Lu,
Yes, I would have done it differently. Without IFR training for that helicopter, I would have made damn certain I wasn't there. And with that training, and the practice required to keep up a scan, I would have understood what my instruments were telling me.
On my recent helicopter FI course, I asked if the disorientation decreased with time. In an R22 on instruments, I feel like I'm in a steep right turn when I'm straight and level; I trust my instruments and ignore it, but sometimes it makes me quite nauseous. My instructor said "the leans" don't go away, but do tend to reduce if you do a lot of instrument flying...and he's done a lot.