[Erick Scroggins]

My opinion on the subject is fairly simple from past experience. Anyone on the internet can be a self-proclaimed expert on any subject you come up with. It is not just in medicine, but most other subjects. My personal expertise is computers (since 1986). I have degrees in Computer Engineering and Networking. I have seen forums where a self-proclaimed expert has diagnosed problems with a PC that had me shaking my head in wonder. I feel the same concept applies to any kind of diagnosis one my find online. Anyone can claim to be an expert on any subject, whether they have the education and training to do so.
In my case, I started noticing a decrease in the movement of my left ankle. I had injured it a couple of times playing sports in high school, and later involving a motorcycle accident (driver tried to cross over a highway and panicked and jammed on the brakes when he realized I was there). I assumed that the loss of movement was a belated result of that collision and/or the previous damage I may have done to it. I, like many others, did some searching on the internet to confirm it as a possible answer to the problem. And some of the answers I found could be eliminated using plain common sense. Yet there were some recommendations of the probable cause and “suggestions” for combatting the problems. But none of the suggested consulting a professional about it. At no point did any of them suggest checking with my doctor to confirm it. But I also scheduled an appointment with my regular doctor.
My doctor scheduled a number of tests to diagnose the problem. I must admit that the referral to a neurologist did concern me somewhat since it was an ankle I was having problems with. After two visits with the neurologist and a number of different tests, the local neurologist gave me a diagnosis of “probable ALS” and a referral to the Duke Neurology Clinic, which confirmed that I indeed had ALS.
I guess what I am trying to say overall is that there are plenty of “experts” out there on the internet and their information is completely free. But unless they have the training and experience to diagnose your condition, the free information is just that, “free”, and worth every penny!