I looked into both the pain pump and the SCS when I was trying to decide what to do. When I went to see the dr. who does pain pumps in my area (he's considered the best dr. who does it in my area), he said to go with SCS as there's less chance of infection, and also ins. companies have been fighting him on reimbursement for the pain meds. lately. So, since I value his opinion, I went and did the trials for the SCS (both lumbar and cervical) with my pain mgmt. dr.. The trials went good and I'm getting the permanent implants Aug. 19.

I've heard that some folks' meds. for pain pumps can run $5-10K every refill and that's why ins. companies prefer the one time cost of a SCS implant. Others, however have gone with the pain pump and have said they don't have any problems with their ins. companies paying for their refills.

I'd recommend you talk to both doctors (the one who'd do the pain pump and the one who'd do the SCS) and see what you feel more comfortable with. For me, the ins. issue was a biggie, as my ins. co. already pays out $6K a month for another medicine I have to take.

Good luck in your decision. Let us know what you decide.