Hi Kathy,

Sounds like you have two things going on here.  Difficulty getting an IV started and then bleeding a little bit under the skin afterwards. 

I have extreme difficulty with veins as well.  You can read just a couple of my mis-adventures in these posts:

What does it take to feel "cared for" by medical professionals?

Living with RA: Infusions, Phlebitis, and Self-Advocacy

Heating the veins is a very good (and not so uncommon) way to try to get the veins to plump up a bit.  One thing a nurse suggested to me, in addition to drinkings lots of water every day for at least a week beforehand, is to eat something very salty the night before.  That helps to plump up the blood volume apparently.

Let the nurses know up front that you are a hard stick.  If you find someone who can get you started in under 2-3 tries (or so), be sure that they are called in first next time.  There is also a way to use a "vein light" to get a peek at where the veins are.

As far as bruising.  It would be important to avoid excess tries at getting an IV started in the first place.  If a try is unsuccessful, be sure that you put some pressure on that spot for a minute or so, even if it doesn't look like it's bleeding.  The steroids might make your blood less likely to clot quickly (not sure about that, but possibly) so you may not have any choice in the matter of whether you get bruising or not.

Good luck and I hope that your next infusion goes smoothly.