What to do when doctor hasn't refilled benzos in timely matter? Is it malpractice? He

I've been on Xanax for 4 years now at 2mg. 4/day. I'm on day 5 of withdrawals. It's pure hell. To begin with, my doctor never told me they were addictive or coming off of them would be hell. I knew nothing until I had a grand mal seizure from losing my bottle for 25 hours. Grand mal seizures can kill you. The only way I can ever get a hold of my doctor is through email. She has an office assistant but she never ever answers the phone. She only replies to voicemails. I was due for my refill on Thursday. The day I ran out. She doesn't work on Fridays but she's replied to me countless times on the weekend to schedule and stuff. So I know she reads her emails outside of her office. Thursday, she emailed me asking for my pharmacy information so she could call them in but I heard nothing since. I live in texas and when it barely gets even icy/snowy, everything shuts down. She hasn't been in her office this last two days and it's expected to have an inch of ice tomorrow, so I have a very strong feeling she won't be in her office tomorrow either. But I'm going through serious withdrawals at this point. I'm terrified of having another seizure and dying this time. It sets off a chain reaction in my brain and I now keep getting super suicidal because I can't stand the withdrawals. It makes me feel like I'm just a drug addict but it was involuntary addiction since I was not known about benzos when she first started prescribing them. If I would have known what I know and feel now, there's no way I would have taken them. I'm dreading waking up in the morning (I'm taking 60mg of melotonin just to sleep a few hours at a time) because as soon as I wake up, if I have no email response, I call the office to hear the voicemail prompt saying they're closed due to inclement weather. My boyfriend wants to contact a lawyer tomorrow if she isn't responding, knowing I need a refill on a drug that can kill me from withdrawals. Not even including the countless hours I've spent this last almost 6 days crying, not being able to sleep, extreme restlessness in my body (to the point where it's painful), freezing to death with heavy layers on and sweating at the same time, being suicidal, increased hallucinations and severely depressed etc. I'm not even including my anxiety in that list. I feel like I'm a drug addict.

Is there ANYTHING I can do? Besides suffer and wait for her to go back to her office and hope I don't have another seizure? Is that malpractice to go that long without a response to your patient? I've never ever had any issues before. She normally refills them the same day I send in my refill request. If not, it's the next day tops. I've never had to go through this. Going from 8mg a day to nothing. What do I do? I've tried all kinds of "at home benzo withdrawals helps" but nothing helps. It makes me feel worse exercising, I can't sleep it away, I can't eat. All I can do is think about how badly I want to die to escape this feeling. And no, the hospital is not an option. I was there at the very end of dec and I will never ever go back. They got sold out and it was pretty much jail. I've been there 7 times before and it was such a good hospital until the last time. All new staff who act annoyed that they have to do their jobs and kept threatening everyone who was anything but submissive to be sent to the psychiatric intensive care unit which is 100x's worse in my experience.

I don't know what to do besides feel like a junkie and want to die to escape the withdrawals. If my doctor doesn't respond by day 6, what do I do? I'm completely desperate. Should I let my boyfriend contact a lawyer on my behalf for malpractice? Does anyone have any advice for very high benzo dependency?

I can't take this.

In order to fit malpractice there has to be a connected injury or death, breach of duty, etc. If it's that bad go to the ED.

4 years of Alprazolam?! Why have you been on it that long, depression? No wonder you feel bad.... If you do get more i'd ween off slowly and trash that....

"A study found that of 42 patients treated with alprazolam, up to a third of long-term users of the benzodiazepine drug alprazolam (Xanax) develop depression. Studies have shown that long-term use of benzodiazepines and the benzodiazepine receptor agonist nonbenzodiazepine Z drugs are associated with causing depression as well as a markedly raised suicide risk and an overall increased mortality risk."

Accidently pressed send before finished.

My doctors prescribes it for panic disorder and to help deal with my schizoaffective disorder because antipsychotics have no effect on me and I can't take antidepressants and pain medication at the same time. (Serotonin sydrome. There's a very rare chance you can drop dead mixing the two, so I gave up my antidepressants so my pain wouldn't keep increasing my depression.). With my anxiety meds, I can deal with everything. I've had 24/7 hallucinations for going on 7 years now and depression since I was 13. I can deal with my hallucinations and depression with my anxiety meds but without them, everything is 50 times worse. If I had my meds, I would be perfectly "fine". As fine as I'll get.

Well your on a pretty large dose daily , I can certainly understand that your going through hellish withdraws. Of course this weather is making things more complicated. Since this is the first time your having any problems getting it refilled, its really not malpractice , I think its more a case of just weather issues and the inability of the Pdoc ordering the medication, It would be very difficult for a Pdoc to just automatically refill someones Xanax script with out seeing that he does indeed have you on that med at that dose with out being able to review your records and med lists, Not Pdocs can't remember off the top of there heads what meds a patient is routinely takeing.... that is where in all cases if you are unable to reach your Pdoc You should seek medical help at the ER.

So you had the seizure sometime in the past? I assume you sought out medical help at the time. Did you let your Pdoc know what happened? so its in your medical file?

Ideally a Pdoc should explain the medications and what they can and cant do and how they will effect your body and what is the risk of not having access to the medication. Did you not research the medication when you first started.. I highly doubt that you were put on 2mg . 4 times a day right off the bat, most all Pdocs start out at a low dose once or twice a day. So when and why did your dose increase?

In reality since you are at day 5 of withdraws off a high dose benzio you really should go to the ER for treatment , maybe they can offer to give you a few days worth just to get you through until you can get things straight with your Pdoc. I would advise you take your current bottle so they can see your actually on this medication if not they may be concerned that your a drug seeker as that is a rather high dose daily. Or the ER doctor may feel you should be in patient in just a regular hospital bed or maybe want you to go IP so that you can stay safe and watched closely so you won't be so at risk for seizures and they can give you medications that will help keep you safe.

You should have a discussion with your Pdoc about what happened and come up with a plan in case you find yourself in the same situation in the future.

I'm sorry this has happened to you.