This was suicidal for me. My doctor insisted and I honestly think I have never got over the effects of taking it. It feeds all the evil bacteria in your intestine. The effects for me were pain and more pain and so much farting I was too embarrassed to go out in public.
Most of the trouble we have in our intestines is types of sugars that we fail to absorb, fermenting in our intestine. Taking a sugar that you know will not be absorbed at all is truly insane.
For a good laxative, try using pure psyllium husk (no sugar added), with lots of water - start with a small amount and build up gradually.
If you tend to get impacted stools, use miralax. This is a super-abosrbent polymer and the only laxative other than fibre that good GIs let people use long-term.