So you're likely slow to adapt, good to know later down the road so that you wont think something doesn't work, just keep at it and see what happens. Interesting that you mention feeling of emptiness which BO alone could fix? Because I felt same when starting HRT and when I added BO, it felt like something that was previously missing somehow was there, as if it did some sort of balancing that convnetional HRT alone didn't do. I wish I knew every tiny scientific detail of what and how, but that's what it did.

I think it might be a good idea to do both, not only for body changes, but for the mental effect too. I'm planning on keeping low dose BO going even when I'll ease down on most NBE stuff, its just that good.

Are you plannign staying on pills for your estradiol for now or thinking about switching methods at some point? If you're consistent, buccal or sublingual estrogen should work quite well, but obviously it can't have the same percentage not metabolising through liver as injection or gel. Just thinking about the health effects as transdermal or injected is always better. You have a very good reason to be careful with your liver health so this might be something to think about. Another nice little trick is milk thistle which boosts prolactin and is said to be good for liver function. I keep worrying about this myself as I used to drink quite heavily when I was younger, thankfully not to the point of addiction.