1) Getting a haircut. My first haircut was pretty painful. Make sure you tell whoever does it about your back, and they will be extra careful. I used a big pillow and a small one, and it was still pretty difficult. That was about a month and a half later. Even now, since my hair is so thick and takes about 2 hours to get cut, it's still painful, but I no longer use pillows.
2) Sitting in the car. Let's face it. Cars were not made for people with backs like ours. A small pillow can really help behind your lower back to ease some of the pressure. It can be very uncomfortable, because normally your body would sink into the curves of the seat. Just stuff that gap with a pillow, and it's all good.
3) Sitting around the house. For a little while after surgery, try putting a pillow under each arm on the arm rests of your chair. This will take a lot of pressure off your back. It definitely helped me.
4) Lying down. You'll definitely need them when lying down for a couple months.
I started out with about 8 or 9 pillows when on my side. Here we go: between the knees, a couple big ones behind my back, a small one in the curve of my back, between my feet, underneath my side (I discovered that one a little later, and it was extremely helpful), one to hold on to and put in between my arms (like sleeping with a stuffed animal), and one underneath my head (of course). I only felt claustrophobic once. Now I use two- a normal one for my head, and one in between my knees.
I have been asked about lying on my stomach. That's a difficult thing to do now, and I certainly wouldn't have done it recently after surgery. It's possible, and I do it once in a while, but it's uncomfortable. But if you stick a pillow underneath your stomach, it levels out your body a little more.
A pillow is a patient's best friend.
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