No question is daft on here - well....within reason
!
The rubbing of gel....
Well - that is one gel I haven't used - but I have used Sandrena, Testogel and Testim.
It is an interesting question. The instructions for Oestrogel ( as for Testogel) say to spread the gel onto the right area of skin and leave to dry, whereas for Sandrena and Testim they say to rub it in. The gels are all formulated differently - with Testogel and Oestrogel both made by Besins and exactly the same fillers. The others are different. Testogel ( as I presume as Oestrogel) just dries and soaks in, but Sandrena and Testim leave a sticky residue after the initial evaporation which takes somewhat longer to dry.
There is no problem with rubbing in - but it will be that the instructions on dosage will be based on a consistent method of application which in the case of Oestrogel and Testogel is by spreading, and studies looking at oestrogen levels.
I gather some gynaes do suggest rubbing it in like Sandrena and although the Oestrogel is much more slippery - it may be that higher concentrations are attained by doing it this way? I haven't come across research into this, only about the area the gel is spread onto. The most important thing is that the oestrogen needs to be absorbed before it dries so if it dries too quickly more of the active ingredient will remain on the surface, as I understand.
Women are so variable in how much oestrogen they absorb from the different methods that as Stellajane says - you have to do what's best for you - but if more is absorbed by rubbing I would be tempted to start off gentle and slow in your case (ie spread), as you said your periods were still very regular so you may well still be producing a lot of oestrogen - unless the aim in your case is to suppress ovulation and hence the dramatic hormonal fluctuations with a high oestrogen dose (after your op)?
The other thing is, whatever you decide ( rubbing or spreading) to use the same part of the body (left and right) as absorption will differ depending on your skin in different areas.
Hurdity x