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Comment by xxs | Hacker News Reader

Yes beta cells killed by the immune system is Type I.

It's also important to point out that Type I only makes up about 5% of diabetes cases. Though a cure for either would drastically improve a lot of peoples lives.

Is type II treatable by lifestyle changes, or are the effects permanent once it occurs?

Type 2 is treatable by lifestyle changes. The specifics can very person to person based on genes, the time for which you have had it and so on, it is largely possible to use lifestyle modification to get off medication and have your average sugars under control and basically enter the pre-diabetic stage.

At http://www.janacare.com/, we are using technology to help this process.

I can't even imagine what my life would be like without T1D. I've had it for almost 20 years now. The constant monitoring, the general feeling of crappiness, the extreme costs. I spend thousands of dollars a year on the costs.

Any given sickness can have catastrophic effects as well. When I have a flu, I usually check myself into the hospital for monitoring. Blood sugar fluctuates hard, and its difficult to keep food down. My dad's best friend died from exactly this, a normal flu that disrupted eating patterns.

Literally ANY mistake can be life threatening. Over the last year I have been required emergency care twice due to low blood sugars. I would pay anything, do anything to have this go away.

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