5 Weeks. Post Op, Not Seeing Improvement - Denver, CO

I had my upper and lower abs and flanks done in April. I'm just passing the 30 day (4 week) mark. My doc said she took out 1800 ccs from my tummy and flanks. I seemed slimmer immediately after the procedure, however now I think I'm a bit larger than immediately post op. I still have a pooch and I have not flattened out. My lower abs feel pretty firm, not as hard as two weeks ago, but yet to flatten out. I think I still have some swelling because I feel tightness and a bit of soreness when I bend over. My doc says its some swelling and scar tissue that will continue to improve week after week. I'm just concerned because I keep hearing that week three is the turning point. Is this normal after a month, or should I be concerned? And is there anything I can do to get the swelling to go down faster?

After much anguishing, review reading, researching and getting my man on board, I've finally decided to get a bbl. This after having smart lipo to my abs & flanks & being quite unhappy w/ the results. I didn't want to leave a negative review on that dr but after doing more research (which I didn't do enough of) and learning more, I'm pissed off. So I had smart lipo done by Greta McClaren in Denver, CO. She only took out about 1800 ccs initially, I don't recall how much after my revision. Still unhappy with my lower abdomen pooch that I've had forever, I decided to look into other options like Coolsculpting. Going through that process and explaining my previous procedure, I learned in CO they can remove about 5000 ccs. So she didn't take out nearly enough! 2 years & $4300 later I'm very pissed because just a little more $, I could have had a bbl in the first place & been done. I will however accept my part in this, I should have done more research before letting someone who is not a licensed surgeon perform surgery on my body. I literally spent more time looking for a company to redo my counter tops than I did a cosmetic surgery. So lessons learned & $$ spent, I'm now wiser & going to do what I need to be happy with my body. I've always had a pooch and big thighs. I'm not trying to get skinny, because even at 5'4' 125 lbs, I still had this stupid pooch. I can't take it anymore! I just want to know how it feels to have a flat stomach, and to like the way I look naked. So now, I begin a new journey. And because I've read so many of your posts which have helped me so much, I thought I'd pay it forward and share my journey.