For most of my life, I never fully understood what was going on with my body or hormones each month other than the symptoms I’d experience. I had extremely painful periods, but the week leading up to menstruation was always the most dreaded due to major moodiness, carb cravings, bloating, breast tenderness and fatigue.I hated dealing with the second half of my cycle, but I wasn’t aware another way of living with it existed. I thought this was just the name of the game, the way it always would be up until menopause.