I have a new health insurance plan and there is a long list of primary care doctors who participate in the plan. I want to leave my current doctor who I have never felt comfortable with and find a new one. I need advice on how to go about doing this.

I've been asking people at work, since most of us are on the same health plan, but every doctor who someone at work likes is located in a geographically inconvenient place. I don't want to drive 45 minutes to get to the doctor if I am sick. (I should explain that I work in Washington, DC and most of us live in the suburbs, spread out between Virginia and Maryland.) Anyway, no one else at work is low carbing and no one else weighs almost 300 pounds. I want to find a doctor who is supportive of my way of eating and who will treat any medical issues I have seriously and not just blame them on my weight.

I've also asked all my friends who live in my neighborhood, but none of them like their doctor enough to recommend him or her. I keep hearing horror stories.

I think I need to start just calling doctors' offices and asking questions, but I've never done that before. Does anyone have any experience doing this? Any advice you can give me? Simply calling and saying to the receptionist, "I weigh almost 300 pounds and I'm low carbing, will the doctor treat me seriously or does he/she hate fat people and low carbers?" does not seem like a viable strategy.

By any chance, can anyone recommend a doctor in the Maryland suburbs?

A couple of links regarding finding "fat friendly" doctors:

Tips on Obtaining Good Health Care
http://www.cat-and-dragon.com/stef/fat/ffp2.html

and, the Fat Friendly Health Professionals List:
http://www.cat-and-dragon.com/stef/fat/ffp.html

The list is arranged geographically, so it's not *too* much of a pain to sort through. I don't know if there's any information there regarding how friendly those doctors are to lower carb eating though. Anyway, it might provide a jumping off point for you. Good Luck!