Hi Gary, Man, you sure deserve a lot of credit for being able to stay clean with your being a musician in bars (what instrument do you play?). Alcoholism is a disease that most people who don't have cannot understand. Even my dad (who smoked for about forty years and drank A LOT of beer for years, until he was diagnosed with emphazema and had two heart attacks) then quit smoking but still has three beers a night, doesn't understand it. Of course, back in the day, he would down at least a 12 pack a night followed by a few shots of something. because it never interferred with his job (he waited to have his first til after he got home from work and then didn't stop til he'd go to bed), but we never thought of it as alcholism because of this. At my worst I'd drink seven or eight beers on some nights, and a 12 pack on others. Always followed by a sleep med....whatever i could get my hands on, be it valuim, codeine, or just over the counter night time sleep aides. Because I was almost always in a drug induced state, I never stopped to think clearly about what I was doing to my body. Until I landed in detox, and then it only lasted for a short while before I thought I could handle just having a few beers a night...hah....that didn't work! Even when I'd go to my doc for check ups then he'd tell me that one beer was okay....two was pushing it and three was too much for my size and weight. Now, how stupid is that...telling an alcoholic that "one is okay"?! Not that it's their fault that I did drink, but you'd like to think that doctors would be a little more up with this disease. As for insurance with anheuser-busch, we don't have it, just have the military retired insurance, tricare prime. And we've had our share of ignorant military doctors over the years. When my husbands brain tumor came back one time his doctor didn't even inform him about it. It was only when my husband went back to him for a complete different thing that he (my husband) was leafing thru his records and saw the MRI report hiself!! I wonder how long we would have went if he hadn't of seen it? His tumor is not malignant (thank God) but it is dangerous as it grows fast and without removing it he could end up completely blind (he's already lost the vision in his left eye) or dead. He's had six surgeries already and is going to be having another one soon. Anyway, this other oral surgeon I'm going to on the 11th is not military, and hopefully, he will be able to see the ulcer. If he can't then I'll demand to see an ENT doctor, I am not going to sit still until I get an answer that I'm satisfied with. I imagine the two months you had to wait after being diagnosed and starting your treatment had to be pure hell for you? We're you even able to eat? I worry about that, as when I am nervous I can't eat and I read where so many of you guys online lost a lot of weight. I only weigh 118 pounds now as it is. Also I'm wondering, do you have a lot of scarring, do you look like you did before the surgery? I read where some of the surgeries can really change your appearance? Okay, enough of my rambling for now....have a good day! shelley