ME/CFS and Exercise

Hello,

I am not an ME/CFS patient but my partner has a CFS diagnosis. They are fortunate that it is a mild diagnosis and they are still able to work full time, however my understanding of mild CFS is still a 50% reduction of activity and those that are capable of working full time usually do this with difficulty.

In my partners case, they are able to work full time with no repercussions and little daytime fatigue and even do sport one night a week. I've wondered several times due to the lack of daytime fatigue and seemingly little to no PEM whether the diagnosis is correct and have asked them to get a second opinion.

Pre-pandemic my partner was very active, playing football multiple times a week despite the diagnosis and came down with every cold going and attributed this to PEM which it could very well be but again my understanding of flu-like symptoms didn't include excess mucus production and green mucus indicating that the body was fighting a virus rather than PEM. My understanding of this could be totally incorrect as since the pandemic and everything closing down my partner has been healthier than ever, however this could also be down to social distancing measures and different attitudes to working with a cold.

Now that there is an end in sight, my partner is talking about going back to sports and I am worried sick that they could return to sports and we end up back where we were a year ago where they were coming down with every cold under the sun or maybe worse and I've tried telling my partner that this insistence on exercising could do irreparable damage but they won't listen so now i'm turning to this forum to ask for advice.

I guess my question is, is it possible that my idea of what CFS is is very ill informed and my partner does just have very mild CFS? in which case should i be worried about their insistence on playing football?

Is it possible that someone with CFS could play football, usually in goal(40 minute games), once or twice a week with no repercussions? is there anyone else with a CFS who has done this?

and could anyone help clear up any of my misconceptions about CFS so that I can be more supportive of my partner? sadly he shuts down when I try to find out about how it affects him specifically.

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