I had relief of my upper back stiffness with baclofen in the pump but developed new low/mid back pain. Initial work up by the pain group (minimal, just plain X-rays) was unrevealing. I had to, over multiple visits and multiple visits insist on having the pump removed. I just had a gut feeling something was wrong.

They finally took it out and didn’t say it but implied they were done with me, no more pain pills.

Work up by a spine surgeon found arachnoiditis, inflammation of the lining of the spine in response to the pump. It was not on my release to have the pump. It is rare but becoming more common as more spine procedures are done.

If you are not getting relief, your risk / benefit ratio favors getting it removed. There is no treatment for arachnoiditis and it is progressive, ie. it gets worse as time goes on. For me, the only on who advocated for me was me. Not my PCP, neurologist, physical therapist, and definitely not the pain doctor.