# Will people babble when coming out from under anesthesia? Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035 "2004-03-24T00:58:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ashleydean11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@Ashleydean11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashleydean11)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/21 "2014-10-17T03:57:58Z")
I just went in there today and had to get it and when I went into the recovery room my grandma recorded me and I was kinda babbling and nobody could understand me and then I started saying really silly stuff. And I don’t remember it at all lol. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/22 "2014-10-17T04:18:01Z")
My sister’s husband was with her when she was coming round after having given birth under heavy sedation. She said to him, “Don’t worry about the horse. It will go away.” The trouble with these drugs is, they affect your braaaaaiiiiiins! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/23 "2014-10-17T04:18:53Z")
When I last had surgery, I didn’t say a thing. Unfortunately, I do remember hazily thinking “Ugh… I have to fart.” and then trying to squeeze it out, only to find out that it wasn’t a fart after all, and then promptly passed out again. Kind of mortifying, and I’m really hoping that I hallucinated the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Amberlei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Amberlei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amberlei)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/24 "2014-10-17T04:31:37Z")
I had a hysterectomy a few years ago and afterwards kept arguing with the nurse over what day it was. It went about like this, as best as I can recall. Me: “It’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, no, it’s Thursday!” Nurse: “No, it’s Monday.” Me: “I know, it’s just something I say.” and then shortly after, I’d start with the whole, “It’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, no, it’s Thursday!” routine all over again. A couple of years afterwards, I had to have hernia repair surgery from the hysterectomy incision. It was supposed to be a simple outpatient procedure but I woke up in the hospital. Evidently, when I was coming to, I started begging to not be hit anymore and the surgeon decided I shouldn’t go home until they could make sure I wasn’t being abused. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/25 "2014-10-17T05:01:15Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > That reminds me, a friend of mine graduated from nursing school a couple of years ago. One day, her class was brought into a surgery to observe. Being a shameless flirt, she was chatting up the anesthesiologist. [QUOTE=Doctor at large] “If the patient can stay awake, surely you can?” [/quote] My anesthesiolgist tells me that nurses are NOT permitted to chat with him when he is working. Sometimes people see him talking with the patient and mistake that for a desire for conversation. He will be rude if necessary. He talks to the patient. He does that to encourage the patient to talk to him. He listens to the patient. It does not mean that he has the time to talk to anyone else, and does not mean he is looking for conversation. But he is married with children… ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/26 "2014-10-17T05:16:10Z")
I babbled on a bit about what I wanted for lunch, I was fully aware of what I was saying and didn’t feel high. Not sure why I was babbling. I was very insistent about a fish sandwich from McDonalds which I hadn’t eaten in years. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Cloud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@Little\_Cloud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Cloud)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/27 "2014-10-17T10:00:59Z")
Nurse anesthetist here. Not too many “babblers” in my experience. One notable exception is abortion patients who are often distraught/emotional. Some people wake up and ask “How did it go? What did they find?” You answer their question briefly and reassure them. Three minutes later their eyes pop open “How did it go? What did they find?” Repeat until brain comes back on line. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/28 "2014-10-17T14:03:02Z")
I woke up from a minor procedure and the nurse said that I had actually woken up earlier and had been talking to the doctor. I was like “No, I just woke up now.” I have _no recollection_ of being conscious after the countdown in the OR to that moment. I sometimes wonder what weird things I said or did during that time. I kind of don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/29 "2014-10-17T14:21:24Z")
I was under general anesthesia for wisdom tooth extraction. When I came to the nurse was wiggling the IV line which made my arm hurt (since the needle was still in). I reached over with my other hand and punched her in the tit. At the time it felt like I hit her pretty hard but I don’t remember her responding in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/30 "2014-10-17T14:24:02Z")
I babbled on at least two occasions. On the first occasion, I was under “laughing gas” while the doctors tried to pull my shoulder back into socket. As I was coming out I informed my mom that I had discovered “the answer.” “To everything.” “It’s so simple!” accompanied by ecstatic laughter. I wish I could remember this. The second time I came out after undergoing surgery, and apparently excoriated my mom as I woke up telling her I was mad that she didn’t tell me it would hurt so much. I might be glad I don’t remember that… ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/31 "2014-10-17T14:29:22Z")
I was babbling when I became aware of reality. My wife said I was going on and on about how much I loved my socks. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/32 "2014-10-17T14:30:15Z")
My wife had surgery a month ago. When she was coming out of anesthesia she babbled like a fool about nonsense. The next day, the PA came by her room to check on her. She told us that before my wife went completely under, she started talking about orange elephants and UFOs. The PA said the operating room staff had a good laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/33 "2014-10-17T15:31:58Z")
I am boring. I didn’t say much at all besides the aformentioned “I hurt” (because I did!). The nurse eventually pumped up my happy drugs but then had to turn them down again because I was getting too relaxed (not breathing often enough). I wonder if it varies by how much that person likes to speak normally. I am not much of a talker already, so why would I talk then? It already takes an effort, why would I do such a thing when I am not feeling so great? ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/34 "2014-10-17T16:11:29Z")
Oh, I always babble. In fact, now I’m embarrassingly scared to go-under because I worry about the nonsense I’ll spew upon awakening. Some pearls of wisdom uttered from my cloudy brain: We’ve got to get right home… need to rotate my tires (after collar-bone surgery) That prep nurse is cute… did you talk to her? Bojangles biscuit… can we get one (after endoscopy) I need to call an old girlfriend (while being picked-up by my fiancé) So now I try to concentrate / meditate on a specific topic to keep my mind from wandering into the fuzz-zone. It has worked somewhat in that I know not to think about some things AT ALL while I’m there, for fear it will be lightly-velcroed to my mind as I’m coming-to. Advice from a poster that I don’t remember has me now meditating on how much I love and adore my wife, hoping those thoughts channels thoughts to my awakening speech centers. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/35 "2014-10-17T16:45:25Z")
Years ago when I had an emergency gallbladder surgery one of my brothers had stopped by to see me in recovery - he had a traveling job at the time and was in town that day. I was yelling at him at the top of my lungs so EVERYBODY in a five-room radius could hear. Apparently I thought there was a rhinoceros in my basement and I expected him to get it out and clean up the mess because it was pooping all over everything and scaring the cats with its loud farts. And he wasn’t going over there to do it - was just standing there laughing at me - so I got madder and madder and louder and louder. My brother said quite a crowd had gathered to listen to my tirade and I was quite a hit with all of them. I wish I could remember that. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/36 "2014-10-17T16:59:29Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/37 "2014-10-17T17:06:23Z")
When I had my kidney stone, I was given IV Demerol in the hospital. I remember very clearly answering people’s questions and carrying on conversations, but I wondered why people kept repeating questions. I was told later that when the Demerol kicked in, I started speaking randomly in English, German or Indonesian. Mr. Demerol is my friend! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/38 "2014-10-17T17:16:20Z")
I’ve had a couple of operations in the past. I’m sensitive to drugs and have told the anesthesiologist to use the minimum amount of drugs. (Both number of drugs and quantity of any drug.) So for me, when I go out, things just get kind of blurry, then dark. When I wake up, they start blurry, then gradually clear up. The last operation I had, I woke up on the operating table just as they were finishing. “So how did it go?”, I asked. “Everything went fine”, the surgeon said. Then they asked me to slide onto the gurney for the trip to the recovery room. So no apparent babbling for me. J. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/39 "2014-10-17T17:35:21Z")
I imagine some part of this is simply the patient failing to be understood. I had surgery as a teenager to fix a broken finger, and when I came out of it I was very nauseous. I _tried_ to say “I’m going to throw up!”, but the nurse answered with “You’re not going to fly!”. Fortunately I got the message across before I spewed. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035/40 "2014-10-17T18:02:43Z")
It’s interesting to hear the babbling that can occur after being out for 10 1/2 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-people-babble-when-coming-out-from-under-anesthesia-why/236035.md?page=3)