You say you weren't absorbing your gel but that it did get rid of the symptoms you were taking it for.
Did you have a blood test showing poor absorption?
As others have suggested you may have just experienced a significant real term change in dose moving between preparations so I would definitely think about adjusting rather than abandoning treatment.
Whether you are now on "too much" or "too little" for your needs isn't easy to guess from the symptoms you describe, so it is either trial and error or you could get another blood test to guide you.
I personally don't think high estrogen levels are a major physiological cause of anxiety because young women, particularly pregnant women would be the ones most affected, not mature women on a fairly conservative dose of MHT.
At 55 it is way too soon to say hormone therapy has done nothing for you, particularly if you haven't had a DEXA scan, and whilst nobody has a crystal ball, you want to make sure 80 year old you will be happy with the decisions you make in the present.