Gabapentin vs Topiramate: side effects in FDA adverse event reports
At a glance
| Gabapentin | Topiramate | |
|---|---|---|
| Drug class | – | – |
| Brand names | – | – |
| FAERS reports | 362,501 | 91,049 |
| Serious | 63% | 69% |
| Death outcome | 34,219 | 6,839 |
| Boxed warning | No | No |
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 Topiramate
- Peripheral venous disease — n=620, PRR 41.5 Labeled (related wording)
- Angle closure glaucoma — n=597, PRR 68.7 Labeled adverse reaction
- Myopia — n=303, PRR 33.1 Labeled adverse reaction
- Choroidal effusion — n=198, PRR 74.5 Labeled (related wording)
- Medication overuse headache — n=130, PRR 40.5 Labeled (related wording)
- Cleft lip and palate — n=127, PRR 28.6 Labeled (related wording)
- Cleft lip — n=106, PRR 30.7 Labeled adverse reaction
- Complex partial seizures — n=99, PRR 21.7 Labeled (related wording)
Common questions
Which has more reported side effects, Gabapentin or Topiramate?
Gabapentin has 362,501 FAERS reports and Topiramate 91,049. 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 69%) is a better like-for-like signal of the kind of problems reported.
Which side effects do Gabapentin and Topiramate share?
They share no strong flagged signal after artifacts and lab terms are removed.
Is Gabapentin or Topiramate 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.