Yeah, if the "surgery" was having your organs harvested. And you're awake enough to feel the pain and observe the horror of what's happening, but without enough strength to stop it.
this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2025
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The series finale of America 2025 is getting interesting.
I wish it weren't so rushed, I was hoping it would stick around for at least another 80 seasons
Actually I have been in a surgery while awake, just like a month ago.
They still use local anaesthesia and dope you up pretty good so, it's fine.
Nah, I imagine they're talking about a situation where you've been put under but you're still conscious and can't move. No local anaesthesia. You're being cut open and you can feel every bit of it. Not like a dentist's visit.
You don't understand how anaesthesia works, and I think you don't have much personal experience with it?
There's several types.
https://madeforthismoment.asahq.org/anesthesia-101/types-of-anesthesia/
Mainly heavy aka full "put under", then regional/light/monitored, where it's just local and you're "knocked out" if need be.
When theyre doing something like a major internal surgery, (which I've had more than once btw), you're completely put under. No question. You're put actually to sleep before they stern doing anything.
In "smaller" surgeries like this one:
They don't plan on putting you to sleep. They'll make your (in this case) arm go completely numb by injecting lidocaine — much like a dentist. Albeit in this case, it's not your gums they're shooting it to. You know how that's the nastiest part of the dentists visit? Getting local anaesthesia? Well, they don't put it in your gums, they stick a huge fucking syringe in your collarbone (not actually into the bone itself, but the branchial plexus block). Very nasty.
Then they give you fentanyl and whatnot to keep you calm. While they operate. During my previous arm surgery I told them they'd better knock me out. So even with "light" or regional anaesthesia, you get to be knocked out if you need to. And there's constantly an anaesthetist next to you, despite it being only light anaesthesia.
For complete anaesthesia, you're in the bed while they give you propofol and make you count backwards from 10. Then you instantly wake up, having lost x amount of hours. I mean, that's what it feels like. After sleeping your brain/body have a rough idea how long you've been out. With propofol, zero. Nada. Could be 5 minutes could be 5 days. (And Michael Jackson was using that stuff for sleep.) I've been under like that for various reasons.
The scenario you're describing is a complete myth. It relies on there being no anaesthesist there to watch the patient (which there always is with current laws and regulations, pretty much globally I would dare claim) and it relies on the notion of there being some medication that completely paralyses you without stopping your heart and lungs. And that paralysis is somehow completely distinct from pain receptors. You know how paralysed people often explain (well more in the movies but) "I can't feel my legs!", not "I can't move my legs"? I mean, they're not 1-to-1, but after you've been given local anaesthesia for your arm, you don't feel it at all, just like with half your face at the dentist. But you also have no control over it. It's just there.
I compared a lot of things to visiting a dentist, because I assume thats something you have personally experienced?
In the featured picture, my arm was being cut open and operated on while I was awake, but high as balls, talking to the anaesthetist.
You do seem to know more about anaesthesia than I do, but regaining conciousness from general anaesthesia during surgery while not being able to move has been documented before. That's why I'm talking about it at all. That is what the above meme is most likely talking about in my view - the horror situation.
Yes. And people with spikes in their head who lived successfully with half a brain have also been documented.
But in general, you probably believe that if I destroy half your brain, you're not gonna make it.
My point is that it's more or less a myth. Intraoperative awareness, such as they describe in that article, is one in which anaesthesia isn't perfect and some come to a little bit. However the example which they give is of dental surgery. That is not a surgery where you can really use full anaesthesia that well.
It's honestly very jealous how liberally you Americans do dental surgery anaesthesia, it's one thing I'm definitely jealous of. During my wisdom tooth surgery, where they had to saw the tooth to pieces, I only got local anaesthesia in my mouth, not even any relaxing medication or gas. Still, felt nothing, the surgeon was really good.
But yeah, that type the describe there is exactly light anaesthesia, and the person saying "they promised me I'm be completely under" just took a nurse's/doctor's assurance as fact.
And cases like that are exactly why there are specially assigned nurses and doctors to keep track of how conscious you are.
It's just that Stephen King wrote a horror scenario where you're perfectly aware and feel pain but can't move, when I'm trying to tell you that there's really not many situations where you could be paralysed and in horrible pain while no-one notices.
The cases in which it did happen and has happened and they describe are generally just a patient in regional or light anaesthesia needing a bit more than they were given. Some don't want to remberer the surgery at all, but keeping a patient actually unconscious (but still alive) is harder than just keeping them "well buzzed".
Idk why some people are afraid of it, I kinda enjoy professionals making me high as fuck.
Idk I kept having breakthrough pain and getting strong waves of anxiety. The nurse seemed very uncomfortable with my discomfort
Then they usually increase the dose. At least if you tell them you're very uncomfortable and ask for more. Anaesthetic doctors aren't too stingy on the drugs in my experience. They'd rather have a smooth operation.
For more of that 'awake during surgery' feeling, as well as 'smiling dude with glasses on', I recommend James Lee.