Today is day 34 of my 40-Day Fast. Yesterday, and today, I've been feeling a dry lump in the back of my throat, just inside where my voice box is (to give you a better idea of the location). I'm wondering if that's "real thirst" or "real hunger" to which Dr. Shelton was referring.

Hi there cduliga :),

Congratulations on reaching day 34, great job :). 

What you are describing does not sound like real hunger or real thirst.  Real thirst would be accompanied by an extremely dry mouth and throat and you would be be jumping out of your skin to drink... unless you are experiencing these things and haven't mentioned them?  Is there any particular reason why you might be approaching true thirst?... have you gone several days with no water?   With real hunger you would be jumping out of your skin to eat. 

Of all the signs he mentions, the only one I'm having is the semi-clear tongue. Although I taste a sweetness in my mouth, my urine is still dark, my body temperature is still lower than average, and my eye sight is pretty clear (which cleared up by day 3).

I believe Dr. Shelton's description was in regard to the type of true hunger that accompanies the elimination of all toxemia.  Another type of true hunger which is not accompanied by this is prompted by running low on a nutrient needed by our body whether it be a vitamin, mineral, fat or otherwise.  In either "type" we experience the need to eat with such urgency that it feels like we will go insane if we don't.  I am overjoyed to have experienced this once and in my case the toxemia was not all gone as i still had a white tongue upon experiencing the unspeakably powerful hunger which was more than 100x stronger than any urge to eat i ever felt before this and 100x stronger than what i feel in the first couple days of a fast.  

I'm also feeling unusual sensations in my digestive system. I don't know any other way to describe it other than hunger pangs (which is normally felt in between meals when eating regularly).

This is unrelated to real hunger and sounds like the kind of thing that can happen when we begin to desire eating very strongly in our mind and can also be the result of the body doing some work in that area.

the urge to eat will not be felt as a 'maybe' thing. You will have a clear sense it's time to quit, and will have a desire for food. It will be a sensation that won't abate, and will be very insistent. Other than that, all I can tell you with certainty is, try to break the fast on a day when you feel good. This will make the refeeding go much easier and quicker.

True hunger is said to arrive along with a feeling of well-being. The sensations in the digestive system might be related to the body getting prepared to eat. At the end of my first wfast (only 29 days) peristaltis got working on the last day, just from my thinking about eating again. It was an odd sensation, feeling the bowels working.

The throat sensation might be hunger coming back...(or, it could be retracing of some past throat issue.) Or it could be thirst. See how it feels tomorrow. it's always a good practise with the wf to put off eating until tomorrow. Assess it all in the AM, when you are fresh.

best,
C