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So it seems that the NHS is telling us all to get fit, but ironically it's also helping some of us get fat. An important message, perhaps, to all those who scream, "Why should I pay for fatties to get NHS treatment when they just need to get some self control?" and who pop up in the media every time the subjects of obesity or hospital waiting lists rear their ugly heads.

I'm fat. I may have lost 16 pounds in the last six weeks, but there's a long way to go until I get down to where I was before my last dose of an antipsychotic sent me diving into the fridge, never to return. I'm not alone ... and I assure you it's not just down to will power.

Weight is a real issue for those of us who are taking medication for mental health problems. My personal nemesis is , one of the newer generation of antipsychotics, which is considered to be among the best drugs for containing mania, and amongst the worst for weight gain. It's not helped by the various mood stabilisers I'm on, but olanzapine is the one that can have you standing by the kitchen bench eating a whole loaf of bread without coming up for air. In fact, one study has found that, on average, people gain about 2 pounds in weight a week on the drug, whether or not they were obese at the start of treatment.

It's a vicious circle: you take the drugs - you put on weight - the weight makes you feel rubbish - you stop taking the drug but comfort eat instead, which makes you more depressed because of the weight you're adding - so they give you an antidepressant that everyone says will make you lose weight - and after a few weeks you find you're putting even more on.

Comfort eating aside, the medication isn't just a fabricated excuse for piling on the weight. A comprehensive literature review in America found that people put on an average of 9 pounds in the first 10 weeks of treatment with atypical antipsychotic medications like olanzapine. These atypical antipsychotics are a new(ish) generation of drugs that were hailed as miracles when they hit the market around 1990. They were the wonder drugs that were going to 'normalise' people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. No more shuffling, dribbling, stiff joints or jerky movements as per the old drugs regime. And unquestionably, they have transformed the lives of many people.

Unfortunately, a few years down the road, it's not just a hunch that this class of medication can bring on other problems. It has been observed that there are indeed a few side effects: weight gain, diabetes and coronary heart disease are potentially awaiting you. (Note: medication affects each individual differently. Not everyone will experience these side effects. Do not discontinue your medication without speaking to a doctor!)

So the evidence that they cause weight gain is there, but scientists are still squabbling over the reasons why. Two of the "latest" bits of research seem to conflict. One says that weight gain with olanzapine and similar drugs is all down to an enzyme called AMPK present in cells in the part of the brain which regulates eating behaviour - so you feel starving hungry all the time and never feel full. The other study found that olanzapine changes metabolism, affects the release of blood sugars, and causes fat to be stored around the waist.

My psychiatrist is very apologetic about ever putting me on olanzapine, and has been very supportive about my efforts to lose the weight I've gained. But it's not easy. She had my GP refer me to the Community Dietician, but they told me I know just about all there is to know about nutrition and that my problems are linked to mental health, so there's nothing they can do for me. My psychiatrist then referred me to the Eating Disorders clinic, but even though I was developing a very bad relationship with food by this time, I wasn't disordered enough for them. So she begged me to go to Weight Watchers. Eventually I went, and now the weight is falling off because I'm rigidly sticking to the plan, lest I face that 'up a pound' humiliation at the next weigh-in.

It's not the first time I've attended this slimmers' group. I lost two stone there once before but, when the olanzapine kicked in, all that changed very fast. Even I was shocked by the 'up six pounds' news at my weekly weigh-in, and you could tell by the leader's tone that she was very disappointed indeed with my shoddy behaviour. I started to mutter something about medication, but she wanted no 'excuses'. I wish I'd just yelled: "Look, I'm taking an antipsychotic, OK?" and watched the room clear in seconds.

I know it's not just us mental healthers who have these drug-related weight gain problems - I recently read about two American women: one was on the mood stabiliser Lithium and gained 42 pounds, but the other was on the steroid prednisone and she gained a massive 240 pounds.

Doctors know that slimming groups work - that's why they urge us to attend them. It seems very simple - set up a slimming group under the auspices of one of the successful organisations that has proven results, and have a nurse attend as a co-leader. In addition to the bumph on food, add some information on medication and explain the impact it can have. And open the group up to anyone in the local area. It seems so very simple that you have to wonder why it isn't already happening. Do I hear any excuses from the NHS?