Eyelids stuck to eyeball at night

Woke up in the night five years ago and could not open my eyes without extreme pain. I massaged the eyes and that seemed to help. I would grope my way to the bathroom and splash water on them and that also would help so I could open them. Saw an ophthalmologist who prescribed eye drops. Began using saline drops before bedtime, but would still wake up with the eyes 'glued' shut. It is the eyelid sticking to the eyeball. The closest thing I could find when researching was corneal erosion. The massaging does not help anymore, so I keep the eye drops close to the bed and when I wake up in the night I use them so I can open my eyes. So, I am managing it, but still wondering what is going on and if anyone else has this condition.