In accordance with the policies, rules, and regs of this forum I'll refrain from mentioning names of medications. What I can do is share my experience with you.
The side effects scared the hell out of me too, but what I came to learn is that everyone will react differently to AD's, and I'm sure that's true with just about any type of medication, right? The first two didn't work for me, the third one was the charm. If something doesn't feel right, be honest with your prescriber and try something different. Keep in mind though that it generally takes a while for AD's to be fully effective, so it wasn't comfortable for the first few months. When I took them as prescribed and followed the advice of my nurse practitioner, I was able to taper off them after a year and there were no side effects whatsoever from stopping.
As far as side effects while I was taking them, for the first few months I'd feel groggy, foggy, "cobwebs on the brain" and lethargic. That's the best way I can describe it. That feeling never went fully away but it did get much better, and part of it might've been normal exhaustion and tiredness. The best thing I can tell you is that I feel 100% better than I did before I started taking AD's. No regrets at all about being on them.
Hope this information helps.
Scott