I’m a Type 1 diabetic (diagnosed in my 30s) and have been living with it for about a decade now. This really isn’t a “what if” situation. I know what will happen. I will die or hopefully just become incredibly ill.
It’s not really scary at all.
It’s just something I live with and prepare for as best I can. The one thing that I’ve learned from living with Type 1 is that all you can do is make the best decision you can in any given moment. My favorite doctor told me that diabetes is a disease that is all about making decisions. So is life, I guess.
"Identifying most people with T1D continue to secrete varying amounts of insulin and C-peptides for decades after initial diagnosis:
https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/dr-faustmans-controv...
See below for my deeper response on these and other issues:
It takes a genetic predisposition and a trigger - perhaps a virus? - for your immune system to start eating your pancreas' insulin-producing cells.
The old labels of "juvenile diabetes" etc. are as unhelpful as the notion it's caused by obesity.
I guess this is somewhat similar. Especially in places where your health insurance isn't a given.