I have been taking adderall for about 4.5 years. I started with 10mg IR and am now taking 50 mg IR.

I tried the XR for a while about 2 years ago but it made my insomnia a lot worse and I just overall didn't really like it (30mg XR in the morning, combined with 10 mg IR midday and again around 3pm)

Since then I have been taking 50 mg IR per day (20mg in the AM, 20mg midday, and 15mg around 3-4pm) but lately it doesn't seem like its working as well.

Should I ask my doctor about another medication or should I ask him about increasing my current dose?

I am hesitant to switch to another med b/c I have had such good results with adderall.

Some doctors may set a 60 mg daily limit on adderall. I think that is based on recommended maximum dosages for children and its often wrongly applied to adults to. An adult conceivable needs higher doses. Has your weight increased in 4.5 years much? The dose to maintain the same plasma level would go up proportionally to your weight increase.

(Current weight)/(weight when first on 50 mg) x 50 mg = weight adjusted dose.

Amphetamines can sometimes poop out on people when the brain down regulates receptors. Generally the lower the dose the longer it takes before downregulation is problematic. The slow downregulation from long term use varies widely person to person. 4 years in your case is on the long side i've seen a number of people posting about it @ ~2-3 years.

A few posts talk about people switching to mephendaliate for 1-2 months and then back to amphetamines with success. However not sure how that works since its basicly the same receptors. Taking a long break like 30-60 days seems to work for sure. I personally couldn't handle unmedicated add for that long. There is also alot of discussion about med holidays to slow/prevent downregulation.

Check with your doctor an increase your dosage may be all you need. However if it quickly looses effectivness at a higher dosage then you may need to take a break or try somthing else.

BobC

Amphetamine dosage is not based upon weight. Definitly not in a linear fashion.

PH for example affects absorbtion by as much as 30%. An individual's metabolism / liver fuction is also a much more important factor then weight.

BobC