r/interesting • u/tyrion2024 • 10h ago

MISC. A Virginia man inadvertently left his phone recording while he was under anesthesia for a colonoscopy, which captured audio of the doctors: mocking him, instructing a medical assistant to lie to him, and discussing giving him a false diagnosis of hemorrhoids. In 2015, a jury awarded him $500,000.

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156

u/Canadianweedrules420 10h ago

I just had a failed colonoscopy bc I was thrashing when they inserted the scope. I also punched the anesthesiologist in the face. I can only think what they were saying about me lol

44

u/Weedster009 9h ago

Heavy THC use requires higher levels of sedation. You need to tell them you’re a pot head before surgery. 😶‍🌫️

74

u/tryyeezus 10h ago

You're supposed to be anesthetized. Most people would be violent in that situation

36

u/Sharp-Sky64 9h ago

We don’t anaesthetise people for colonoscopies in the UK

24

u/dodgertodger 8h ago

They also don't anesthetize people for gastroscopy in the UK and many engage in medical tourism to avoid that. A friend's wife is an RN here in Canada and they get a load of British pensioners undergoing dual colonoscopy/gastroscopy while on vacation as it's fully sedated.

17

u/FrogsMakePoorSoup 9h ago

Ya what? Do people simply not get them then? 

I was zonked out for mine!

29

u/gingerbears11 8h ago

I wasn't given any anesthesia when I had to get my uterus scraped with a blade.

33

u/Gas_Hag 7h ago

Because healthcare doesn't care about women.

I've been there too, having to raw dog intrauterine procedures. Sending you a solidarity hug.

6

u/gingerbears11 7h ago

Thanks! I have to have it done again ugh. Hugs to you!

3

u/flysslys 6h ago

I had the same procedure it was awful and so sore 😞

1

u/mdavis360 8h ago

Holy moly I’m so sorry.

7

u/petrilexi 8h ago

I'm in the UK and they gave me concious sedation, which is fentanyl and midazolam. It was supposed to result in me not remembering the procedure but I think I'm too highly strung so it didn't really work.

3

u/FoxSideOfTheMoon 7h ago

That's all they do here too but you're not supposed to know what's going on. Both times I "woke up" or remember parts of it. I remember one part hurting. I remember another time looking at the monitor going "whoa is that my ass???"

3

u/RaspberryJammm 6h ago

No  in the UK they don't sedate you to the point where you don't know whats going on- you are happy and relaxed but conscious.  My doctor even asked if I wanted to be angled so I could watch the video and then he chatted to me about it while doing the procedure.

I also know people who have had an endoscopy and colonoscopy without any sedation, just local anaesthetic.  

1

u/FoxSideOfTheMoon 5h ago

Now that would be an interesting experience.. Honestly I liked being out for whatever part of out was. Like the best sleep I've ever had

2

u/IamMatthew1223 36m ago

I get a colonoscopy every year and same here. It just doesn't seem to affect me so now they give me fent and midazolam plus they give me gas&air. I get to spend around 8 minutes of the 15-20minute colonoscopy pain free, after that it is excrutiating.

1

u/ambinalcrossimg 6h ago

in germany i got propofol for my upper endoscopy and it was awesome

5

u/kronicno_tele 9h ago

Most of Europe doesn’t use anesthesia either. We chat with the doctors ans watch the screen. Colon doesn’t have nerve endings, the scope itself doesn’t hurt.

1

u/IamMatthew1223 33m ago

It's not the scope going in thats the issue, its the air or water or whatever it is they use to widen the colon so they can see. Fills me up like a balloon until at some point it becomes the most excrutiating pain ive ever experienced. They give me Fentanyl, Midazolam and Nitrous oxide yet im still writhing around in agony and I remember every little detail of the procedure afterwards. I hate colonoscopies, the fact I need a camera up there every year sucks. Rigid sigmoidoscopies are more managable.

2

u/Sharp-Sky64 9h ago

No they’re reasonably common. We just don’t usually sedate people for it

3

u/Lina0042 8h ago

Sedation is not the same as anesthesia. Sedation is much lighter, you continue breathing on your own without a machine. I was sedated before my colposcopy. Nobody really asked about anything for that.

Now I'm about to do a minor surgery with full anaesthetisa and I've been running around getting blood work, EKG and whatnot so everyone feels good about my chances to survive the anesthesia. Much more risky medically than sedation

-1

u/[deleted] 9h ago

[deleted]

2

u/TheOnesWhoFollow 8h ago

Really? Had one in Nova Scotia about 6 years ago and I was out. They don't put you fully under, they give you a cocktail of meds. Mine was a mixture of fentanyl and versed. I remember waking up a little around the half way mark and they upped the dose a bit.

5

u/Erathen 8h ago

 You take it like a man

Are men in Canada regularly taking things up the butt?

3

u/Clair_Osbcurious 8h ago

Well, they are partly French so…

1

u/Particular_Class4130 7h ago

Canadian here and while I haven't had one I know several people who have, including my mom, and you definitely get drugged up for the procedure. My neighbor had one last year and he said they gave him fentanyl

11

u/Defiant-Lettuce-9156 9h ago

Something tells me u/Canadianweedrules420 is from Canada

6

u/FungusGnatHater 8h ago

Common misconception. Canadian subreddits are full of Americans with names like that.

2

u/Canadianweedrules420 9h ago

Orrrr I'm a yank using the name as a defense from all that anti American stuff going on...... jk

1

u/Ill-Strawberry4999 8h ago

Or, maybe you're from anywhere in the world and just like Canadian weed

6

u/CalmBeneathCastles 9h ago

In the US we're given Propofol.

7

u/rtkane 8h ago

Makes for a great nap!

5

u/Erathen 8h ago

And great for wiping out your memory for the day!

Hate propofol lol

2

u/CalmBeneathCastles 5h ago

It doesn't do that to me. I was ready to go as soon I woke up. My ride took me to get lunch and then I ran some errands, since I had the day off.

1

u/Erathen 5h ago

Lucky! I had the biggest "hangover"

I was so groggy when I got home. And it basically wiped out my memory for the rest of the day, going forward

I don't even know how I got home (I went alone, and they somehow went through with it and let me leave)

I also had like 60% battery when I went under (I remember from the waiting room) and when I woke up in the recovery room my battery was at around 11%

I still never figured that one out

1

u/Megneous 4h ago

They told me I woke up 10 minutes after they pulled the scope. I remember everything after that. No memory loss after I woke up.

10

u/Altruistic_Border689 9h ago

Bit of gas and air and some lube. You can have a little bit of a pethadine if you want but then you have to sit around for an hour afterwards and have someone come and pick you up. Tried both ways and honestly not worth it to have the extra painkiller. The night before sat on the shitter is by far the worst part of the experience.

6

u/Puzzleheaded_Bus7706 9h ago

Yeap, prep is far more worse than a procedure. 

1

u/dancingonsaturnrings 3h ago

urgh disagree. The prep doesn't hurt at all, you just sit on the toilet and it comes out of you super easy, it's 100% liquid. The procedure though hurt like crazy. Took me almost two weeks to recover from how painful that was.

1

u/Puzzleheaded_Bus7706 3h ago

Had totally different experience.

I took some medicine with 4L of apple juice. Could not look at apple juice for next few years.

-2

u/Gas_Hag 8h ago

" Bit of gas", like nitrous? That is anesthesia.

1

u/Lina0042 8h ago

I honestly don't remember how they did it for mine, but it's sedation not anesthesia here too. But I remember they used gas to inflate the intestines, so different kind of gas.

I was still completely out of it though, didn't hear or feel anything.

-1

u/Gas_Hag 8h ago

They insufflate the intestine with CO2, that's obviously not anesthesia.

I was asking for a clarification about what gas Altruistic_Border was talking about because if they use nitrous oxide, that is anesthesia.

5

u/Flat_Apricot_5861 7h ago

yes they give you a laughing gas tube to suck on. what people mean here (which I think you know) is they don't put you under general anaesthesia, i.e. unconsciousness

2

u/kim_jong_il_2d 9h ago

To save money?

6

u/TheModWhoShaggedMe 9h ago

Brits enjoy pain in the arse. It's why they're often so uptight.

4

u/RandomDustBunny 9h ago

Because getting anesthetized isn't a small deal. It comes with a lot of possible complications.

8

u/kim_jong_il_2d 8h ago

I prefer not actively participating in my colonoscopies.

2

u/Charming_Occasion942 8h ago

It is not bad at all, they drug you and time flies away quickly but you can understand what's going on tho

1

u/kim_jong_il_2d 8h ago

Is it good practice for a prostate exam?

1

u/Mindestiny 7h ago

Yeah, honestly the colonoscopy is the easiest part of the whole ordeal. It's the prep that's miserable.

1

u/Gas_Hag 7h ago

You have to weigh those risks with the risk of moving during the procedure and the risk of not being able to get the procedure done at all.

0

u/MyJoyinaWell 6h ago

it's money

3

u/Comfortable_Gene2749 9h ago

They’re used to getting fucked

1

u/gami13 8h ago

welcome to public healthcare :)

1

u/DarkAlatreon 7h ago

Or have the thing done faster. Anaesthesia required an anaesthesiologist and their free time can be short in supply, making scheduling a pain in the ass.

1

u/TheModWhoShaggedMe 9h ago

What if the doctor makes an oopsie?

1

u/Intelligent_Fig_6723 8h ago

No shit?

2

u/mdavis360 8h ago

They make you prepare for a week ahead of time with laxatives.

1

u/mdavis360 8h ago

Good lord

1

u/igaflan 7h ago

I am in Canada and I wasn’t knocked out for mine either. I do believe it is an option here, but you have to opt into it. The default is being awake.

1

u/Megneous 4h ago

That's fucked up, mate. Why not?

-3

u/tryyeezus 9h ago

We know you got weird hobbies, that's why our ancestors left bro

11

u/Canadianweedrules420 9h ago

I was under and don't remember any of it. But bc I'm a long-term opiod user they gave me the most the could before I'd stop breathing on my own. So technically I was anesthetized but just not enough. Apparently it was propofol as well so the good stuff. I'll have to be completely put under to have it done. Yay for me I get to drink the poison laxatives again 🙃

4

u/before_its_tooo_late 9h ago

Not fully, I remember a couple colonoscopies and less well remember a bronchoscopy, but it was more hazy. I was speaking to the nurse and specialist during the colonoscopy. They used fentanil and a benzo. I was definitely high, but not too bad at all, I could feel discomfort and some pain.

8

u/tryyeezus 9h ago

You got spit roasted?! 

3

u/before_its_tooo_late 9h ago

😂😂😂😂 different times - a spit roast in phases.

3

u/Ok_Grapefruit_8946 8h ago

I think that’s what I had in Canada, I was awake but did not give a crap about anything. The doctor could have stayed up there in my colon for hours as far as I was concerned. Slight cramps around the corners I think but I was more chill than I had ever been in my life.

1

u/krusecontrol91 8h ago

Not in San Francisco

1

u/hoteppeter 6h ago

No they wouldn’t

0

u/tryyeezus 4h ago

We don't need to hear about your weird kinks

1

u/human-in-a-can 3h ago

That’s a weird take.  The guy was violent because he WAS sedated and clearly didn’t handle the meds well.  

Getting it done without sedation isn’t going to make anyone violent.  It's not painful or scary.  Just boring and a little uncomfortable.  

1

u/tryyeezus 59m ago

Says the guy who's into butt stuff

0

u/TimeThruSpace 9h ago

Not necessarily.

0

u/tryyeezus 9h ago

I get that there's a small few with strange hobbies but I would prefer to think the majority of us will fight

2

u/Thunder_Two 8h ago

Maybe they were talking shit and your subconscious decided it needed to set his thinking cap on straight for him.

Imagine you’re an anesthesiologist trying to impress the nurses by being the class clown and then the passed out guy gives you a bloody nose.

That’s what I hope happened.

3

u/Obvious_Service_8209 8h ago

When I got mine, the last thing the anasthesiologist said to me was "don't worry we'll take good care of you" and I thought to my self as things went black "well that wasn't creepy at all" and I really am not sure if I said it or thought it.

I wasn't too worried though, they were all women and I'm a dude, who's hairy ass was hanging out, so I doubt anything shady happened... But if the genders were reversed? Super creepy I'm sure.

7

u/remifentaNelle 4h ago

As an anesthesia provider I say this to almost every patient. To let them know they’ll be safe in my hands. Never thought about it being perceived as creepy.

1

u/Obvious_Service_8209 4h ago

I'm sure it was a purely wholesome comment. I also realize that many people might be anxious about the procedure, small risk of death and all of that and would certainly appreciate the comforting words.

I was totally comfortable and unconcerned, and the thought of any risks actually didn't occur to me until that very moment.

It could have just been my personality making a joke so I wouldn't think about it, but I wasn't creeped out. Not at all, just thought it was funny.

I am sure you're a wonderful provider that patients feel safe and secure with. You're doing nothing wrong, I'm just a wise ass with silly jokes.

1

u/GeekyKirby 3h ago

My anesthesiologist said this to me before I had surgery last year, and it was honestly really comforting and not creepy at all. I get nauseous very easily, and he took my concerns seriously and told me he'd give me something to make sure I wouldn't get sick. Whatever he gave me worked perfectly because I felt great when I woke up lol

0

u/Trick_Horse_13 7h ago

I’ve had a male anaesthetist say this to me and I’m a woman. It wasn’t creepy at all. 

1

u/Mecanno 7h ago

Your body reaction is normal. One of the stages of anesthesia is delirium or excitement before reaching surgical anesthesia (thars why sometimes you see patients secured to the surgical table). The goal of the anesthesiologist is to pass through that stage as fast and uneventfull as possible.

1

u/Frequent-Property246 9h ago

"Come on, Frank, you're supposed to make sure he's asleep. You're an anaesthesiologist."

"What do you mean Frank's asleep?"