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Hello and thank you for the question. I am Dr. Sohaib, a practicing Board Certified Consultant with over 17 years of experience and I will do my best to help you today. Let me review your question for a minute and I will get back to you.
I am sorry to hear about this. Respected Customer, I would like to ask few details regarding your symptoms/question to assist you more efficiently.
Are you on any kind of treatment for IBM (inclusion body myositis)?
Steroids or Methotrexate? Nothing tried?
And for how long do you have this rash and swelling in ankles?
I did not get your reply; therefore I am posting an answer for you. I hope it will be helpful.
The rash and ankle swelling seem to be unrelated to IBM.
Ankle swelling can be due to protein leakage in the urine from the kidneys, or could be due to inflammation in the ankle joints (if there is pain in the ankle joints).
Sometimes, cardiac muscle weakness also presents clinically as ankle swelling which may progress over time to involve the legs as well.
I will suggest a urine examination initially along with renal profile to make sure if this is from kidneys or not. Echocardiogram will be next step if kidney evaluation is fine.
IBM is distinct from dermatomyositis in both clinical presentation as well as laboratory work up, muscle biopsy findings and treatment. This is not dermatomyositis.
If the skin rash is persistent; a skin biopsy can also be planned, but there is high possibility that the skin changes at back of ankles is not a rash; rather skin color changes due to underlying swelling of ankles.
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