Drugged Honeybees Do the Time Warp

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Drugged Honeybees Do the Time Warp

Posted by Unknown on Monday April 16, 2012 @07:11PM from the wasn't-i-just-in-the-hive? dept.

sciencehabit writes "Waking up from surgery can be disorienting. One minute you're in an operating room counting backwards from 10, the next you're in the recovery ward sans appendix, tonsils, or wisdom teeth. And unlike getting up from a good night's sleep, where you know that you've been out for hours, waking from anesthesia feels like hardly any time has passed. Now, thanks to the humble honeybee, scientists are starting to understand this sense of time loss. New research shows that general anesthetics disrupt the social insect's circadian rhythm, or internal clock, delaying the onset of timed behaviors such as foraging and mucking up their sense of direction."

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Not Rocky?! by slimjim8094 · 2012-04-16 19:20 · Score: 5, Insightful

Damn, was expecting something quite different from the title.

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1. Re:Not Rocky?! by zombie_striptease · 2012-04-16 19:45 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Seriously, especially since bees are thought to communicate chiefly through dance!
Natural Clues by DesertFly · 2012-04-16 19:21 · Score: 2

I had always assumed that things like light levels were more to blame. That, and one of the first things I do when waking in the morning is look at a clock. When I went under to get my wisdom teeth out I awoke with no time-telling device handy to immediately know how long it had been. Of course I was also slowly coming out of literally being drugged out of my mind, so who knows...
1. Re:Natural Clues by Chatsubo · 2012-04-16 23:51 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  My anecdote would be one time I nodded off for a nap, and woke to orange light outside my window, my watch indicating around 7 o'clock. I suddenly 'realized' I'd overslept and leapt from my bed in a frenzy trying to get ready for work, I rushed into the kitchen going "I'm late!"..... when my stunned S/O pointed out that it's "7 pee em" and my sense of time started to return, I had to completely re-orient myself. I looked down and foolishly realised I was already dressed, and she was making dinner, not breakfast.
  I don't think we really are able to track time when asleep, we just assume when we wake up it must be morning because we've been doing it all our lives. At least, that's what happened to me that time.
  
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  > no, yes, maybe (tagging beta)
2. Re:Natural Clues by isopropanol · 2012-04-17 02:09 · Score: 1
  
  Our local hospital has a clock on the wall opposite the beds in both the prep room and the recovery room. I don't know if it's intentional but when I had emergency surgery I was not disoriented afterwards.
3. Re:Natural Clues by jellomizer · 2012-04-17 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  Natural clews help get your time straight. However even without them you know that you have been asleep for hours. When I went under anesthesia And I woke up, it was like nothing happenend. My imeadeat response wasn't what time is it. But how did I get here. As I figured it was only a minute from when they started.
  That said I got nitro when my wisdom teeth were removed, time did pass I just really didn't care. As some point I gathered enough sence to see how things were doing and I was thing wow they are really working hard in my mouth there. Then my mind drifted. However I did experience the passing of time.
  
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4. Re:Natural Clues by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 04:04 · Score: 0
  
  Back in the early 1990's, I had my wisdom teeth pulled while I was in the US Navy just after boot camp during my classroom training phase. I went in to the dental clinic, they gave me about 10-12 shots of novocaine in four different sections of my mouth. They spent about 30 minute clamping, smashing, pulling, and yanking. I got up from the chair and walked back to my class about 1/2 mile away. I had a blood/saliva mix running down my face that I did not notice until it got to my neck where I could feel it. I went back the next day because of severe pain and I could not eat. They handed me some 800mg Mortin pills and a syringe and told me to rinse out the holes with warm salt water periodically until it heals.
5. Re:Natural Clues by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 04:07 · Score: 0
  
  Sweet Lord, please consult a dictionary/style manual.
6. Re:Natural Clues by Kelbear · 2012-04-17 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  There is no way I can believe that post is anything other than subtle trolling.
General for Wisdom Teeth? by jamesh · 2012-04-16 19:23 · Score: 2

Unless your Wisdom Teeth are completely buried in your gums, get them done in the dentist chair under a local and don't be a wimp.
1. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 19:28 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah, that sounds fucking nuts. I had all four of my wisdom teeth taken out at one time when I was 25. They just gave me a shot of novacaine or whatever they use now days. It hurt like hell, but no need to be put under (even though it was weird feeling them tear my teeth from my jawbone with the plier tool they use... and it felt really weird when they used the little dremmel-like machine to grind away part of my jaw so they could reach one of the wisdom teeth).
  If you can't make it through getting them extracted, I don't know how the hell your'e going to make it through the recovery for a few days (or in some cases, a couple weeks).
2. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 19:39 · Score: 0
  
  Unless you have an abnormally small just stop being a wimp and leave them in. I'm 50 and I have fully grown wisdom teeth. Never had any issues with them.
3. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 19:55 · Score: 1
  
  Mine came in fast and severely impacted (more horizontal than vertical) and I was not about do it exclusively on a local. Why would anyone? Just so they "wouldn't be a wimp?" Fuck that noise. I'll take an anesthetic cocktail any time someone offers me one.
4. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by djl4570 · 2012-04-16 19:58 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I did all of mine on locals. The uppers came out easily when I was in college in the seventies. I played softball later that afternoon. About ten years later I had the lowers extracted. These were full bony impacted that required something resembling a cross between vice grips and a slide hammer to remove. Dr. Armel did an excellent job and I learned that you can sleep standing up while on Percodan and Valium. Not as exciting as thinking I'm enrolled in Hogwarts and carrying an invisible light saber but it was still impressive pharmacopeia..
5. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by rebelwarlock · 2012-04-16 20:15 · Score: 1
  
  Mine -were- completely buried in my gums and I wasn't put under. Recovery sucked somewhat, but the surgery was fine.
6. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by risom · 2012-04-16 20:23 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  AFAIK the problem mostly isn't the size of the jaw but the position of the teeth: They more often than not come out diagonally, and thus pushing out the other teeth while growing. You can see that under x rays while they are still completely inside the jaw bone.
7. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 20:27 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Local anaesthetic? No way bru, always ask for imported!
8. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 21:01 · Score: 0
  
  General is WAY better. You missed out on some awesome drugs there guy.
  Silver fire running up your arm and POOF! Sparkles! All up in your brain! Way better than fireworks. Wake up later when it's done.
  And no listening to the sounds of drilling, chipping, hammering, pulling. No smell of burning tooth material. No taste of blood and burning.
  Dentists have some of the finest LEGAL drugs available. What are you some kind of straight edge weirdo who thinks all drugs = bad?
  Drugs have their place. And the dentist is one of them. And you get to enjoy them without the danger of dying like you often get with other medical procedures.
9. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by ledow · 2012-04-16 21:20 · Score: 2
  
  I had all four wisdom teeth removed simultaneously, along with a shed-load of baby/milk teeth that refused to budge aged 18. I required surgery for something else that needed the milk teeth gone (because the adult teeth pushing through would have just wiped out the benefits of the surgery otherwise) and in the process they saw four wisdom teeth that also had to come out (same reason - them pushing through would have altered the position of everything in my mouth).
  To do that, they had to break my jaw and clamp it open for over two hours. You can be the big brave man if you want and go local but, you know what, just the boredom and inconvenience and discomfort of sitting there for that time while they fiddled about wasn't worth it. I'm not squeamish - hell, when I had my toenails removed I sat and watched it out of interest (and it would have been far more interesting without some nurse trying to get me to lay down all the time "in case I passed out" - in the end I had to tell them I wasn't moving because it was my body and I was going to *watch* everything they did. And of course I didn't pass out. Why do people pass out just seeing something a bit manky?). But the teeth going was just basic sense - I'm not going to sit there for hours with a dry throat, broken jaw, basically feeling like I'm going to choke all the time while people root around in my mouth and I can't move.
  When I came round, my cheeks looked like I had mumps or turned into a hamster, and I was bruised and battered all over the face because of what they needed to do. Admittedly they gave me painkillers, etc. for afterwards but I didn't bother to take them because it didn't hurt (it was sore, but nothing you'd take medication for even on a normal day).
  Be the big man, if you like. Hell, 99% of the time a local is just fine, but with any anaesthetic and a properly working response to it, it's nothing to do with pain, but comfort and convenience.
  (That said, my ex has a genetic condition where most sufferers of it are immune to the effects of anaesthetics and - over time and because of acclimatisation - almost all painkillers. You have to give the anaesthetist warning and a lot of the time they go for an overly-powerful general to make sure you're really out, even for the simplest of dental work)
10. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 21:55 · Score: 0
  
  What's this "unless?"
  They only gave me local when they cut a little window in the side of my gum/jaw bone and pulled the impacted wisdom tooth out through the window.
  I never even got the narcotic pain-reliever prescription filled; 600mg Ibuprofen every few hours worked just fine.
11. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by TapeCutter · 2012-04-16 21:57 · Score: 1
  
  Had all mine done under local while in my mid-30's, similar prescription drugs, the big tree in the back yard never looked so good. Went to a dinner party that night, took my turn at a J and stood up to pass it on. Next thing I know I'm on the floor lying on top of the (significantly smaller than me) host who had somewhat optimistically tried to catch all 6ft, 100kg of me as I passed out.
  
  I have a pretty good in built clock, don't wear a watch but I can usually guess the current time to the nearest 15 minutes. However to me there is no sense of time whatsoever while under General anestetic, passed out, or comatose drunk, it basically feels like a long blink, which is very strange when you do it at a party and next thing you know the room is empty, it's daylight, and you have a blanet on you.
  
  I imagine death is like that, except for the waking up with a blanket part.
  
  --
  And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
12. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by SJHillman · 2012-04-16 23:02 · Score: 1
  
  My wisdom teeth were at a 90 degree angle from what they should have been, which made the surgery much more fun and interesting.
  When I broke my leg (shattered lower part of my tib/fib, required inserting a rod through my bone and several screws), they shot something in my spine that made me unconscious instantly. Best damned anesthetic ever - took five people to hold me upright while they administered it and I was out before I felt the needle. I begged them to give me the same stuff for my second (less major) leg surgery, but they refused - made me sad.
13. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 23:23 · Score: 0
  
  You imagined Hogwarts in the eighties?
  Either it's time to sue that Rowling woman or your dentist was using Spice!
14. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 23:30 · Score: 0
  
  I'm fairly resistant to the most common local anesthetics. The one time I had a root canal, I explained this to the dentist. He started drilling when he *thought* I was anesthetized. He was then unable to get his hand out of the wrist lock I put him in until after we made clear, with the "my mouth is full of widgets" conversation that followed, that he was not going to hurt me again.
  We discussed this, politely, after everything was over. He'd been my pediatric dentist, and I'd gotten a *lot* stronger and faster. Didn't hurt him, but that had *never* happened to him before.
15. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 23:46 · Score: 0
  
  Unless you have an abnormally small just stop being a wimp and leave them in.
  I could have left mine in, if I wanted the previous four years of wearing braces to be for nothing. My wisdom teeth were starting to push my other teeth out of alignment so I had to have them taken out. That or have a really hard time chewing food.
  I did get knocked out for the procedure, I start to freak out when the dentist has just the cleaning tools in my mouth. There was no way I would be able to handle (mentally) the surgeon cutting my gums open and yanking those teeth out. Haven't been able to get completely over the panicky feelings yet but it is better than it used to be.
16. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 23:50 · Score: 0
  
  And you get to enjoy them without the danger of dying like you often get with other medical procedures.
  Are you sure this is true? I know that when I was put under for oral surgery, there was someone there specifically to monitor my vitals and the amount of drugs I was getting to ensure that they didn't give me too much and stop my heart.
  They also made sure I didn't wake up in the middle of the procedure, that would have sucked.
17. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by jamesh · 2012-04-16 23:57 · Score: 1
  
  I respect the use of a general anaesthetic where they are taking most of your face apart. I'm just talking about a routine tooth extraction. My "wimp" comment was an attempt at humour - i'm terrified of general anaethetics. I had one when i was about 4 (grommets) which was "blink and you miss it", one when I was 12 (appendix) which was followed by hours of vomiting and weeks of feeling really really sick, and one when I was about 30 (correct a deviated nasal septum and fix up some other nasal blockages) which was also followed by lots of unpleasentness. None of those would have had the general marked as "optional".
  I had my bottom two wisdom teeth (+1) out in the chair though. The surgeon is much more gentle when you are awake. My top two wisdom teeth haven't needed extraction as I had a few other teeth removed when I was younger so there was room for them.
  Ditto for the vasectomy, although in that case it was more about that if someone is going down there with a knife then i'm watching them like a hawk :)
  Basically I hate the period of feeling sick after a general, and i'm terrified of waking up in the middle of it (or alternatively, not waking up after it).
18. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by azalin · 2012-04-17 00:09 · Score: 1
  
  All you need is a large enough mouth and some luck with their orientation. That way all you got to do, is wait till they are up and use them together with the other 28 to chew your dinner. No anesthetics needed whatsoever ;)
19. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 00:17 · Score: 0
  
  I've had teeth pulled three times.
  The first were baby teeth by an orthodontist. My parents elected for local. My older sister had a similar situation but with her adult teeth the very same day. I was out the rest of the day while she was feeling fine, playing etc.
  I later had to have the adult teeth in the same area pulled; I elected to be put under. Within an hour of getting out of there, I was fine.
  I've since had a couple more adult teeth pulled, I did local, and I was out for a couple of days (it was a REALLY bad extraction).
  Call me a wimp, but if it means I have more time for the things valuable to me (like my children), I'll take the quicker recovery and being put under.
20. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 00:18 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  I'm not trolling, and I'm sorry if this offends, but when you think of blacking out at parties as normal, perhaps you need to have a long hard look at your drinking habits. Think, "Am I *that* guy? The guy who gets wasted at *every* party?"
  I'm not some soppy recovering alco, but I did go through a few years where I was treating booze (and black-outs) the wrong way. Hopefully I've misunderstood your post. If so, I apologise for boring you.
21. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by GaryOlson · 2012-04-17 00:26 · Score: 2
  
  They also made sure I didn't wake up in the middle of the procedure...
  The dentist cracked my lower right tooth in half for the extraction, I woke up and grabbed his arm right at the wrist. An excited flurry of action and I was back under. I think they upped the dose after that.
  
  --
  Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
22. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by geminidomino · 2012-04-17 00:48 · Score: 1
  
  Fuck THAT.
  Mine were coming out of the damn sides of my gums. Dear freaking gods did that hurt, but I imagine not half as badly as after they'd been cut open to yank the fuckers out.
23. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Greyfox · 2012-04-17 01:26 · Score: 1
  
  Yup did that. I remember watching the surgery in the reflection of his glasses until he took them off, commenting that he didn't need me throwing up in the middle of it. Fucker only gave me advil for afterwards too. A co-worker of mine some years later got percocet. Gyp! Another co-worker is a mutant whose super-power is apparently to not have wisdom teeth. We still need to do some evolving in the teeth area, but that's definitely a step in the right direction.
  
  --
  I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
24. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by frenchbedroom · 2012-04-17 01:35 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, I know some people who had theirs removed under a general and it always seemed to be based of a fear of the dentist's chair.
  Had mine removed in two sittings, right side and left side. That was so I could chew food on the "good" of my mouth and minimize the risk of complications/infections/whatever on the "recovering" side (I still had to follow the usual recommendation of cold, slushy food the first day and gradually go back to normal hot meals)
  Each time, the procedure didn't hurt at all, my jaw was pretty numb. It was kinda impressive though, to watch how much force the doctor needed to pull the little buggers. What hurt was when the anaesthetic faded, opening the mouth a little too much was painful.
  Where I could understand the ones opting for a general, all-four removal, is that the second time around is a bitch, because you know exactly what you're going to go through, and as a result it seems to hurt a little more and take more time to heal.
25. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by ShieldW0lf · 2012-04-17 02:09 · Score: 1
  
  Yup did that. I remember watching the surgery in the reflection of his glasses until he took them off, commenting that he didn't need me throwing up in the middle of it. Fucker only gave me advil for afterwards too. A co-worker of mine some years later got percocet. Gyp! Another co-worker is a mutant whose super-power is apparently to not have wisdom teeth. We still need to do some evolving in the teeth area, but that's definitely a step in the right direction.
  The size of the jaw, the size of the teeth, the number of teeth... all driven by different parts of the genome. The dramatic increase in dental problems coincides with increased mobility and breeding outside the "tribe". You end up with folks with tiny asian jaws and giant nordic teeth, things like that.
  Wasn't that long ago that people generally didn't travel and bred with their second and third cousins, and they had less genetic problems with their teeth. Still had the problems that stem from primitive hygiene, but that's a different story.
  Though, evolution isn't going to affect the issue until a failure of technology causes those who have such problems to die young as a consequence of their genetic makeup, instead of getting braces and passing on their genes to their children.
  
  --
  -1 Uncomfortable Truth
26. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Greyfox · 2012-04-17 02:29 · Score: 1
  
  I'm pretty sure we can just decide to evolve in that direction! See! I'm evolving! Ungh! Ungh!
  Eeh you're right, unless it affects mortality rates things probably won't change that much. Unless we get a really lucky cosmic ray to the DNA, or something. Or some young feller from some biotech firm decides to refactor our genes. Doesn't help me much, but I have a list of design defects that I'm sure future generations could do without.
  
  --
  I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
27. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by LanMan04 · 2012-04-17 02:46 · Score: 1
  
  Pretty much everyone's wisdom teeth are completely buried in their gums, aren't they? Mine sure as hell were, and I think one of them was growing sideways into my jaw or something.
  I don't know anyone who's had any of their wisdom teeth actually erupt.
  
  --
  With the first link, the chain is forged.
28. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 03:27 · Score: 0
  
  ...hell, when I had my toenails removed...
  What? Did everyone else miss that? Yikes.
29. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 03:37 · Score: 0
  
  Unless your Wisdom Teeth are completely buried in your gums, get them done in the dentist chair under a local and don't be a wimp.
  Mine were buried and I did it under local. I will take a little pain to being knocked out anyday. Been down that road a few times and hated it.
30. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by cyberchondriac · 2012-04-17 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  Oh screw the machismo crap. I was 15 when I had to have all four removed simultaneously, (they would've screwed up 5 years of orthodontics) I don't recall even being given a choice.
  I might've actually preferred local though; for one thing, I had already spent 5 years regularly visiting an orthodontist and a dentist for my severe maloclussion, (I used to make Bug Bunny look toothless by comparison) and nearly all of that was under nitro, not Novocaine. I was used to having hands and apparent devices of torture in my mouth. The interesting thing about gas is, it doesn't numb the pain as well as novocaine does, but you just don't care! I have to admit to some almost pleasant members of getting cavities filled..lol
  In any case, the general anesthesia caused a weird reaction, when I woke up I felt, for lack of a better description, hungover and shaky, and for some reason I wanted to bawl my eyes out.. in fact, I did, a little. I still don't get why, I wasn't upset or scared, it just automatically triggered that response sans emotion, it was really weird and embarrassing.
  
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31. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by cyberchondriac · 2012-04-17 05:04 · Score: 1
  
  I only remember one short bout of intense pain, it lasted about 20 seconds..but that was some of the most intense pain I've ever felt. They gave me percocet at least.
  In my case, probably the worst part of the whole thing was waking up about 3 nights later to discover my pillow was sopping wet. WTF? I was still wearing a night brace at the time, so a little drool wasn't unusual, but this was ridiculous. Imagine my surprise when I hit the light and saw my white pillow case was solid red, soaked in blood. The damn stitches didn't hold on one side and I had hemorrhaged all over it. Worse yet, it was a Sunday morning and the doc didn't want to get dragged back into the office to fix it, he kept telling me to suck on tea bags to help it coagulate, he thought it was a minor cut or something. That was the most disgusting taste I've ever experienced (blood and tea). After 6 hours of this crap, calling him back up, him saying to just use more tea bags(!), he finally capitulated, had me come in and realizing his mistake, stitched me back up under local.
  
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  Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
32. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 05:22 · Score: 0
  
  However to me there is no sense of time whatsoever while under General anestetic, passed out, or comatose drunk, it basically feels like a long blink, which is very strange when you do it at a party and next thing you know the room is empty, it's daylight, and you have a blanet on you.
  I imagine death is like that, except for the waking up with a blanket part.
  Have gone under general for wisdom teeth and endoscopy. Have also lost consciousness on several occasions due to physical trauma (one was a golf club to the spine, other I hit a wall so hard with my ribs the wall cracked). Waking up after general I always felt far away, extremely groggy, with no recollection of when or where. The spine trauma felt similar except the passing of time was filled with extreme feelings of fear, terror, and strange visual effects I cannot describe. Was also groggy, felt far away, weak, no recollection of when, but it came back to me real fast. The ribs trauma was like I blinked for 7 or 8 minutes and the room just shifted a few inches and people were all of a sudden in front of me worried.
  Yes, I also imagine death is like blinking but not coming back.
33. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 05:29 · Score: 0
  
  Mine came in horizontally, never came close to the surface. They were pushing against the back molars and causing serious pain and tooth alignment issues.
34. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by cffrost · 2012-04-17 07:12 · Score: 1
  
  Have also lost consciousness on several occasions due to physical trauma (one was a golf club to the spine, other I hit a wall so hard with my ribs the wall cracked).
  My boss used to use me to tee-off. Fucking hate "suits." =(
  
  --
  Thank you, Edward Snowden.
  
  "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
35. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by cffrost · 2012-04-17 07:14 · Score: 1
  
  Unless you have an abnormally small just stop being a wimp and leave them in. I'm 50 and I have fully grown wisdom teeth. Never had any issues with them.
  See, that means you didn't need to have them removed, you see?
  
  --
  Thank you, Edward Snowden.
  
  "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
36. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by cffrost · 2012-04-17 07:19 · Score: 1
  
  [...] I had my toenails removed [...]
  'Nam?
  
  --
  Thank you, Edward Snowden.
  
  "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
37. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by cffrost · 2012-04-17 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  I had one when i was about 4 (grommets) which was "blink and you miss it", one when I was 12 (appendix) which was followed by hours of vomiting and weeks of feeling really really sick, and one when I was about 30 (correct a deviated nasal septum and fix up some other nasal blockages) which was also followed by lots of unpleasentness. None of those would have had the general marked as "optional".
  Pfff... Wuss. I had a triple-bypass with a swig of whiskey and a stick to bite on.
  
  --
  Thank you, Edward Snowden.
  
  "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
38. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Spugglefink · 2012-04-17 07:26 · Score: 1
  
  (or in some cases, a couple weeks).
  Months. When I had finally recovered, I discovered the surgeon had cut an incision in one quadrant of my mouth, sutured it back up, but failed to remove the tooth. I had to go back and do it all again.
  I'm glad my wisdom teeth are finally gone. I have nightmares thinking about what they must have done in there, just based on the 1/2" tears in both corners of my mouth.
39. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 10:42 · Score: 0
  
  Mine aren't. That's probably why my mouth is so completely fucked up.
40. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by jamesh · 2012-04-17 11:14 · Score: 1
  
  Pretty much everyone's wisdom teeth are completely buried in their gums, aren't they? Mine sure as hell were, and I think one of them was growing sideways into my jaw or something.
  I don't know anyone who's had any of their wisdom teeth actually erupt.
  My wife got hers out and they were all through, they just needed removing because they were pushing the rest of her teeth around.
  My top ones were fine because I had had some molars removed in my early teens. My bottom ones were mostly straight but still pushing on the teeth next to them. If i hadn't held my wife's hand when she was getting hers out 10 years earlier I might not have put off getting mine out for so long instead of waiting until they had pushed a hole in the tooth next to them :(
41. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by jamesh · 2012-04-17 11:15 · Score: 1
  
  I had one when i was about 4 (grommets) which was "blink and you miss it", one when I was 12 (appendix) which was followed by hours of vomiting and weeks of feeling really really sick, and one when I was about 30 (correct a deviated nasal septum and fix up some other nasal blockages) which was also followed by lots of unpleasentness. None of those would have had the general marked as "optional".
  Pfff... Wuss. I had a triple-bypass with a swig of whiskey and a stick to bite on.
  You had a stick? I used to dream of having a stick to bite on! I had to gnaw on my own fingers until they were nothing but bone!
42. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by demonlapin · 2012-04-17 14:12 · Score: 1
  
  they shot something in my spine that made me unconscious instantly
  No, they gave you some Versed before they gave you your spinal anesthetic. You were conscious, you just don't remember it.
43. Re:General for Wisdom Teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 18:26 · Score: 0
  
  Unless your Wisdom Teeth are completely buried in your gums, get them done in the dentist chair under a local and don't be a wimp.
  Locals? You had "Locals"?
  Wimp. "Oh, I'm a young lady, I need local anesthesia for extractions... my pussy hurts..." Grow a dick.
  I pulled all four of mine out, without anesthesia of any kind, with a pair of rusty old pliers, MYSELF.
  Hey, cocaine is a helluva drug...
What they didn't delve into.. by Metabolife · 2012-04-16 19:46 · Score: 5, Interesting

... was whether or not the clock returned to normal over time. Could a 3 hour surgery cause long-term insomnia?
1. Re:What they didn't delve into.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 20:02 · Score: 0
  
  no
2. Re:What they didn't delve into.. by Calydor · 2012-04-16 20:11 · Score: 1
  
  No more than jet lag does. A couple of days down the line and your body has re-adjusted to the sun's cues.
  
  --
  -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
3. Re:What they didn't delve into.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 20:24 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Circadian rhythms are phase-locked loops, driven (at least mostly, and in humans -- dunno about bees) by blue light (which sunlight has plenty of and wood fires, lamps, and candles don't), so if you're in an environment where it wouldn't resync after anesthesia, you're probably already in free-run (~25h cycles) and thus (if you don't live on Mars) experiencing at least mild insomnia. Try melatonin supplements, turning off lights, especially fluorescent, LED, or other high-CCT lights, in the evenings, and/or re-calibrating your monitor to a lower CCT if you use a computer much shortly before bedtime.
Just a jump to the left? by Chas · 2012-04-16 20:02 · Score: 4, Funny

I swear man!
If I see any bees dressed in curly wigs, lingerie, fishnets and heels, I'm SO outta here!
I refuse to be caught LIKE THIS!

--

Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
1. Re:Just a jump to the left? by Hillgiant · 2012-04-17 00:49 · Score: 1
  
  You came here on a PORPOISE!
  
  --
  -
Anesthesia stories by AK+Marc · 2012-04-16 20:27 · Score: 4, Interesting

My disorientation is that I didn't "wake up" after my knee surgery so much as "get shaken until I threw up" followed by demands that I vacate the premises for the next person. The surgery ran over time due to a routine complication, and the conveyor-belt outpatient hospital didn't have enough recovery beds for me to wake naturally from the extended anesthesia. In the end, they wheeled me into the parking lot, vomiting the whole time.

--
Learn to love Alaska
1. Re:Anesthesia stories by Rakshasa-sensei · 2012-04-16 21:06 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Learn to love Alaska [romancingalaska.com]
  Did you learn to love Alaska? Your story makes me a bit confused.
2. Re:Anesthesia stories by isorox · 2012-04-16 21:52 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  My disorientation is that I didn't "wake up" after my knee surgery so much as "get shaken until I threw up" followed by demands that I vacate the premises for the next person. The surgery ran over time due to a routine complication, and the conveyor-belt outpatient hospital didn't have enough recovery beds for me to wake naturally from the extended anesthesia. In the end, they wheeled me into the parking lot, vomiting the whole time.
  But the republicans are always scoffing about how terrible the NHS is, and how your "pay $10k to give birth" methods are so much more civilised.
3. Re:Anesthesia stories by AK+Marc · 2012-04-16 22:27 · Score: 2
  
  Well, compare our infant mortality rates to yours and get back to me.
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
4. Re:Anesthesia stories by slowLearner · 2012-04-16 23:08 · Score: 2
  
  Well, compare our infant mortality rates to yours and get back to me.
  I just did http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_infant_mortality_rate and the UK is 35th on the list with the USA being 49th.
  
  Just to point out being higher on the list is better
  
  So now what?
5. Re:Anesthesia stories by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 23:21 · Score: 0
  
  Well, compare our infant mortality rates to yours and get back to me.
  ok:
  http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/mort-o18.shtml
  what was your point actually?
6. Re:Anesthesia stories by azalin · 2012-04-17 00:14 · Score: 1
  
  You do know that there is a different method of counting for some of the countries that mess up the numbers? (eg stillborn)
7. Re:Anesthesia stories by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 01:28 · Score: 0
  
  A bit like my wisdom teeth story, although they did give me time to recover.
  I was told I woke up, and was led to a recovery bed. That section of time is completely missing for me. I do recall waking up and being unable to speak or move much, just enough to rub my belly to tell the nurses I was going to throw up (they didn't figure it out until I already vomited blood all over the floor). A while later, I woke up again and was led out by my mother. I was barely able to walk and mostly left by throwing myself against walls. Then I slept for another 18 hours while the toradol given to me gave me palpitations.
  The office was very interested to see me again once I recovered, to make sure I was actually ok. I guess I freaked out even the nurses! :^D After being told that story the wife won't let me go under again.
8. Re:Anesthesia stories by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 01:38 · Score: 0
  
  It sais:
  List by the United Nations Population Division
  Infant mortality (deaths/1,000 live births) - Longitudinal Data
  There's also the second list from the CIA factbook.
  While you may be right that some countries may count different, (I think not), the top 50 list is what matters here. The US is clearly behind the rest of the first world. And that is the opposite of what AK Marc was conveying through his message.
9. Re:Anesthesia stories by cffrost · 2012-04-17 07:36 · Score: 1
  
  My disorientation is that I didn't "wake up" after my knee surgery so much as "get shaken until I threw up" followed by demands that I vacate the premises for the next person. The surgery ran over time due to a routine complication, and the conveyor-belt outpatient hospital didn't have enough recovery beds for me to wake naturally from the extended anesthesia. In the end, they wheeled me into the parking lot, vomiting the whole time.
  But the republicans are always scoffing about how terrible the NHS is, and how your "pay $10k to give birth" methods are so much more civilised.
  I'm pretty sure AK Marc isn't a Republican, AK notwithstanding.
  
  --
  Thank you, Edward Snowden.
  
  "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
10. Re:Anesthesia stories by AK+Marc · 2012-04-17 09:04 · Score: 1
  
  So now what?
  Nothing. I was just stiring up shit. Why would you assume I didn't already know the answer?
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
11. Re:Anesthesia stories by AK+Marc · 2012-04-17 09:05 · Score: 1
  
  I'm the only constitutional libertarian (long-term view) in the state. Apparently, that makes me a rabid right-wing nutjob to the Democrats, and a communist to the Republicans (and a socialist fascist to the Libertarians), so I must be doing something right.
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
12. Re:Anesthesia stories by AK+Marc · 2012-04-17 09:07 · Score: 1
  
  Anesthesia is poison supposed to come as close to killing you as possible while being fully reversible. Some take to it better than others. And the places that use it rarely make accommodations for the many people who have issues with it.
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
13. Re:Anesthesia stories by cffrost · 2012-04-17 09:48 · Score: 1
  
  I'm the only constitutional libertarian (long-term view) in the state. Apparently, that makes me a rabid right-wing nutjob to the Democrats, and a communist to the Republicans (and a socialist fascist to the Libertarians), so I must be doing something right.
  I like to read your posts and can't remember a single one I've disagreed with (I'm on your fan list); you're doing a lot right, AFAIC. :o)
  Regarding AK, I could have sworn you recently said you emigrated...? As for your anesthesia story, I'm sorry, it was so horrible I had to laugh. ;o(
  
  --
  Thank you, Edward Snowden.
  
  "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
14. Re:Anesthesia stories by AK+Marc · 2012-04-17 12:43 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, I feel so stalked. Yes, I moved out of the US. And am waiting for the US economy and politics to implode and recover so that I might come back. But I still own my family home in Alaska. And I'm planning on retiring on the Medetranian, I just have to manage to get the right citizenships in the next 30 years so I can do that, as even if the US collapses on my schedule, I have no idea how long after until it recovers.
  
  And, if I ever ran for public office, I'd be found to be a Republican. I've only ever joined one party, and it was the Republicans. Why? Because when I lived in Texas, everyone running for office was a Republican, so the party primaries were the only way to cast a vote for the person who would hold the office. Unlike Alaska, where there exists a similar situation, in Texas, you had to be a member of the Republican party to vote in the Republican primary. In AK, you can be "undeclared" and pick your primary when you get to the polls. So I'm currently undeclared, but did soil myself to be an official Republican for about 10 years.
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
15. Re:Anesthesia stories by demonlapin · 2012-04-17 14:17 · Score: 1
  
  The duration of an anesthetic using modern meds does not much determine how long it takes you to recover. What you experienced is a return of memory-generating ability after your sedating dose of benzodiazepines wore off before you actually left the center.
16. Re:Anesthesia stories by slowLearner · 2012-04-17 14:54 · Score: 1
  
  Why would you assume I didn't already know the answer?
  The duck test http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_test
17. Re:Anesthesia stories by AK+Marc · 2012-04-17 15:52 · Score: 1
  
  A single rhetorical question is sufficient to determine what I do and do not know? The comment I was responding to was an off topic rant about the NHS, so I countered with a rhetorical question.
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
18. Re:Anesthesia stories by slowLearner · 2012-04-17 19:46 · Score: 1
  
  Fair enough, although it didn't scan like a rhetorical question and I am abashed at being "fooled" by the subtlety of you rhetoric.
Re:Still doesn't explain by darthdavid · 2012-04-16 20:52 · Score: 2

Don't stick you dick in beehives while you're tripping (hell, don't do it when you're straight either...). Problem solved.
"sans appendix, tonsils, or wisdom teeth" by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 23:01 · Score: 0

Just want to point out that no dentist clinic in Europe bothers with anesthesia for wisdom tooth removal. It's an American thing. Incidentally so is over-prescribing antibiotics for nonsensical conditions, which might indicate that the problem is on a fundamental level relating to efficiency.
Holy Transylvanian Transvestites Batman! by flyneye · 2012-04-16 23:29 · Score: 1

Not Rocky
Rocky Horror
If you're gonna take anesthetic, go to the zen room, you'll love it
(Riff Raff) It's astounding
Time is fleeting
Madness takes its toll...
(Magenta) Ahh...
(Riff Raff) But listen closely...
(Magenta) Not for very much longer...
(Riff Raff) I've got to keep control.
I remember doing the Time Warp.
Drinking those moments when
The blackness would hit me.
(Riff Raff & Magenta) And the void would be calling.
(Guests) Let's do the Time Warp again.
Let's do the Time Warp again.
(Narrator) It's just a jump to the left.
(Guests) And then a step to the right.
(Narrator) With your hand on your hips.
(Guests) You bring your knees in tight.
But it's the pelvic thrust.
They really drive you insane.
Let's do the Time Warp again.
Let's do the Time Warp again.
(Magenta) It's so dreamy
Oh, fantasy free me
So you can't see me
No not at all.
In another dimension
With voyeuristic intention.
Well secluded I see all...
(Riff Raff) With a bit of a mind flip...
(Magenta) You're into a time slip...
(Riff Raff) And nothing can ever be the same.
(Magenta) You're spaced out on sensation.
(Riff Raff) Like you're under sedation.
(Guests) Let's do the Time Warp again.
Let's do the Time Warp again.
(Columbia) Well, I was walking down the street
Just having a think
When a snake of a guy
Gave me an evil wink.
Well it shook me up
It took me by surprise
He had a pick-up truck
And the devil's eyes
He stared at me
And I felt a change
Time meant nothing
Never would again.
(Guests) Let's do the Time Warp again.Let's do the Time Warp again.
(Narrator) It's just a jump to the left.
(Guests) And then a step to the right.
(Narrator) With your hands on your hips.
(Guests) You bring you knees in tight.
But it's the pelvic thrust...
That really drives you insane
Let's do the Time Warp again.Let's do the Time Warp again.Let's do the Time Warp again
(Columbia) Ah! Oh! Oh! Yeoooww...
Ahhhh.
(Guests) Let's do the Time Warp again. Let's do the Time Warp again.
(Narrator) It's just a jump to the left.
(Guests) And then a step to the right.
(Narrator) With your hands on your hips.
(Guests) You bring your knees in tight.
But it's the pelvic thrust
They really drive you insane.
Let's do the Time Warp again. Let's do the Time Warp again.

--
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
Re:Still doesn't explain by flyneye · 2012-04-16 23:37 · Score: 1

"There is nothing so depraved as a man in the depths of an ether binge" H.S.Thompson - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Evidently, you're on the wrong drug. Try a lungful of ether and go waving your floppy uncontrollable slobbering body at a bee hive once you are able to stand.
This is about anesthetic, keep on topic.

--
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
Zonked bees? by j1976 · 2012-04-16 23:53 · Score: 1

I can help but imagine zonked bees saying "BzzZZzzzt!?" and flying into trees...
1. Re:Zonked bees? by geminidomino · 2012-04-17 00:54 · Score: 1
  
  God damn it, you just had to say it out loud, didn't you?!
  It's like a Pixar movie playing in my head. MAKE IT STOP!!!!
Wisdom teeth? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-16 23:55 · Score: 0

You people get put to sleep just to have your wisdom teeth out? What a bunch of wusses. :P
Mucking up by Curunir_wolf · 2012-04-17 00:15 · Score: 1

... and mucking up their sense of direction.
When using these type of technically specific science terms, you should really specify the degree of mucking and define the term for the laymen.

--
"Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
--- Jerry Garcia
1. Re:Mucking up by cffrost · 2012-04-17 07:48 · Score: 1
  
  ... and mucking up their sense of direction.
  When using these type of technically specific science terms, you should really specify the degree of mucking and define the term for the laymen.
  Agreed. As a resident of New York, I'd also appreciate the fuck_up:muck_up conversion ratio being specified.
  
  --
  Thank you, Edward Snowden.
  
  "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
Why we neededs bees to find this out? by hesaigo999ca · 2012-04-17 00:37 · Score: 1

Sometimes I wonder about our science guys....why we need to study bees in their drugged state when we have plenty of capable people ready to drug themselves for free for our studies....
It's astounding. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 00:44 · Score: 0

Time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll. You can't keep control. The blackness hits you.
General anesthesia has kicked in.
I can see the headlines now! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 00:53 · Score: 0

Drugged up bees can't find their way home, news at 11.
Re:Still doesn't explain by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 01:01 · Score: 0

See? This is what is wrong with our education system.
Why wasn't I taught this in school?
where's the insight? by __aaltlg1547 · 2012-04-17 01:06 · Score: 1

Okay so the honeybees wake up and don't know time has passed. How does knowing the same thing happens to bees help me understand what happened to me?
Rivers Cuomo by Vinegar+Joe · 2012-04-17 01:07 · Score: 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0OVpyvey4U
"When you're out with your friends
In your new Mercedes-Benz
And you're on drugs
And you show up late for school
'Cause you think you're really cool
When you're on drugs
And you put on your headphones
And you step into the zone
When you're on drugs
But the world don't care
If you are or are not there
'Cause you're on drugs
And you twitch in your seat
'Cause you wanna hit the street
When you're on drugs
And you cause such a fuss
'Cause there's no one you can trust
When you're on drugs
And the best of your days
Will vanish in the haze
When you're on drugs
And you wish you could quit
'Cause you're really sick of it
But you're on drugs"

--
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
Best Trip by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 02:41 · Score: 0

Waking up from aneshestia in the hospital after some complicated hand surgery was /the/ best trip I've EVER had. It was like being reborn again. I was overwhelmed with a loving and euphoric feeling, to the world around me, and to the staff in the hospital. It tasted like cola-nut just before I got knocked out. But damn, I'd go for surgery anytime just to experience the coming to phase of anesthetics.
1. Re:Best Trip by mikestew · 2012-04-17 04:17 · Score: 1
  
  I wouldn't be so eager to go find excuses for getting cut open. As a connoisseur of fine general anesthetics since childhood (lots of surgery as a child, and a few since reaching adulthood), I can tell you that general anesthetics vary wildly in patient experience. It would seem that they are a hell of a lot better than what was used decades ago, with less nausea and overall yucky feeling. The effects (lethargy and the like) don't last for days like they used to, either. I'm not an anesthesiologist, but I'm sure the drugs have changed and maybe they're using less of them.
  That said, I've never had a general that I'd stand in line for again. What you describe sounds like one of the many not-quite-general options used for colonoscopies, dental surgery, and the like. Not quite asleep (like a colonoscopy, where you can hear and execute the request to move position), but you probably don't remember anything.
2. Re:Best Trip by demonlapin · 2012-04-17 14:20 · Score: 1
  
  Assuming that you're at least 20, yes, the anesthetic pharmacopoeia has changed rather significantly. Versus thirty years ago, it's radically different. It's been stable for about a decade, though.
cicadian rhythms? by VolciMaster · 2012-04-17 04:05 · Score: 1

What is this about a bee's cicadian rhythms? Bees are nothing at all like cicadas!

--
antipaucity
My experience by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 04:38 · Score: 0

i have no recollections of being born but i imagine that waking up from anesthesia is a bit like being born. i could hear and sense things that made no sense for quite some time before realizing i had eyes and could open them. very groggy and disoriented with no immediate, sensible memory of anything before those first few moments, it felt like waking from death.
Re:Still doesn't explain by redneckmother · 2012-04-17 05:08 · Score: 1

See? This is what is wrong with our education system.
Why wasn't I taught this in school?
Different reading lists? Censorship? It's hard to say...
I like anesthesia by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 06:18 · Score: 0

I have had anesthesia on several occasions. The oral surgeon uses Michael Jackson's favorite juice and the dreams can be a lot of fun. Deeper anesthesia such as on gets in open heart surgery does not cause dreams. But when you wake up and are fully alert your personality is not the same for a bit. It is fun not to be yourself for a few minutes. You know your past in detail but attitudes and emotions that attached back then are not attached for a while. It is refreshing.
It all makes sense now by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 06:34 · Score: 0

So, apparently scientists have been causing colony collapse!
Woke up without any ice cream!!!! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-17 10:19 · Score: 0

They left out the part where you are counting down from 10, *expecting the promised Ice Cream* when waking. Then you wake up *without said Ice Cream* and have to deal with all that pain.
Inside joke for those who don't know.... can you name it?