Zero pain today. My knees are as loose and painfree as I can ever remember them being. No need to warm up in the morning with Hindu squats. Able to drop into a full knees forward squat with no problem.
Looks like the problem was runaway inflammation this whole time. The actual effusion is still there in both knees, but it doesn't seem to be interfering with normal articulation. The lack of pain is remarkable. I did not get these results when I was hyperdosing ibuprofen in tablet form.