Medical Professionals Share Their Funniest Anesthesia Stories

Anesthesia exists to ease patients through procedures that would otherwise be extremely painful or stressful. Its purpose is comfort and safety, but the side effects can be unexpectedly entertaining. When people are sedated, their filters tend to disappear, and what comes out instead is a stream of unplanned honesty, confusion, and odd observations.

A few years ago, medical workers took to Reddit to swap stories about these moments. Nurses, doctors, and anesthesiologists shared firsthand accounts of the strange, funny, and completely unpredictable things patients said as they drifted in and out of consciousness.

Some declarations were emotional, others nonsensical, and many were unintentionally hilarious. Compliments aimed at medical equipment, deep confessions shared with total strangers, and passionate arguments with invisible opponents were all part of the mix.

What made the thread especially amusing was how universal the experience seemed. Across different hospitals and roles, professionals reported similar behavior: patients convinced they were somewhere else, certain they were starring in a movie, or deeply focused on topics that made no sense to anyone in the room. In those moments, anesthesia turned a serious clinical setting into something closer to improv comedy.

The thread quickly gained attention because it offered a lighter look at a process most people associate with anxiety. Instead of fear, it highlighted humor and shared human awkwardness. Readers were encouraged to jump in and add their own experiences, turning the conversation into a collection of stories that were funny precisely because they were so unguarded and real.

Anesthesia Honesty Moment

"Obligatory not a doctor, but I was the patient. I had to get my wisdom teeth removed at the hospital because they were really messed up. When I woke up, the nurse was going through the routine to make sure I was not brain dead. 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."Reddit

Mix-Up

"My dad (italian) was waking up from anesthesia and kept looking at his asian nurse and saying he was so glad his daughter was with him. And that he loved his daughter. The nurses were confused, so they went out into the waiting to check for his daughter. I was the only one in the waiting area, and when they saw me and started hysteically laughing. I am korean by birth, but what adopted by my lovely Italian family :)."Reddit

Not an Airplane

"Not a medical professional, but 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."Reddit

Hospital Hat Trick

"I was throwing up loads when I came round and had a pile of those cardboard sick buckets next to my bed. But I realised if you turn an empty one upside down it looks like a mini fedora. So I put it on my head and every nurse that walks by I tipped my hat and said "Milady"."Reddit

Recovery Room Mix-Up

"Had a patient come into recovery after surgery. She farted so long and loud the entire 20 bed unit heard her. Then she said "I was trying to clear my throat, excuse me. And I want a vanilla latte, I got a headache". As medical professionals, we had to hold in the laughter but that didn't stop patients from turning into hyenas."Reddit

Half-Awake Tinder Confrontation

"18-year-old girl "recognized" the (male) anesthesiologist from tinder last week and accused him multiple times of not showing up to their agreed date - while randomly falling half-asleep in between. As we put her back in bed she mumbled that she is not even mad, just generally disappointed in men and that she still thinks he's pretty."Reddit

"This woman, who was 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."

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"Not anesthesia but delirium. Introduced the oncoming nurse to the patient. The patient gestured grandly around the room and said “(nurse’s name), meet all my friends!!” ....to an empty room."

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Bathroom Bravery After Surgery

"Not medic but patient: I had appendix surgery after a preventive 2 day fasting (water was ok) and anesthesia hit me pretty hard.When I was told I had to use one of those plastic urinals or whatever because they said the abdominal effort could make me faint I just said:“I ain’t gonna poo on a plastic tupper, If I pass out in the toilet like a hero, then let it be”.Reddit

"A woman was absolutely distraught that she was going to be made to eat asparagus and was repeatedly telling us that she did not like asparagus, especially with eggs, and was politely rejecting the asparagus she thought we were constantly offering her. "

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Post-Surgery Honesty on Full Volume

"Was recovering a patient after surgery who got a med which has a known side effect of making you super emotional. When she woke up she started cat calling me telling me how attractive I was. Then she got worked up because she was thirsty so I told her I could get her ice chips. As I am getting her ice chips she starts to go “I hate to see you leave but I love to see you go”. As I disappear to get her some ice chips she starts crying real tears that she scared me off and how sorry she was."Reddit

Dental Interview Gone Wrong

"Not a doctor, but I was told by my dentist that when he was prepping me to remove my wisdom teeth, I asked him why he became a dentist. I vaguely remember him telling me a story about how when he was a preteen he was at a local pool, running around when he slipped and smashed his chin on concrete and shattered some of his teeth (ouch). He was amazed at how well they reconstructed his teeth that he decided to go into dentistry.Apparently, I then looked this man in the eyes and said, "Well that's a stupid reason to become a dentist." Sorry, Dr. J 😬."Reddit

“I’m preparing to salsa dance”.

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Post-Anaesthesia Moments

"The most memorable funny one was a guy who sat bolt upright, mime rolling a cigarette and tuck it behind his ear “saving it for ‘ron” when I asked what he was doing.Anaesthesia can be a wild trip. The kids will always scream when they wake up."Reddit

Woke Up Signing

"I had double jaw surgery to correct my underbite. I took sign language in college.They typically don’t wire your jaw shut anymore, they just use strong rubber bands, but you can still talk. I knew I’d be able to talk. Yet when I woke up from the surgery, apparently I kept trying to sign. The nurses were like: “Uhh, we don’t know sign language, honey.”Based on how little I remember from college, I’m certain it wasn’t even *good* sign language."Reddit

Still Not Ready to Wake Up

"The last few times I've come out of anesthesia ( dental implant, colonoscopy, etc) I've looked at the nurse and asked if I was out of the anesthesia. When the nurse said yes, I asked if Trump was still president. When the nurse said yes, I asked to be put back under."Reddit

Post-Surgery History Lesson

"My brother had top surgery and woke up from being put under. My step mom (whom I call “Mom”) recorded him talking about how Abe Lincoln was a great guy. She asked him how he knew and he replied with: “I knew him back in ‘Nam”. And that’s the story of how my brother fought side-by-side with Abe Lincoln back in Vietnam."Reddit

Sedation Surprise

"Patient came into the ED as a trauma, got med sedation for an emergency procedure:“I’m deaaaaaaaad”“No, you’re ok, we’re taking care of you”“I’m a ghoooooost. Whooooooo!” *wavy arm motions*Ok."Reddit

Anesthesia Brain Moments

"I apparently can't handle my anesthesia. The first time I "woke up" I asked the nurse if I was going to be able to "fight" by Monday. My wife properly translated that to "can he teach his wrestling class".Before we went home, she wanted to drop off my prescriptions at CVS. She left me locked in the running car. After she dropped off the prescription, she turned around to find me in the CVS standing in the frozen dairy section holding german chocolate ice cream. I told her I needed it "because my people made it".Car was still running with the passenger door left open."Reddit

Breakfast Was the Real Motivation

The very first time I was under I was in third grade and was relatively scared. What kept me brave was the promise of burger king breakfast afterwards. It was an early morning procedure that required fasting and I rarely got fast food. They ended up running behind that day so it was up in the air if I would wake up and get out in time to get my breakfast (which ended at 10). The first words out of my mouth were "What time is it." When my mom informed me it was already about 9:30 I tried to get out of bed and nearly ripped out my IV in the process. When she tried to tell me that we would be late and I could get it another day I promptly burst into tears.Edit: I did get my burger king a different day. Thank you all for your concern."Reddit

Drugged and Dislocated

+"Dislocated my shoulder in a way that my arm ended up stuck up over my head. Apparently, while all hopped up on demarol I was laughing hysterically while the doctor was standing on the table/gurney wrestling with my arm to get it back into the socket. I don't remember a thing."Reddit

"Woman woke up from surgery and said to her husband, “David! That alarm clock has a nose and it’s running! Wipe it!”.

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Post-Dentist Anesthesia Confusion

"I had gotten 4 wisdom teeth out in July, and I was under anesthesia for an hour. When I was done, I woke up in a chair and asked the nurse where I was. She said I was at the dentist and I said “STILL?????? JESUS CHRIST.” And she thought that was funny. On the drive home, there was a turtle in the road! My mom stopped to let him pass and I got out and tried to catch him. I have a video of me laughing at the turtle."Reddit

Recovery Room Rap Star

"My mrs has had multiple surgeries over the years! She’s normally pretty quiet in recovery! But one time she was in a really upbeat mood and for some strange reason she was reciting the lyrics to gangster paradise by coolio! Everybody on the ward later that day was talking about the gangsta rap lady!"Reddit

"Oh god I woke up sobbing. I was convinced that I was married to Cedric Diggory and he had just been ended by Voldemort. I’m cringing so hard just thinking about it. I was inconsolable."

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"When I was a toddler, my mom fell off our roof and broke her back. Apparently, she was terrified she was going to become a vegetable, because after her back surgery, she asked the nurse, "Am I a broccoli, or a cauliflower?"

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Still in Boot Camp Mode

"Anesthesiologist here. During recovery from general anesthesia, I called one of my patients by his full name in a loud voice. He opened his eyes suddenly jumped upright and sit on the bed and he said something : Sir, yes sir! He was under military service at that time."Reddit

"I sat straight up in the bed (they tell me) and shouted, "I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS!" Then I turned to a nurse and pleaded, "Okay, ma'am?"

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Husky Said Thanks After Surgery

"Vet tech here. Dogs and cats come out of anesthesia in an assortment of different ways. But this one husky I swear lifted his head and said. “thank you” in that strange way that some dogs can actually sound human in their bark/voice.The other tech and I just looked at each other and said, “holy hell, did he literally just say that?!?!Reddit

Sedation Slip-Up

"A girl I worked with told the story of how she got grounded from age 15-18 because of anaesthesia.She was having a colonoscopy, and as she was a minor her mother was in the room with her. After she was sedated, and as the technician started to insert the scope, she mumbled, "No, not again, [boyfriend's name], it hurt last time."Her mother was not amused."Reddit

Anesthesia Carol Moment

"I was the patient, but right before Christmas a couple of years ago I had my gallbladder removed. In the recovery room as I was waking up I became obsessed with singing the 12 Days of Christmas song. I kept asking the nurses what order the verses were in. As they were wheeling me out of the room I heard a nurse belt out "Five golden rings!" Which was followed by everyone's laughter."Reddit

Sedation Made Me a Backseat Surgeon

"I’m a doctor and was getting a knee reconstruction, and asked one of my best friend’s dad to do my anaesthetic. He was head of department at the hospital I worked at at the time.Apparently after he gave me the Midazolam (to chill time out and basically I forget everything from then on), he inserted a local anaesthetic block into my leg.The next day he told me what happened.. Apparently, I then told him it’s not working and he should have done it higher up and o tried to grab the needle from him to show him, after I asked if he knew what he was doing. I also complained the bed was cold.We still have a good laugh about it.Reddit

"Anesthesiologist told me that as I was going down that I was describing my fingers feeling like French fries, but French fries after you take them home and put them in microwave so they’re soggy and not as good."

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Holiday Anesthesia Confessions

"TLDR: Grandma thinks she's Jesus Christ reborn and I try to sing Christmas carols.Grandma: A few years ago, she broke her wrist and had to have surgery to get a metal plate put in. In the operating room, she was on the table and her arm (with the broken wrist in question) was strapped to an arm extension, so she looked like she was put on the cross with one arm.She had been given anesthesia (she was still conscious) and a nurse was standing next to her. "How're you feeling, Jan?" the nurse asked. With a monotone voice, my grandma looked the nurse in the eye and said,"I am Jesus Christ."Me: I had to get a few cavities filled last year after school. After checking in and getting in the chair, they administered the lidocaine (dental anesthesia) and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). I should mention that this happened a couple months after December.During the operation, I took a deep breath through my nose and the gas mixed with the anesthesia really hit me. I felt like I was floating in space.What do you do when you're floating in space? Sing Christmas Carols of course!The dentist and the assistant, having filled two cavities at this point, were double checking the x-rays before starting the third filling. I started trying to sing "Jingle Bells" while they got started on that filling. My face was too numb to actually make any sounds audible. For the rest of the other fillings, I tried to impress the world with my singing."Reddit

Tooth Fairy Dispute After Surgery

"My uncle kept saying one of the nurses was a werewolf whenever she left the room. When I was coming to from my wisdom teeth removal I kept asking where my teeth were. They had tossed them and I was super upset.“But I need them for the tooth fairy. That jerk owes me a lot of money.” My mother who was there then said “you know I’m the tooth fairy right?” “Yes” Sorry mom."Reddit

"I was coming out of anesthesia for a scope of my esophagus. As I was awaking, the nurse palpated my stomach and commented "good, nice and soft," to which I groggily replied "that's because I don't work out".

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“Am I in hell?”

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"IANAD, but when my sister got her wisdom teeth out, she screamed in the car until we stopped and let her out (near our house), and she sprinted back to the house because she wanted to race the car... I need to go find that video.

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"Not a doctor, but my grandma was still loopy from surgery when they brought her lunch, including a roll with a little pat of butter. She looked at grandpa and said, “I hope they don’t expect me to eat ALL THAT BUTTER!”

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"NAD but... I kept asking about puppies, even though I swear I heard barking. I just wanted to see the puppies and understand why they were there. I was so upset that no one else had heard the puppies barking. "

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"Had a dementia patient tell me her favourite food was mouse. I was very torn between laughing and crying."

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"I had a colonoscopy done at age 15. I can’t remember but apparently, according to my mother I said, “doc, after that you owe me dinner and a movie.”.

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"Just before I went under (I was a child and there were fish stickers on the ceiling), I said “da fishies are movin.”

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"I am a table."

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"I didn't hear this directly, but I was told about a guy who made a Futurama reference and told the doctor to tell his wife he said hello. Guy was single."

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"My son was going for a minor procedure, nothing serious. Being a typical dad, I told him they had to shave every hair off his body for it. When he came round, he kept asking the recovery nurse if he still had eyebrows."

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Anesthesia Moments That Went Off Script

"Not me, but my sister (straight) asked her nurse (female) to bring her on a date to McDonald's.My uncle woke up and started singing Hit Me Baby, One More Time. Apparently he thought he was Britney.I haven't done anything funny but I'm having surgery next week so I'll be interested to see if i do anything stupid."Reddit

Post-Surgery Wake-Up Attempt

"When I was recovering from having all my (impacted) wisdom teeth pulled, I wanted to wake up all the way. I recited Jabberwocky to try to get myself to focus and make myself more alert. Fortunately, nobody came into the room because I would have been really embarrassed and had to explain why I was talking gibberish."Reddit

Post-Surgery Hunger Hits Hard

"Everytime I wake up from anaesthesia I ask the nurses for food. Then I complain that they are not allowed to feed me in recovery and that I was a good girl and didn't eat before surgery. There is usually a meal waiting for me by the time I get back to my room. Everytime it feels like the best meal I've ever had."Reddit

"When my brother was waking up after a surgery, my mother was there taking care of him, but he couldn't stop laughing. When he was finally able to squeeze out a few words, he said: "Mom, hahaha, Mom, you're so ugly!"

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Anesthesia often brings out reactions people would never show when fully aware. With normal restraint lowered, nerves can shift into jokes, blunt honesty, or total disorientation.

For doctors and nurses, it’s part of the job; for patients and families, it becomes a story that repeats for years. These moments highlight something simple: even in a sterile medical environment, human behavior stays messy, sincere, and unexpectedly amusing.