hrt therapy discontinued

Hi.. I have been on vivelle patches since clinical menopause in 1993.  I also take armour thyoid 90 mg. I have been breaking out in hives since Oct 08. I have tried stopping other meds to see if something was causing the hives, I decided to stop using the patches to see if that could be the problem.  Will I have any problems stopping the hrt and will it affect my thyroid.  Also my thyroid antibodies are 900. Thanks for any help...

[Mary 53]

I just googled the words, Hives and estradiol.

There was some interesting information on about the third hit on google and it was information from the Hystersisters website. If you click there and then also check out the links provided by one of the posters, you may not get the exact answer you're looking for, but I think you may find some help.

I had wondered (as was expressed on the other forum) that this may be a matter of a low level of estradiol. Others thought maybe there was something in the patch that was causing the problem (and not necessarily the estradiol itself). Might it be time to try another delivery method of the estradiol (that is the only estrogen I will use). There are bioidentical gels, pills (estrace), and creams. Also, the patch "Climara" has worked well for many and the difference between that and the Vivelle is that one is made from soy and one is made from yams.

A few of the posters mentioned a few products that were prescribed for them from the allergist that seemed to help.

I am 56 and 8 years past my surgical menopause. At this point, I cannot imagine ever going off Estradiol and testosterone. I can tell when I am just a 'little' bit low and I am a mess until I get back to my regular dose.

Hope you get some answers soon.

Mary