Have you had a CT scan done to see what is going on?

Have you had CT and x-rays to determine if you are or have fused?

Is there any evidence that the hardware is causing your pain?

It seems pretty early on in your recovery from a fusion to be considering an SCS without any thoughts as to why you are still in pain. that is if your fusion was done in July 2008. 5 months is not as along a time as you really think it is.

Many times, the hardware used in the process of doing the fusion can cause problems and increased pain.
It is not uncommon, once you have fused, to have the hardware removed.
Once you have fused, there is really no reason to have the hardware in you.

Many doctors remove the hardware once the patient is removed.

It is also possible that you haven't fused and that is causing your pain.

In any case, long before you consider a fusion, you need far more information than you have provided here and it would behoove you to have at least one other opinion before even considering an SCS

Fran

I'm a little confused. You said you are suffering from a discectomy on your subject but you then said you have just had a spinal fusion.

You may have had a full discectomy and then fusion where the fusion is done anterior or posterior, with an interbody spacer inserted, after the entire disc is removed. Do you know if they have left the disc in there?

or you may have had a partial discectomy posterior fusion and your disc is still relatively intact and the doctor did not remove it. He may have just fused you posterially. The remaining disc could be causing you the pain. The disc itself could be the pain generator.