Why vitamin D testing is so hard to let go

Just read an NEJM piece on curbing unnecessary vitamin D testing. It put words to something I run into a lot in clinic.

A patient with vague symptoms, no clear indication for testing, asks for a vitamin D level. Sometimes they insist. Sometimes there are old values to compare to. I know the evidence doesn’t support testing or supplementing for most of these complaints. But the loop is tempting- find a low number, correct it, recheck, see improvement on paper. That measurable change can feel reassuring to both patient and clinician, even when it doesn’t translate to real benefit.

That tension is harder to manage than the guideline itself..

How do you navigate this when patients want a number to act on?