Iodine is it safe to take high amount or not?????????

I have been interested in taking Iodine for sometime, in fact I have already bought Lugols 5% but have a couple of questions before taking it. I also have all the supporting vitamins and minerals to take with it.

Its very confusing reading different opinions on the internet. I have read that we only need a tablespoon of Iodine our whole lifetime and any more can damage the thyroid, is this in any way true?

Also I have read that taking too much Iodine can damage the thyroid?

I would like to work my way up to 50mg in about a month and stay there for 3 months and drop down to 12.5mg a day is this a good way to go?

I also have never had any hormones (t4 or t3) checked out, do I need to if I have all the symptoms of Iodine deficiency? I dont eat any foods high in Iodine and I have all of the symptoms of being deficient.

Overall I just want to know if I can do any harm or permanent damage from taking Iodine.