10+ Times Things Got Hilariously Weird in the Operating Room

If you’ve ever had surgery or been around someone who has, you know that anesthesia can have some strange and funny effects on people. Some people may say or do things they wouldn’t normally do, while others may not remember anything at all.

We’ve compiled some of the most sidesplitting and surprising stories from people who have left the operating room with a story to remember. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wonder what you would say if you were in their shoes. Or rather, in their hospital gowns, because shoes are not allowed in the OR.

• A patient started counting backward from 100 when he received anesthesia. He got to 97 and started slurring his words and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he abruptly opened his eyes and yelled “JUST KIDDING!”
  Scared the entire operating room. Then his eyes rolled back and he was out. Favorite anesthesia induction ever. Famous_Board_8204 / Reddit
• The first time I had surgery the surgeon said, “First time? Don’t worry, me too.” Right before they pushed the anesthetic. Absoli / Reddit
• Just before I went under for my appendectomy, the surgeon said, “Let’s open you up and see what we find.” I replied, “Okay, but if you find anything valuable, we split it 50/50.” nooneknowswerealldog / Reddit

• I told my last anesthesiologist that I was going to fight the drugs and stay awake, he told me, “I love a challenge, know what the best part is?” I looked at him, and he finished saying “I always win,” and then I woke up in post-op. NorthIslandAdventure / Reddit
• When I was 16, I had heart surgery. They gave me the first shot, waited a couple of minutes, then moved me from the bed to the gurney. When they did, I noticed my feet were sticking out of the sheets....ya know, like on crime TV shows.
  So my hazy self says, “Look! Now all I need is a toe tag!” and pulled the sheet up over my head, while the room full of worried family members and medical professionals gasped and groaned, I burst out laughing. I still think it was a top-notch joke. bpierce23 / Reddit

• When I got my wisdom teeth taken out, I saw an air bubble going down the IV tube. I remembered something about how injecting air into your veins can cause an aneurysm and you’ll pass away. Not knowing that 1) a small amount of air is okay (it was only about a half-inch air bubble in the tube), and 2) that the IVs have a vent to let out air, I said, “Brain aneurysm!”
  And then promptly was knocked out. The oral surgeon told me about it afterward. Said it was the funniest thing someone has said before going under. Later I found out I meant to say an embolism, not an aneurysm, but I did not know that at the time. C0ldBl00dedDickens / Reddit
• I actually argued with my anesthesiologist. I told her I wasn’t going to count, and I refused to go under. She laughed as I drifted off. ElJefePinche / Reddit

• My mom was coming out from under anesthesia after a procedure a few years ago, and I was trying to help her. She puckered her lips, so I picked up her water cup and asked if she wanted some. She turned her face toward me and said, “Do I LOOK like an AIRPLANE?!” The nurses and I completely lost it. I still tease her about it sometimes. Audginator / Reddit
• I had to get my wisdom teeth removed at the hospital because they were in really bad shape. When I woke up, the nurse was going through the routine to make sure I was OK.
  She asks me my name by saying “Who are you?” I respond with, “I’m a lesbian.” My parents were in the room. They didn’t know at the time. That was how I came out. PLANETshaker22 / Reddit

• This woman undergoing a C-section under spinal anesthesia said “Show my baby first to my brother-in-law, he deserves to see her first.” I sometimes wonder what happened to her marriage after that. Unknown author / Reddit
• I’m a nurse and a man asked me if his body parts still belong to him and I still think about it. serenasaystoday / Reddit
• A female patient after a C-section asked me how many chickens she had because she had beef with the pig. Her husband translated later: “How much did the baby weigh because she had a bet with hubby.” alxwak / Reddit

• If they put you under general anesthesia, they will tell you it’s oxygen and ask you to take a deep breath. My friend who had a different surgery told me about this, so during my knee surgery I took one hit of the gas, turned to my doctor, and said: “You’re lying, that’s not oxygen” and promptly passed out. Jjzeng / Reddit
• My mom was having some major surgery done on her knee I think. The sleeping gas petered out, and she woke up but still wasn’t feeling pain. She heard them hammering and drilling with power tools and looked up to see what was going on. A nurse noticed her, slammed her head down before she could see, and told her, “DON’T. LOOK.” Sonicdahedgie / Reddit
• As the anesthesiologist was putting me under, he just said I’d start to feel sleepy soon. I asked him “Aren’t I supposed to be counting back from 100 or something?” He replied, “I don’t know, I must’ve skipped that class.”
  Being an anesthesiologist must be awesome as you can always get the last word in. malica77 / Reddit

If you want to hear more stories where anesthesia became a truth serum for some people, get ready to laugh out loud at these compelling confessions that we uncovered online.