Methadone Withdrawal - Prescribed Treatment Option Can Lead to Addiction

One particularly surprising aspect of this study is the stark contrast in search queries between “methamphetamine withdrawal” and “methadone withdrawal”. In Graph 1, the top two phrases “methadone withdrawal” and “methadone withdrawal symptoms” total 26,763 searches. The next three phrases together, “meth withdrawal”, “meth withdrawal symptoms” and “methamphetamine withdrawal”, tally only 5,943 searches, a difference of 20,820.

This is startling because conventional addictions research shows the prevalence of methamphetamine addiction well above that of methadone addiction.

Methamphetamine Withdrawal - Significantly Fewer Searches

Methadone withdrawal has many devastating symptoms. Methadone, a synthetic opiate most commonly used in the treatment of narcotic addictions (primarily heroin) can be physically addictive itself. As such, “methadone withdrawal” will occur if an individual abruptly stops taking this drug.

New trend-tracking addictions research sheds light on the online popularity of this issue. Raw data was collected for search frequencies of the phrase “methadone withdrawal”. The study results presented below in bar graphs indicate that methadone withdrawal is on the minds of many internet users, with almost 24,000 searches a year. They also show that methadone withdrawal appears to be a more pressing concern than methamphetamine withdrawal.

Methadone Withdrawal - Prevalent Search Topics - Graph 1

(Continued on Graph 3 at the bottom of this page)

Top 30 two and three word combinations

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	0		24,000
methadone withdrawal	22840
methadone withdrawal symptoms	3923
meth withdrawal	2938
meth withdrawal symptoms	1853
methamphetamine withdrawal	1152
symptoms of methadone	1116
symptoms of methadone withdrawal	1105
withdrawal from methadone	856
crystal meth	586
crystal meth withdrawal	579
symptoms of meth	375
withdrawal symptoms of meth	371
length of methadone withdrawal	160
meth addict	91
withdrawal from meth	82
meth addiction	77
neonatal methadone withdrawal	73
meth withdrawal symptons	73
withdrawal from meth addiction	73
methadone withdrawal sleep	36
methadone withdrawal blog	36
methadone withdrawal stages	36
help with methadone withdrawal	21
help with methadone	21
methadone withdrawal help	20
methadone withdrawal message boards	16
drug methadone	15
symptoms of methamphetamine	14
crystal meth withdrawal symptoms	14
methadone withdrawal in babies	13
	0		24,000

Methadone Withdrawal Symptoms - Looking for Answers

In Graph 2 of the study, the word “methadone”' is revealed to be the most commonly searched word for this topic, with “symptoms” second, followed by “meth” and “methamphetamine”. Other notable mentions include inquiries for pharmacological solutions/treatment for methadone and meth withdrawal symptoms, as indicated by the infrequent, but present terms “hydrocodone”, “vicodin” and “clonidine”.

Methadone Withdrawal - Prevalent Words and Concepts Study - Graph 2

Top 100 words used in methadone withdrawal searches
(Top 1000 can be found at Top 100 methadone withdrawal exact phrases and top 1,000 concepts/words - Graph 5)

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	0		25,000
methadone	23765
symptoms	8131
meth	3523
methamphetamine	1179
from	962
crystal	592
length	167
vitamins	146
acute	93
post	93
addict	91
addiction	82
symptons	79
neonatal	73
using	56
alcohol	56
help	46
stages	36
blog	36
sleep	36
babies	22
how	21
side	18
drug	18
treatment	17
boards	16
message	16
duration	16
fever	14
vicodin	14
count	14
clonidine	14
long	13
what	12
hydrocodone	11
syndrome	11
stopping	10
last	10
signs	10
remedies	10
platelet	10
supplements	10
getting	8
rid	8
severe	8
management	8
home	8
infants	7
symptom	7
stories	6
zinc	6
magnesium	6
suboxone	6
naltrexone	6
why	5
born	5
treating	5
mg	5
affects	5
treat	5
expect	4
depression	4
percocets	4
blood	4
low	4
process	4
dose	4
remedy	4
newborns	3
cold	3
causes	3
stroke	3
turkey	3
money	3
months	3
darvocet	3
death	3
newborn	3
vertigo	3
pain	3
detoxification	3
white	3
substitute	2
when	2
60	2
ultram	2
6	2
drugs	2
taking	2
darvacet	2
dangers	2
natural	2
forum	2
deadly?	2
meds	2
counter	2
ease	2
take	2
klonopin	2
city	2
cocaine	2
easing	2
sauna	2
oklahoma	2
dealing	2
people	2
anger	2
detox	2
opiate	2
time	2
used	2
shoplifting	2
ways	2
personal	2
lead	2
new	2
florida	2
	0		25,000

Montreal Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center Explores the Future of Addictions Research

Clear Haven Center, an alcohol and drug rehab center near Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is one of the first addictions treatment centers to sponsor search frequency research. Data collected is not only utilized for program development, it is available to other health professionals committed to the advancement of addictions research and treatment.

Methadone Withdrawal - Prevalent Search Topics, Continued - Graph 3

Top 31 - 110 two and three word combinations
(Top 30 are in Graph 1 above)

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	0		20
withdrawal symptoms of methamphetamine	12
methadone withdrawal syndrome	11
stopping methadone	10
methadone withdrawal treatment	10
hydrocodone for methadone withdrawal	10
signs of meth	10
stopping methadone withdrawal	10
vicodin for methadone withdrawal	10
clonidine for methadone withdrawal	10
withdrawal signs of meth	10
withdrawal symptoms of methadone	10
withdrawal of meth	9
methadone withdrawal symptoms duration	8
crystal methamphetamine	6
severe methamphetamine withdrawal	6
side effects of methadone	6
withdrawal symptoms methadone	6
side effects methadone withdrawal	5
methadone withdrawal length	5
methamphetamine withdrawal symptoms	5
remedies for meth withdrawal	5
side effects methadone	5
treating methadone withdrawal	5
side affects methadone withdrawal	5
withdrawal methadone	5
suboxone for methadone withdrawal	4
suboxone for methadone	4
meth withdrawal infants	4
addiction withdrawal	4
methadone addiction	4
symptoms of crystal meth	4
methadone symptoms withdrawal	4
methadone withdrawal depression	4
meth use and withdrawal	4
naltrexone methadone withdrawal	4
methadone symptoms	4
babies born with methamphetamine	4
withdrawal symptons of methadone	4
methadone withdrawal stories	4
methadone addiction withdrawal	4
vicodin methadone withdrawal	4
symptoms of meth addiction	4
treatment of methamphetamine withdrawal	4
treatment of methamphetamine	4
methadone withdrawal in newborns	3
help methadone withdrawal	3
duration of methadone withdrawal	3
duration of methadone	3
methamphetamine withdrawal vertigo	3
dose methadone	3
meth detoxification	3
crystal meth in babies	3
meth detoxification withdrawal	3
percocets for methadone withdrawal	3
clonidine methadone	2
symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal	2
symptons of methadone withdrawal	2
cold turkey methadone withdrawal	2
take vicodin	2
mg methadone	2
clonidine methadone withdrawal	2
methadone withdrawal forum	2
severe methamphetamine withdrawal vertigo	2
meds for meth withdrawal	2
methadone withdrawal in infants	2
why methadone	2
taking vicodin	2
meth withdrawal remedies	2
treatment for methadone	2
methadone substitute withdrawal	2
treatment for methadone withdrawal	2
why methadone causes withdrawal	2
dealing with methadone withdrawal	2
methadone 60 mg	2
methadone substitute	2
personal stories methadone withdrawal	2
darvacet in methadone withdrawal	2
methadone 60 mg withdrawal	2
cold turkey methadone	2
methadone length of withdrawal	2
	0		20