estrogen and hives

Hi all,
I am scheduled for a TVH on 2/26 and my doc plans to remove everything she can get ahold of since I am nearing 52 and don't need it anymore! I have had chronic hives ever since my period came back after the birth of my 13 year old daughter...go figure. The hives are well controlled now with Zyrtec...thank heavens for non-drowsy antihistamines. Several years ago, I started having hot flashes and night sweats...menopause seemed to arrive on April Fools day...quite suddenly. My doctor put me on Premarin and the symptoms disappeared immediately but my HIVES...WOW did they blossom...dinner-plate sized on thighs and back and little ones elsewhere. Stopped the Premarin and the hives went back to their normally annoying background noise stage plus, my periods started again. This was an enlightening experience because I had searched for a long time for a cause for the hives...not soaps, not food, not anything that we could isolate until...estrogen! Then I realized the hives have had an up and down pattern to go along with my cycles although they were always there. So as if HRT didn't present enough complexities...I am wondering if anyone "out there" has experience with hives and HRT...or just chronic hives, for that matter! I knew I was in for it 13 years ago when I said to my doctor something like, "I will get over this, right?" She replied, "...I have seen people get over them..."

Yes, I have chronic hives,on and off, mangoes will kill me, they cause me to be covered head to toe with hives, not a pretty picture, glad I lived to tell the tale. Also, motrin.
I never thought about the estrogen connection, that is very interesting, by the way, I took hismanol, and it was great, but off the market now, so I do claritin, is zyrtec better? Took it once and it made me sleep.
Please write if you find out more stuff about the hive connectin, I am right there with you.
PS are you a redhead? I am, and we seem to hive more

According to my favorite thyroid book "The Thyroid Solution", it says "The red, itchy patches of hives can occur with either hypo- or hyperthyroidism. In many patients, hives are a manifestation of an autoimmune thyroid disease. Patients with hives have a higher frequency of Hashimoto's thyroiditis."

I highly recommend checking your thyroid levels before having your surgery. Many times after childbirth, your thyroid levels can become imbalanced and can be temporary or permanent. It's also a possibility for women to have a hysterectomy when all along it was a thyroid imbalance causing the problems (i.e. heavy bleeding).

Lauren, I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, never knew there was a connection, thanx for that info...hmmmm