straight lines appear crooked

[nate212]

When I close my right eye, straight lines appear bent or curved in my right eye. When I close my left eye eye, straight lines appear bent or curved in the opposite direction.  My opthamologist says I do not have macular degeneration.  He dilated my eyes and said there was nothing pressing on the optic nerve.  He states he believe it is caused from my astygmatism.  It seems odd to me that the lines appear to mirror each other, but in in opposite directions.  He did not send me to a retina specialist.  I do not have frequent headaches. I am severely near-sighted and am a 49 year old female. I have a lot of floaters.

I still have anxiety about my symptoms, but i don't know what to pursue next.  Should I see a retina specialist,a neurologist or other?

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

I would recommend that you see a retinal specialist and have an OCT (Optical coherent tomography) of the retina.  This test can detect fluid in the macula or the presence of a subretinal neovascular membrane resulting from your high myopia.

[ValveJob]

In January 2011, I started noticing exactly the same thing.  I went to a retinal specialist and was diagnosed with retinoscisis.  That means the retina is slightly separated without being detached.  What I don't understand is that I later found out that the retinoschisis is only in my left eye, so I don't know why I have the wavy line (mirroring the other) in the right eye.

By the way, I have myopic macular degeneration has caused other problems more recently.

I definitely think you should see a retinal specialist.  He or she will do an OCT which is a scan of the eye.  You will be able to see the layers of the retina.  Without an OCT, I can't imagine how an opthalmologist would possibly know these details.

[nate212]

Also, I have thyroid disease and had my thyroid removed.  I have been told I do not have thyroid eye disease by specialist.