Yeah, the knees are a bitch all right.
I had an ACL reconstruction on mine after two years trying to cope without one - I had a similar situation to yours except it wasn't my kneecap popping out - it was the whole joint was loose and sometimes it spun around and I used to dislocate the lower leg from the bottom in a sort of twisting motion - the pain involved is very difficult to describe.
Whenever the knee twisted it used to rip the meniscus requiring arthroscopies to repair. The ACL reconstruction fixed mine but I'm still a bit wary of pushing the knee even 15 years after the operation.
Now I'm getting on a bit (40) and the other knee is starting to show the signs of stress after going 8 years with no PCL (easier to live with than no ACL) so I'm wondering when I'm going to start having dislocation problems with that knee.
Bloody lucky I don't get my knee down too much - I probably wouldn't get it up again... 
Best of luck in getting it sorted. In the meantime - Voltaren, Codeine and sleep helps, although it sucks as a long-term proposition. Hope you've got medical insurance like I do.
And I to my motorcycle parked like the soul of the junkyard. Restored, a bicycle fleshed with power, and tore off. Up Highway 106 continually drunk on the wind in my mouth. Wringing the handlebar for speed, wild to be wreckage forever.
- James Dickey, Cherrylog Road.
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