"i&#039;ve taken effexor/venlafaxine for at least 18  years &amp; i&#039;ve never felt the desire to change. i have pretty severe depression as well as anxiety. since venlafaxine treats both conditions, it has worked well. i feel best when i take it quite early in the morning, with luck, an hour before i have to get up--mornings are the worst time for me. i advise getting a dog or two (i have 2 rottweilers). they rouse me to let them out to pee around dawn so that&#039;s when i swallow my venlafaxine. by 7 or 7:30 am, the meds are working &amp; the dogs are making me laugh. i cannot recommend dogs enough as a complementary add-on to venlafaxine for depression/anxiety. truly, they are &#039;therapy dogs&#039; for our kind. very worth it."