Final answer:
Taking too much levothyroxine can cause symptoms of hyperthyroidism, including heart palpitations, excessive sweating, weight loss, and exophthalmia. An overactive thyroid can lead to an increased metabolic rate, and treatment may swing to hypothyroidism with symptoms like fatigue and weight gain. Monitoring thyroid hormone levels is critical.
Step-by-step explanation:
Too much levothyroxine, a medication prescribed for thyroid conditions, can lead to symptoms of hyperthyroidism. These symptoms are due to an elevated level of thyroid hormone in the bloodstream and include heart palpitations, excessive sweating, diarrhea, weight loss despite increased appetite, muscle weakness, and unusual sensitivity to heat. Other signs can be protruding eyes, known as exophthalmia, and the development of a goiter which is an enlarged thyroid gland visible as swelling in the neck. Hyperthyroidism can also cause an increased metabolic rate, leading to excess body heat and sweating, along with digestive disturbances such as diarrhea, as well as weight loss due to the heightened metabolism despite the increase in appetite. On the other hand, the overtreated thyroid can swing to hypothyroidism, especially after interventions like surgery or radioactive iodine treatment, resulting in fatigue, coldness, weight gain, slow heart rate, and other symptoms. Thus, careful monitoring of thyroid hormone levels is crucial for individuals taking levothyroxine.