PLEASE !!! Be careful with Laxatives/Laxative Medication!

Unfortunately, it is so often the case with medications that all the side effects and long term problems don't get figured out until they have been out in the market (and in use) for many years. There is often such a push to make a drug available that there isn't enough time to do the "ideal" amount of testing.

You bring up a very good point, not just with laxatives, but with all medications - when deciding whether or not to use them, ask your doctor how long they have been in use. Most that have been used for 20+ years have had all this information worked out, and you can be more confident that the doctors are aware of all the effects. For example, it was only recently that they confirmed the damage that high levels of unbuffered aspirin can do to your stomach and intestinal lining, and the dangers of Tylenol. Now they are adjusting how they reccomend you take these pills.

Also, you're right, it is a good idea to ask the doctor if there is a non-prescription remedy (the prune juice in your case). There often may be. Discuss it with your doctor and se how adamant he or she is about the meds. If they are very insistent, you may a problem serious enough that the natural remedy may not work, or may not work to the extent that is needed, but otherwise, they often get into kind of a mode where before anything else, they will reach for that prescription book.