Hey Bugguy, your doc is the only one who can truly answer whether one issue must be remedied before another.

As for me, I had L5/S1 Laminectomy/Discectomy/Fusion in 2006 trying to overcome the pressure on my nerves which was shutting off my lower body function. This was an emergency/urgent procedure because, well, everything was stopping. Unfortunately, time proved that the nerve damage was permanent and this was the stuff which produced the agony with which I have lived these many years. SCS only recently, three weeks ago, well three and a half weeks ago, seems to have brought to me the answer to the nerve pain, not all of the other garbage that went along with permanence to my nerve damage like numbness which makes it so I don't have proprioception necessary to walk without a cane or the use of a wheelchair for long distances, but, by gum the BURNING and SPASMS which went along with the nerve damage seems to be managed by this wonder tool.

So, I would for sure take the question of whether to do one or the other or both up with your doc. Maybe the answers will help with understand more of what you are suffering in your particular case and the remedies best suited to your needs.

I was sent down the tried and true conservative treatment path which involved interminable hours of physical therapy, chiropractic, accupuncture, injections, meds, surgeries more numerous than I care to remember. The SCS option in my case was a final option, not the first. No one wanted to treat with surgery early after my car wreck because they did not believe indications warranted such early intervention. This, I believe, is what led to the permanence of my injury. Doggone it.

Hopefully, your situation will be resolved in a manner and method which will lead to early resolution and best results for your pain picture. For sure.

Hope it helps,
Mark56