I have never taken a laxative. One med combo made me have constipation. So I drank prune juice to keep the constipation away. It took some variation approaches. And every so often, my meds or med dosages would change. For a while I was drinking 1/2 cup daily. I drank it in the evening, or at night if I had gone to a concert etc. That was so I could be sure not to have any "accidents" during the day or when I was out someplace. I tried various measurements of prune juice....1/2 cup; 1/4 cup; somewhat less than 1/4 cup. Depending on the med situation, each of these worked each time, but I had to try various measurements before finding the one that worked. AND THEY WORK. I have known about prune juice since I was a kid. My teenage grand niece has constipation sometimes because her mother does not feed her right. When she goes to visit my sister (her grandmother) my sister has prune juice around, the my niece drinks it and feels fine. (Wish I could see my niece -- my sister leaves me out of the niece's life...) They live a 15 minute drive away.