Posted 6/17/2013 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
just before my surgery last fall, i was feeling so bad my brain got all cross-wired. i couldn't tell the difference between having to poop, having to pee, being hungry, or just being in pain. it all felt exactly the same. so i'd have to go down a checklist "well i cant eat any more so its not hunger, guess i'll go to the bathroom, see if its one of those. nope, guess im just feeling bad today."
after the surgery, while i was recovering, my brain started to un-cross, but it had to re-learn everything. for a while, hunger was expressed as nausea (idiot brain), and everything else felt like bloating. but eventually it figured it out, and now i can at least understand what my body is trying to tell me about what it needs.
as for what's worth calling the doctors over... i watch my weight. my GI knows about all of my regular symptoms, and after having a couple VERY bad flares (the first was diagnosis, second was right before my surgery) I've learned that if my appetite drops for more than about a week, I need to watch the scale very closely. If THAT starts dropping at all, I need to call the doctor. Both major flares were the only time my weight ever went down, so if it drops again I'm in deep... uh, crap.
If something COMPLETELY new happens, that's definitely worth calling about. Or if something is consistently worse. Or if you notice something being particularly bothersome, like the heartburn. And, if you're not sure, just call anyway. It's your doctor's job to keep track of your symptoms and how you're doing. Your job too, of course, but it's a team effort.