hi tofast2drive,
I have heard that some doctors prescribe a spinal cord stimulator only because they want to avoid having some right winger target them for prescribing opiates. People have had them put in poorly by docs not experienced enough, or in cases where it wouldn't be helpful, so, you have to rule out those 2 potential problems. Get second opinions, read up on the experiences of others, etc. Also, the stimulators work by sending messages to interfere with and hopefully confuse the pain messages that are being sent, so they don't work completely and you still have to take some pain killers.
I wonder if it might be true that a pain pump should be tried first? I know it can reduce the amount of opiates you take by more than a factor of 10 because it is local. Don't let any doctor convince you to try a stimulator until you feel that it will work better for you than a pump or oral painkillers.
Good luck,
Jane