One concrete data point for the thread. Worth stating the units and the reference range whenever you post a number here. A large fraction of the apparent disagreement in these threads is two people using different units and both being right.

One thing that is still open after TrialNerd_Beth’s answer:

How long did you give it before you decided it was working?

FDA_TrackerJim said:

Worth stating the units and the reference range whenever you post a number here.

There is a second half to this that has not been said yet. Most of what circulates confidently in this community traces back to one summary of one study, and the qualifier was dropped somewhere in the third retelling.

That is the short version; the long version is somebody else's post.

Closing the loop on my own question.

Update, and it is the boring outcome: nothing was wrong. The measurement I was reading had moved less than its own week-to-week variation, which somebody said upthread and I did not believe.

Dr.GastroMayo said:

Most of what circulates confidently in this community traces back to one summary of one study, and the qualifier was dropped somewhere in the third…

Correct, and worth adding that it is reversible. Nothing being described here is a one-way door, which changes how cautious it is reasonable to be.

That is the short version; the long version is somebody else's post.