NY, your hives story is very interesting. I had chronic hives during the period I was having the asthma issues, when I was about 34-35. But, after I moved back here, and I was generally healthier, I had them again, on and off for 2 years. No one found any cause, and they were concerned because my mom had them all of her life and she died of an autoimmune liver disease. But, my tests for that were fine. I've come to the conclusion it was stress, coupled with peri-menopause, which for me, started at about age 39 (yes, 7.5 years of hell).