Conquer Chiari: A Patient's Guide to the Chiari Malformation

by Rick Labuda

Facing Chiari can be an overwhelming experience. Most people have never heard of Chiari so when they or a loved one are diagnosed they are thrown into a confusing world of tests and medical jargon without knowing what to do or expect. In the midst of this whirlwind, patients are faced with having to make important decisions with profound consequences. First published in 2008, Conquer A Patient’s Guide quickly became a world-wide success with its combination of easy to understand, science based explanations and the author’s personal experiences. This Second Edition continues with that successful formula while also incorporating the most important research findings from the last decade. A Patient’s Guide takes readers through the different stages of dealing with Chiari and provides the information and tools necessary for people to take charge of their healthcare and make informed, intelligent health decisions.

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2021

Reviews

[Elizabeth Schlatter · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book if you are newly diagnosed and/or if you care for someone recently diagnosed with Chiari Malformation. When I picked up the first edition (2008) of the book earlier this year, my perspective was, “wait, what do I have??? I’ve never heard of this and now things are moving so quickly!” The author provides an excellent basic overview of CM and then dives deeper into the history of the diagnosis, symptoms, treatment options, results and/or success rates, and his own perspective as both a patient with CM and a father of a child with CM. Especially helpful to me was how he talked about the patient/surgeon relationship (this is true for all patient/doctor relationships, not just for CM) — that what matters is that you work with someone who has experience and who you trust. And who you choose might be completely different than who I would choose, and we’d both be absolutely right in picking the best doctor for each of us. The author also reminds us that no one surgeon or doctor will have all the answers and, in fact, what you might really need is a doctor who focuses just the specific problem of CM — that is, like a romantic partner or spouse (LOL), you shouldn’t expect your doctor to fulfill all your CM needs and have all your answers. Not sure why but that point in particular really stood out for me.

Anyway, I finished reading the book about a week before my own CM decompression surgery (June 2021), and I was thinking I wished there was an updated version since it had been over 10 years since the first one. And then, voila! The second version (2021) was published the day after I read the first one! So I read the second version (the one that I’m reviewing here) AFTER my surgery, now with the perspective of… “Okay, I’ve got the scheme of things, I’ve had the surgery. I’m still in pain, what’s next????” And reading the new version was very helpful because now I knew the CM vocabulary and I could appreciate all the new and updated research the author included, a lot of it from the Conquer Chiari organization that he started. There’s a lot of similar info from the first book. But honestly, this second read for me was incredibly helpful — the first read was introductory and a lot of stuff I just couldn’t fully comprehend. Whereas my second read (with the updated version) solidified a lot of things and reminded about how complex CM is and especially the recovery from the surgery, which where I’m at now.

I really can’t thank the author enough for putting all this info together and offering a resource specifically for patients. Highly, HIGHLY recommend!!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative

Very informative book about this rare condition. Great read for anyone that has a loved one with Chiari. Thank you to the author for sharing your personal story as well.

[Kelsey Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful if you’re early on in your Chiari diagnosis and debating surgery!

[Jen Hohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST have for anyone with Chiari. I wish doctors handed this to patients with the diagnosis. So well done and organized and I loved the positive approach to living with Chiari.