  Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are generally agreed to originate in low-mass
X-ray binaries (LMXBs), in which mass transfer onto the neutron stars spins
them up to their observed, fast rotation. The lack of MSPs and LMXBs rotating
near break-up and the similar rotation periods of several LMXBs have been
attributed to the accretion torque being balanced, at fast rotation, by
gravitational radiation, perhaps caused by an oscillation mode made unstable
through the so-called Chandrasekhar-Friedman-Schutz mechanism. Recently,
Wagoner has argued that internal dissipation through weak interaction processes
involving $\Lambda^0$ and $\Sigma^-$ hyperons may cause LMXBs to evolve into a
quasi-steady state, in which the neutron star has a nearly constant rotation
rate, temperature, and mode amplitude. We take this hypothesis one step
further, showing that MSPs descending from these LMXBs spend a long time in a
similar state, in which a low-amplitude r-mode turns them into extremely steady
sources of both gravitational waves and thermal X-rays, while they spin down
due to a combination of gravitational radiation and the standard magnetic
torque. Observed MSP braking torques already place meaningful constraints on
the allowed gravitational wave amplitudes and dissipation mechanisms.
