There’s something oddly fascinating about what happens when people are almost asleep but not quite. Twilight anesthesia, that hazy middle ground where you’re relaxed, loopy, and completely unfiltered, has a way of turning even the most composed individuals into accidental comedians.
For surgical staff, it’s all part of the job, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t memorable. Think bizarre one-liners to unexpected emotional outbursts, patients under sedation have a knack for saying things that range from hilarious to downright confusing. And the best part? Most of them won’t remember a single word of it.
More info: Reddit
#1
Not so much “what they said” but what they did. This patient, after being extubated, start to wake up and starts smoking an imaginary cigarette. He was very polite tho…noticed us and blew his imaginary smoke in the other direction. We laughed pretty hard at that.
Image source: greenman7205, DC Studio
#2
I get the chance to tell you fine people about the greatest thing I have ever done.
Long story short, a stick got stuck through my hand… not important. Anyway, thought I got it all out, turned out a chunk of wood remained in my hand and I needed surgery to get it out. They put me under so I wouldn’t twitch and cause them to accidently mess my hand up. I wake up when they are wheeling me into the room to let the anesthesia wear off before my wife takes me home. After maybe 10 minutes the doctor comes in to tell us how everything went, blah blah blah. Then it happens, I had been preparing for this moment since the surgery was scheduled…
Dr: “Do you have any questions?”
Me: “Will I be able to play piano?”
Dr: “Of course”
Me: “Great, because I couldn’t before”
I proceeded to laugh hysterically for a solid minute and the doctor directed all conversation to my wife. Neither of them thought it was even a little bit funny.
Image source: trijkdguy, tonodiaz
#3
Was told after my procedure that during counting down from one hundred, I sat straight up with my eyes wide open, asked if “anyone needed anything while I was out” and then was gone.
Image source: Kanielahonu, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
Twilight anesthesia, also called conscious sedation or monitored anesthesia care (MAC), is a form of light-to-moderate sedation where patients are relaxed and drowsy but can usually respond to verbal cues and gentle touch.
Cleveland Clinic explains that unlike general anesthesia, where patients are fully unconscious and unaware of the procedure, or local anesthesia, where patients remain fully awake but the targeted area is numbed, twilight anesthesia keeps patients partially conscious.
#4
After getting my wisdom teeth out apparently the first thing I said to my incredibly Christian mother- who I have not sworn in front of before or since- that the nurse who put me under was a horrible woman.
Guess who else was in the room.
Image source: pizzarollfire, vh-studio
#5
I had to get a stent put in my femoral artery some years ago. In order to do this, the surgeon has to go in through the groin.
Since they’re essentially poking a hole in your femoral artery, it takes some pressure to close the wound once the procedure is done. And because of my health issues I was on blood thinners at the time. As an aside, the absolute worst part of the procedure is having to lie flat on your back for six hours — no pillow or anything — while the wound closes.
As I’m coming out of the twilight sleep in the recovery room, my surgeon is leaning with his full weight on my groin. He and I had a great relationship and I was loopy anyway, so I liked at him and said, “What do you think you’re doing? You have to buy me dinner first.”
He told me to shut up and that he easy trying to save my life. They couldn’t stop the bleeding with the normal pressure dressing and needed extra pressure otherwise I was going to bleed out.
He never did buy me dinner.
Image source: who_are_you_now, freepik
#6
I told the candy striper staff all about atmospheric maximum rainfall amounts. I do not work in the field of meteorology. I had heard this term once a few days before my procedure.
Image source: Notloudenuf, pixaflow
The effects of twilight anesthesia on memory, speech, and self-control help explain why patients sometimes say unusual or unexpected things during procedures. Healthline highlights that sedative drugs temporarily suppress parts of the brain that normally filter thoughts, store new memories, and coordinate clear speech.
This can lead to side effects such as slurred speech, disinhibited talk, or mood shifts, which are usually short-lived and tied directly to the medications. As the sedatives peak, cortical and motor areas responsible for articulation and coordination are dampened, making speech slow, effortful, or difficult to control.
#7
Apparently I acted like I knew everyone that came into my room for years, even if I had never met them. Stuff like ”wow! I can’t believe you came to see me! That’s so nice of you! How did you even know I was here?” I was positively tickled pink that everyone stopped by my room to wish me well (they hadn’t, obviously).
I also did really poor mimicking impressions of various nurses accents (almost to offensive stereotypes) trying to be friendly. I pulled out my “best” Russian and black accents (the latter of which absolutely mortifies me to think about). They all got a kick out of it though.
Image source: DocB630, syda_productions
#8
Many years ago, I was mildly put out for a small procedure. I remember about 15 seconds mid-procedure where I became lucid and suddenly felt the need to pipe up and say “I had a Wayne Gretzky doll when I was little”, and I saw both doctors turn around and just stare at me. Then I was out again.
Image source: Shawanabear, Babs Hajdusiewicz
#9
I accused my nurses for kidnapping my husband and stealing his pancreas for organ smugglers. He wasnt in the recovery room because my blood pressure kept dropping.
Image source: AccurateSession1354, DC Studio
Sedation also affects the brain’s social filter, which normally helps people regulate what they say in social settings. According to Snuggy Mom, the prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning, judgment, and social restraint, is temporarily weakened under sedation. This means patients are less likely to pause and consider whether their words are appropriate before they speak.
However, most of what patients say tends to be reflections of immediate worries, anxieties, or everyday feelings rather than long-held secrets. The drugs reduce inhibition rather than acting like a truth serum, so what comes out is often spontaneous and in-the-moment rather than a deep revelation.
#10
Apparently while going under for my tubes to be tied I asked for a tummy tuck ‘since we were all here anyways’.
When I was 12, I woke up, asked if I was still pregnant, vomited on the nurses shoes and was back out. I was a virgin. My older sister laughed for a long time about this.
My daughter had a surgery and woke up said “we have to get back to the future” and was out again. She does not remember this.
Other daughter had her wisdom teeth out and kept asking for her mother. They came and got me. When I went to the room she said “Not that jerk, the other one.” I was like… What? We both went out the room, shut the door. Then the nurse opened it again and asked my daughter “is this the right one?” Daughter looked at me and said “thank God. They tried to send me home with a jerk. I need you mommy.” Still don’t know who she thought I was the first time lol.
Image source: These_Avocado_Bombs, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
#11
I apparently told my surgeon she looked beautiful. (I’m about 30 years younger than her and could be her daughter) I have no recollection of this but she seemed tickled by it!
Image source: maximum_somewhere22, photoroyalty
#12
I was the patient, my husband had his phone ready to video record what he was POSITIVE was gunna be hilarious behaviour from me…
… My usual bubbly silly self woke up sad and confused, he said. I just kept asking what was happening. He deleted the footage cause he said it was just so sad, lol
Are you anxious about what you could’ve potentially said, Op?
Image source: stephinityy, tonodiaz
From the perspective of medical staff, these moments are generally harmless and even amusing. Lighthouse Dental Centre explains that because the behavior usually stops as the drugs wear off and patients rarely remember it, staff often view it as surreal but not intrusive. Sedation-induced comments are frequently seen as funny or absurd in the moment, and patients’ later reactions can range from embarrassment to mild amusement, depending on what was said and how it is handled by the healthcare team.
This combination of partial consciousness, reduced inhibition, and temporary memory loss helps explain the strange, funny, and sometimes unforgettable things that patients blurt out while under twilight anesthesia.
#13
When I woke up from my colonoscopy I told the entire OR staff that “I hope you liked my back, I shaved it just for you guys” 😭😭😭😭.
Image source: wompus_1, pvproductions
#14
I’m the patient. impacted wisdom teeth surgery, accompanied by very religious parents. last thing i reportedly said before knocking out was “ahhhhhhhh, this is the stuff they gave michael jackson”.
Image source: Vivid-Intention-8161, syda_productions
#15
Once when I woke up after dental surgery, the nurse asked me to describe the person in the waiting room who was there to pick me up. It was my brother; I said he looked like a penguin.
(He does.).
Image source: paintonwood2, bearfotos
At the heart of these hilarious and bizarre moments, there’s a reminder that patients are humans first, even under the influence of twilight anesthesia. Their unfiltered words show us a side of vulnerability, humor, and unpredictability that no medical textbook could ever capture.
Surgical staff witness them firsthand, often laughing quietly to themselves, and we get to enjoy the stories secondhand. So buckle up and enjoy this collection of unforgettable patient quotes, because sometimes, the best anesthesia stories aren’t about the procedure at all, but the words that slip out along the way.
#16
A few good ones:
Hand trauma patient, before going under for a replace: “I gotta tell you guys something. None of my kids are mine but my wife doesn’t know that I know. Don’t tell anyone because I love my kids”.
Another trauma patient, on extubation, screaming loudly while entering the pacu: “OH MY GOD MY THROAT IS SO SORE I FEEL LIKE I BEEN DEEP THROATIN A BIG MALE ORGAN ALL DAY!”
We’ve heard it all; I don’t even remember what the patients looked like or their names but those are two that stand out to me.
Image source: thereisafrx, freepik
#17
Not bad, but apparently during a colonoscopy, just as I was going under, I warned everyone in the room that I better not wake up and find pics on Instagram of them all posing with weird objects they’ve stuck in my back. I don’t remember it, but the nurse who wheeled me back after said I was pretty joke-y until I conked out. .
Image source: AngryGames, Anna Tolipova
#18
Came out of an endoscopy and colonoscopy and the nurse said “both the endoscopy and colonoscopy went well” and I said “which did you do first, or did you Eiffel Tower me?”.
Image source: defenestrate1984, DC Studio
#19
Took my mom for a colonoscopy post cancer surgery. When done staff said I could wait with her while she wakes up. It’s a large room with curtains separating the beds. While she’s still under anesthetic she asks me if gay guys need the happy juice or do they just jump on the bed ready to go. Cue people all around us laughing and some dude snorted. Me not knowing what to tell her said I’d ask the staff for her. A minute later a red faced nurse with tears in her eyes came to check her and told me to let her know that yes they do get knocked out. To this day at 90 years old she still says she never said it.
Image source: Humble_Avocado6601
#20
My 70yo dad came out of anesthesia after a procedure with his girlfriend (now wife) standing next to his bed. He saw her, grabbed her arm, buried his face into her arm and kept repeating “do you see my wife? This is Linda. Isn’t she so pretty?? I love her so much.” This went on for about 5min. He doesn’t remember it at all but we all thought it was very cute.
Image source: killersim, Wavebreak Media
#21
Patient, not a doctor. When I went in for my colonoscopy I was nervous. Ive never been under any type of anesthesia before. Im a straight male and my doctor was a younger increadibly handsome doctor with gorgeous nurses helping him. I was jokingly calling him Dr. Hottie and making jokes about it it was gonna be my first time I was glad it was him. I dread every day what I might have said while under.
Image source: Defendprivacy, Wavebreak Media
#22
I was getting my broken arm fixed as an 8 year old and I realized as I was going under that it might affect my budding baseball career and according to my parents I said “Must play baseball…must stay awake…must stay aliveeee….” And I was out lmao.
Image source: Waterwings559, Wavebreak Media
#23
As a patient-when I had one of my knee surgeries as a teenager, I was given twilight sedation and a local, as I had issues with anesthesia during prior surgeries.
Apparently midway through my operation, I sat up and attempted to strangle my surgeon whist he was in the middle of repairing my ACL. They elected to fully put me under at that point.
I do have red hair, so that likely has something to do with it all.
Image source: The_I_in_IT, freepik
#24
Not me but the surgeon: “Why are you still lucid? I can’t give you any more so I can’t operate.” I was an alcoholic. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I told them I’m done you guys I’m out of here. I then attempted to get up and walk out but nearly collapsed cause my stupid legs wouldn’t work, and the nurse had to walk me to the bathroom like a grandpa so I could take a leak.
Image source: puppywuppybuppy, kasto80
#25
This is a slightly different take but I’m six foot six and was getting wheeled into surgery and was moving from the gurney to the table while trying to keep the gown from riding up. I was obviously large for the table and one of the nurses said “wow, just how big are you”? As a joke. The doctor quipped back, “Let’s at least wait until he’s under to find out…” I hope they realize I’m a grower not a shower lol.
Image source: Hotfartsinyourmouth, user6393596
#26
Not a doctor, but hideously tempted to say “Darmok at Tenagra. When the walls fell”.
Image source: odddutchman, Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
#27
After I came out of surgery I asked the nurse if I am gone because she looked like an angel. My wife was not amused. 🥲.
Image source: CaliftedChris, rawpixel.com
#28
I had a procedure while studying for the final exam for my degree in french. I woke up speaking french. Speaking in a second language is easier when inhibited.
Image source: BigBlueFeatherButt, Wavebreak Media
#29
I was being wheeled down to recovery and apparently put my hands in the air and yelled “this is better than Disneyland!!” The nurse got mad at me because I’d had surgery on both elbows and wasn’t supposed to move them that quickly😂.
Image source: TheBionicMan23, freepik
#30
I am a very large man and roared awake swinging my arms speaking in “Latin” (gibberish) having just lived a second/past life as a Roman legionnaire.
Was eating oatmeal gruel for breakfast with my brothers in arms when a black hole opened in the sky, I fell up and passed through an endless darkness at great speed for an eternity before landing on a hospital bed surrounded by people I didn’t know. It was startling, I thrashed about with no identity and everyone looked scared of me and backed off.
I clutched the flower patterned drapes for a couple minutes/seconds before my identity snapped back into place, I calmed and slurred “that was one hell of a trip” about 20 times before trying to tell everyone I lived a past life as a Roman soldier but no one seemed interested. My wife came in and asked if I was being good and I smiled and everything got better. Then it just sort of faded away into memory as one of the most psychedelic experiences of my life, an endoscopy.
One hell of a ride.
Image source: iamnotazombie44, Trzykropy
#31
My daughter had to get her tonsils removed when she was 10. When she was waking up after surgery, the nurse was flashing her flashlight, checking her pupils probably, and my daughter said in the sassiest voice “stop taking my picture pervert.”
The nurse just looked at me, I was horrified, and then suddenly we both burst into laughter.
Image source: llamabras
#32
When my son was just a little under 3 years old, he had to have a biopsy on his tibia. He was understandably scared, and so they gave him versed, and he sounded like a drunk frat boy. His doctor came in to check on him, and he said “Oh, Doctor [Name}? I LOVE Doctor [Name}!” and then immediately passed out.
After, he was crying and yelling as a toddler just out of anesthesia is wont to do, and because he’d been entubated for the procedure, his throat hurt. He was offered popsicles, which would calm him for a bit, then, as soon as he was done, he would fling the stick and scream until another came.
It was tragically adorable, all of it.
Image source: rock_candy_remains
#33
I apparently refused to leave the surgery room unless the nurse agreed to ballroom dance with me to the recovery room. She eventually did. Once there, the first thing I remember was my index fingers having a hilarious conversation with each other.
Image source: ophelia-wood
#34
When I got my wisdom teeth out I remember telling the staff they all looked straight out of Gray’s Anatomy because everyone of them was so attractive and the last thing I heard was their laughter as I went out.
Image source: Tiny_Purpose_1246
#35
I recently had a surgery under general anesthesia. I apparently told my wife that she didn’t need to find another husband because I would only be away a short time.
Image source: Outrageous_Picture39
#36
After I had my wisdom teeth removed, I cried because I couldn’t keep them. “Why do you need your wisdom teeth?” my mom asked.
“FOR WITCHCRAFT!”
The nurse also kept reminding me that I was supposed to bite down on the gauze because I just wouldn’t shut up. I have no memory of any of this.
After an endoscopy (top end) I told the nurse in the recovery room that I was “groovy” and “totes ma goats ready to go.” Then I tried to stand up but didn’t take the blanket off and was still attached to an IV line.
Image source: ca77ywumpus
#37
I punched a nurse who had been a transphobic to me earlier, apparently. Just socked him full on in the jaw as I was coming to. The surgeon thought it was hilarious. I never saw the nurse again lol.
Image source: ashetonrenton
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