Anyone else have a sibling who also has Bronchiectasis?

@mustlovedogs Not a sibling, but my Mom and my daughter. We were all longtime asthmatics, lifelong nonsmokers. Mom and I had many bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis, daughter has long Covid and was diagnosed a year after the virus. We also all have multiple types of arthritis, people with rheumatoid/ ANA positive types can also get BE (spouse has BR from his seronegative arthritis too.)
My original pulmonologist never had a spouse pair with bronchiectasis, but did have multigenerational cases. We also had pseudomonas at the same time - his cleared easily but mine took time. He never had MAC, but I did, and he isn't prescribed any airway clearance because his BE is only mild, non-nodular and in the lowest lobes, characteristic of the arthritic form.

Incidentally, Mom lived years with bronchiectasis and probably MAC, but died in her mid-eighties of other unrelated causes.

I am very interested to hear the first-degree relative connections and the connection with inflammatory (and autoimmune) conditions. I watched the Dr Falkinworth (sp?) video posted here recently & he speaks about the model of BE as an inflammatory condition. I have Crohn's which is auto immune & well known to be associated w BE. I also have seronegative arthritis -- always dx as osteoarthritis but pain resolved almost completely when I started humira (immune modulator)for the Crohn's 8 yrs ago.
Long intro to say, Sue, I hadn't heard of referring to an arthritis form of BE & mostly in the lower lobes, which mine is. Are there more references & sites to learn about this? Thanks for so much sharing of info & experience here.

Both of my sisters have/had bronchiectasis.

My older sister passed at age 69 of complications from bronchiectasis, anemia, and pneumonia in 2009. (I think she may have had MAC too but not diagnosed).

My younger sister (age 75) has been diagnosed with bronchiectasis but does not seek help beyond that.

I have both diseases but, after many trials and errors with the meds, I am on no meds. I do airway clearance twice daily and walk at least a mile and a half daily. I have been on a Mediterranean diet for over 20 years and at age 80 my quality of life is acceptable. I have many hobbies to keep me less focused on a condition we are more likely to die with rather than die of.

I don’t seek quantity of years, just day to day enjoyment of life.

We are all different. This has worked/is working for me — and may not for you. Best thoughts go out to you on your journey.

Oops the video I referred to above is from Dr Chalmers, not Falkinworth & was posted here a few days ago by Linda Esposito (thank you!).
Link is here:

Hi, my mum has bronchiectasis, I have bronchiectasis, and my younger sister now diagnosed with it. My sister and myself also have MAC. My mum is being tested for the same. I believe bronchiectasis can be hereditary but doubt MAC is.
It is stated most people with MAC have bronchiectasis too. So we are more susceptible to picking up Viruses and bacterial infections. We have been taught to airway clearance huffing not coughing. Hope this helps!

I have bronchiectasis and Mac and 2 of my sisters have bronchiectasis. One is 70 and was diagnosed about 8 years ago. The other one is 60 and she was diagnosed 4 or 5 years ago. We’ve all had pneumonia and I’ve always wondered if scarring in our lungs is the source of the bronchiectasis. Genetic testing came up with nothing.
I’m interested in Dr Chalmers calling this an inflammatory disease and I’ll watch that video for more information.

(don’t seek quantity of years, just day to day enjoyment of life.)
Thank you pmmar1, I love that! I’ve been feeling down lately and I needed a reminder to take 1 day at a time.

Thanks for all the responses. How interesting to hear your family connections to this disease. I am wondering now if my Mum had Bronchiectasis but was never diagnosed. She lived on Gozo, one of the Maltese islands, so I suspect her health care was not top-notch althogh her diet was pretty good literally living and eating in the mediterranean all those years LOL. Sadly she passed away at 84 having suffered with Alzheimers for many years.

To rbl:
These diseases can be a real downer initially but as time goes on and we read about the journeys of others, things become clearer and more appropriate to our own situations. Following connect.mayoclinic.com and other relevant posts helps put things in perspective. Some comments may be helpful; others, not so helpful. Try to think about the positives in your life and focus on the things that are meaningful to you. We are "captains of our own ships" and can steer away from the negative. Wishing you the best and for better days ahead!

May I ask whether anyone has explained the negative affects of coughing? While I try to remember to huff I always end up coughing right through my nebbing/airway clearance. I seem to be producing more and more mucus and wonder if I am damaging my lungs by coughing.