Customer Reviews

Conquer Chiari: A Patient's Guide To The Chiari Malformation

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you've been diagnosed with Chiari Malformation, this book will assist you in every way imaginable. Not only does the author give you an extensive background on what it is, but he walks you through from diagnosis to hopeful outcomes. The story at the beginning of Chapter 8 lends some hope, whether you are just diagnosed or have been dealing with Chiari for years. Unlike many doctor's who write about health conditions, the author is a Chiari sufferer as well and writes this book with imput from his own experience. As any Chiari or Syringomyelia sufferer well knows, sometimes its seems no one can relate to the pain and frustration you face everyday. Well this author can! Not only has he suffered from the effects of Chiari and Syringomyelia, but he has devoted much of his time in educating others and helping them to make more informed decisions. Definitely a must read!! I read that there may also be a book in the future about Syringomyelia (I have this disorder as well) as I've learned that they sometimes go hand in hand. I plan on passing this book around to members of my family, so that they may better understand what I am living with, and travel along side me in my journey with knowledge, not simply as observers. Thank You Mr. Labuda for this valuable weapon in MY battle with Chiari.

I was diagnosed and had decompression surgery in 2003. Five years later I still struggle with headaches. I read anything that I can get my hands on that has to do with Chiari. This by far is the best book written on Chiari that I have read. I am going to make everyone in my family read it so that they have a better understanding of what I go through. Rick did a really wonderful job writing things so that everyone can understand.

This is an excellent book packed full of info. Wish I had been able to read it when I was first diagnosed. Gives technical info and info from the patient's perspective. Because this is a large book, it is a bit much to expect family and friends to read it, so I recommend you also get Dr. Oro's book The Chiari Book: A Guide for Patients, Families, and Health Care Providers.

This is an ongoing reference book for me. As I was diagnosed in Oct 2008 with this brain disorder. It has been soooo informative and pretty easy to read. The author shares little snippets of practical tips, their own experience and 2 cents, and more.
I plan to share it with my family, so that they better understand the disorder, and also my primary care dr.

This was a fantastic read. As I have the condition myself I found it very informative and put my mind at rest.

The best book I have found on Chiari. Very intresting and informative. Perfect for paitients and for parents to children with Chiari.

I recently read Conquer Chiari: A Patient's Guide To The Chiari Malformation and I thought I was up-to-date on all the current medial studies regarding chiari malformation but this book contained some information I was unaware of such as medical studies showing that cranial-sacral therapy as dangerous to chiarians and the connection between advanced chiari and vestibular problems. I found it much easier to read than The Chiari Book: A Guide for Patients, Families, and Health Care Providers even with medical training. I would give the Conquer Chiari book to caregivers and relatives before the Chiari Book by Dr Oro. However Dr Oro does a better job with the complexities of treating chiari malformation than Rick who tends to be overly optimistic and simplistic in his views. So take the little Miss Sunshine type of attitude with a grain of salt that it is not realistic, accurate, or helpful, but do read the book if you are at all interested in Chiari Malformation. I rarely read a book twice but I will be reading Conquer Chiari: A Patient's Guide To The Chiari Malformation again as it is very informative and at this time there is no better book about chiari malformation.

Well written and concise
Does an excellent job of explaining the medical terminology pertinent to Chiari
Unbiased and shows both the positive and negative sides to treatment vs no treatment
The most thorough reference book for patients with Chiari out there
Highly recommended!

My daughter was diagnosed with Chiari a few weeks ago. I am grateful to this author for his extensive research, along with his personal experience with the disease, which he shares with others in this book. If you have been affected by Chiari, or anyone you know has, or if you are in the medical profession, then you need to read this book. The author's web site, also called "Conquer Chiari" is the best source on the web to learn about Chiari and to meet others who have it.

This book is the bible for chiari patients. It describes everything from getting correct diagonsis with a competent Neurosurgeon(NS), deciding whether to go for surgery or not, preparation for surgery & post-operative recovery, things to do & not to do during the patient dependent recovery period, how to measure whether the surgery was useful or not & what to do next. Although this book is written for Chiari patients, it will be very useful for patients who have had posterior fossa craniotomy for Arachnoid cyst fenestration, tumor excision etc. In chapter 2, book discusses the basics of the central nervous system in an easy language before moving on to Chiari & Syringomyelia. Every bit of information in the book related to Chiari & Syringomyelia is from research literature, the author has done a credible job. The book explains the different modalities that can be used for pain management during the post-operative recovery period including pain killers like opoids, NSAIDS etc , physical modalities like ice, heat, massage, TENS, Ultrasound etc. The book talks abt the socio-economic impact that Chiari can have on the patients & their families. The book describes briefly some research projects at various places in the world whose outputs can become part of the future treatment for chiari patients including stem cell research, nerve regeneration, advanced imaging etc. In the last chapter, the author, himself a Chiari patient & director of an excellent non-profit foundation dedicated to the cure & care of Chiari patients [[ www.conquerchiari.org]], discusses some practical tips to lead a better life with Chiari & Syringomyelia.