Does Chemo make you sleep 16 hours at a time?

...that sounds a lot better than any of the other side effects I've been hearing about.

...

I felt guilty about sleeping a lot.

But for me, it wasn't the chemo itself so much as the Benadryl and Xanax (I think!) that they gave me in the IV just before they started the actual chemo drugs. Tylenol puts me to sleep, so that stuff drugged me for days.

And to be a bit crude, I also got hideously constipated, too. Drink gallons of water and go heavy on the fiber before and after chemo.

And chemo brain is a real thing. The doctors will probably tell you that it's a myth. They are wrong.


Oh, that sounds so depressing. Remember, you're fighting off the cancer inside. Stay positive! You will get through this. I took my phone, earbuds, and recordings of a funny BBC radio show called Cabin Pressure with me to chemo. Humor is a joyous thing. Keep it with you. Laugh at the world. It will help.

All chemo regimens are different, but particularly in the first few days of receiving it (and certainly if you haven't received it before) it can knock you out. All I can suggest is playing it by ear until you have a firm understanding of how yours affects yours and your disease. It will probably evolve but for now, just go with the flow until you understand how your body handles it.