MARYLAND

ANNAPOLIS
Marcus Penn, M.D., OB/GYN 
	Chesapeake Women's Care
	Annapolis, Maryland 
	410-571-9700.
	He is one of the kindest, warmest physicians I have had the
	pleasure to deal with. As a 315-pound woman, I dread going to
	the OB/GYN, but he makes my experience almost, dare I say,
	pleasant. I always leave his office feeling like a
	normal-weighted person. He never mentions my weight, and if I
	say something negative about myself, he says something to the
	contrary such as "You're fine." or "You're doing great." During
	my breast exam today I made some quip about my poor old saggy
	boobs and he mentioned that my breast tissue had fared quite
	well after breastfeeding two kids for 2 years. (His demeanor was
	professional and complimentary and not at all creepy.) I believe
	I am receiving high-quality medical care. He always recommends
	appropriate tests /studies that I am due for. A couple years
	back I had a scary experience with a pre-term labor during my
	second pregnancy. Thanks to his fast-response and knowledge, my
	little one stayed in and cooked until she was done! During my
	pregnancy, not only was I morbidly obese, but I was also of
	advanced maternal age, but neither issue brought any heighted
	sense of worry from him. If there was an issue, he presented it
	in a very gentle manner that wasn't frightening. The office has
	plus size gowns -- I believe they would fit a woman of average
	height who is at least 450 pounds, if not more. I have never had
	an uncomfortable seat in the office either. They have larger
	blood pressure cuffs and when the machine had trouble getting my
	pressure, the nurse was glad to do it manually. There are 5 or 6
	doctors in the practice and I have had positive experiences with
	most of them. There was one I didn't mesh well with -- it wasn't
	an issue about my weight, but more of a personality clash. Dr.
	Penn helps me feel normal and unintimidated in a very private
	and intimidating setting.

BALTIMORE
Ann Morrill, MD, primary care
	4136 -B  East Joppa Road
	Baltimore, MD 21236
	410-529-8334
	Fat friendly. Her position on WLS is one of neutrality--too bad,
	but she does have Saturday office hours!
	DISSENTING VIEW
	She was previously my physician and she is certainly not fat
	friendly.  Her waiting room is not fat-friendly--no chairs
	without arms or sofas.  On one visit, I was only permitted to
	tell the doctor one symptom before she abruptly cut me off. She
	refused to discuss changing my prescriptions [which had become
	too expensive].  She told me that I needed to get a better job
	with better health insurance. Then [she] began to tell me that I
	should go in for weight loss surgery.  She knows from past
	visits that I am vehemently opposed to weight loss surgeries.
	[She] then told me that I had no excuse to complain about the
	price of my prescriptions if I wasn't going to go have weight
	loss surgery. One of the medications I was asking to change was
	an allergy medication. She has tried to put me on just about
	every weight loss medication ever put on the market. I have
	refused to take them. [Stef's note: The author of this view is
	willing to discuss their experience by email. If you want to get
	in touch with them send email to ffp at cat-and-dragon dot com
	with a subject line that isn't likely to look like spam. I will
	put you in touch with them.]

Thomas Lynch, general internist
	Mercy Medical Center 
	Baltimore Maryland
	No mandatory weigh ins. No blaming ailments or problems on my
	weight. No discussion of diets. Not one single time in the past
	three years! Even when I had gall stones he did not launch into
	a discussion of obesity. In general he is just a wonderful
	doctor. He is very attentive and listens to his patients. Every
	single visit is followed by a discussion in his office of his
	feelings and findings on your condition. He is very careful that
	you understand everything and goes over any prescriptions with
	you so that you are aware of the actions and possible side
	effects of each.-- FlicChick@aol.com  

Tanisia Smith, massage therapies, Reiki healing, workshops, and intuitive services
	Goddess Within, LLC
	8700 Old Harford Road, Suite L5B 
	Parkville
	(suburb of Baltimore located between Baltimore City and Towson)
	443.803.4876
	Info@GoddessWithinLLC.com 
	http://www.GoddessWithinLLC.com
	Self-referred.
	As a plus-sized woman and an experienced therapist, I believe
	that the benefits of massage and energywork are substantial.
	Massage is an inexpensive, noninvasive treatment that plus-sized
	people are underutilizing.

BEL AIR
Marianne Cloeren, M.D., M.P.H.
	2012 S. Tollgate Road, Suite 200
	Bel Air, MD  21015
	phone: 410-515-9070
	fax: 443-512-0153
	www.harfordholistic.com 
	Harford Holistic Center does not accept insurance; you have to
	submit bills for possible partial payment to your own insurance
	company. Their prices are reasonable if you have to pay
	out-of-pocket. Their waiting area has many types of seating:
	loveseats and tall chairs with and without arms.  Dr. Cloeren is
	a holistic doctor so she looks at the whole person, not just
	their symptoms.  She advocates exercise and healthy eating. I
	had an awful experience with another doctor before I went to see
	her and when I explained to Dr. Cloeren that I absolutely
	refused to have gastric bypass surgery, her response was, "Good
	for you!" 
	Stef's note, according to the web site, some other doctors at
	this practice have "weight management" as part of their
	practice.

BETHESDA
Kristen Spencer, Physical therapist
	Bethesda, MD (Washington, DC Metro area)
	http://www.launchsp.com/
	She taught me how to strengthen and coordinate my muscles to
	reduce my joint pain without ever telling me I needed to lose
	weight.  She practices a type of physical therapy (postural
	restoration) that tends to acknowledge and work with different
	body shapes and sizes, rather than try to force all bodies
	to conform to a shape/size as a prerequisite for treatment.

CHEVY CHASE
George Graves, M.D., Internist
	Washington, D.C. metro area
	5530 Wisconsin Ave. NW Ste. 925
	Chevy Chase, MD 20815
	301-654-4850
	I've been Dr. Graves' patient for 6 years and he has never been
	anything but respectful of me. He acknowledges that obesity is a
	health issue but that it's extremely hard to gain control of it
	-- he's never said "just lose weight." He pushes health and
	fitness, not weight loss (e.g. exercising).

Washington Open MRI
	5530 Wisconsin Avenue Suite 529 Chevy Chase, MD 20815
	Other locations in Rockville, Oxon Hill, Clinton,
	Greenbelt, Prince Frederick, Owing Mills, Gaithersburg.
	1-866-MRI-ASAP
	www.washingtonopenmri.com
	Open MRI available that accommodates patients up to 500 pounds
	(depending on body shape). They also have an MRI with an
	entirely open front (as opposed to the traditional open MRI,
	which is open on the sides but has a scanner above you, so it
	doesn't accommodate people with big bellies). This is called a
	stand-up MRI (but it can be used in a variety of positions, not
	just standing). 

CLINTON
Washington Open MRI
	See entry under Chevy Chase

COCKEYSVILLE
Deborah Kauffmann, RD, LDN (registered dietitian)
	Nutrition Counseling for Intuitive Eating 
	10621 York Road, Cockeysville, Maryland 21030
	410-982-9667 
	www.nutritioncounselingforintuitiveeating.com
	Self-referred 
	Health At Every Size ® nutrition counseling for disordered
	eating, wellness. Serving adults, teens and children/parents.
	Affiliations include the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,
	Maryland Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Association for
	Size Diversity and Health, Binge Eating Disorder Association and
	The Center for Mindful Eating.

GAITHERSBURG
Washington Open MRI
	See entry under Chevy Chase

GLENN DALE
Parand Alavi, MD, Internal Medicine 
Farhad Jamali, MD, Internal Medicine 
	Prime Medicine LLC 
	12150 Annapolis Road, Suite 308
	Glenn Dale, MD (Washington, DC metropolitan area)
	(301) 805-0006 
	While the seats in the waiting room have arms on them, I was
	able to sit very comfortably in them. If you are over 350
	pounds, the scale is unable to weigh you, so you'll have to
	provide your own weight. With that being said, my experience
	with Dr. Alavi has been wonderful. She focuses on getting to the
	root of the issue and doesn't automatically focus on weight as
	the reason you are sick. She will talk about weight as a factor,
	but will not talk you to death or shame you about it, and she is
	totally respectful when she has to discuss it. She also has a
	nice demeanor and is very thorough. She does not rush through
	the appointment and really listens to your concerns. She went
	through every single page of my lab results with me and answered
	my questions. I highly recommend her. My husband has also
	enjoyed his experience with Dr. Jamali and has the same opinion
	of Dr. Jamali that I have of Dr. Alavi. Both are great doctors
	for people of any size.

GREENBELT
	See entry under Chevy Chase

HAGERSTOWN
Pierre Asmar, Reproduction Endocrinologist
	See entry under Annandale, Virginia.

HYATTSVILLE
Carolyn Hammett, MD, Internal Medicine   
	1835 University Blvd E #226
	Hyattsville, MD 20783 
	(301) 431-4030
	I have been seeing Dr. Hammett for more than a decade and she
	has never commented on my weight. Today I specifically thanked
	her for that and she told me that she gets annoyed when her own
	doctors tell her to lose weight, and doesn't find it helpful.
	When I have asked for referrals to specialists, she takes the
	time to tell me about the doctors and make recommendations on
	things to ask or say to get what I need from those appointments.
    
PARKVILLE Tanisia Smith, massage therapies,
Reiki healing, workshops, and intuitive services See entry under
Baltimore

OWINGS MILLS
Washington Open MRI
	See entry under Chevy Chase

OXON HILL
Washington Open MRI
	See entry under Chevy Chase

PRINCE FREDERICK
Washington Open MRI
	See entry under Chevy Chase

ROCKVILLE
Amy J. Byer, Ob/Gyn
	Congressional Lane 
	Rockville, MD
	Extremely nice, competent, and smart doctor. Lovely staff, as
	well. Weighing is optional, and they're nice about it if you
	choose to be weighed. Weight not an issue; they're just
	interested in health. The office has chairs without arms, and
	they use a wristcuff for measuring blood pressure.

Rockville - Highfield MRI 
	301-947-0700 
	The Hitachi Co. makes a 20 inch gap MRI. It is called an Altera.
	It has a load limit of 500 pounds and the usable space between
	the head is about 19 inches. There is new software out which
	will get a good picture without the need of wearing a belt.
	Because it is an open MRI it can handle larger than a 58 inch
	waist. It is possible that the machine might be able to handle
	abdomens and/or hips of 70 or more inches.

Washington Open MRI
	See entry under Chevy Chase

SILVER SPRING
Suresh K. Gupta, Internal Medicine & Geriatrics
	9801 Georgia Avenue, Suite 2-20
	Silver Spring, MD 20902
    	(301) 681-5922
	fax (301) 681-6463
	He's wonderful! -- ladyjane@smart.net
	DISSENTING VIEW
	He is most definitely NOT "wonderful."  I was there today.  His
	entire medical philosophy is based on weight loss and he pushes
	supplements and "natural" weight loss pills on a video screen on
	a continuous loop in his waiting room.  His office chairs have
	arms, he insisted that I get weighed, and told me that I *had*
	to lose weight even though my blood pressure, cholesterol, and
	blood sugar are normal and I have no other health problems, It
	was a horribly disappointing experience after seeing his name on
	this list of fat friendly doctors. calder8946@comcast.net.

TAKOMA PARK
Melanie St. Ours, Clinical Herbalist
	Washington, DC & Takoma Park, MD
	Phone: 410.802.0404
	http://capitalcityherbalist.com
	capitalcityherbalist@gmail.com
	Self-referred.
	As an herbalist I work with clients to help them regain optimal
	health through nutrition, herbal preparations, and sometimes
	through dietary supplementation. I believe that healthy bodies
	come in all shapes and sizes and concern myself with the pursuit
	of health, empowerment, and self-acceptance. I support clients
	in resolving the health issues that concern them while
	increasing their sense of personal empowerment in regards to
	their health and ability to lovingly care for themselves.

TANEYTOWN
William Linthicum, General Practioner
	1 Kings Lane
	Taneytown, MD 
	Larger size cuffs, armless chairs available in waiting room,
	size friendly. DO NOT accept assignment to his associate, Jason
	Tate, who is VERY size-unfriendly. Also, they have a nice BBW
	nurse! -- Eva Whitley