Modifying a record works but not in actual database?

I'm trying to set up a "modify record" page, and after testing and triple-checking the syntax and form, and even running the query in the phpMyAdmin interface to make sure the query is correct. This is just a snippet of what I've done: <?php // open connection include ("connectdatabase.inc"); // format names to protects the O'Haras etc. $esc_fname = addslashes($fname); $esc_lname = addslashes($lname); $esc_email = addslashes($email); $esc_web = addslashes($web); // set up query $sql = 'UPDATE thistable SET FNAME = "$esc_fname", LNAME = "$esc_lname", EMAIL = "$esc_email", WEB = "$esc_web" WHERE ID = "$id"'; // perform query $sql_result = mysql_query($sql); if (!$sql_result) { echo "Can't execute $sql " . mysql_error(); exit; } // close connection mysql_close($connection); ?> The problem? On the PHP front (my "mofidy record" page) says it's performed without a problem. However, if I were to do a "view all records" - I can see that none of the changes has actually been made to the database. Adding a record is not a problem; nor is deleting a record. Can someone point me into the right direction as to what I might be doing wrong? Thanks! Laurie Landry