Hi warwick
It's important to find the "sweet" spot regarding oestrogen dose, symptoms and general well-being which can be tricky.
I use patches and they are just fine at 50 mcg (obvs I would love to be able to replicate cyclical levels I experienced when younger but failing that.....) - give me a very consistent dose and no untoward symptoms. Would love to have a bit more oomph though but the interplay and balance of all our hormones is complex - eg my testosterone levels are probably low too.
Re conti HRT - it depends on how the progestogen makes you feel. Personally I would not want to take progesterone all the time, especially not a synthetic one but if you are OK on norethisterone, maybe you would be OK on Evorel conti. You say though, "I can't say it suits me". Therefore maybe not a good idea. If you want to go on conti then maybe try out a cycle with a different prog eg Utrogestan first to see if you are OK on it, otherwise, if you can cope with bleeds - why not keep on with them??
It also might be tricky just to suddenly go from 4 pumps to 50 mcg though - but you could always top up with a little gel for a while?
Hurdity x