No Laughing Matter:
Comedienne, Actress Vicki Lawrence Discusses
Her Struggle with Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria
Comedienne and actress, Vicki Lawrence is raising awareness about chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU).
By Heidi Suprun
Emmy-award winning actress and comedienne, Vicki Lawrence has brought laughter to millions. After making her television debut on The Carol Burnett Show, where she spent eleven years, Lawrence went on to star in her own series, Mama's Family. A multifaceted entertainer, in 1973, she received a gold record for her hit single "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia". Lawrence has hosted daytime talk shows, appeared on numerous game shows and theater productions and has recently held roles on, Yes Dear and Hannah Montana. In 2002 Lawrence launched her one-woman show entitled Vicki Lawrence and Mama, A Two Woman Show which has been so successful that she is currently on the road performing the 40th Anniversary Tour.
Lawrence has been married since 1974 to her best friend and professional partner, Al Shultz, who is the former head of make-up for CBS. When asked to share her favorite beauty tip, Vicki has often quipped, "Sleep with your make-up man!" The couple has two grown children. They live at the beach in Southern California with their two dogs. Lawrence enjoys doing motivational speaking engagements for women's groups and supporting numerous charities. Her hobbies include cooking and sailing.
Lawrence is currently on a campaign to raise awareness about chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), a disease that is no laughing matter for those who are struggling with it. Lawrence herself was diagnosed with CIU four years ago. One morning she woke up and the palms of her hands were itching. "I ran downstairs and said to my husband, 'honey you need to buy a lottery ticket because obviously we're coming into a lot of money tonight' and we laughed about it," said Lawrence. "After a few minutes when it didn't go away I thought 'this is kind of crazy'. There was nothing to see, and being the mother that I am for so many years, I put my hands in ice water because I know that's a good remedy to stop itching."
The next morning Lawrence woke up with the same thing. " It was like Groundhog Day and I thought 'this is so weird'," she said. After immersing her hands in ice water again which brought temporary relief, the itching returned with a vengeance while she was out walking her dogs. "Things started itching - my arms, my abdomen, my back, my stomach, my ribs. I remember walking the dogs home very quickly. "Come on guys you have no time to pottie. Let's get home! '" she told them. Once inside, Lawrence remembers jumping into the shower and turning the water on, making it colder and colder until she was "shivering and couldn't stand it anymore." She slathered her body with menthol lotion and sat on the edge of the bed, shaking and wishing she would pass out on the cool sheets. Her husband, Al, told her, " You've got to get to the doctor. Something's wrong." Lawrence made an appointment right away with her family's allergist.
To help diagnose her hives, Lawrence took pictures. "There were little bumps that would turn into cotton. I remember thinking my skin will never look normal again." When they crawled up the back of her head she thought, " Oh God -- I hope not my face." Everyone around her told her it was something she was doing, something she ate or something she changed. Her daughter told her that she needed to switch to a holistic diet. A friend told her it was probably the tannins in the wine she was drinking. " Everybody wants to help but it's not really something you want to talk about because you feel ridiculous- you know?" said Lawrence.
After six frustrating weeks of trial and error, Lawrence's doctor diagnosed her with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). CIU is a form of itchy chronic hives with no known cause that may last for months or even years. Approximately a million and a half people suffer from CIU and women between the ages of 20 and 40 are twice as likely to get them. "My doctor said ' you could scratch test yourself to death or go on any holistic diet you want, I don't think you're going to find the answer for this.' I think the hardest thing for most patients to accept is that that it's not something that you've done and it's not something that you've changed. I think that's the most frustrating thing for people." said Lawrence.
When Lawrence was diagnosed she said, " There was no good information on the Internet about CIU. There were people asking questions on blogs, but no good information. Fortunately, my doctor was familiar with CIU and was able to give me a treatment option that's kept it under control. That's why I agreed to join this campaign -- to let people know you haven't lost your mind - it's real and hopefully here's some help. I'm happy to provide my face so people can say,' oh I saw Vicki Lawrence talking about this'. I think if there's a familiar face that you tend to remember better." she said.
Lawrence's story is on the CIU and You website, an educational outreach project developed in partnership with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), and made possible by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Genentech. The site includes helpful links and a downloadable symptom tracker. Lawrence urges people keep a diary to track their hives. "The website will help guide you in the right direction and give you some smart questions to ask your doctor" said Lawrence, "Take pictures with your cell phone, because you might not get to the right doctor for a few weeks and get diagnosed with CIU for six weeks. You want to be armed with the diary so when you get to the right doctor you can really advocate for your own health. There are a number of drugs now that are available to treat this. You've just got to get to a dermatologist or an allergist that's familiar with CIU."
Stay up to date with Lawrence's tour dates and find DVD's of Mama's Family and The Carol Burnett Show at VickiLawrence.com. Lawrence promises that when you go to see her perform, " We will laugh a lot we will not discuss hives."
Emmy-award winning actress and comedienne, Vicki Lawrence has brought laughter to millions. After making her television debut on The Carol Burnett Show, where she spent eleven years, Lawrence went on to star in her own series, Mama's Family. A multifaceted entertainer, in 1973, she received a gold record for her hit single "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia". Lawrence has hosted daytime talk shows, appeared on numerous game shows and theater productions and has recently held roles on, Yes Dear and Hannah Montana. In 2002 Lawrence launched her one-woman show entitled Vicki Lawrence and Mama, A Two Woman Show which has been so successful that she is currently on the road performing the 40th Anniversary Tour.
Lawrence has been married since 1974 to her best friend and professional partner, Al Shultz, who is the former head of make-up for CBS. When asked to share her favorite beauty tip, Vicki has often quipped, "Sleep with your make-up man!" The couple has two grown children. They live at the beach in Southern California with their two dogs. Lawrence enjoys doing motivational speaking engagements for women's groups and supporting numerous charities. Her hobbies include cooking and sailing.
Lawrence is currently on a campaign to raise awareness about chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), a disease that is no laughing matter for those who are struggling with it. Lawrence herself was diagnosed with CIU four years ago. One morning she woke up and the palms of her hands were itching. "I ran downstairs and said to my husband, 'honey you need to buy a lottery ticket because obviously we're coming into a lot of money tonight' and we laughed about it," said Lawrence. "After a few minutes when it didn't go away I thought 'this is kind of crazy'. There was nothing to see, and being the mother that I am for so many years, I put my hands in ice water because I know that's a good remedy to stop itching."
The next morning Lawrence woke up with the same thing. " It was like Groundhog Day and I thought 'this is so weird'," she said. After immersing her hands in ice water again which brought temporary relief, the itching returned with a vengeance while she was out walking her dogs. "Things started itching - my arms, my abdomen, my back, my stomach, my ribs. I remember walking the dogs home very quickly. "Come on guys you have no time to pottie. Let's get home! '" she told them. Once inside, Lawrence remembers jumping into the shower and turning the water on, making it colder and colder until she was "shivering and couldn't stand it anymore." She slathered her body with menthol lotion and sat on the edge of the bed, shaking and wishing she would pass out on the cool sheets. Her husband, Al, told her, " You've got to get to the doctor. Something's wrong." Lawrence made an appointment right away with her family's allergist.
To help diagnose her hives, Lawrence took pictures. "There were little bumps that would turn into cotton. I remember thinking my skin will never look normal again." When they crawled up the back of her head she thought, " Oh God -- I hope not my face." Everyone around her told her it was something she was doing, something she ate or something she changed. Her daughter told her that she needed to switch to a holistic diet. A friend told her it was probably the tannins in the wine she was drinking. " Everybody wants to help but it's not really something you want to talk about because you feel ridiculous- you know?" said Lawrence.
After six frustrating weeks of trial and error, Lawrence's doctor diagnosed her with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). CIU is a form of itchy chronic hives with no known cause that may last for months or even years. Approximately a million and a half people suffer from CIU and women between the ages of 20 and 40 are twice as likely to get them. "My doctor said ' you could scratch test yourself to death or go on any holistic diet you want, I don't think you're going to find the answer for this.' I think the hardest thing for most patients to accept is that that it's not something that you've done and it's not something that you've changed. I think that's the most frustrating thing for people." said Lawrence.
When Lawrence was diagnosed she said, " There was no good information on the Internet about CIU. There were people asking questions on blogs, but no good information. Fortunately, my doctor was familiar with CIU and was able to give me a treatment option that's kept it under control. That's why I agreed to join this campaign -- to let people know you haven't lost your mind - it's real and hopefully here's some help. I'm happy to provide my face so people can say,' oh I saw Vicki Lawrence talking about this'. I think if there's a familiar face that you tend to remember better." she said.
Lawrence's story is on the CIU and You website, an educational outreach project developed in partnership with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), and made possible by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Genentech. The site includes helpful links and a downloadable symptom tracker. Lawrence urges people keep a diary to track their hives. "The website will help guide you in the right direction and give you some smart questions to ask your doctor" said Lawrence, "Take pictures with your cell phone, because you might not get to the right doctor for a few weeks and get diagnosed with CIU for six weeks. You want to be armed with the diary so when you get to the right doctor you can really advocate for your own health. There are a number of drugs now that are available to treat this. You've just got to get to a dermatologist or an allergist that's familiar with CIU."
Stay up to date with Lawrence's tour dates and find DVD's of Mama's Family and The Carol Burnett Show at VickiLawrence.com. Lawrence promises that when you go to see her perform, " We will laugh a lot we will not discuss hives."
David B. Engler, M.D.
David B. Engler, MD, FACAAI, FAAAAI of The Allergy Clinic in Houston talks to Ciao Bella! about chronic idiopathic urticaria:
"We actually see it (CIU) on a daily basis. A lot of times we see the same patient over again. The most important diagnostic tool is listening to the patient. The allergy airborne testing is frequently not helpful at all for patients with hives or urticaria. Once in a while there are a couple of blood tests that will be important. A lot of immunologic studies are being done. We are looking at the specifics of the immune system and what tends to go haywire which results in hives."
"We actually see it (CIU) on a daily basis. A lot of times we see the same patient over again. The most important diagnostic tool is listening to the patient. The allergy airborne testing is frequently not helpful at all for patients with hives or urticaria. Once in a while there are a couple of blood tests that will be important. A lot of immunologic studies are being done. We are looking at the specifics of the immune system and what tends to go haywire which results in hives."
