... need I say more.

"Research mode." That's one thing to call it! Knowing which is related to what part of my life is a major issue, but I just don't know what to do with it. Trying to speak clearly with my therapist looks like where I've spent a lot of time and will spend more. Still, I wish I had the clarity to know what to do next, so I felt comfortable doing more. I just don't often (?) know how clear I'm making myself to people, and other people in my life deserve to hear more than problems. Anyone should. I need a clearer idea of where I've been in my life.

I am a lawyer so I do research for a living. I have a Google alert set for general MS info as well as specific information on all the new drugs. I often know something before my neurologist and he is at the MS clinic. That said, I think I drive him crazy with all the new information. The internet is a wonderful thing as you can find out just about anything (but you have to careful to filter out the alarmist and misleading material).

@Evangelina I have been getting a magazine that a friend sent me. It is free. It's called "NeurologyNow". You can subscribe online @ www.neurologynow.com. I love it. It is a wealth of info about neurological diseases. A few months ago they talked about dystonia. My brother-in-law has it from falling 30 feet on a construction site. In the article it states that there is one called "spasmodic dysphonia" affects the vocal cords.