I understand your confusion Susan. I may be faced with the same decision soon - pill, patch or gel to go with the Mirena coil.
I was of the mind that the gel may be easier to control and quicker rather than go back to the doctor and change the pill dosage or patch dosage. By adding or removing one of the pump measures you could tweak it?
Like Val M I was a little unsure
exactly where it should be applied.
I think I was less concerned about strength of ingredients. I assumed they could differ just by method of delivery - although was not sure exactly how they would differ and tt
felt more important to me to find a patch or gel with quantity to suit rather than take a pill.
Well, my thinking made sense to me anyway

My friend has been on HRT since 17 when she had cancer and everything removed. She has had the implant which is no longer made in the UK and has just moved onto the gel, recommended by the gynaecologists. She has not had any problems so far.
Fx