Gabapentin vs Lamotrigine: side effects in FDA adverse event reports
At a glance
| Gabapentin | Lamotrigine | |
|---|---|---|
| Drug class | – | Anti-epileptic Agent, Mood Stabilizer |
| Brand names | – | – |
| FAERS reports | 362,501 | 130,963 |
| Serious | 63% | 72% |
| Death outcome | 34,219 | 11,279 |
| Boxed warning | No | Yes SERIOUS SKIN RASHES Lamotrigine can cause serious rashes requiring hospitalization and discontinuation of treatment. The incidence of these rashes, which have i |
Signals both drugs share
No strong shared signal after removing coding and lab terms.
Labeled signals distinctive to Gabapentin
- Infusion site pain — n=1,220, PRR 6.0 Labeled (related wording)
- Infusion site erythema — n=754, PRR 5.7 Labeled (related wording)
- Infusion site swelling — n=569, PRR 5.8 Labeled (related wording)
- Suspected suicide — n=441, PRR 5.8 Labeled (related wording)
- Infusion site infection — n=232, PRR 6.5 Labeled (related wording)
- Accidental death — n=229, PRR 8.0 Labeled (related wording)
Labeled signals distinctive to Lamotrigine
- Epilepsy — n=3,415, PRR 20.1 Labeled — boxed warning
- Stevens-johnson syndrome — n=2,615, PRR 21.2 Labeled — boxed warning
- Duodenal ulcer perforation — n=824, PRR 20.1 Labeled (related wording)
- Petit mal epilepsy — n=696, PRR 25.3 Labeled (related wording)
- Peripheral venous disease — n=638, PRR 30.3 Labeled (related wording)
- Complex partial seizures — n=173, PRR 28.9 Labeled (related wording)
- Seizure cluster — n=92, PRR 20.6 Labeled adverse reaction
- Change in seizure presentation — n=86, PRR 24.0 Labeled (related wording)
Common questions
Which has more reported side effects, Gabapentin or Lamotrigine?
Gabapentin has 362,501 FAERS reports and Lamotrigine 130,963. More reports does not mean more dangerous: volume follows how widely and how long a drug has been used, prescription vs over-the-counter status, and publicity. The seriousness share (63% vs 72%) is a better like-for-like signal of the kind of problems reported.
Which side effects do Gabapentin and Lamotrigine share?
They share no strong flagged signal after artifacts and lab terms are removed.
Is Gabapentin or Lamotrigine safer?
FAERS cannot answer that: it has no denominator and no comparator. Use this page to see which risks are already on each label and which signals are unlabeled, then check the prescribing information and your clinician for your situation.
Sources: openFDA FAERS pair statistics (OpenPV build 2026-09-14), FDA labels via openFDA, openFDA count queries for seriousness and deaths. Pair chosen because it is a commonly searched comparison. Generated 2026-10-08.