I will say that the Medtronics SCS was one of the few things that actually helped me. Took pain from about a 7 down to a 3. Then, it suddenly stopped working about three and a half years later. There was some thought that the paddle had 3 or 4 electrodes that had shorted out. I just had everything removed about two months ago. I am considering a trial of a new one since my pain has not been controlled my anything, including a pain pump. A trial is a minimally invasive procedure that should give you a good idea of how much pain relief you will get.