aw hun im so sorry =/
its not tmi!! it is a frequent topic here....unfortunately but good that there are many to commiserate with. can you trace it to anything? have you had extra bad D the past couple days or anyhthing change?
i know its embarrasing, i didnt tell anyone for years really, but really once your doc knows that its an issue for you, its so much better. they may not be able to fix it but they can sure try! when you speak to the docs about it, if you want say something like "i have been experienceing some incontinence" instead of "i crapped myself!". sometimes thats easier to say...
here, so you dont feel so alone......
http://crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=4674
i actually started that thread after a particularly bad situation and just wanted to vent, but it took on a life of its own and there are a TON of stories and people sharing their incidents as well. like i said...its unfortunate that so many people have to deal with this, but might as well deal with it together i guess.
as far as "is it normal", it really depends on person to person. since this is the first time it happened i would say it is NOT normal for you, but you just gotta see how it progresses and see if you can figure out why.
for me, ive had incontinence issues like....ever since i was 13 or so. somewhere in there i had a butt surgery for a fistula and ever since then, i had leakage problems =/ i never really crapped myself per say, it was just like, a bit was coming out alllll the time.
i think the surgery itself damaged that muscle or the healing of the fistula and scar tissue damaged it. and then all the rectal inflammation since then contributed too and in the year before my ostomy surgery i could not hold it for more than 2 seconds.
so to me? it is normal. its just part of how CD affects me. now that i have the ileo its not as big a deal so thats good.
some tips? carry extra underwear with you always, put it in the little "secret" pocket in your purse lol. use period pads, jsut try a few and see what it comfy and absorbs...well. that way if something does come out, you have an extra barrier there before messing up your clothes. so always carry extra pads then too...in the little pocket as well haha.
and for me since it was pretty frequent, i always carried some type of sweatshirt that i could tie around my waist to cover my butt IF a really bad episode should occur. that has saved me many times...
sorry to kinda be a bummer here, i wish i could tell you that itll never happen again but its all up to your body on that one.
good luck =]