Well Bill I too amd 59 and I too was a 45 year smoker sorry to say. I also have a peptic ulcer and reflux and have used antacids for many years so they say it could be one cause or the other. Whatever the cause I have it and unfortunately the clock never runs back only forward.

In Feb. before my diagnosis I got a viral infection and tossed the smokes, the ashtrays and even the lighters and quit CT with no patch or gum. I quietly went insane for around a week and things got better and better afterward as I kicked the addiction.

Have you given them up yet? They say you have a better chance of the treatments being a success if you stop smoking before they begin. If you need help quitting I can recommend a wonderful site.

www.stopsmokingcenter.net Join up and work the program and watch as your "car" travels the winding road until it hits the "free"way. By the time it gets there you will be smoke free. Its a great program and its free.

I wish I lived in Florida so I could come to your office and get one of those free massages myself. laugh

May God be with you,
Barb~

[i]"The artist, a traveler on this earth, leaves behind imperishable traces of his being." -Fran