My Covid Story + Monoclonal Antibody Treatment (Aka Regeneron) Experience

Despite being extremely careful this entire time, we ended up coming in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid.

As a result, Eric and I tested positive a few days later and, unfortunately, our 10 month old son Jett also caught it.

I’m sharing my story here in case you or someone you love ends up in the same position.

How We Got Covid in the First Place

Since I had Jett in the pandemic and I was pregnant for the first part of it, we followed all of the safety precautions from the beginning and really tried our best not to get it.

I won’t bore you with those details and instead will fast forward to why you’re here.

We came in contact with someone who later tested positive and all of our hard work staying safe flew out the window.

Before we knew this person was positive, I started coming down with symptoms that I thought were unrelated.

I was certain it wasn’t Covid because all I had was a sore throat and my temperature remained at 98, which is slightly high for me, but nothing shocking.

Eric had some congestion but that was it. He used our neti pot, found relief, and we were on our way…or so we thought.

Eric got the call that he came in contact with this person and we were worried but didn’t panic just yet.

It wasn’t until more people started testing positive around us that I knew we were in trouble.

Our Experience With BinaxNOW At-Home Tests

That night, my temperature rose to 99.9 so we both took the BinaxNOW at-home tests pictured below.

We had to drive about 30 minutes south to get these because they were out in all of the stores near us and we finally found them at a CVS (Walgreens also sells them).

I read over the instructions a few times to make sure I knew what I was doing and we both proceeded to take the tests.

They work like a pregnancy test where two lines, no matter how faint, means you’re positive.

Sure enough, within seconds, both of our positive lines started to appear.

We waited the full 15 minutes to make sure but there was no way those lines were disappearing.

We were both positive.

At this point, Jett was in good shape and not showing any signs so we quickly threw on masks and tried our best not to give it to him. It turned out to be too late but I’ll get there.

I ended up taking a fever reducer that night because I started experiencing really bad hot flashes and severe chills. My sore throat also got worse.

We called it an early night and I continued to wear a mask and washed my hands whenever I fed Jett throughout the night.

By morning time, it was clear, I was in a full blown Covid flare up and, sadly, so was Jett.

He woke up burning up and eventually we both had a temperature over 101.

We stayed on fever reducers that entire day while we loaded up on meds.

How We Got Through Covid

By this point, I was super congested on top of having a sore throat and fever. I also had bad body aches and fatigue but couldn’t sleep. So we made a virtual appointment with our pediatrician, who also happens to be my doctor, to see the best course of action.

She told us what to watch out for and prescribed some meds to get me through it.

We also ordered a Target pick up order which our friends (thank you Donnie and Taylor!) were kind enough to scoop up for us and dropped off outside of our door.

On top of that, I signed up for the monoclonal antibody treatment, or regeneron, which you may have heard is what Trump used.

I couldn’t get an appointment until the following day so I took my multivitamin, probiotic, and Emergen-C (we bought the one with vitamin D and zinc in it) and we drank copious amounts of immunity tea with honey.

We also blasted some essential oils to help with the congestion.

Eric fared the best out of Jett and I, we believe, because he was fully vaxxed with the J&J shot. So he only dealt with some congestion and eventually lost most of his smell and taste, but not all of it.

I, unfortunately, only managed to get one Pfizer shot the week before this happened. So I had some protection but not nearly the full amount.

My Experience with Monoclonal Antibody Treatment

Fortunately, I was able to get the monoclonal antibody treatment the next day, which was a huge relief because my symptoms kept going up and down.

As soon as the meds wore off, I felt every bit of it. So I’d start to feel better, then felt worse shortly after, and kept riding this roller coaster.

I was lucky enough that my neighbor had used an at-home service for the monoclonal antibody treatment so that’s who I called.

They normally do this treatment as an IV but they were short staffed with IV techs. So if I wanted that treatment, it would be a few days before they could come out.

I opted for four shots instead because I could get them the next day.

Before I tell you about that, I’ll quickly go over what the monoclonal antibody treatment is.

According to Mobile Medical Associates (the company I used), the monoclonal antibodies are essentially lab-created molecules that work like real antibodies to help “restore, enhance, or mimic” the natural immune response to attack invaders. In this case, the Covid virus wreaking havoc in my system.

Their site also says the antibodies may block the virus from attaching to human cells, which makes it tougher for it to reproduce and cause more damage, and they may neutralize it altogether.

You do have to qualify for the treatment which includes:

1. You’ve tested positive and are within a 10-day window since finding out
2. You’re not fully vaccinated
3. You’re at risk for developing a severe reaction from getting Covid
4. You have an immunocompromising condition or a chronic condition
5. You are post-exposure prophylaxis of Covid-19

A super friendly nurse by the name of Doug came over to our house and explained about what this was (a saline solution with antibodies in it) and how effective it would be. He told me I’d start to feel better in eight hours or so and should feel completely well or close to it by Monday.

I took a shot in the back of each arm and one just below each hip, towards my butt, and that was it.

The treatment was probably done in less than two minutes.

Doug told me to rest, eat some chicken noodle soup, and drink lots of fluids — the standard prescription for being sick.

He also mentioned that I would probably feel some fatigue from it and to nap if I could, which I did end up taking an hour nap at some point in the afternoon.

By night time, I did feel much better.

I still had a terrible sore throat and congestion, the latter I had to take prednisone for, but I was not nearly as bad as before the treatment.

Jett also started to break his fever and ended up not needing any more Tylenol which was a huge relief.

I did have to pump and dump my milk after the treatment only because there wasn’t enough research out yet. My doctor was on the fence about recommending this because it meant Jett couldn’t get the strongest antibodies.

But even with dumping it, I saw a noticeable difference in how he felt too.

He was starting to crawl around more and explore as opposed to wanting to just cuddle in bed.

He also wasn’t nearly as hot and feverish and, therefore, less fussy.

I’m over 24 hours out from the treatment and feel so much better.

I still have congestion, a slight sore throat, and my sense of smell and taste are almost gone, but I feel so much better.

If this treatment is available in your area and your doctor says it’s safe to use, it may be worth considering.

I’ll link to the digital pamphlet from the company I used so you can learn more about it.

What I Would Have Done Differently

My biggest mistake, aside from coming into contact with this person, was that I had lapsed with my vitamins and probiotics.

I was having trouble that week and the weeks before staying consistent with those. Some days I’d take them and others I’d forget to.

I know this would not have prevented me from catching Covid, but it would have helped to give my immune system a better (and stronger) fighting chance.

So let this be your reminder to take your vitamins and a probiotic every day!

I also would have stocked up on Emergen-C, something I don’t normally take, sooner so that we could have boosted our immune systems that much faster.

Having immunity tea and honey in the house also would have been helpful to get that sore throat calmed down asap too.

Lastly, I wouldn’t have put off my vaccine as long as I did.

I was nervous to get it, especially with nursing still and being so worn down. But, in the end, I do believe it’s why my reaction wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.

I’m not here for a vaccine debate so I’ll just leave it at that. I do wish I got it sooner and don’t regret getting it.

I also know that so many other people are not as fortunate as we were and my hope in writing this article is that there’s more awareness on the regeneron treatment (which is the monoclonal antibody treatment).

It was so effective and so incredibly fast that it turned it all around for me.

I can only imagine what would happen if more people had access to it.

I don’t want this article to get too long so I’ll end here but feel free to leave me a comment on this post with any questions you have. You can also email me directly at devan@behappynothangry.com.

To hoping you don’t get Covid and you stay safe,

Devan

P.S. If you or someone you know has lost someone to Covid, my heart goes out to you. I can’t imagine what that’s like and I pray for you. This whole pandemic is devastating and the longer it lingers on the worse it gets. I also pray for our frontline workers who are exhausted (rightfully so). We all need to get through this sooner rather than later. My hope is that regeneron and making this more available can help with that. 

Remember, I’m not a doctor nor am I “prescribing” this or any medical advice here. I’m simply sharing my story.