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.
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.
"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:
I guess this is somewhat similar. Especially in places where your health insurance isn't a given.