Hi. I was suffering from Urticaria in NJ in the USA since 2008 for almost 11/4 years till I went back to my country India in November 2009. It wod flare everyday. While in the US I went through a whole bunch of blood work, including hormones testing and thyroid testing,and also endoscopy and colonoscopy. Everything was notmal. I took all sorts of antihistamines available including some steroids too. On reaching India It just went away on its own like a magic. Now I have moved to Toronto, Canada. They came back!!! I am on Cetirize 10 mg and ranitidine 150mg twice a day. Only temperary relief. I have an appointment with an Allergist for testing on Nov. 4th. But asked to stay away from antihistamines for 5 days prior to the test. I tried for a day to check how it feels to be without antihistamines. Well first 24 hours were tollerable. But later on I used calamine lotion to stop itching. But all in all I had to take the medicines on the 48th hour. Can u please recommend what type of urticaria it could be? Also how I can survive wirhout any medicines for those 5 days. I will appreciate your prompt reply as I have only 4days left to be off medications for the test. Thanks again, BZ