What is Captagon?
Captagon pills are the trade name for fenethylline, one of the derivatives of amphetamine, hence the scientific name for Captagon pills is amphetamines, which are stimulant substances derived from drugs that cause hyperactivity.
There are other common types and names of Captagon pills used by dealers and abusers, such as Al-Abyad, Abu Quseen, Qodom, Hummus, Halawa, Lajj, Lajja, Abu Melf, Datsun, Chalk, Captagon, Kabti. The addiction to Captagon pills is widespread in Saudi Arabia, especially Riyadh and in Egypt, and in many other Arab countries. Captagon is known among school and university students, especially during exam times, truck and taxi drivers, people who work for long periods, and even among some athletes.
Captagon pills' addiction
Captagon pills have been used for quite some time in the treatment of some neurological diseases related to hyperactivity and attention deficit in children in particular, and amphetamines were used in the twenties as a treatment for many diseases such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, alcohol addiction, and migraine headaches, but with the emergence of their long-term negative effects, they have been banned in most countries around the world.
Therefore, the possibility of a person falling into the trap of Captagon addiction after being prescribed by a doctor is low, and the abuse of Captagon often occurs by a person who is either looking forward to a new experience without anticipating its consequences, or a person who is already addicted and is looking for a new drug and gives him a different psychological experience.
It should be mentioned that taking this drug in any dose leads to its effects, and the fact that it gives, in the beginning, may seem good such as increasing the ability to pay attention and increase the individual’s activity level, this makes falling into the addiction trap more glamorous, but this hides behind it the dangerous negative effects in the long run.
Captagon addiction’s side effects
Long-term abuse of Captagon or amphetamines in general causes many serious health, psychological and social problems, some of the most remarkable ones are:
- Damage to dopamine receptors in some brain centers is responsible for memory and movement that can improve with the cessation of stimulant use.
- An imbalance in the levels of some cells that support the brain tissue and that makes the brain more vulnerable to cells damage and exposing them to various health complications.
- Psychiatric disorders such as paranoia, hallucinations, and repetitive motor patterns.
- Increased feeling of distraction and decreased ability to focus.
- Violent behavior could lead the addict to commit crimes.
- Excessive weight loss.
- Problems of impotence and erectile dysfunction in men, although the use of Captagon is associated in the short term with an increase in sexual desire, in the long term, it leads to a serious organic imbalance in sexual functions.
- Narrowing of the heart arteries, weakness, and enlargement of the heart muscle, which may lead to sudden death.
- Captagon may also cause the addict’s teeth to fall out and toothache in general.
- Skin ulcers in long-term addicts as a result of hallucinations of insects walking on the skin and the accompanying frequent and violent itching.
- Difficulty urinating, insomnia and headache.
- Dizziness, tremors, high body temperature, and feeling cold.
- Also, Captagon or addiction, in general, is often accompanied by abnormal behaviors that may lead to the transmission of dangerous types of infections such as AIDS, hepatitis C, and B.
Treatment of Captagon addiction in Dar El Taafy center for addiction treatment and psychiatry
The treatment of Captagon addiction begins at Dar El Taafy Center by treating the withdrawal symptoms of Captagon. The symptoms of Captagon withdrawal usually begin several hours after the last dose that was taken, and peak within 2 to 4 days, and then usually fade away on the seventh day of the last time the addict had taken the drug.
What is meant by withdrawal symptoms in addiction is a group of physiological symptoms that affect the addict when he stops using the narcotic or stimulant substance that he is accustomed to using regularly.
These withdrawal symptoms range from extreme lethargy, loss of appetite, sleep for perhaps a few days, and severe depression. Depression is considered the most dangerous of these symptoms because it may lead the patient to commit suicide.
Accordingly, the experts and doctors at Dar El Taafy concluded that the best methods to treat Captagon addiction are psychological and behavioral therapy. Although many types of drug addiction have anti-narcotics that help relieve their withdrawal symptoms, Captagon and amphetamine derivatives are unfortunately not on this list.
When treating patients with Captagon addiction, Dar El Taafy relies on an integrated behavioral, psychological, and social treatment program, and among its most remarkable components:
- Assessment of the addict’s health, psychological and social condition, and based on this assessment the other points of the treatment program are modified and allocated.
- Programs and sessions for behavioral modifications for the addict.Programs and sessions for behavioral modifications for the addict.
- Special health education and awareness for the family of the addict and those around him.
- Individual counseling for the addict as needed.
- Using the twelve-step program to support the addict.
- Periodically testing the levels of the drug in the patient’s blood.
- Encouraging the addict to engage in activities far from the environment that led him to addiction.
- Urging the addict’s family, friends, or life partner to provide him with continuous emotional and moral support.
- Making sure that the addict is kept away from the bad company that is associated with using Captagon.
- Periodic follow-up of the patient after the end of treatment to ensure that there are no relapses that lead to a relapse.
