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A few years ago, I started taking way too much thyroid medication. I wanted to see what the effects would be. Call me reckless. Call me stupid. I was certainly guilty of being both. But at the time, I was just curious what was going to happen.

At the peak of my experiment, I was taking TEN grains of Thiroyd per day. And if that wasn't enough, I'd pop a 100 mcg tablet of levothyroxine on the same day as well.

So what are the effects of taking so much thyroid medication? Well, I can report to you first-hand that the effects aren't fun. Over-medicating on thyroid medication will give you the following colourful symptoms:

High heart rate

One effect of taking too much thyroid medication is that your heart beats faster. This isn't too surprising as T3 directly stimulates the heart to contract (see the scientific article Thyroid and the Heart by Ira Grais).

What no-one tells you is how scary it is. My heart was beating at over 100 beats per minute at one point, I remember. I hadn't been doing exercise or anything like that. I was probably just sitting on the sofa. My high heart rate scared me enough to immediately decrease my dosage.

Stronger heart beats

Thyroid medication makes your heartbeat stronger too. When I overdosed on thyroid medication, my girlfriend mentioned that she could see my heart beating through my t-shirt. In other words, my heart was pounding so hard that it was causing my t-shirt to move. I'm surprised I didn't have a heart attack.

Dry skin

I've always had dry skin, but overdosing on thyroid medication made it worse. The dryness was especially had on my beard and scalp – if I rubbed my head, a seemingly never-ending flurry of dry skin would fall to the floor. Come to think of it, maybe I should have put my condition to good use by working as a human snow machine. I could have stood above a mall Santa and rubbed my head and beard to add some festive cheer.

Feeling hot

Thyroid hormones are responsible for regulating body temperature. This means that if your body is low on thyroid hormones, then you freeze like an Eskimo's ballsack in the winter, whereas if your body has too many thyroid hormones, then you burn like an Eskimo sunbathing in Spain. In my case, I was taking too much thyroid medication, so I often felt too hot, even on cold days. But still I took more, like throwing coals into a furnace.

Insomnia

Another fun symptom of being overstimulated on thyroid medication is insomnia. I found it hard to sleep, basically. I would go to bed at midnight and then spend the next three to fours hours lying awake, unable to sleep. And while I lay in the dark, I'd feel my heart going THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP and I'd pray that I wouldn't have a heart attack during the night. Fun times.

Tinnitus

I've always had tinnitus, but taking too much thyroid medication made it much worse. I could hear the tinnitus constantly, even in relatively loud places, like outside on the street. I don't wish tinnitus on anyone, and in fact, I've even heard of cases of people killing themselves because of tinnitus. Tinnitus certainly isn't a problem to take lightly and I'd even rate it as the worst side effect of overdosing on thyroid medication.

More energy

So far I've listed many negative aspects of being overmedicated on thyroid medication. However, the truth is that being overmedication isn't all bad.

One positive aspect is that you'll have more energy than normal. It feels like being high on a stimulant, like caffeine. In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Thyroid Disease, Dr Alan Christianson describes it at feeling like "you're perpetually drinking a big pot of black coffee". He goes on to say that:

Some people actually enjoy being hyperthyroid at first. During its initial, milder stages you can become unusually productive, especially at low-level tasks like cleaning out the garage.

Dr. Alan Christianson in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Thyroid Disease

Having a lot of energy isn't all good though. Your body won't want to stay still for one thing. You'll be constantly moving around, feeling like you're getting a lot done but never able to relax.

Anxiety and panic attacks

Other issues that can occur are anxiety and panic attacks. Dr Alan Christianson experienced these himself and called it "horrific" and "awful". Somehow though, I never reached the stage of having anxiety panic attacks, for which I count myself lucky.

Conclusion

It's probably best not to over-stimulate yourself as I did. After all, no-one wants to die in their 20s from a heart attack. So, do the wise thing and stick to a reasonable dose.