Accidental overdose. What should I do? Yesterday instead of 75 mcg Levo I took 125 mcg.

[Bmthbelle]

Stupid, stupid me! I was staying with friends and was distracted by a 5 yr old and on the phone while I was packing. I had a cup of tea in my hand, I was trying to remember to pack pills and take them home. Somehow my crazy brain got confused and " must remember to take pills" meant I swallowed a 50mcg levo. I went and had a bowl of fibre cereal. I visited local chemist but he was useless. I knew more than him. I wanted to try and minimise absorption. Eventually I took a couple of Rennie's. Today I didn't know what to take! Instead of 75, I have taken 50mcg pill and broke 25mcg pill in half. Is that still too much? Should I try eating something to reduce absorption again?

[farmerfester]

Hi please stop worying 50mg extra will have done you no harm may even have done you good enjoy the rest off your weekend g

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to farmerfester]

Agreed!

In the history of levothyroxine it is very hard to find anyone significantly harmed by a one-off overdose. There are some but they are few in number.

People have taken huge overdoses (like a whole bottle of pills) and, though they might feel bad, no lasting harm done in most cases. Children are especially resilient.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/241...

It is continual overdosing that causes harm - like the vet who took her dog's pills instead of her own and so was on something silly like eight times her proper dose for weeks. Or people with hyperthyroidism who can be producing massively more T4 and T3 than they need every day, sometimes for years, until treated.

amjmed.com/article/S0002-93...

Levothyroxine overdose tends to have its biggest impact around 48 hours after taking them. Treatment, if needed, tends to be supportive - prevent overheating, ensure no dehydration, maybe paracetamol, beta blockers (usually propranolol) to help keep heart rate down.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Rod

[loopymoo]

If you've done everything in your power to prevent conversion/absorption yesterday then carry on with 75mcg today. If you're REALLY worried then take 25 today and then in theory that's 150 over the two days (which is fine, doctors sometimes tell people to take alternate doses if the daily dose is unsplittable). But, to be honest, I'd just carry on with the 75 today and see if it gives me a bit more oomph .... probably not though.

[Hidden]

I think there's probably far more of us who have played around with our doses than haven't, to no obvious effect. I recently doubled up my 20 mcg T3 to 40mcg, in addition to my 125mcg T4 for a few days. My temp increased by about 0.03! But other than that, no palpitation, nothing. You will be absolutely fine.

[Bmthbelle]

Thanks for the advice everybody. I have a busy week at work ahead and was hoping to minimise a day of feeling rough. When my dose is wrong, I find it hard to work full time. I will keep going and make sure I don't do stupid things in future!

[Hidden in reply to Bmthbelle]

Gosh my GP accidentally prescribed 100mcg instead of 50mcg. I take 100mcg one day then 75mcg following day.I didn't check the packet and was double dosing for a week.I did feel the effects, very very hot for over a week.

I sometimes miss a dose ( very rarely ) but it won't do me any harm.

PS.Stop apologizing,you did the right thing to ask, better safe than sorry.

We all learn from our mistakes, so its fine.

Take care of yourself.